These vegan apple pie bars have an amazing shortbread crust and cinnamony apple filling, topped with a streusel topping and drizzled with a vegan caramel sauce. This is THEE vegan apple pie recipe.
If I had one vegan apple pie recipe to make for the rest of my life, this would be it; it's the perfect dessert. I know it isn't an actual apple pie since they are in a bar form. But Lord have mercy, these bars are SO good. These vegan apple pie crumb bars need to be in your life; they are such a fun fall dessert.
Yum, that might be the best part of these apple pie bars and sets the bar for me being better than an actual pie. It also has an amazing crumble topping, the perfect topping to the apple layer. If you're looking for some more delicious vegan apple recipes, check out this Vegan Apple Crumb Pie, Apple Cider Vegan Donuts, or these Vegan Caramel Apples.
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Why I love this recipe...
- This recipe is perfect for apple season, so next time you go apple picking or want an apple treat, give this recipe a try.
- This is a great recipe to show up for your Thanksgiving meal.
- These vegan bars may not be a traditional apple pie, but it has simple ingredients just like one and is a great option for a great apple treat.
- I love that this has a thick shortbread pie crust. The crust tastes like you're biting into a delicious shortbread cookie.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Vegan butter- this is essential to make that vegan shortbread crust. You can use whatever your favorite vegan butter is. Our is Country Crock.
- White sugar- Brown Sugar- These sugars are used for different reasons in the recipe. Keep them both as they are where it's listed for the best results.
- Vanilla extract- helps with balancing the flavor.
- Salt- this helps bring out the flavors in the crust.
- All-purpose flour- this works best. But if you need this to be gluten-free, use a good 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour and sub it out.
- Apples- I like to use a variety of apples. But always fresh apples. Don't use soft, mushy apples for the best results, and you will be fine. I prefer a mix of gala, honey crisp, pink lady, fuji, or granny smith apples. It's fun to mix and match and get different flavor profiles from the sweet and tart apples, or use your favorite apples.
- Ground Cinnamon-Nutmeg- these spices make the perfect apple pie flavor come together.
- Oats- these go on the topping, and I wouldn't leave them out as they make the perfect topping.
Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full ingredient and quantity information.
How to make vegan apple pie bars
Step 1- Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees. Get an 8x8 baking dish and cover it with foil with a bit of an overhang or parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
Step 2- Take a medium bowl and combine your crust dry ingredients and mix until combined, then add your vegan butter and stir until mixed.
Step 3- Spread the crust in an even layer in the prepared pan.
Step 4- Bake this for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. When it's out of the oven, bump the heat to 350F.
Step 5- While that is baking, make your middle and topping. Make sure your sliced apples are very thin, put them in a bowl, stir in the filling ingredients, mix the cinnamon sugar apples gently but well, and set aside.
Step 6- Take a small bowl and combine your topping ingredients. Cut in the vegan cold butter with a pastry cutter or two forks until a crumbly dough forms; this will be your vegan streusel topping.
Step 7- Once the crust is prebaked, layer your apples evenly, sprinkle on the top of the crust, and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Check at 35 minutes and stick a toothpick in it to see if the apples are cooked; stick it in longer if the apples are still crunchy.
Step 8- Let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes, then stick it in the fridge to finish cooling before cutting. To cut, remove the bars holding both sides of the foil, place them on the counter, and cut.
Expert Tips and Tricks
- You can serve these warm or cold with a drizzle of vegan caramel, vegan salted caramel sauce, vegan vanilla ice cream, or both, or just plain; they are still good.
- Make sure to cut your apples evenly and thinly so that they cook at the same rate. No one wants crunchy apples or applesauce in their apple pie.
- This doubles nicely in a 9x13 pan. However, you may need to adjust the baking time.
Recipe FAQS
These are best stored in the fridge in an airtight container for a few days.
They can be frozen in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
No, if you were letting the apples sit on the counter before baking them for a long time, it's not a bad idea to prevent browning. But these do not need any lemon juice.
Check out these vegan dessert bar recipes...
Vegan Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup vegan butter semi-melted
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
Filling
- 2-3 large apples very thinly sliced, peeled, and cored
- 2 TB all-purpose flour
- 1 TB white sugar
- 1 TB brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
Topping
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup oats
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cold butter
Optional
- vegan caramel sauce
- vegan ice cream
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees. Get an 8x8 pan and cover with foil with a bit of an overhang, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
- Take a medium-size bowl and combine your dry crust ingredients; stir with a whisk until combined. Then add your vegan melted butter and vanilla extract, and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until combined. Take the crust and evenly spread it in the prepared pan. Bake this for 15 minutes.
- When the crust is done, take it out and place it on the stovetop or a cooling rack and bump up the heat to 350F degrees.
- While that is baking, make your middle and topping. Make sure your apples are sliced very thin, put in a bowl, stir in the filling ingredients, mix gently but well, and set aside.
- Take a small bowl and combine your topping ingredients, cut in the vegan cold butter with a pastry cutter or two forks until the vegan butter is distributed evenly.
- Once the crust is done prebaking, layer your apples evenly, then sprinkle the topping and bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Check at 35 minutes and stick a toothpick in it to see if the apples are cooked, stick it in longer if the apples are still crunchy.
- Let it come to room temperature for 30 minutes, then stick it in the fridge to finish cooling before cutting. To cut remove the bars holding both sides of the foil, place them on the counter, and cut. You can serve these warm or cold with a drizzle of vegan caramel, vegan ice cream, or both, or just plain they are still good.
Notes
-
- You can serve these warm or cold with a drizzle of vegan caramel, vegan salted caramel sauce, vegan vanilla ice cream, or both, or just plain; they are still good.
- Make sure to cut your apples evenly and thinly so that they cook at the same rate. No one wants crunchy or applesauce in their apple pie.
- This doubles nicely in a 9x13 pan. However, you may need to adjust the baking time.
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