These vegan apple pie bars have an amazing shortbread crust, cinnamony apple filling, topped with a streusel topping and drizzled with a vegan caramel sauce. This is THEE vegan apple pie recipe.
Vegan Apple Pie Bars
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.
The first time I made these were in 2014 shortly after becoming vegan and for some reason, I never made them again even though I distinctly remember them being absolutely amazing.
And now the memory is back and not going anywhere.
These vegan apple pie crumb bars need to be in your life they are such a fun fall dessert.
This recipe is perfect for apple season, so next time you go apple picking or just want a an apple treat give this recipe a try.
This is a great recipe to show up for your Thanksgiving meal.
I love that this has a thick shortbread pie crust. The crust tastes like you're biting into a delicious shortbread cookie.
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, It's the perfect topping to the apple layer.
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.
Recipe Q&A
What kind of apples do I use for apple pie filling?
I like to use a variety of apples. But always fresh apples. For the best results don't use soft mushy apples 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.
Can you double these apple pie bars?
Yes, this doubles nicely in a 9x13 pan, however, you need to adjust the baking time.
How do you store this vegan dessert?
These are best stored in the fridge for a few days or in the freezer for a couple of months.
Can I make these vegan bars gluten-free?
Yes, you can use a good 1 to 1 all-purpose gluten-free flour and sub it out.
Do I need to use lemon juice for the apples?
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.
What do I need for these vegan delicious apple pie bars?
Here's the ingredient list;
- vegan butter
- cane sugar
- vanilla extract
- salt
- all-purpose flour
- apples
- white sugar
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- oats
How do you make these vegan apple pie bars?
Start by preheating the oven to 300 degrees.
Get an 8x8 baking dish and cover with foil with a bit of an overhang or parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.
Take a medium bowl and combine your crust dry ingredients and mix until combined, then add your vegan butter and stir until mixed.
Take the crust and spread it in an even layer it in the prepared pan.
Bake this for 15 minutes in the preheated oven.
When it's out of the oven bump up the oven heat to 350F.
While that is baking make your middle and topping.
Make sure your sliced apples are very thin, put in a bowl, and then stir in the filling ingredients, mix the cinnamon sugar apples 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 a crumbly dough forms this will be your vegan streusel topping.
Once the crust is done prebaking, layer your apples evenly, then 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.
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, or vegan salted caramel sauce, vegan vanilla ice cream, or both, or just plain they are still good.
I think this might become one of your favorite recipes as well!
If you're going to serve these with a vegan caramel drizzle, which makes it the perfect treat!
Then click the link and follow the vegan caramel recipe.
You can also make this a vegan salted caramel if you want by adding a ¼-1/2 teaspoon salt to the caramel when it's done cooking.
This caramel recipe is SO easy to whip up it only takes 10 minutes or less, so if you want them to be vegan caramel apple pie bars, then give it a make.
Plus, you'll have leftovers and there's no harm in having a little bit of vegan salted caramel leftover.
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 crust ingredients 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 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, and then 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.
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