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apple pie bars (gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free)

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When what seems like most people start craving everything pumpkin at the first sign of Fall, I start craving Apple Pie. The problem is, making it is a pain in the ass. The solution? Apple Pie Bars! 

apple pie bars

Apple Pie Bars are as easy as pie (unlike actual pie) 

I saw a recipe for these in the NTY cooking app, and knew right away that I had to adapt them to be gluten-free. And then once I looked at the recipe, I knew I also had to simplify the whole thing. The whole point of these Apple Pie Bars is that they’re easier than making regular apple pie. Their recipe involved different crusts for the bottom and top, and cooking the apples, and mandatory fridge time…  

apple pie bars

Let’s un-complicate all of that, shall we? To make these Apple Pie Bars, the same dough is used for the bottom crust and the top crumble. Half gets pressed in, half gets crumbled on top. Easy! The apples are sliced thinly enough that they bake to be just tender, not mushy) in the same time it takes for the bottom to get crisp and the top to get browned and buttery. No need to dirty a pan and take time cooking apples. Easy and easy. 

apple pie bars

Easy. As. Pie. For real, though. If you prefer to keep it original, I totally get it- my Apple Pie recipe is a reader favorite! And if you’re excited about Apple Season and looking for ways to use them:

apple pie bars

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Apple Pie Bars

apple pie bars
Print Recipe

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5 from 5 reviews

So much easier than pie!

  • Author: Simone Miller
  • Prep Time: 25 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 9 bars
  • Category: Dessert
  • Cuisine: American

Ingredients

For the Crust:

  • 3 cups almond flour
  • 1 cup tapioca starch ((arrowroot will work as well))
  • 1/3 cup  coconut palm sugar
  • 1 teaspoon  vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
  • 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, (diced, plus more for greasing the pan)
  • 1 egg

For the Filling:

  • 2 pounds apples (I used pink lady, see notes for the best baking apples) (about 6–7 medium)
  • 1/4 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1/4 cup  tapioca starch ((arrowroot will work as well))
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1  teaspoon cinnamon (more if desired but cinnamon should be subtle, IMHO)

Instructions

Make the Crust and Topping:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF and lightly grease an 8×8 inch baking dish.
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the almond flour, tapioca starch, coconut sugar, vanilla, and salt.
  3. Add the butter and pulse a few times to start breaking it up. Turn it on for a few seconds, until the butter is incorporated as coarse crumbs.
  4. Add the egg and turn it on once more, until it just starts to come together.
  5. Press half the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Transfer the rest to a bowl and refrigerate both the baking dish and the bowl, while you prepare the apples.

Meanwhile, prepare the apples:

  1. Peel and core the apples and slice them about 1/8-inch thick.
  2. in a large bowl, mix together the apples, coconut sugar, tapioca starch, lemon juice, and cinnamon. Toss with your hands until all the apple slices are well coated.
  3. Remove the baking dish from the fridge and dump in the apples. Spread them out so they’re somewhat uniform. Crumble the dough you set aside on top, doing your best to cover as much of the apples as possible.
  4. Bake for 55-70 minutes, or until the top is deep golden brown and the apples are tender (I poked them with a toothpick so see how much give they had) If the top starts to get too brown before the apples are tender, cover loosely with aluminum foil.
  5. Allow to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack before cutting into 9 or 12 squares.

Notes

According to Bon Appetit, the best apples for baking are:

  • Jonagold
  • Honeycrisp
  • Braeburn
  • Mutsu
  • Winesap
  • Pink Lady

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Comments

  1. Just made this and it’s easy PERFECTION! I am now ruined for all actual pie making!! I used Miyoko’s vegan butter (dairy allergy), and you can’t even tell the difference. Thank you for this recipe!!!! ❤️

    Reply

    • There isn’t a single flour that works the same as AP flour, so they need to be blended to get the desired texture. Almond flour is mostly fat, so the tapioca starch adds starch to help balance it out and keep it from falling apart.

      Reply

      • Have you have tried Rice flour instead of tapioca? Just curious before i try it and waste perfectst good af :). Also ever tried with AMD egg replacer, like flax? Thanks!

      • I have only tried this recipe as it’s written, so I can only say for sure that it works with the ingredients listed. If you try any of the subs you’d like to use, please report back with results!

  3. Just made these with honeycrisp apples from the farmers market. Quelle superbe! Just the right amount of sweet.
    Also, thanks for providing a good paleo dessert recipe that does not include chocolate! I love chocolate but even small amounts can trigger a migraine for me, so I have to be super-cautious about it.
    Most paleo desserts are either chocolate chip cookies or brownies — both contain chocolate, obviously. Of course there are exceptions but a large portion of the paleo desserts out there are variations of one of these two things.
    Anyhow, this is terrific, and perfect for apple season.

    Reply

  4. Made this last night with honeycrisp apples – so sweet/tart and perfect! My husband, a pie-lover, really enjoyed it, as did the rest of the fam. Thanks for another amazing recipe. I love to cook and bake, but recipe creating is not my forte. Thanks for all the hard work – I appreciate you!

    Reply

  5. I made these the other day. They are incredibly awesome! I made them with all the ingredients as written. For apples, I used a combo of Lady Alice and Honey Crisp.

    I was a little nervous about whether or not they would turn out, because there are measurements instead of weights. But it worked! My only thing…I actually had to cook them for 1 hour 25 minutes. It’s probably because I have a standard, everyday, typical household oven, and not something super fancy and awesome like you…so jealous!

    Also, if anyone is wondering – I kept them in the fridge for a few days and they were great! I have a few sitting in the freezer, to test how well they freeze. I’m assuming they will be just as tasty as the first few days 🙂

    Thanks for a great recipe!!

    Reply

    • I’m so glad you loved them! Question about bake time: Did the top need that long to get golden brown? Or was it the apples that needed longer to soften? I think apple variety might be the biggest variable, and also the size of your slices. My new oven is amazing, I’m so in love with it- but I think the temperature is pretty accurate so hopefully my cook times stay close to what they should be!

      Reply

      • I think the top was golden in your listed time. I had to cover it with foil so it didn’t get too brown while I was waiting for the apples to cook more.

        You’re probably right…my apples could have been a little too thick; and it could have been the Lady Alice variety, too. I sliced my apples by hand, so next time I will make sure to slice them even thinner. And there will definitely be a next time 🙂 This recipe really is quite delicious and WAY easier than making an apple pie!!!!

        Thank you!

  7. I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks delish! My question is about sugar, what’s the difference between coconut palm sugar and cane sugar?

    Reply

    • Hi Jayne! A lot of people who follow my recipes avoid cane sugar since it has a higher glycemic index, so I usually use coconut sugar instead. As far as a swap goes, you can definitely use cane sugar 1:1 in place of coconut sugar, I have done just that with this recipe and it comes out great. I hope you love them!

      Reply

    • Coconut will definitely not work. I don’t know what would work because I only tested it with almond flour. My rule of thumb is if you can’t have the main ingredient in a recipe, it’s best to sub the whole thing for a different recipe!

      Reply

  9. I’d like to make these for a dinner I’m going to this weekend but because of a morning commitment, I’m concerned about how much time/energy I’ll have that day. So I am considering making the crust the day before and wrapping it well in the fridge, then slicing the apples and mixing the filling except for the tapioca starch the day before (trusting the lemon juice will keep the sliced apples ok in the fridge). Then day of, pressing the filling into the pan, refrigerating it while adding the tapioca starch to the filling, then continuing with the recipe to assemble and bake. Will this cause any issues I may not be thinking of?

    If i don’t hear of anything before then, I’ll report back with my results.

    And by the way, this is for dinner with friends who came to my place for the simple roast chicken from your ZenBelly cookbook (and other vegetables which I now forget only because it has been months) and they loved it!

    Reply

    • Hi Naomi! I think that should all work fine. The apples might release some juice sitting in the fridge and will brown a bit, but that won’t matter once they’re baked. So glad to hear that my recipes are a part of your dinners with friends! <3

      Reply

  11. Hello!

    I just made your apple pie bars for my son’s 14th birthday with some of his friends and they were a huge hit! So thank you for a great recipe.

    I am wondering if another grain free flour would possibly work as I just found out this week that I have a food sensitivity to almonds. I am very bummed as almonds appear to be a huge element of paleo cooking/baking.

    Christianne

    Reply

    • Hi Christianne! I’m so glad the bars were a hit! All grain-free flours act a bit differently so it’s hard to say… if you can tolerate other nuts, another nut flour would be the best bet. If you have a food processor or blender, you can make it out of any nut if you can’t find the flours in a store.

      Reply

  12. I’m thinking of making these to go with the rest of my Thanksgiving desserts. I’m wondering if anyone has made them in advance. I have too much going on in the kitchen that morning to be peeling apples which I find oh-so-tedious! Thank you! And I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving.

    Reply

    • Alene I think you can definitely make them in advance, one of two ways: The day before made to completion, or you can make the crust / topping /up to 4 days before and wrap tightly and refrigerate, and the filling can be made the day before and you can assemble and bake the day of.

      Reply

  13. Well I don’t know why the hell I waited so long to make these fabulous apple pie bars!! Getting a pen out now to write down this “keeper” recipe. Much love and much thanks!

    Reply

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