These are the best healthy apple pie bars! They have a flaky shortbread crust, a cinnamon spiced apple pie filling and are topped with a rich and creamy caramel sauce. They are the perfect fall treat and are also gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan and paleo!
Apple desserts like healthy apple crumble and baked apples with caramel are some of my all time favourite desserts, which is why I am so excited to share today's recipe with you!
Table of Contents
Why you will love this recipe:
- These gluten-free apple pie bars are so delicious! They have a flaky, buttery shortbread crust, a cinnamon spiced apple pie layer and are then drizzled in the most rich and creamy caramel!
- These bars taste just like a classic apple pie but are so much easier to make.
- These bars can be served warm or cold and keep really well in the fridge so they are great for meal prep.
- Besides being healthy these apple bars are also gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, vegan, paleo and refined sugar free. Because they are made with almond flour they are also high in protein with 7 grams of protein per bar.
- These bars are a great dessert to serve anytime but they are also be perfect to serve for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
- They are made without oats, without eggs and without butter.
If you love apple pie bars you will also love apple pie overnight oats and the best healthy apple bars.
Ingredients and substitutions:
- Almond flour - this is used to make the shortbread crust on these bars. Be sure to use almond flour and not almond meal. You could swap this for cashew flour if you like.
- Coconut flour - to help give the crust the perfect crumbly texture. I do not recommend trying to swap this for another flour.
- Coconut oil - coconut oil is my favourite dairy free oil to bake with. It gives the crust on these apple bars the perfect texture.
- Honey or maple syrup (use maple syrup for vegan) - to give these bars the perfect amount of natural sweetness while keeping them refined sugar free.
- Apples - the star of this recipe! I recommend using any type of red sweet apples such as gala apples, honeycrisp apples, pink lady apples or ambrosia apples. I do not recommend using Granny Smith apples as they are not sweet enough.
- Vanilla extract - to help make the most delicious rich and creamy caramel sauce for topping these pie bars.
- Ground cinnamon - to give these healthy caramel apple pie bars that perfect apple pie spice flavour.
- Sea salt - to help contrast the sweetness of this dessert.
- Cashew butter - this is used to make the dreamy caramel sauce that tops these bars. Be sure to use smooth, unsweetened cashew butter for making these bars.
Recipe variations and add ins:
- Instead of cashew butter you can use almond butter or sunflower seed butter to make these healthy apple pie bars.
- To make these into salted caramel apple bars sprinkle the bars with a little coarse sea salt before placing them in the freezer to harden.
How to make healthy apple pie bars:
Step 1: First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and while the oven is heating add all the crust ingredients to a bowl and blend well with a spoon or fork.
Step 2: Next line an 8″ x 8″ glass baking dish with parchment paper and transfer the crust mixture to the pan and press down with a spoon until you have an even layer. Then place the pan in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are golden brown. While the crust is baking, move on to making the other layers.
Step 3: Make the apple layer by placing a pot or large frying pan on the stove on medium heat and adding the coconut oil. Once the oil is melted, add the other ingredients and cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are the consistency you desire.
Step 4: Now make the caramel layer by putting all the caramel ingredients into a large bowl and stirring well until it’s smooth.
Step 5: Once the crust has finished baking pour approximately 3/4 of the caramel over the baked shortbread crust, and spread evenly until smooth.
Step 6: Then using a slotted spoon, spoon the cooked apples over the caramel sauce.
Step 7: Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the apples. Then place the pan in the freezer for 1-2 hours to let the bars harden.
Step 8: Remove the pan from the freezer and cut the bars into desired sized pieces. Then serve and enjoy!
Top tips:
- If you don't feel like peeling the apples you don't have to.
- These bars can be served warm or cold.
- When you take them out of the freezer to cut, let them warm up for a couple minutes to make cutting them easier.
How to serve:
These dessert bars are delicious served on their own, either warm or cold, but if you want to take them up a notch consider topping them with vanilla ice cream, vanilla yogurt, or coconut whipped cream.
How to store:
Store these bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days.
These bars also freeze really well in a freezer safe bag or container for up to 3 months.
Healthy apple pie bars FAQs:
Any type of sweet red apple will do. Some of my favourites are Gala, Honey Crisp and Pink Lady.
If you can't have almond flour I would use cashew flour instead.
Yes! As long as you use maple syrup to sweeten them they are! I kept them egg free for this reason.
No these bars are not low carb or keto.
Other healthy desserts you will love:
Recipe
Healthy Apple Pie Bars
Equipment
- Large bowl
- 8 inch square baking pan
Ingredients
Shortbread Crust Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoon coconut flour
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
Apple Layer Ingredients
- 3 red apples, peeled and cut into small pieces
- 3 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Caramel Layer Ingredients
- 1 cup cashew butter
- 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
Instructions
Shortbread Layer Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F.
- Add all the crust ingredients to a bowl and blend well with a spoon or fork.
- Line an 8" x 8" glass baking dish with parchment paper and transfer the dough to the pan and press down with a spoon until you have an even layer.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes, until the edges are golden.
- While the crust is baking, you can start making the other layers.
Apple Layer Instructions
- Place a pot or large pan on the stove on medium heat and add the coconut oil. Once the oil is melted, add the other ingredients.
- Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the apples are the consistency you desire.
Caramel Layer Instructions
- Place all the ingredients into a large bowl and stir well until it's smooth.
- Pour approximately 3/4 of the caramel over the shortbread crust, and spread evenly until smooth.
- Using a slotted spoon, spoon the apples over the caramel.
- Drizzle the remaining caramel sauce over the apples.
- Place the pan in the freezer for 1-2 hours, until the caramel hardens.
- Remove the pan from the freezer and cut the bars into pieces and enjoy!
Notes
- You don't have to peel the apples if you don't want to.
- You can use any type of sweet red apple for this recipe. My favourites are Honey Crisp, Gala and Pink Lady.
- Nutritional values are an estimate and will vary depending on the exact ingredients used.
Kristie
Yuuuummm, so good!