It’s not difficult to feel swamped by food and food preparation if you are cooking for your family every night. Even if you enjoy cooking as I do you still need a few go-to dishes such as a basic easy gluten free apple crisp recipe with cranberries.  And seriously, who doesn’t love a great recipe for apple crisp?

My Healthy Recipe for Apple Crisp Really is EASY… and Quick!

My recipe for apple crisp takes less than 10 minutes of actual hands-on cooking time to throw together and get in the oven. It’s perfect to make before dinner or before guests arrive. The smell of this recipe for apple crisp with cranberries baking makes the whole house smell wonderful.

A Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe to Help You Eat Clean

Healthy dessert recipes that actually taste good can be challenging to make but fruit-based desserts are often the easiest of all to make both healthy and tasty. I’m always experimenting with a baked apple dish of some sort and recently I got the idea to do a vegan (no-butter) healthy apple crisp recipe with the addition of cranberries and ginger.

The cranberries liven things up and add a burst of brightness (in both flavor and color) and the spiciness from the ginger actually brings out the natural sweetness of the apples. In fact, my entire recipe for apple crisp only has a total 2/3’s cup of coconut sugar (this is in sharp contrast to the 2 cups of sugar called for in your average apple crisp recipe!).

In addition to being low in sugar, this apple crisp recipe is also spiked with omega-3, fiber-rich and lignan-rich flaxseeds and whole grain rolled oats.

Instead of refined “all-purpose” flour it’s made with gluten free flour. And, instead of trans-fat laden margarine or shortening I substituted a “clean” fat in the form of organic coconut butter.

Oh! and I always leave the skins on my apples because that’s where most of the fiber is. We highly recommend swapping the corer/peeler/slicer that I used for years with a standard chef knife (the ones we use have a lifetime guarantee!!). So, instead of cutting out all of the fiber, minerals, vitamins, polyphenols and antioxidants, you are getting the best out of keeping your apple skins.

Anyway, all in all, my healthy recipe for apple crisp recipe is actually nutritious enough and low enough in sugar that you could even eat it for breakfast.

Why you Should Always Use a Pasty Blender

Years ago, my mom gifted with me a pasty blender and taught me how to use it to make crisp topping. It’s a life lesson that I have never regretted. As easy as it is to just toss your hands in a bowl, it softens the coconut butter or butter and doesn’t make the crisp as flaky. To keep the cold coconut butter or butter cold, don’t use your hands. Pastry Blender’s are typically less than $12 and you’ll have it forever. You can find it here.

The Healthiest, Cleanest Baking Dish

My favorite dish to bake in is my old classic deep dish baker from Pampered Chef. After spending a lot of time searching their site, I’m sad to report, I can’t find my baking dish anywhere. However, they still carry the rectangular baker stoneware and if you want to make a half batch of my recipe for apple crisp with cranberries, then check out their little loaf pan stoneware.

If you want to learn more about why we love stoneware as the greenest, cleanest, healthiest bakeware, check out this post.

We love unglazed stoneware because that’s all it is, unglazed, uncoated stoneware that is pure and clean to bake with. It’s quite simple really. Here are 6 things that we love about using stoneware:

How to Make the Easy Apple Crisp Recipe Extra Special for Guests

If you happen to be making this treat for guests and want to make it super special and doubly yummy try, then you must try this! Pour a little amaretto on top of the apple crisp just before serving. You can also serve with a dollop of fresh coconut whipped cream.

A Quick Word on Why I Choose Organic Apples….

Conventionally grown apples have a a lot of pesticides. I admit I don’t buy all my produce organic (it’s just too expensive and not always practical) but, to reduce your exposure to toxins it’s worth the extra cost to seek out fresh organic apples.

Gluten Free Apple Crisp with Cranberries

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Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 3 organic Granny Smith apples, cored and sliced
• 3 organic Gala apples, cored and sliced
• 2 cups fresh organic cranberries
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons orange juice, fresh squeezed
• 1/3 cupcoconut palm sugar, try Nutiva Organic brand
• 1/3 cup almond flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

For the Topping:

• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup or 1-for-1 gluten free flour, such as King Arthur’s
• 1/2 cupCOLD organic coconut butter or unsalted butter
• 1/3 cupcoconut palm sugar, try Nutiva Organic brand
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseeds, such as Spectrum Organics
• 1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

For the Filling:

• Place all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl; use a large mixing spoon to mix well and set aside.

For the Topping:

• Start by placing the 1/2 cup of cold organic coconut butter or unsalted butter in the fridge (and remember, do not use your hands to mix this together!).
• Place all ingredients except pecans into a large mixing bowl. Use a pastry blender to blend your ingredients or a fork is second best. Do not use your hands, as it will add heat to your butter or coconut butter. Keeping your butter cold is important for perfect crisp topping.
• Add the chopped pecans to the mixture using a fork.

 

• Place the filling into a rectangular baker or a lightly greased a 9-inch round pie dish with extra virgin coconut oil. (The one pictured is my old classic Deep Dish Baker from Pampered Chef. If you are looking for the greenest baking pan, check out this post.)
• Scatter the topping over the filling.
• Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until apples and cranberries are soft.
• When done, remove apple crisp from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve warm.

 

 

Notes

Optional: Pour a little bit of amaretto or other liquor on top of the apple cranberry crisp before serving. Serve with a dollop of fresh whipped cream.