Old Fashioned Easy Keto Apple Crisp

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This Keto Apple Crisp tastes just like Autumn! Cinnamon and low carb Bramley apples unite under a blanket of buttery almonds and walnuts, crisped to perfection. This easy keto dessert takes just 10 minutes to prepare and goes perfectly with a hot cup of chai. It’s gluten-free, vegan, and paleo-friendly!

This post was originally published on October 8th, 2021.

Growing up, we had apple crisp regularly and it was definitely one of my favorite desserts. This low carb version tastes just as good as your grandma’s, with the butter (of course!) but without the sugar!

❤️ Why you will love this Keto Apple Crisp Recipe

• It’s so quick and easy to prepare! Just whip up the apple layer, then the crisp, then layer them in a baking dish or cast iron and…bake!
• This Low Carb Apple Crisp is really keto friendly! Each serving comes to 4.6g net carbs if you use Bramley apples as I did.
• It’s delicious! Cinnamon and actual apples, what’s not to love? The crumble topping is my favorite part, especially the walnuts. So good!
• It’s perfect for sharing. Prep and bake this if you have company over. Your house will smell amazing AND you’ll get to tuck into a yummy dessert. Serve it with a large scoop of this Keto Salted Caramel Ice Cream (my fav!).
• You can make it into Paleo Apple Crisp! You can replace the erythritol (affiliate) with other natural sweeteners like monk fruit sugar, coconut sugar, or stevia, and the butter with ghee or coconut oil.
• Can it be vegan? Why not! To make Vegan Apple Crisp, just use plant-based butter or coconut oil instead of dairy. You want to make sure the butter is hard butter and not the soft, spreadable type.

🗝️ Key Ingredients

• Bramley apples: These specific apples are large cooking apples found everywhere in the UK. They weigh around 100g each and have 8.9 grams of net carbs per apple. For this keto apple dessert, each serving has 1/2 an apple in it which comes to around 4.4g net carbs. If you can’t find Bramley apples, you can substitute chayote squash or zucchini (believe it or not!). If you’re using zucchini, add half a teaspoon of xanthan gum to the zucchini mixture to thicken it up.
• Erythritol: I added both white sugar erythritol and brown sugar erythritol to this low-carb apple crisp. Feel free to substitute your favorite zero carb sweetener.
• Cinnamon: This fall dessert just needed an extra oomph of warmth, and the cinnamon is perfect for that. You could substitute it for pumpkin pie spice if desired.
• Vanilla extract: Vanilla is a great ingredient to use for bringing out warm and sweet flavors. You can omit it if needed.
• Almond flour: The crumb topping is so delicious thanks to the almond flour. Essentially it turns into a sweet buttery roasted nut topping.
• Butter: I used unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, omit the pinch of salt. You can also substitute butter for ghee or a vegan alternative if desired.
• Walnuts: Walnuts taste SO delicious in the sugar-free apple crisp topping. Pecans are a great substitute.
• Salt: Just a pinch brings all of the other flavors together. Magic!

🥣 How to make Keto Apple Crisp

1. Prepare your oven and baking dish: Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C, and if you’re using an 8×8 baking dish, grease it with butter. If you’re using a cast iron pan, it’ll be seasoned already.

2. Prepare the apple layer: Chop the apples into small pieces and add them to a mixing bowl along with the white erythritol, vanilla extract, and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Mix well. 

3. Add them to the dish: Add the apple slices to the bottom of the pan or dish. 

4. Mix the crumble topping: In a mixing bowl (can be the same as before), add almond meal, brown erythritol, 3/4 tsp cinnamon, butter, and a pinch of salt. Massage the butter into the mixture with your fingers. It should be nice and crumbly. Note: you can also do this in a food processor.

5. Add walnuts: Stir in the walnuts. 

6. Add to the dish: Add the crisp topping to the apples and press down a little. 

7. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until the edges begin to turn golden brown and the apples below are bubbly.

8. Serve with salted caramel or vanilla ice cream, or cream. 

🫙 Storage and Reheating Instructions

• Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• Reheat in the microwave, oven, or glass bowl in the air fryer until heated through.

🍎 What are Bramley apples and what can I substitute?

Bramley apples are British cooking apples! They are fairly large, have a very tart flavor, and are not pleasant to eat on their own, but perfect for making applesauce, apple pie, apple crisp, and any other apple delights.

If you can’t find Bramley apples in your local shop, try regular cooking apples or Granny Smiths. As Bramley apples are much larger, you will need 5 or 6 Granny Smith apples instead of 3, and check the carb count with your macros – they may be a little high carb for your own needs!

If you want to stick to as low carb a diet as possible, try zucchini with a little xanthan gum (it works!!) or chayote squash instead.

🌱 Vegan and paleo substitutes

You can make this low-carb recipe into a Vegan Apple Crisp by switching the butter to a dairy-free hard butter or coconut oil.

If you want to make this a Paleo Apple Crisp, you can substitute erythritol (even though it is paleo) for your preferred sugar alternative like stevia, monk fruit, or coconut sugar, and also switch the butter to ghee or coconut oil.

🍏 Is there a low-carb apple you can eat?

Yes! Granny Smith apples have around 12g net carbs. Definitely not low enough for a very strict keto-er, but perfect for a low carb diet.

🤔 Are apples keto-friendly?

Generally, no, the apples that most people eat like golden delicious, fuji apples, and gala apples are too sweet (carby) for the keto diet. I chose Bramley apples because they only have 8.9g net carbs each, (as opposed to 20g+ with regular eating apples). They really aren’t very sweet, but luckily in desserts, you can add sweeteners like erythritol!

🤷‍♀️ Is Apple Crisp the same as Apple Crumble?

Here in the UK and also in Australia, traditional apple crisp and crumble are interchangeable. In the US, however, Apple Crisp usually contains rolled oats, nuts, and all-purpose flour whereas Apple Crumble skips the oats and nuts, and uses only flour.

😋 More low carb desserts you will love

• Easy Pumpkin Pudding
• Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites
• The BEST Keto Chocolate Fudge
• Easy Keto Peanut Butter Fudge
• Delicious Keto Coconut Clusters

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