Apple pie is a classic dessert. It's also pretty easy to make an allergy-friendly version if you or your kiddos or guests have several dietary restrictions. I have lots of pies posted on the Gluten-Free DIYers blog already, with substitution information for making them dairy-free or egg-free, but I decided to give you a true and tested gluten-free vegan apple pie recipe here! I bake it all the time for my cottage bakery's customers, especially popular in the Fall.
You're going to love this recipe because the pie dough rolls beautifully and can be shaped into lattices and all kind of other pretty pie decorations. The crust has a great texture, and nobody will know it was made with limited allergens in mind!
Ingredients
You'll need mostly kitchen staples to bake this gluten-free vegan apple pie.
The only ingredient that may need some shopping around is my gluten-free dairy-free pastry flour mix. I make it in bulk, and then I have it on hand for several months.
Instructions
First, make my pastry flour mix mentioned above. Then,
- Mix all the dry ingredients for the crust together in a large bowl.
- Add the vegan butter, cut into small squares.
- Take a piece of vegan butter, and squish it between your thumb and index, so that it becomes covered in flour. Continue doing so until all the butter chunks have been nicely coated in pastry flour.
- Add ice water a little at a time, until the texture is just right for the mix to be shaped into a cohesive dough ball. Cover in plastic, and refrigerate 4-48 hours.
- In a large saucepan, cook the apples, sugar and spices. Drain and keep the liquids, and add corn starch to thicken into a sauce.
- Roll out the bottom pie crust, and fill the pan with cooked apples, topped with the thickened juices.
- Roll out the top pie crust, and cut into several long strips to create a lattice.
- If you've never created a lattice, you can watch my video from my mixed berry pie!
- Brush melted butter on top of the crust, and sprinkle coarse sugar on top to help it brown.
Hint: Always bake pies on a baking tray covered with aluminum foil, so that it catches any butter drippings instead of in the bottom of your oven!
Substitutions
This gluten-free vegan apple pie has no other allergens than the ingredients in your vegan butter. I use Miyoko's, which has coconut and cashews, but other vegan butters contain soy, or other nuts.
If you're not looking for a vegan recipe, you can check out my gluten-free pie crust with real butter.
Equipment
For my bakery, I always use disposable 9-inch pie pans, which you can find at the dollar store. I really like the ratio of crust to filling.
If you use a larger pie pan, you'll need to use the slider in the recipe card to adjust to your size.
Storage
Fruit pies are shelf-stable! I keep mine on the countertop covered with plastic wrap, for up to two days. I find that vegan pies tend to go stale a bit quicker, so it's best to eat them in that time frame. If you'll have more leftovers, you can freeze them by wrapping in plastic and storing in the freezer in an air-tight container for up to a month. Simply thaw at room temperature.
Related
Looking for other gluten-free and vegan ideas? You could also make my strawberry rhubarb crisp with vegan butter.
Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Pie
Equipment
- One 9-inch pie pan
- One rolling pin and mat
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 316 grams gluten-free dairy-free pastry flour 2¼ cup, plus more for rolling
- 3 grams baking powder ½ teaspoon
- 6 grams salt 1 teaspoon
- 185 grams vegan butter 13 tablespoons *note: use a vegan butter high in saturated fats like Miyoko's coconut-based vegan butter
- 50 grams ice water ¼ cup, plus more or less for necessary texture
For the Filling
- 900 grams apples 5 large apples, use a variety
- 50 grams sugar ¼ cup
- 70 grams brown sugar ⅓ cup
- 4 grams ground cinnamon 1½ teaspoon
- 1 gram ground nutmeg ½ teaspoon
- 3 grams salt ½ teaspoon
- 10 grams corn starch 1 tablespoon
- 10 grams apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoon
- 14 grams vegan butter 1 tablespoon, melted
- 1 pinch coarse sugar
Instructions
Make the Crust
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add small cut squares of vegan butter, and squish the butter between your index and thumb to fully coat each piece in pastry flour.
- Once all the butter has been incorporated into the pastry flour, slowly add ice water and mix with your hands.
- Enough water has been added when the dough forms together in a cohesive ball.
- Wrap in plastic, and store in the refrigerator 4-48 hours. Don't skip this step or your dough will be difficult to roll and shape! The flour needs time to hydrate, and the butter needs time in the cold to harden!
Make the Filling
- Peel and cut apples into slices. I like using different variety of apples, and different thickness of slices for texture.
- In a large saucepan, cook the cut apples, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
- Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the apples release their juices.
- Drain and keep the juices.
- Put the juices back in a saucepan on the stove, and bring to a boil.
- Mix corn starch and apple cider vinegar, and add them to the saucepan.
- Mix the juices until they thicken.
- Set aside the thickened juices and the cooked apples separately; you can refrigerate them if you're not ready to bake the pie immediately.
Make the Pie
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C)
- Split the pie dough in half, and roll half of it onto a lightly gluten-free floured rolling mat.
- Roll into a 10-inch round of dough, and gently place it in the pie pan.
- Add the apple filling, and top with the thickened juices.
- Roll out the rest of the pie dough, and cut into long strips for a lattice (or leave it whole, or decorate the top your favorite way!)
- If you've never made a lattice before, there is a link for a tutorial in the instruction section of this post.
- Brush the top of the pie crust with a tablespoon of melted butter, and sprinkle coarse sugar on top to help it brown.
- Place the pie pan on top of a baking tray covered with aluminum foil, and place in the middle of the preheated oven.
- Bake a total of 45-50 minutes, checking how the pie is browning at the 25 minute mark. If it browns too quickly, you can cover the edges of the crust in foil. Note that a vegan crust takes longer to brown than one with an egg wash.
- Remove from the oven, and cool on a rack. I like to eat the pie still slightly warm, but not hot. Enjoy!
Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers
A favorite at the bakery :)
Anthony
Best vegan pie crust ever!!