Low Carb Apple Crisp
October 30, 2020
Introduction
They say that you haven’t truly experienced fall if you haven’t had a slice of an apple crisp. It’s one of the season’s favorite comfort food, after all. But what if you’re cutting down on carbs and sugar? Can you no longer enjoy a warm slice of this fall favorite?
Our recipe has swapped out traditional flour for almond flour, creating a crispy topping that’s both gluten-free and low in carbs. To sweeten the deal, we’ve used monk fruit, a natural sweetener that won’t cause blood sugar spikes. A pinch of xanthan gum ensures the perfect texture, while a touch of salt brings all the flavors into balance.
Most notably, our version trades traditional flour for almond flour for a gluten-free topping and monk fruit to sweeten the deal. A pinch of xanthan gum makes the perfect texture and a touch of salt brings all the flavors into balance.
As you spoon the apple filling into your baking dish and scatter the almond flour crisp over the top, anticipation builds. And in just under 20 to 25 minutes in the oven, the moment of truth arrives—the crisp topping turns a glorious golden brown while the fragrant bubbles of the apple filling peeks through.
Whether planning a special gathering (Thanksgiving anyone?) or indulging alone, we’ve got you covered with this healthier keto apple crisp recipe! It has all that apple pie goodness without the high-carb crust and high-sugar filling. Grab your apron, preheat that oven, and ready yourself for this guilt-free slice of apple heaven.
Reviews
35 minutes
10 Slices
Ingredients
Apple Filling
| 4-5 apples peeled or unpeeled, cut in halves | |
| 4 fluid ounces of butter | |
| 1/2 cup Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener (or sweetener of choice) | |
| 1 tsp vanilla extract | |
| 1 tbsp cinnamon |
Crisp Topping
| 3 fluid ounces of butter | |
| 1 1/2 cups almond flour | |
| 1/2 cup Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener (or sweetener of choice) | |
| 1/2 tsp xanthan gum | |
| Pinch of salt |
Nutritional Information
Directions
Slice 4-5 apples.
Using a skillet, brown your butter for the apple filling.
Add the sliced apples, vanilla extract, Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, and cinnamon into the skillet with the melted butter.
Let the ingredients sit there for about 5-7 minutes, stirring periodically.
Transfer the apple filling to a baking dish or clear pie plate.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using a skillet, brown your butter for the crumble.
In a mixing bowl, pour in all the other ingredients for making the crisp topping.
Once the melted butter has turned golden brown, pour it into the mixing bowl with the other ingredients.
Mix all the ingredients until small clumps form.
Add the crisp on top of the apple filling. Make sure to cover all the apples!
Remove the baking dish from the oven and let it cool for a while.
Notes
Tools
- Vegetable or fruit peeler: Peeling you apples reduces the carb content of the final dish, consequently this recipe calls for peeled apples.
- Mixing bowl: this is where you'll be mixing all the ingredients to make the apple crisp topping.
- Baking dish or clear pie plate: this is where you'll be baking and serving your keto apple crisp. If you want it to have a pie shape, use a clear pie plate.
Misc Notes
- You can make this apple crisp recipe dairy-free. Just replace the butter with coconut oil (melted) and you should be good to go. The ratio of coconut oil to butter is 1:1, so no need to adjust the proportions.
- If you're allergic to nuts, you can replace almond flour with sunflower seed flour. It's low in carbs, high in protein, gluten-free, and most importantly, doesn't contain nuts. It also has a 1:1 ratio to almond flour.
- For easier blending of the ingredients for the crisp topping, you can use a blender or food processor.
- This low carb apple crisp recipe goes well with vanilla ice cream. Be sure to pick a gluten-free brand. You wouldn't want to ruin your low carb diet because of some random vanilla ice cream. So make sure to top off your low carb apple crisp with a keto vanilla ice cream.
Key Ingredients and Tools
Apples
The main ingredient of this low-carb dish. For this recipe, we’ll be using 4-5 whole apples, but you can use more if you want your apple crisp to have more of that tart apple flavor. You can have it peeled or unpeeled, depending on your preference. We recommend using Granny Smith apples as they’re known for their wonderful tart flavor, firm texture and fewest carbs.
Tip: the key to any great-tasting fruit pie is to use fresh fruit. To ensure that your keto apple crisp will turn out great and tasty, it’s recommended that you use fresh apples for your apple filling.
Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener
As our brown sugar replacement, we’ll be using the ever-reliable Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener. It’s our preferred keto-friendly sweetener as it is zero glycemic, is 100% natural, and doesn’t have an aftertaste. It also has a 1:1 ratio to sugar, making it easier to convert traditional apple crisp recipes into keto-friendly ones.
We’ll be using it for the apple filling and the crisp that goes on top.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a spice commonly used in apple-based desserts, and it certainly fits our low-carb apple crisp recipe. Its warm and slightly sweet flavor will pair exceptionally with the natural sweetness of apples. It will also add a pleasant and aromatic taste to our apple crisp, enhancing its overall taste.
Cinnamon just has a natural affinity for apples. When paired together, they’ll create a classic and harmonious flavor combination that many people associate with fall. It will add that needed spice to our keto apple crisp.
Tip: you can substitute cinnamon with the aptly named apple pie spice if cinnamon doesn’t work for you. Nutmeg and ginger should work too.
Almond Flour
To create our crisp, we’ll be needing flour. Regular wheat flour and oats are out of the table as they are high in carbs, making them non-keto. That’s where almond flour comes in. Almond flour is a keto-friendly flour substitute that is entirely made from ground, blanched almonds. It’s perfect for making keto desserts such as our keto apple crisp.
As to which almond flour you should use, we recommend that you use blanched almond flour for the best results. It’s made from almonds with their skins removed. This results in a finer compared to regular almond flour or almond meal. The removal of almond skins also helps to minimize any potential bitter or nutty aftertaste.
Blanched almond flour will give our crisp topping a more delicate and crisp texture.
Xanthan Gum
Xantham gum is an ingredient commonly used in many food items such as salad dressings, fruit juices, ice cream, and many more. It’s gluten-free, which makes it perfect for our low-carb keto apple crisp recipe.
We’ll be using it to thicken our apple crisp topping, giving it a crumbly texture. Do note that it’s highly concentrated, so use it sparingly to avoid over-thickening the crisp topping. In this recipe, we’ll only be using 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum.
Frequently Asked Questions
It sure would as well as give it a nice crunch! If you are doing so because you are fan of everything pecans, you are in luck as we have quite a few pecan flavored desserts to check out.
Yes, you can. Wrap tightly the baking dish or pie plate with the leftover apple crisp using a plastic wrap. Or you can transfer the leftovers to an airtight container. Store it in the fridge for up to four days.
If you need to store the leftover apple crisp for a little bit longer, you can put it in the freezer instead. It should be good for up to 2-3 months.
No, it won’t. You should never microwave apple crisp as it will overcook its crumble topping. Instead, you should place it in a preheated oven, and let it sit there until it’s warm.
Yes, you can omit xanthan gum but it will change the texture of apple crisp. You can instead substitute it with another keto-friendly ingredient such as psyllium husk, cornstarch, unflavored gelatin, or egg whites. Make sure to check the ratios so that you can proportion your xanthan gum substitute correctly.
Yes, you can add lemon juice to this apple crisp recipe. It will give your apple crisp a tangy flavor, which will help balance the sweetness and tartness of the apples. Add the lemon juice together with sliced apples, vanilla extract, Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener, and cinnamon.
For the best result, use fresh lemon juice.
You can, but it will change the texture of your low carb apple crisp. It will result in a darker and denser low carb apple crisp.
Wrap Up
What do you get if you take out all the carbs and sugar from a traditional apple pie? You get this wonderful keto apple crisp. Well, maybe not all the carbs, but most of the carbs! This low-carb apple crisp only amounts to 6.8g net carbs per serving. A regular apple pie usually has 57.5g net carbs per serving. What a difference!
With this recipe, you can enjoy eating a fall favorite without having to worry about carbs, sugar, or gluten. So go ahead, take a slice of this wonderful keto apple crisp, and eat it guilt-free! Everyone will surely love it, be they keto or non-keto.
And you don’t have to wait for fall to enjoy this tasty treat. Have it whenever you want to. Have it as a snack or serve it at a party. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the deliciousness of a guilt-free keto apple crisp.
