These Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Crumble Bars are crunchy and chewy, perfectly spiced and filled with tender caramel apples.

A stack of three apple crumble bars on a marble slab against a grey background

Why you'll love these Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Crumble Bars:

they're undetectably vegan and gluten-free
they're chewy and crunchy
they're filled with tender and silky apples
they taste like salted caramel
they're warmly spiced
they're refined sugar free
they're nut-free optional
they're oil-free optional
they're delicious hot or cold
they're a perfect dessert, breakfast or snack for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

How to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Crumble Bars

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe including measurements and instructions.

Place the coconut oil, coconut sugar, apples, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a pan.

Sliced raw apples with cinnamon and coconut sugar in a silver saucepan against a marble background

Leave to cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes until soft.
Dissolve the cornflour (cornstarch) in a tiny splash of water in a small bowl.
Once the apples have cooked, add the cornflour and water mixture and mix well.
Once the apples have thickened (takes about 30 seconds), turn off the heat.

Cooked brown sliced apples in a silver saucepan against a marble background

Place all the ingredients for the base and topping in a food processor.

Dates, oats and coconut oil in a food processor against a marble background

Whizz until you get a fairly smooth and firm dough.

Raw apple crumble bar base and topping in a food processor against a marble background

Divide the dough for the base and topping into thirds.
Take two thirds and place into a square baking tin lined with baking paper (I used a 23cm/9inch square baking tin).
Spread it carefully across the bottom of the tin, using the bottom of a glass to even out the surface, if necessary.

Raw apple crumble bar base in a square baking tin lined with brown baking paper

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until firm to the touch.

Baked apple crumble bar base in a square baking tin lined with brown baking paper

Spread the cooked apple mixture over the base.

Apple crumble bar filling on top of the base in a square baking tin lined with brown baking paper

Use your fingers to crumble the rest of the dough over the top until it is all used up and the apples are roughly covered.

Apple crumble bars with raw topping in a square baking tin lined with brown baking paper

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy on top.

A block of apple crumble bars in a square baking tin lined with brown baking paper

Leave to cool before cutting into squares.

Five square apple crumble bars against a sheet of brown baking paper

How to serve these Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Crumble Bars

These Apple Crumble Bars can be enjoyed hot or cold. They're delicious by themselves but also taste amazing with plant-based ice cream or yogurt.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

you can use any type of plant-based milk: almond milk, cashew milk, oat milk, rice milk, soy milk etc
if you're not into apples, you can use any type of fruit: pears, peaches, plums, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, raspberries etc (just adjust cooking time accordingly)
you can top it with any type of chopped nuts before baking: pecan nuts, walnuts, pistachios, desiccated coconut, flaked coconut etc
for an oil-free option, omit the coconut oil from the apples and substitute the coconut oil in the crumble topping with nut butter such as almond butter or peanut butter
for a nut-free option, use a nut-free plant-based milk.

How long do these Apple Crumble Bars keep for?

These Apple Crumble Bars keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

A square apple crumble bar held up with a silver spatula against a grey background

More vegan apple desserts:

If you try out this recipe or anything else from my blog, I’d really love to hear any feedback! Please give it a rating, leave a comment, or tag a photo @rhiansrecipes #rhiansrecipes on Instagram! Thank you.