These Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Pie Bars are the perfect dessert: a "buttery" base with tender, warmly spiced, caramel-flavoured apples and nutty crumble topping. They're great for Thanksgiving and Christmas and are an excellent alternative to Apple Pie!

Apple pie bar on a marble slab against a dark brown background

Why does this recipe use brown rice flour?

You can use white rice flour, but I found the texture was much better with brown rice flour. If you can't find brown rice flour in your local supermarket, you'll be able to find it in local health stores or online.

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

they're undetectably vegan and gluten-free
they have a "buttery" base and crumble topping
they're filled with tender, juicy apples
they taste like salted caramel
they're warmly spiced and fragrant
they're easy to make
they're refined sugar free
they're an excellent make-ahead dessert
they're perfect for sharing
they're great for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

How to make these Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Pie Bars

Scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe.

Mix together the ingredients for the dough in a glass mixing bowl.

Transfer one half into a square baking tin.

Tip: Line the tin with greased baking paper to make it easier to remove the bars after.

Use your fingers to push the mixture all the way to the edges, then use a spatula to press down on it until the surface is completely even.

Raw pastry dough spread along the bottom of a square baking tin

Bake in oven for 10 minutes - you'll be baking this again so you don't want to over-bake at this stage!

Cooked pastry dough along the bottom of a square baking tin

Add the oats for the crumble topping to the remaining half of the dough and mix well.
Place in the fridge while you make the rest - this will help it firm up and make it easier to crumble over the top after.

Raw pastry dough with oats in a glass mixing bowl

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

Sliced raw apples with cinnamon and coconut sugar in a saucepan

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 saucepan

Place the cooked apples over the cooked base until completely evenly covered.

Cooked caramel sliced apples in a square baking tin over pastry

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

Crumble and oats on top of pumpkin pie filling in a square baking tin

Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Baked apple pie bars in a square baking tin

Leave to cool completely before cutting.

Baked apple pie bars but into 16 pieces in a square baking tin

How long do these Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Pie Bars keep for?

These Apple Pie Bars do taste best when fresh, but they keep covered in the fridge for up to a few days.

Substitutions you can make to this recipe:

you can substitute the coconut oil with coconut butter
you can use any type of liquid sweetener: maple syrup, agave syrup, brown rice syrup etc
the ground almonds (almond meal) can be substituted with ground walnuts
for a nut-free version, use ground sunflower seeds instead of ground almonds and use a nut-free plant-based milk
the cornflour (cornstarch) can be replaced with tapioca starch
you can replace the brown rice flour with plain flour if you're not gluten-free.
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).

Substitutions to be careful of:

you can use white rice flour but the texture is much better with brown rice flour.

Three apple pie bars with crumble topping on a marble 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.

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