This Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Pie has a crispy, flaky crust and is loaded with juicy, salted caramel-flavoured apples subtly spiced with toasty cinnamon.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword gluten-free apple pie, vegan apple pie, vegan gluten-free pie
150g(1 ¼cup)gluten-free flour blendplus more for rolling (or sub rice flour, or plain all-purpose flour if not gluten-free)
14tablespoons(14tablespoons)water
Instructions
For the apples:
Place the apples, coconut oil, coconut sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a pan with a lid.
Leave to cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes*** until slightly softened - doesn’t matter if not completely cooked.
Dissolve the cornflour in a tiny splash of water in a small bowl.
Add the cornflour and water mixture and mix well.
Once the apples have thickened (takes about 30 seconds), turn off the heat.
For the pastry:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl along with about 14 tablespoons of water, until it forms a firm dough - add the water a few tablespoons at a time so that you don’t add too much!
You can keep this pastry dough in the fridge for up to a day if you like, but there is no need to chill it before using.
Divide the pastry into two and add one half to a greased pie dish. Use your fingers to carefully press it across the bottom and up the sides of the dish - I used a 9 inch/22.5 cm pie dish.
Lay out a sheet of greaseproof baking paper on a counter and use a rolling pin to roll out the remaining pastry dough into a circular shape large enough to cover the pie.
Once you have this ready, transfer the apple mixture into the pie crust - don’t do this before you have the top crust ready, as the warm apple mixture will melt the coconut oil in the pie crust, making it harder to work with.
Now place the top layer of pastry on top of the pie crust - you can do this easily by picking up the baking paper from the counter and flipping it over so that it’s resting paper side-up on top of the pie.
Once the top layer of pie crust is comfortably sitting on top of the pie, carefully peel off the baking paper.
Use your fingers to secure the top layer of crust on top of the crust, by pressing down on all the edges around the pie, making sure they are properly sealed.
You can use a fork or your fingers to create a pretty pattern around the edge if you like.
Use a knife to create a small slit in the middle of the top of the pie crust to create an 'air hole' so the pie doesn't break open in the oven!
Bake in oven for around 30 minutes, until the pastry crust is firm to the touch and golden brown.
Leave to cool a little before cutting, but it tastes best served warm from the oven!
Keeps covered in the fridge for up to a few days.
Video
Notes
*The amount of coconut sugar (or other sweetener) needed will depend on the type of apples you use as some are more sour or more naturally sweet than others. It's best to taste the cooked apples and add extra coconut sugar if necessary. You can use normal sugar or some other sweetener (like maple syrup) instead of the coconut sugar, but if using a liquid sweetener I'd recommend adding 1 teaspoon cornflour (cornstarch) to the uncooked apple mixture to make sure the apples aren't too watery. Make sure to mix the cornflour into the apples completely to make sure the cornflour doesn't clump up.**You can alternatively use almond flour.***Cooking time will depend on the type of apples you use - some varieties will require a shorter cooking time and others will require a longer cooking time. I'd recommend checking at 10-minute intervals and cooking until apple pieces are tender enough to gently pierce with a fork.
You can use any type of apples you like. For best results, I recommend a crisp, slightly tart apple, or even a mixture of sweet and tart apples.
Cooking apples can be used too, but generally require a longer cooking time and require more coconut sugar (or other sweetener).