Why I love this apple pie bar recipe
I’m a huge fan of easy desserts. If it comes in brownies or bar form, I’m all in. If you can make them even easier with only five ingredients, even better. That’s what I did when I made my cranberry bars, which were originally inspired by my favorite vegan apple crisp topping, and they were a hit in our house.
While they’re a great option for using up leftover cranberry sauce after Thanksgiving, I am still in apple mode right now. Mostly because my daughter’s school just had an apple fundraiser and I have two 5 pound bags of apples to use.
If you like this recipe, you have to try these blueberry crumble pie , and these vegan banana pudding and this ginger peach galette.
Searching for more apple recipes? apple rosemary chicken and dumplings / fennel apple salad / maple bourbon apple tarts
Ingredient notes:
- Green apples – Go for green apples. This year, I got one bag of honeycrisps and one bag of cortland apples, and I have big apple-baking plans. I intend to bake with every single green apple I get because they’re the best choice for baking. The tartness really holds up well and turns just-sweet-enough in the oven.
- Dairy free butter – You can use your favorite plant based butter or a butter flavored vegetable shortening. I typically use Earth Balance vegan buttery sticks.
- Granola – Make sure to check your labels, some granolas can contain hidden dairy ingredients.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make apple pie bars
First, make the crust. Combine your ingredients in a food processor. Blend or pulse until a dough forms. Remove the dough and press it into your baking dish. You can line the dish with parchment paper if you want, but there should be enough fat in the crust to prevent it from sticking (just like pie crust).
Second, prepare the apple filling. You want to make sure your apples are diced pretty small here. You can peel them if you want, but I like the extra flavor they add to the bars, and I’m way too lazy to bother peeling. Place the filling ingredients in a bowl and stir to evenly coat the apples in sugar and cornstarch. Top you crust with the apple mixture.
Next, make a crumb topping. Add your ingredients to food processor and pulse until a small crumb-like texture forms. Make sure your granola is dairy free. I bought Cascadian Farm Organic this time, but all you have to do is read the label to see if milk (or any milk derivatives are listed). Sprinkle streusel topping over your apples.
Bake them. Bake your bars at 375˚F for about 40 minutes. Your crumb topping should be slightly golden and your should see a little bubbling of the apple juices beneath the crumb topping and around the edges.
Apple Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 12 tablespoons vegan butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
For the apple filling:
- 6 apples, chopped
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
For the crumb topping:
- 6 tablespoons vegan butter
- 1 cup granola*
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F.
- In a food processor, blend crust ingredients until a dough forms. Remove from bowl and press into an 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Combine filling ingredients in a large bowl and stir to combine. Pour over crust.
- In a food processor, combine crumb topping ingredients. Blend until a small crumb forms. Crumble evenly over apple filling.
- Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow bars to cool completely before removing from pan and slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Just wondering if oatmeal would work for the crumble, like regular crumble? Or why granola? Does it crispier?
I just used oatmeal instead of granola
This recipe was great. We are not a vegan household so I adjusted to regular unsalted butter. I have made this 2x now. The both times I used old fashion oats as I didn’t have granola. The first time I followed the measurements (except using store bought pie dough and added a little salt to the crumble) but the topping came out a little dry. So the second time I used 8Tbs of butter( 1 stick). The crumb topping clumped together and the recipe is perfect. We got rave reviews!
We love cranberry and I have leftover homemade cranberry sauce. Do you think it would work if I used that in place of the apples to make a vegan cranberry dessert??
This is a really great recipe because I love homemade apple pie but I dread rolling out the crust.
I made this today and I tweaked it a tiny bit. I used my favourite Northern Spy apples. I wanted a slightly thicker apple layer so I added two extra apples. I reduced the sugar in the filling to 1/4 cup because my apples weren’t as tart as Granny Smiths.
I also didn’t have enough granola so I used 1/2 cup granola and 1/2 rolled oats.
My house smells wonderful and the bars were a success. I’m already looking forward to having one with coffee tomorrow morning.