These easy paleo apple pie bars have a chewy almond flour crust and gooey apple filling. They're baked in the oven and best served with a dollop of coconut cream or vanilla ice cream. This recipe is paleo, vegan and gluten free!
I've decided that bar recipes are definitely up there in my top favorite desserts.
You know, Millionaire Bars, Cranberry Crumb Bars, Pumpkin Bars... I prefer them over an actual pie or cookie or cake, because they're so much easier to make.
These paleo apple pie bars have an almond flour crust (that tastes just like a pie crust) and a gooey apple filling that holds together well.
They can be eaten hot or cold - I actually prefer cold. However, I've definitely been caught stealing a couple bites straight from the pan. These bars are also delicious right out of the fridge (they cut best this way) or even eaten frozen. Yes, that's right - they freeze well!
Why You'll Love these Easy Apple Pie Bars
- paleo and vegan friendly
- gluten free and grain free - these apple bars have an almond flour crust and are made without wheat flour
- dairy free - no butter or milk
- low in added sugar - sweetened with just a bit of maple syrup
- easy to make - so much quicker than baking a pie
Ingredients
Here's what you need to make these paleo apple pie bars:
For the Crust:
- blanched almond flour
- tapioca starch (or arrowroot)
- cinnamon
- salt
- coconut oil
- maple syrup
- water
For the Filling:
- apples
- coconut oil
- maple syrup
- lemon juice (optional)
- vanilla extract
- tapioca starch (or arrowroot)
- cinnamon
Ingredient Tips and Substitutions
- Need this recipe to be nut free? For a nut free apple bar, swap the almond flour for tigernut flour.
- Apples to use: I used Criterion apples, which we picked from a nearby apple orchard, however many other apple varieties will work for this recipe. Some suggestions include: Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, and Jonagold.
- Don't like coconut oil? You can use palm shortening or butter in place of the coconut oil. Just note, butter is not strict paleo.
How to Make Paleo Apple Pie Bars
For these apple pie bars, you will first make the crust, then the filling and lastly, bake the bars in the oven. They can be eaten warm or chilled, but cut best after chilling in the fridge overnight.
- First, Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Combine the dry crust ingredients, then mix in the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to mix the dough, then knead the dough with your hands.
- Firmly press the dough into your lined pan. Set aside while you make the filling.
- Next, make the filling. Cut the apples into small pieces (see photo below for reference), removing the core and seeds. There's no need to peel the skin, but you may do so if you wish.
- Place the apples in a large mixing bowl and coat with coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and vanilla. Then add in the tapioca and cinnamon, mixing until well coated.
- Transfer the apples to a frying pan and cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes, or until the apples have softened and the mixture has thickened. Be sure to stir frequently so that the filling does not burn.
- Pour the apple filling over the crust. Use a spatula to smooth out the filling in an even, level layer.
- Next, place the bars in your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- Lastly, cool the bars to room temperature in the pan. You may serve the bars warm, but they cut better after they've had time to chill. So, I recommend placing the apple bars in the fridge overnight, or for a few hours, cutting and then serving chilled.
How to Serve Apple Pie Bars
There's nothing quite like apple pie with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream! Right??
Anyway, my favorite Paleo toppings include the following:
- paleo vanilla ice cream
- coconut cream (cream from a can of full fat coconut milk or can of coconut cream)
- dairy free yogurt with a drizzle of maple syrup
- caramel sauce (homemade or store bought)
For this recipe, I topped the apple pie bars with coconut cream and cinnamon. You could even mix in a little maple syrup for a sweeter topping.
Storage
These bars must be kept in an air-tight container in the fridge or freezer. They taste great chilled - even eaten straight from the freezer. (Yes, they can be kept in the freezer!!)
If freezing these bars, I recommend cutting first.
More Paleo Apple Recipes
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Easy Paleo Apple Pie Bars (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8" x 8" pan
Description
These easy paleo apple pie bars have an almond flour crust and a lightly sweetened apple filling. They're paleo, vegan and gluten free.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups blanched almond flour (140g)
- ⅓ cup tapioca starch (40g)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 Tbsp water
Filling
- 4 medium apples (500g or about 5 cups thinly chopped)
- 3 Tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8" x 8" glass baking dish with parchment paper.
- For the Crust: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients for the crust. This includes the almond flour, tapioca starch, cinnamon and salt. Mix, then add in the remaining crust ingredients (coconut oil, maple syrup, water). Mix first with a spatula, then use your hands to combine the dough.
- Firmly press the crust dough into the baking dish. Set aside.
- For the Filling: Thinly slice the apples and cut into about ½" pieces (remove the core, but no need to peel the skin).
- Place the cut apples in a large mixing bowl and combine with the coconut oil, maple syrup, lemon juice and vanilla. Then mix in the tapioca starch and cinnamon.
- Place the apples on a large frying pan and cook on medium heat for 10-12 minutes, or until tender. Stir frequently so that the mixture doesn't burn. The apple filling is done when the apples are soft and the mixture has thickened.
- Pour the apple filling over the crust and smooth out in an even, level layer.
- Place in your preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- After baking, remove from oven and cool in pan to room temperature.
- Bars cut best after sitting a night in the fridge, but can be eaten warm or cold.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.
Janelle
These were really good. I made the crust with almond flour instead of pecan and used honey crisp apples.
Melinda
Mine was a disaster! All the tapioca flour stuck to the bottom of the pan when I cooked the apples- and I didn’t have nearly enough apple filling even though I diced up an extra apple for good measure.
Katie
I'm sorry to hear that. Did you coat the apples before cooking them and cook on medium heat? Did you use an 8"x8" pan? A larger pan will need more apples.
Katie
This crust for this recipe used to be made with pecan flour, but I updated it to use almond flour. My family and I thoroughly enjoyed this new version of apple pie bars and we hope you do too! 🙂
Audrey
Did this recipe but used tiger nut flour instead of almond flour, and arrowroot to replace tapioca. It turned out crumbly, but it tasted amazing! I've been making some of these recipes, and my family likes it!
Katie
Thank you for sharing your substitutions and the results! So glad they tasted good with tigernut flour 🙂
Emma Hallam
Made this today exactly like the recipe except I subbed for cornstarch because I didn’t have tapioca and OH MY GOODNESS they are delicious!! I’m always a little iffy with almond flour desserts but this one is fantastic!
Katie
Oh so glad you liked them! Also glad the cornstarch swap worked for you 🙂
Penny
I doubled the apples and it was perfect amount. I tried using the starch like you said and won’t do that again, just big glops of gooey stuff, but strained them out, and used the apples without the juice. Very tasty, everyone loved them. Sweet, but not too sweet. thank you for your recipe. I will definitely make these again.
Mary
Can I make this recipe using chopped pecans instead of apples? My husband doesn't eat cooked apples. If so how much chopped pecans?
Katie
Hi! I'm not sure whether swapping pecans for apples would turn out, but I do have a recipe for maple pecan bars. They have a similar crust and use chopped pecans for the filling (no apples).