Just in time for Thanksgiving, these paleo and gluten free apple pie bars will please everyone at your table! They are much easier to make than apple pie and are perfect served hot or cold and even better with a scoop of ice cream!
With Thanksgiving fast approaching and a brother-in-law who wants apple pie and a husband who wants pecan pie, I decided I needed to make a compromise. Pat will most definitely be getting his requested pecan pie, but two entire pies is too much for me to make.
Sorry brother-in-law.
But in all honesty, I am way more into this ‘compromise’ than Pat’s traditional pie. So, sorry not sorry.
GLUTEN FREE APPLE PIE BARS
I am so in love with these apple pie bars! Gosh, I cannot even begin to explain it. They have a wonderfully dense, but flaky crust, a to die for caramel-y (minus the heavy creamy and sugar!) apple layer, and a crunchy cinnamon-y nutty topping. YUM.
Plus, they are beyond easy to make – thank you food processor! And they’re topped with a personal favorite product – Square Root nutnola!!
And they are totally allergy friendly – paleo and gluten free. Plus if you are vegan, you can sub out the grass-fed butter for vegan butter!
Ingredients you need to make this paleo and gluten free apple pie recipe…
The crust is made from cassava Flour. Have you used cassava flour before? (PS. This is my go-to brand.) Cassava is a root vegetable, also known as yuca, that is grown in South America, Asia and Africa. It is starchy and high in carbohydrates, similar to yams, potatoes, and plaintains.
Because of all of these incredible qualities, cassava, and by extension cassava flour, is gluten and grain free, paleo, nut-free, vegan and vegetarian.
In addition to the cassava flour, the crust is slightly sweetened with coconut sugar. And there is also a pinch of salt and grass-fed butter.
Onto the Gluten Free Apple Pie Filling
OMG do you see that caramel-y apple goodness?!
The apple pie filling is made from… you guessed it, apples! I prefer crisp, tart, sweet apples when baking and you cannot go wrong with Pink Lady apples. That is the type I used in these photographs.
The apple cubes are sprinkled with spices – cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. And they are also coated in tapioca starch (or arrowroot powder). The tapioca starch will help the filling thicken and create the caramel consistency.
You will also need a little water, lemon juice, and maple syrup to round out the mixture.
But nothing is better than the paleo apple pie crumble top!
The crumble topping is made from Square Root Nutnola.
I’m biased, but my grain free granola is absolutely the best granola you can find! It is a made with nuts, seeds, and spices and is slightly sweet from organic maple syrup. It too is gluten and grain free, paleo, and vegan. I simply gave the granola a little chop and sprinkled it over the caramel apple mixture.
How to make gluten free apple pie bars:
Make the cassava flour crust.
Using a food process, pulse together the cassava flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Add cubed butter and pulse until the butter is pea-sized. Add water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and pulse. Pinch the dough between your fingers to see if it will hold together. Stop adding water when it will hold. It will still look dry and crumbly at this point. (I used 5 Tablespoons – see pictures for dough consistency**).
Dump the dough mixture into the lined baking pan, then press the mixture down using the back of a glass or measuring cup until it’s evenly distributed and flat. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are light golden brown.
Make the apple pie filling.
Chop apples into 1/4 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot starch, and salt to the apple. Mix until the apples are coated with the dry mixture. Place apple mixture, water, lemon, and maple syrup in a medium sized sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken and caramelize (5-7 mins) Remove.
Assemble and bake the paleo apple pie bars.
Once crust is cooled, top with the apple pie filling and spread evenly. Sprinkle nutnola on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until sauce has bubbled up and looks a golden color. Remove from heat. Cool completely, and refrigerate before cutting.
As Ina says, “how easy is that?!”
I truly hope you make these paleo and gluten free apple pie bars for Thanksgiving this year! If you make these or any of my other recipes, post a picture on social media and use the hashtag #imhungrybynature so that I can see!
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Gluten Free Apple Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 9 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
Description
Just in time for Thanksgiving, these paleo and gluten free apple pie bars will please everyone! And they are so much easier to make than apple pie too!
Ingredients
For the cassava flour crust:
1 cup cassava flour
1/4 cup coconut sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cold grass-fed butter, cut into small cubes
4–6 Tablespoons ice cold water
For the apple pie filling:
2 large crisp tart sweet apples peeled and chopped (1/4 inch pieces) – I love pink lady!
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup tapioca or arrowroot starch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup water
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
For the crumble:
Instructions
Make the cassava flour crust.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 square baking pan with parchment paper, set aside.
Using a food process, pulse together the cassava flour, coconut sugar, and salt. Add cubed butter and pulse until the butter is pea-sized.
Add water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, and pulse. Pinch the dough between your fingers to see if it will hold together. Stop adding water when it will hold. It will still look dry and crumbly at this point. (I used 5 Tablespoons – see pictures for dough consistency**).
Dump the dough mixture into the lined baking pan, then press the mixture down using the back of a glass or measuring cup until it’s evenly distributed and flat.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are light golden brown. Allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes.
Make the apple pie filling.
Chop apples into 1/4 inch cubes and place in a large bowl. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, arrowroot starch, and salt to the apple. Mix until the apples are coated with the dry mixture.
Place apple mixture, water, lemon, and maple syrup in a medium sized sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until sauce begins to thicken and caramelize (5-7 mins) Remove.
Once crust is cooled, top with the apple pie filling and spread evenly. Sprinkle nutnola on top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until sauce has bubbled up and looks a golden color. Remove from heat. Cool completely, and refrigerate before cutting.
Notes
*I chopped my nutnola slightly to break down some of the larger pieces for better distribution across the top of the bars.
**The dough will be appear dry, even at 6 Tablespoons of water. Be sure to pinch the dough between your two fingers to see if it holds together. Note the consistency of the dough in the images.
Keywords: thanksgiving, fall, apple pie, bars, gluten free, dessert, apple crumble, apple crisp, granola
