Easy Gluten-Free Apple Crumble

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Gluten-Free Apple Crumble is a classic dessert which is always a total crowd pleaser. This easy recipe combines a juicy and tender apple filling with a crisp topping that has a slight chew. With simple ingredients, sweetness, tartness and contrasting textures this Apple Crumble is a comforting bowl of pure joy.

Jump to:

• Watch to see how to make it
• What are the best apples to choose?
• Why you’ll love this recipe
• More gluten-free apple desserts you’ll also love
• How to make gluten-free crumble mix
• Gluten-Free Apple Crumble without oats
• Nut-free crumble
• Ingredients needed
• Step-by-step instructions
• Expert tips
• FAQs
• Flavour variations
• Best ways to serve
• More gluten-free apple recipes you’ll love
• Easy Gluten-Free Apple Crumble

It's one of those irritating gluten-free quirks that the simplest of recipes made with wheat flour always feel like the trickiest to create a gluten-free version of. And that is because the recipes with fewer ingredients rely on the gluten in the flour to bring it all together.

If you have ever tried to create a gluten-free crumble just by swapping in a regular all-purpose gluten-free blend then you will know exactly what I mean. It was sandy, dry and sunk into the fruit base, making the whole thing feel underbaked and soggy right?

Well don’t worry, getting a perfect gluten-free crumble topping is as quick and easy as the wheat kind if you know the right flours to use. And that’s exactly what I will guide you on in this recipe.

So join me as I take you through the whole recipe step by step and so you can:

• Achieve a soft, juicy and flavourful apple filling with plenty of sauce.
• Understand exactly which apples to use for perfect texture and flavour.
• Bake up a crisp yet full bodied crumble filling that holds together and tastes incredible with a slight bit of chew as it touches the fruity base.
• Understand which flour to use (with substitution suggestions) and why you don’t have to include any weird ingredients like xanthan gum.
• Create this family favourite dessert that will take no longer than 1 hour from getting your ingredients out to bringing it bubbling out of the oven.

There’s no other baked fruit dessert which rounds out a meal better than this classic homemade apple crumble and you’ll be perfecting it with ease in no time.

Watch to see how to make it

What are the best apples to choose?

The type of apple you choose for your gluten-free crumble will alter the flavour profile. You can even mix them up and use a variety. Here are some options that work really well.

• Granny Smith Apples: Known for their tartness, Granny Smith apples hold up well during baking and provide a refreshing tang to the crumble.
• Bramley Apples. A traditional British cooking apple. The flavour of these apples is delicious and they break down beautifully so if you use a mixture of these with Granny Smith then you’ll achieve a great balance of apple texture.
• Pink Lady Apples: With a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity, Pink Lady apples add a lovely flavour profile to the apple crumble.
• Golden Delicious Apples: These sweet and mellow apples bring a natural sweetness to the dish, complementing the tartness of other apple varieties.
• Braeburn Apples: Braeburn apples have a slightly tart and spicy taste, making them a wonderful addition to the mix. Combining them with Granny Smith apples creates a delicious contrast of flavours.

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Balance of sweetness and tartness: The combination of apples and the deep molasses flavour of the brown sugar provide a balanced level of sweetness. Choosing a tarter apple variety (like Granny Smiths or Bramley apples) also prevents the dessert from becoming overly sweet.
• Perfect crumble texture: The crumble topping steals the show with its golden crisp texture with buttery flavour. Made with almond flour, oat flour, and cold, cubed butter, it adds a delightful crunch to each bite. The almond flour brings a subtle nuttiness, while the oat flour provides a pleasant chewiness. Although I do provide an alternative flour to use if you can’t have oats.
• Thick juicy filling: The fresh apples are cubed and tossed in a brown sugar and lemon laced sauce. As the apples bake, they soften and release their natural juices, creating a flavourful and moist syrupy filling.
• Customisability: You can add spices, or incorporate different fruits or nuts to create variations according to your taste.

More gluten-free apple desserts you’ll also love

• Apple and Blackberry Crumble
• Bramley Apple and Mincemeat Pudding
• Gluten-Free Apple Pie

How to make gluten-free crumble mix

The most important part of making your gluten-free crumble is choosing the right flours. I don’t recommend here using an all purpose gluten-free flour blend as the starches present in these mixes absorb too much liquid and the crumble tends to sink into the fruit filling too much.

By using the following 2 flours you can create a blend which has the right balance for your gluten-free crumble recipe:

• Oat flour
• Almond flour

The oat flour helps the crumble to crisp without becoming dry and dusty.

The almond flour has a high level of protein which helps your crumble mixture stick together without being too wet. The use of almond flour also means you don’t need to use any xanthan gum in your crumble topping.

Gluten-Free Apple Crumble without oats

This recipe uses oats twice, once in the flour blend and then as an optional topping to make the crumble even more crisp.

However, do bear in mind there are a couple of issue with oats as part of a gluten-free diet.

1. Oats are often processed alongside wheat so cross-contamination can be a problem. By ensuring you only use certified gluten-free oats then this solves it.
2. However, the protein avenin can also be problematic for many people with coeliac disease or a gluten intolerance so oats may need to be avoided in gluten-free baking.

However, it’s easy to make this crumble without the oats too:

• Substitute the oat flour in the apple filling for cornflour (corn starch).
• Switch out the oat flour in the crumble topping for another wholegrain flour. Sorghum flour is a great option.
• Omit the rolled oats in the topping or switch for millet flakes.

Nut-free crumble

You can swap out the almond flour for gram flour (chickpea flour / garbanzo flour) or soy flour. Both of these alternatives also have a high protein content but will give a slightly differently flavour to the crumble.

Ingredients needed

• Apples. This recipe uses Granny Smiths and Pink Ladys. By mixing tart and sweet apples you can achieve a lovely blend of flavours in your apple crumble.
• Brown sugar. Adds a gentle molasses flavour and slight fudgy texture.
• Vanilla extract. Use a good quality extract, I like Nilsen Massey.
• Oat flour. Make sure it is certified gluten-free. You can sub for sorghum flour.
• Almond flour. You can use ground almonds, almond meal or defatted almond flour.
• Caster sugar. It’s a fine white baking sugar. If you can only get hold of granulated sugar you can grind more finely in the food processor before you use it in the recipe.
• Butter. Unsalted is the best choice here. Make sure it is cold from the fridge.
• Salt. I like to use kosher salt in my baking as it has a round gentle flavour. Using salt in your baked goods lifts and sharpens all the other flavours.

Optional topping ingredients

• Gluten-free rolled oats.
• Demerara sugar.

For extra crunch on top of your crumble, this easy streusel topping really levels up your crumble but it’s a totally optional addition. Only use if you happen to have some in, you don’t need to make a special trip to the shops for it.

Step-by-step instructions

For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F) or 170°C (fan oven) or gas mark 5.
• Grease a 23cm round baking dish with butter.
• Whisk lemon juice, brown sugar, oat flour, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smooth.
• Toss apples in the mixture and transfer to the greased baking dish.
• In a separate bowl, combine almond flour, oat flour, caster sugar, brown sugar, and salt.
• Add cold butter cubes and mix until coarse crumbs form.
• Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the top of the apples.
• Optionally, sprinkle oats and demarara sugar on top.
• Bake for 40 minutes until topping is golden and apples are tender.
• Cool slightly and serve warm with ice cream or custard.

Expert tips

• Dice the apples into smallish pieces which guarantees they are completely cooked after baking.
• Ensure the butter is cold when making the crumble topping to achieve a crisp texture.
• Don't take your crumble topping right to the edges, it's nice for the bubbling apples to peek through.
• Allow the apple crumble to cool slightly before serving (15-20 minutes).

FAQs

Flavour variations

• Cinnamon and Nutmeg: Enhance the cosy flavours of the apple crumble by adding a pinch of warm spices.
• Chopped Nuts. Adding chopped pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, more almonds create an even crunchier topping!
• Lemon Zest: Add a burst of freshness by incorporating the zest of the lemon into the apple filling too.
• Ginger: For a hint of spiciness, Add some stem ginger into the apple filling or add a sprinkle of ground ginger to the crumble topping.
• Almond Extract: Replace or complement the vanilla extract with almond extract in the apple filling.
• Maple Syrup: Use maple syrup instead of or in addition to the sugar in the apple filling. It imparts a rich, caramel-like sweetness and creates a deeper flavor profile.

Best ways to serve

You can’t beat homemade custard. It tastes delicious with these custard options:

• Easy Gluten-Free Homemade Vanilla Custard
• Strawberry Custard
• Lemon Custard

However, in the warmer months this apple crumble is incredible with a large scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.

More gluten-free apple recipes you’ll love

• Gluten-Free Apple Muffins
• Apple Cake
• Apple Scones
• Apple Friands with Ricotta
• Apple Cheddar Crumble Cake
• Bramley Apple Fruit Cake

✨Have you tried this Easy Apple Crumble? Please leave a 5-star ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ rating on the recipe card and consider leaving a comment as well! I would love to hear about how your recipe turned out and your feedback also helps other readers✨