Healthy Apple Crisp

Healthy apple crisp is a combination of spiced soft apples and a crunchy, healthy, oat topping that will make you come back for seconds. 

Happy November sweet treat lovers! I’m honestly not sure I’m mentally prepared for November. November means we’re heading into winter, the days are shorter, and Fall is a distant memory.

But November brings out warm comfort foods, family and gatherings. Oh, and of course Thanksgiving!

Speaking of comfort foods, this month, I wanted to focus on some comforting dessert recipes. Specifically those that came from a church recipe book my grandma had gifted me a while back.

It’s full of recipes from parishioners, friends and family of the area. However, after a few initial glances at some of the recipes, I knew they were in need of some healthy makeovers.

Many of the recipes contain a high amount of butter and sugar, and while I do love both of those, we’re looking at a little healthy revamp here. So, this month, I’m focusing on creating healthy versions of some classic dessert recipes in this parish recipe book. Starting with this apple crisp turned healthy.

Super easy healthy apple crisp

While there were about 10 different versions of apple crisp in this book, I landed on this specific recipe. Mainly because it didn’t require me to peel and slice a pound of apples. Yes, I’m lazy…and don’t have the capacity in my stomach to eat more than a 9″x 9″ pan of apple crisp.

I also loved that it required only a few ingredients and very little mixing. Simple ingredients make for some delicious desserts, and call for slightly higher quality ingredients to make sure you’re getting the most out of your dessert.

Apples are really the star of the show here. So if you have some delicious apples you picked earlier in the week {or are going apple picking this weekend}, use them to make them shine bright in this healthy apple crisp.

Toss the apples in this perfectly spiced apple pie spice mix. Making sure you have fresh spices {i.e. not expired…yes, spices expire} is key to up the flavor of this apple crisp.

Making apple crisp a healthy apple crisp

While our apples truly are the main event in apple crisp, there’s another understudy that’s wanting to make its debut in this show too. That’s the crumble, if you weren’t aware. 😉

I love how simple crumbles are to make. They’re really just a mixture of oats, flour, sugar and butter. And while I do love all of these things, the amount of sugar that was called for about made my stomach curl. 1 cup of sugar for 4-5 apples. I think that’s just a bit excessive no matter what way you slice them apples.

So for our healthy apple crisp, we’re eliminating the sugar all together. *Gasp*

Well, I mean we still have a sweetness, but it comes in the form of pure maple syrup and molasses. Molasses adds this dark rich taste to our crumble that will have people wondering just what you used to make such a delicious crunchy crumble.

The best part is that you really only need one bowl to make this entire crisp. Mix your apples in the warm apple pie spice and dump into your pan. Then use that same bowl to mix up your crumble.

Sprinkle all over the crisp, bright apples and bake until nice and crispy {get it, crisp…okay, I’ll stop}.

Best ways to enjoy healthy apple crisp

I’m not going to be a monster and tell you that you can’t have ice cream or cool whip with your healthy apple crisp. No, cool vanilla ice cream is basically a must for this perfect fall/winter/gatherings/Thanksgiving dessert.

I’ll also allow cool-whip as a topping, because the light whipped topping adds the perfect smooth contrast to the texture of the crisp topping and soft warm apples.

Apple crisp is such a classic dessert, but turning it into a healthy alternative is going to give those around you a warm feeling from the inside out.

Looking for more perfect apple treats? Check these out:

Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls

Apple Pie Steel Cut Oats

Sweet Potato Apple Muffins