Healthy Apple Pie Crumble Bars with a delicious oatmeal cookie crust and apple filling. These bars are made with a combination of almond flour and oats so they are naturally gluten-free. They are so easy to make and the perfect treat that everyone will love!

It’s apple pie but with like half the work! I might be a bigger fan of “pie bars” than actual pie some days, haha. I love how easy pie bars are to make and they tend to be a bit more forgiving than pie.

These delicious apple pie bars are one of my favorite flavors. They’re made with just a few simple whole food ingredients and have the perfect balance of sweet yet tart. Plus, the combination of cinnamon and cardamom really bring the bars to life.

Watch How to Make This Recipe

I know you’ll love these! They are entirely gluten free and can easily be made dairy free and vegan if needed. I love the combination of real butter and sweet brown sugar but as always, make this recipe work for you. These bars are a great option for everyone and a fun way to use up those apples from apple picking!

More Healthy Apple Recipes

Apple Pie Bar Ingredients

Rolled Oats: gluten free old-fashioned rolled oats help to form the base of the bars. Oats are naturally gluten free but you can always buy certified gluten free oats if needed.

Almond Flour: to keep these bars gluten free, the topping and crust use almond flour instead of traditional all-purpose flour.

Dark Brown Sugar: brown sugar and apples is a match made in even.

Spices: a combination of cinnamon and cardamom gives these bars a delicious spiced unique flavor.

Butter: this is used in the both the topping and the crust for that rich buttery flavor. I include notes on substitutions below if you need them.

Apples: I like to use either pink lady or Granny Smith apples or a combination of both

Maple Syrup: the apple filling in these bars is sweetened with a bit of pure maple syrup.

Lemon Juice: a little tart helps to balance out the rest of the sweetness in the bars.

Vanilla Extract: a must-have ingredient to help add some delicious vanilla flavor to the bars.

Arrowroot Starch: this helps to thicken the apple filling a bit to give the bars a more jam-like consistency.

Ingredient Substitutions

almond flour – if you have a nut allergy, feel free to use all-purpose flour or a gluten free all-purpose flour instead. Coconut flour is too drying and will not work as a 1-to-1 substitute flour the almond flour in this recipe.
brown sugar – you can easily substitute brown sugar for coconut palm sugar in this recipe. I would not recommend using a liquid sweetener in place of brown sugar in this recipe.
butter – to keep the bars dairy free, feel free to use coconut oil instead of butter if you like. It will add a bit of a coconut flavor to the bars. Just make sure that the coconut oil is solid and not melted before using. If you have a favorite vegan butter substitute you can feel free to use that instead of traditional butter if you prefer.
arrowroot starch – I love to use arrowroot starch as a grain free replacement for cornstarch in several recipes. If you don’t have any you can simply substitute corn starch in its place. Tapioca flour will also likely work.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

8×8 Baking Pan
Parchment Paper
Mixing Bowl
Saucepan
Measuring Cups and Spoons

How to Make

Step One: Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Next, add the oats, almond flour, brown sugar, and butter to a mixing bowl. Use your hands to work the butter into the flour, sugar, and oats until it is well combined and forms a dough like consistency.

Step Two: Press 2/3 of the crust mixture into a 8×8 pan lined with parchment paper. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, remove from the oven, and set aside while you prep the apple filling.

Step Three: In a medium saucepan combine the sliced apples, maple syrup, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and cardamom over medium-high heat. Cook the apples for 7-9 minutes until they start to become tender.

Step Four: Once the apples start to become tender, remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk together the lemon juice and cornstarch to make a slurry and then pour that mixture into the apples. Stir until the apple filling has begun to thicken.

Step Five: Pour the apple filling over the crust and then use a spatula to spread it out evenly in the pan. Sprinkle the remaining oat crisp topping evenly over the filling.

Step Six: Bake the bars at 350 degrees for twenty-five to thirty minutes until the fruit filling is bubbly around the edges and the top is golden brown. While the bars are baking you can make the icing by whisking together the almond milk and powdered sugar until smooth.

Step Seven: Let the bars come to a complete cool. Slice them into sixteen squares and then drizzle the icing over the bars. Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

Use parchment paper. I like to grease the pan with a little non-stick cooking spray before adding the parchment paper to help it stick to the bottom of the pan so it won’t slip around while you are pressing the crust into the pan.
Let the bars cool completely before slicing. For the best results, let the bars cool completely before slicing and trying to pick them up. The apple filling needs to fully set in order for you to eat them like an actual bar. Letting them cool in the fridge is a great option to help speed up the process.
Use a sharp knife to cut the bars. Using a very sharp knife will help you make a clean cut and get through the thick bottom layer of the apple pie bar crust.

How to Store

I recommend storing the apple pie bars in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to five days to keep them fresh.

How to Serve

These are great by themselves with a drizzle of icing.
Served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dollop of whipped cream.
Served room temperature or cool, right out the fridge!

More Gluten Free Desserts to Love

I hope you give these Apple Pie Crumble Bars a try! They’re so easy to make and delicious!

If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love.