Apple desserts are easy to prepare without added sugar when you start with ripe, naturally sweet fruit. Cinnamon, walnuts, hazelnuts, oats and plant-based ingredients add flavour and texture without making the recipes complicated.
The six recipes below include both familiar desserts and ideas inspired by international baking: Romanian apple pie, baked apples, British-style crumble, cinnamon rolls, muffins and an upside-down apple cake. All are vegan, and two of the baked recipes are also Gluten-Free.
What works well in apple desserts without added sugar
Ripe apples soften during cooking and release both juice and naturally occurring sugars. This makes them suitable for fillings, muffins, cakes and baked desserts without relying on regular sugar.
For vegan apple desserts, useful ingredients include:
- organic walnut flour;
- organic hazelnut flour;
- organic tapioca starch;
- organic cassava flour;
- walnuts and hazelnuts;
- certified Gluten-Free oats when required;
- coconut oil instead of butter;
- ground flaxseed in recipes that need additional binding;
- Ceylon cinnamon and vanilla;
- organic erythritol;
- chocolate drops without added sugar.
You can also explore the full Bett’r Food range of organic flours for more baking combinations.
How to get better results with apples in baking
Apple fillings can release quite a lot of moisture. A few simple adjustments help keep the texture right:
- cook grated apples briefly before adding them to pies or cinnamon rolls;
- combine regular flour with nut flour instead of replacing the entire quantity;
- add a small amount of tapioca starch to particularly juicy fillings;
- let pies and cakes cool before slicing;
- avoid overmixing muffin and cake batters.
6 vegan apple desserts without added sugar
1. Vegan apple pie with walnut flour and cinnamon
A classic tray-baked apple pie with two tender layers of pastry and plenty of grated apple in the middle. Walnut flour adds a mild nutty flavour that works naturally with cinnamon and apples.
Servings: 10–12
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: 20 × 30 cm baking tray, grater, rolling pin
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 240 g all-purpose flour
- 60 g organic walnut flour
- 40 g powdered erythritol
- 8 g baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 80 g melted coconut oil
- 120 ml unsweetened plant drink
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the filling:
- 1 kg apples
- 30 g erythritol, or to taste
- 2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 50 g chopped walnuts
Method
- Grate the apples and place them in a wide pan with the lemon juice.
- Cook for 7–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until part of the liquid has evaporated.
- Add the erythritol, cinnamon and walnuts and leave the filling to cool.
- Mix the all-purpose flour, walnut flour, erythritol, baking powder and salt.
- Add the coconut oil, plant drink and vanilla and mix until the dough comes together.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces.
- Roll out the first piece and place it in the baking tray.
- Spread the cooled apple filling evenly over the pastry.
- Cover with the second sheet and prick the surface several times with a fork.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes at 180°C.
Serving: let the pie cool before cutting it into squares.
2. Gluten-Free baked apples with walnuts and cinnamon
Baked apples require very little preparation and work particularly well with firm varieties that soften without collapsing in the oven.
The filling is simple: walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. No flour or oats are needed.
Servings: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: baking dish, small knife
Ingredients
- 4 large apples
- 80 g chopped walnuts
- 30 g raisins
- 1½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- ½ tsp vanilla
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 100 ml water
- erythritol, optional
Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C.
- Remove the cores without cutting through the bottom of the apples.
- Mix the walnuts, raisins, cinnamon and vanilla.
- Add the coconut oil and, if necessary, a small amount of erythritol.
- Fill the apples and arrange them in a baking dish.
- Pour the water around the fruit.
- Bake for 30–40 minutes, until the apples are soft but still hold their shape.
Serving: serve warm with plain plant-based yoghurt or coconut cream.
3. Gluten-Free apple and hazelnut crumble
A classic fruit crumble works very well without wheat flour. Certified Gluten-Free oats, hazelnut flour and chopped hazelnuts make a crisp topping for the soft apple layer underneath.
Servings: 6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: baking dish, two bowls
Ingredients
For the apples:
- 6 apples
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- 20–30 g erythritol
- 10 g organic tapioca starch
For the crumble:
- 100 g certified Gluten-Free rolled oats
- 60 g organic hazelnut flour
- 50 g chopped hazelnuts
- 50 g coconut oil
- 25 g erythritol
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Method
- Cut the apples into medium cubes.
- Mix them with the lemon juice, cinnamon, erythritol and tapioca starch.
- Transfer the fruit to a baking dish.
- Mix the oats, hazelnut flour, chopped hazelnuts, erythritol, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the coconut oil and rub everything together lightly with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form.
- Scatter the topping over the apples without pressing it down.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes at 180°C.
Texture: soft, juicy apples with a crisp hazelnut and oat topping.
4. Vegan apple cinnamon rolls
Apple and cinnamon work particularly well in soft yeast dough. Cooking the apples before adding them to the rolls keeps excess liquid out of the filling.
Servings: 10–12 rolls
Preparation time: approximately 2 hours, including rising
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: rolling pin, pan, baking dish
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 350 g all-purpose flour
- 7 g dry yeast
- 25 g erythritol
- ½ tsp salt
- 220 ml lukewarm unsweetened plant drink
- 45 g melted coconut oil
For the filling:
- 3 medium apples, grated
- 30 g erythritol
- 2 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 30 g chopped walnuts
- 10 g tapioca starch
Method
- Mix the flour, yeast, erythritol and salt.
- Add the plant drink and coconut oil and knead for 7–8 minutes.
- Cover and leave to rise for approximately one hour.
- Cook the grated apples with the erythritol and cinnamon for 6–8 minutes.
- Add the tapioca starch and cook for another minute.
- Remove from the heat, add the vanilla and walnuts and allow the filling to cool.
- Roll the dough into a rectangle and spread the filling evenly over it.
- Roll from the long side and cut into 10–12 pieces.
- Arrange the rolls in a baking dish and leave to rise for another 25–30 minutes.
- Bake for 22–25 minutes at 180°C.
Serving: leave the rolls for about 10 minutes after baking before serving.
5. Apple, hazelnut and chocolate muffins
Grated apple keeps these muffins moist, while hazelnut flour gives them a fuller flavour. Chocolate works particularly well with both apple and hazelnut.
Servings: 12 muffins
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Equipment: two bowls, muffin tray
Ingredients
- 170 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g organic hazelnut flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 6 tbsp water
- 2 apples, coarsely grated
- 170 ml unsweetened plant drink
- 60 ml coconut oil
- 35 g erythritol
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 60 g Bett’r chocolate drops without added sugar
Method
- Mix the ground flaxseed with the water and leave for 10 minutes.
- Combine the all-purpose flour, hazelnut flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- In another bowl, mix the apples, plant drink, coconut oil, erythritol, vanilla and hydrated flaxseed.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients.
- Mix briefly, then fold in the chocolate drops.
- Divide between 12 muffin cases.
- Bake for 22–25 minutes at 180°C.
Texture: soft muffins with pieces of apple and melted chocolate throughout.
6. Gluten-Free upside-down apple cake with cassava flour
Cassava flour, tapioca starch and hazelnut flour form the base of this Gluten-Free apple cake. Thin apple slices are arranged at the bottom of the tin and become the top of the cake after baking.
Servings: 8
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: medium
Equipment: 22 cm round cake tin, two bowls
Ingredients
For the apple layer:
- 3 medium apples
- 20 g erythritol
- 1 tsp Ceylon cinnamon
- 15 g coconut oil
For the cake:
- 150 g organic cassava flour
- 40 g organic tapioca starch
- 40 g organic hazelnut flour
- 10 g Gluten-Free baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 6 tbsp water
- 50 g erythritol
- 220 ml unsweetened Gluten-Free almond or soy drink
- 60 ml coconut oil
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Method
- Mix the flaxseed with the water and leave for 10 minutes.
- Heat the oven to 175°C and line the bottom of the cake tin with baking paper.
- Spread the coconut oil over the base and sprinkle with erythritol and cinnamon.
- Slice the apples thinly and arrange them over the base.
- Mix the cassava flour, tapioca starch, hazelnut flour, baking powder and salt.
- Separately, combine the hydrated flaxseed, erythritol, plant drink, coconut oil, vanilla and lemon juice.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Spread the batter carefully over the apples.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes.
- Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it onto a serving plate.
Serving: allow the cake to cool before slicing so the crumb can set.
Which apples work best for desserts?
For apple pie and cinnamon rolls, choose juicy apples that soften easily during cooking.
For baked apples and upside-down cake, firmer varieties work better because they keep their shape in the oven.
Crumble and muffins are less demanding. You can also combine a sweet variety with a slightly tart one.
Taste the apples before adding erythritol. Naturally sweet fruit may need considerably less than the amount listed in the recipe.
How to store apple desserts
Apple pie and upside-down cake can be kept for 2–3 days in a closed container.
Muffins keep well for up to three days and can also be frozen.
Cinnamon rolls have the best texture on the day they are baked but can be reheated the following day.
Crumble can be refrigerated and warmed before serving.
Frequently asked questions
Are all six recipes vegan?
Yes. None of the recipes use eggs, dairy milk or butter. Plant drinks, coconut oil and flaxseed are used instead.
Which recipes are Gluten-Free?
The baked apples, apple and hazelnut crumble and upside-down apple cake are Gluten-Free when the ingredients specified in the recipes are used, including certified Gluten-Free oats and baking powder where indicated.
Can I leave out the erythritol?
Yes. Adjust the amount according to the apples. Very sweet apples may need little or no additional sweetener.
Which desserts can be prepared in advance?
Apple pie, muffins and upside-down cake can be prepared a day ahead. Crumble can be assembled in advance and baked before serving. Cinnamon rolls are best on the day they are made.
Can I use pears instead of apples?
Yes. Pears work particularly well in crumble, muffins and upside-down cake. Very ripe pears release more liquid, so the amount of tapioca starch may need to be increased slightly.
