Erin’s Recipe Rundown
Texture: Tender, caramelized filling with a crisp, crumbly topping.
Taste: Tart apples, warm spices, and the perfect amount of sweetness.
Ease: The simple ingredients and quick prep time make it an easy apple pie swap.
Top Tips: I like to use tart apples to create contrast with the sweet ingredients, but you can use any kind of apple you’d like.
Recommended GF Flour: Make sure to use a high-quality 1:1 flour that contains xanthan gum. I like King Arthur Flour and Bob’s Red Mill.
Would I make these again? Absolutely! As soon as fall rolls around and apples are in peak season, I can’t wait to get baking. I keep coming back to this easy recipe time and time again.
xoxo erin
This gluten-free apple crumble is a fall essential! It’s full of tart, tender apple filling, warm spices, and a buttery, crisp topping. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the easiest, most comforting fall dessert!
For more fall desserts, try this gluten-free pumpkin pie, gluten-free pumpkin cake, gluten-free apple pie, poached pears, and gluten-free pecan pie.
Featured Comment
From Sandy: “Thank you so much for this gf recipe! It’s soooooo delicious and easy to make. I’m no baker but have made this twice and it’s been a big hit!”
Table of Contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make these gluten-free apple crumble. Jump to the recipe below for the exact measurements.
- Gluten-free flour: For best results with both the filling and topping, use a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Look for a blend that contains xanthan gum to achieve the desired texture. This is my favorite brand.
- Lemon juice: Lemon juice helps to preserve the apples and add a bright flavor. It’s the perfect contrast to the warm fall spices.
- Apples: I like to use tart, crisp apples for this recipe, like Granny Smith apples. You can use other apple varieties too, such as Honeycrisp or Fuji apples.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch thickens the juice as it bakes out of the apples and creates the perfect filling texture. In the topping, it not only acts as a thickener, but also a binder for the flour and butter.
- Butter: I like to use salted butter for this recipe and all my recipes! It adds a great depth of flavor to baked goods.
How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Crumble
Here’s an overview of how to make this apple crumble. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
- Prep the filling: After the apples have been peeled, cored, and sliced/diced, add them to a bowl with sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt.
- Mix it up: Stir until the filling mixture is evenly combined.
- Prep the topping: Add all of the topping ingredients to a separate bowl and mix.
- Add butter: Pour in the melted butter and stir until it’s crumbly. I find a fork works best.
- Assemble in baking dish: Pour the apple mixture into the prepared baking dish. Make sure to spread it evenly across the bottom of the dish.
- Add the crumble: Sprinkle the topping in pea-sized pieces evenly over the apple filling. Bake for 35-45 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it’s bubbling and golden brown on top!
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing
To Make-Ahead: For short-term make-ahead, it’s best to prep the filling and crumble, then store them in separate containers in the fridge. Assemble and bake when ready to serve so the crumble turns out as fresh and crisp as possible. For long-term make-ahead, follow the freezing instructions.
To Store: Place leftovers in an airtight container or cover the baking dish with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: Assemble the apple crumble, but don’t bake it yet. Wrap it tightly in foil and plastic wrap, then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Recipe FAQs
Apple crumble usually contains gluten, since it’s traditionally made with all-purpose wheat flour. However, this apple crumble recipe is made using gluten-free flour, and it’s safe to eat on a gluten-free diet!
There are many types of flour that are naturally gluten-free, including almond flour, oat flour, buckwheat flour, and arrowroot flour. Most gluten-free flour products are a blend of several different types of gluten-free flour. But keep in mind: any flour made from wheat (such as all-purpose flour) is not gluten-free.
Yes, Honeycrisp apples are gluten-free. In fact, all raw, fresh, apples are naturally gluten-free, including Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, etc.
Your crumble topping may not be crunchy if you use the wrong size baking dish. If the dish is too big, the juices from the apples will seep out and make the topping soggy. For this recipe, make sure to use a 8- or 9-inch baking dish.
Expert Tips & Tricks
- MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: Use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks in place of the butter.
- LESS SUGAR? Reduce the amount of sugar in the filling by 1/2.
- APPLES: Feel free to use the season’s best apples for this recipe. I like to use Granny Smith apples, but you can use any variety!
- MAKE IT MINI! This apple crumble can also be baked in individual ramekins. Reduce the bake time by 10 minutes.
More Gluten-Free Apple Recipes
Easy Gluten-Free Apple Crumble
Ingredients
For the Crumble Topping:
- 1 cup (150g) gluten-free measure-for-measure flour
- 3/4 cup (160g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (113g) butter melted
For the Apple Filling:
- 2 ½ pounds Granny Smith apples peeled, cored, and sliced or diced into bite sized pieces (about 6 to 7 cups)
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Make the Apple Filling:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray an 8 or 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the apples, granulated sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt. Mix to evenly combine then pour into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
Make the Crumble Topping:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten-free 1:1 baking flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until evenly combined. Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork until crumbly.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture in pea-sized pieces evenly over the top of the filling.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown on top.
- Let cool for 15 minutes before serving. Top with ice cream if desired and enjoy!
This recipe is delicious! It is always a favorite at family gatherings.
If you wanted to use individual ramekins, what size should you use? and about how many will it make?
Thank you
Hi Jennifer, thanks for your review and question! Individual ramekins are a great idea. We recommend using a 6- or 8-ounce size, baking for about 25 minutes. This recipe should give you about 8-10 servings with the 6-ounce ramekins or 6-7 servings with the 8-ounce ramekins.
Brooke,
Thank you for the quick response! I will try it this way next time I make this delicious recipe.
I chose the Apple Crumble to make as my first Fall dessert of the season and it was DELICIOUS!!!! I’ll be adding this to my favorites! I had to use restraints not to consume the entire pan myself! Thank you for such consistently yummy recipes! I’ve loved each one I’ve tried!
Aww, we’re so happy to hear you loved the crumble this much, Susan! Thank you for such amazing feedback!
Haven’t tried yet but question…..why does the butter need to be melted them cooled before making crumble? Normal crumble you cut in the butter. What makes the difference with gf?
Hi Patricia, good question! For gluten-free flour, the melted butter creates a better texture/structure since gluten-free flour absorbs liquids differently and can more easily become dry. The melted butter method helps the crumble to spread well and create a crispy, even layer. We hope this helps!
I love this recipe
Was wondering could you use pumpkin pie filling or frozen mixed berries and follow this amazing recipe
Thanks
Hi Raffelina, we can’t say that we’ve tried either, but both sound delicious! Those fillings might offer different levels of moisture as they bake. If you decide to give it a try, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I never leave recipe reviews, but this is genuinely the nicest and easiest crumble I’ve ever had! I made one using a different recipe recently where you use hard butter and crumble it in your hands, and so was wary about this one not having that same method. But I trusted the process and I’m so glad I did!!!! I put in the fridge separately for 2 hours before cooking as it was for dessert, and I think that helped make the crumble extra crisp. I used leftover pink lady apples that were starting to brown slightly and they were so nice. I can’t wait to use this recipe again, thanks so much!!
Yay! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe so much! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, Elle.
Should I use a 9 by 13 inch baking pan or a 9 by 9 one?
Hi Gena, the recipe calls for either an 8×8 or 9×9 baking dish. You could always make 1.5x the recipe for a 9×13. We hope you enjoy the apple crumble!
It turned out amazing!!!
Thank you so much for this gf recipe! It’s soooooo delicious and easy to make. I’m no baker but have made this twice and it’s been a big hit!
Yum – great dessert and very easy to make! My family really enjoyed it!
OMG I could eat this every day. Super easy to put together and tastes amazing, yum!
This is one of my fav recipes. I’m wondering if it would be feasible to try with peaches instead of apples. Since peaches are softer, any idea how long I should cook for and if it would cook the topping well enough?
Hi Cassandra, we’re so pleased to hear this apple crumble has become such favorite! Since peaches are softer and juicier, the recipe would most likely need several adjustments to make the filling work with the peaches. It may be easier to use the topping from this recipe with the filling from the gluten-free peach crisp recipe. That way the filling is correct for peaches and you still get the topping-style used with this crumble. We’d love to hear how it goes!
The best gluten free apple crumble I have had! Loved the crumble topping and it was fantastic leftover as well.
This is perfection, perfect ratios of crumble to apple.