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Low-Carb Keto Apple Crisp

4.96 from 296 votes
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This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This delicious Low-Carb Keto Apple Crisp recipe is made with a surprising low-carb vegetable: zucchini, to cut out the carbs but still bring the best apple pie flavors.

Bonus, this is sugar-free apple crisp is also vegan, dairy-free, and grain-free!

Keto Apple Crisp served in a small ramekin.

If you used to apples and miss your favorite apple dessert on keto, this low-carb apple crumble is the best to fix your cravings.

With only 5 grams of net carbs per serving and the most deicious apple pie flavors, this low-carb crisp is sure to impress. Even the kids won’t notice the absence of apples! A great way to sneak some extra vegetables to their keto dessert and avoid added sugar.

Are Apple Crisps Keto?

No, authentic apple crisps are not keto-friendly, because first, apples are high in sugar and carbs.

Then, regular apple crisp toppings contain high starchy flour, usually all-purpose flour and sugar.

So you can’t indulge in regular apple crisps without raising your blood sugar level. But, you can make a low-carb apple crisp recipe using some healthier ingredients and techniques that will taste just the same!

Zucchini Apple Crisp

Are Apples Keto-friendly?

No, apples are not keto-friendly fruits. Even if some apples have fewer carbs than others, they are still high-carb fruits containing between 14 grams and 26 grams of net carbs per 100 grams.

So when it comes to baking keto apple dessert, you need to find a way to swap the apples for a low-carb alternative that mimics the texture of apples and play with spices and natural flavors to make your recipe taste like apples.

How To Make Keto Apple Crisp

The secret in this recipe is to use zucchinis instead of apples. It makes this a zucchini mock apple crisp since we are not going to use apples as a base for this keto crisp recipe.

However, stay tuned because the tricks below are going to make this zucchini apple crisp taste like the real thing, but without the carbs.

Let me tell you how to achieve the best apple flavor in a crisp without using apples at all!

Apple Swaps

First, you need to choose one of the low-carb vegetables below to make this diabetic apple crisp. Any of the below vegetables have an apple-like texture, not a strong flavor and when cooked with the right ingredients, they taste like a classic crumble apple mixture.

  • Zucchini
  • Yellow Squash
  • Chayote Squash

Use the vegetable that is the easiest to find for you this season and follow the recipe as written below.

Low Carb Apple Crisp

Ingredients

  • Zucchinis – yes, Zucchinis are the best low-carb vegetable to replace apples in low-carb apple dessert recipes. When cooked in sugar-free sweetener, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar, it tastes just like real apples and saves you all the added sugar from the fruit.
  • Coconut Oil – or butter.
  • Lemon Juice – this is one of the secret ingredients that make the tangy-sweet flavor of the zucchini pop out.
  • Cinnamon
  • Erythritol or any granulated keto sweetener you love, sugar-free brown sugar substitute works well.
  • Apple Cider Vinegar – This is the second secret ingredient to turn a zucchini crisp into the tastiest apple crisp! Apple cider vinegar is also a great ingredient to add to your keto diet to reduce your appetite.
  • Vanilla Extract
  • Almond Flour – I don’t recommend coconut flour for the crisp topping. It dries and is not as tasty. For a nut-free option, swap the almond flour for sesame seed flour or sunflower seed flour. Both are keto nut-free flours.
  • Chopped Pecans
  • Chopped Walnuts
  • Sliced Almonds – or chopped almonds or shredded coconut.

Mock Apple Mixture

First, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and grease a 9-inch pan with coconut oil. Set aside while you prepare the apple mixture for your sugar-free crisp.

Peel and trim the end of the zucchinis, then cut into 5-inch cubes (1.5 cm).

Warm a non-stick frying pan with coconut oil over medium heat. Stir in the zucchinis cubes and then sprinkle sugar-free crystal sweetener, cinnamon, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar on top.

Toss and cook on high heat until bubbles form on the sides of the pan and a brown color syrup forms. It takes about 5-6 minutes to evaporate the water from the vegetables and create a caramel-like texture.

Remove from the heat, stir in vanilla extract, and transfer the apple mixture into the prepared baking tray. Set aside to steam out and meanwhile prepare the crisp toppings.

Low carb crisp toppings

To make the toppings, place all the toppings ingredients into a bowl and use your finger to rub the softened coconut oil onto the chopped nuts and almond flour until it forms small pieces like wet sand.

Finally, crumble the keto crisp toppings evenly over the zucchini mixture and bake in the center rack of your oven for 20-30 minutes at 180°C (350°F) or until golden brown on top.

Tip: When Is It Ready?

You know that the apple crisp is cooked through when the apple mixture forms bubbles on the sides of the pan, and the top is golden brown.

Remove from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes to cool down before serving. As it cools down, the toppings get very crispy.

Gluten free sugar free apple crisp

Storage Instructions

Yes, you must keep your apple crisp in the fridge if you want to keep it for up to 4 days.

Of course, you can keep the baked apple crisp at room temperature until it cools down. But then, it’s recommended to store the apple crisp in the fridge, or the cooked apple can turn.

To store your apple crisp, you have two options. First, you can keep it in its baking dish. It’s very convenient because it avoids cleaning more dishes.

If you do so, cover the top of the dish with a piece of plastic wrap or foil to prevent too much air from going in. Or transfer the apple crisp to an airtight box.

Gluten free sugar free apple crisp

Freezing Keto Apple Crisp

The last option is to freeze apple crisp for later. You can freeze small portions or large batches as long you place the crisp in an airtight container.

The day before serving, thaw the apple crisp at room temperature and rewarm in a lukewarm oven at 300°F (150°C) for 10-12 minutes.

Serving Ideas

While this apple crisp tastes amazing, it is even better with some toppings. The best keto-friendly toppings for this gluten-free sugar-free apple crisp are:

  • Sugar-free Vanilla ice cream.
  • Whipped cream
  • Whipped coconut cream for a vegan low-carb apple crisp.
  • Sugar-free maple syrup
  • Cinnamon

More Keto Fruit Dessert Recipes

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Keto Apple Crisp Recipe

Keto Apple Crisp

5.2gNet Carbs
An easy Mock Keto Apple Crisp Recipe with no sugar and minimal carbs to enjoy apple flavors dessert on your keto journey.
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings (1 cup)
Serving Size: 1 serving (1 cup)
4.96 from 296 votes

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon Coconut Oil (note 1)
  • 4 cups Zucchinis peeled, diced, 500 g/17.6 oz (note2)
  • 2 tablespoons Lemon Juice
  • 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar note 3
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup Granulated Sweetener note 4

Almond flour crisp topping

  • cup Almond Flour (note 5)
  • 2 tablespoons Coconut Oil softened (note 6)
  • cup Chopped Pecans (note 7)
  • cup Chopped Walnuts
  • ½ cup Sliced Almonds (note 8)
  • ¼ cup Granulated Sweetener
  • ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon Salt
This recipe may contain Amazon or other affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Slightly grease an 8-inch or 9-inch pan with coconut oil. Set aside.
  • Trim the ends of your squash or zucchini, peel off the skin and cut into 0.5-inch cubes (1.5 cm) until you get 4 cups of cubed vegetable – see my pictures above in this post for visual help.
  • In a non-stick pan over medium-high heat, melt coconut oil, then add the zucchini cubes. Stir and cook 30 seconds, then sprinkle sugar-free crystal sweetener, cinnamon, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. Toss to evenly cover the cubes with the mixture and cook on high heat uncovered for 5-6 minutes, until the liquid gets bubbly and reduced into a brown syrup. Stir occasionally. Remove from the heat when there's almost no liquid left in the pan, and the vegetable cubes are softer. Stir in vanilla extract and transfer onto the prepared baking tray. Set aside to steam out for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the keto crisp topping.

Keto apple crisp toppings

  • In a large mixing bowl, place the toppings ingredients and use your finger to rub the softened coconut oil or softened butter with the remaining ingredients – it should look like wet sand.
  • Use your finger to crumble up the toppings over the apples and form a crumbly topping.

Bake

  • Bake in the center rack of your oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown on top and the mock apple mixture is bubbly and sticky.
  • Remove from the oven and set aside 10 minutes to cool down before serving.
  • Serve with a dollop of vanilla sugar-free ice cream or whipped cream.

Storage

  • Store in the fridge after the crisp reaches room temperature. Store for up to 4 days in an airtight container or freeze and thaw the day before serving.

Notes

Note 1: You can swap coconut oil for butter.
Note 2: You can replace yellow squash with zucchini or chayote squash.
Note 3: Apple cider vinegar can be skipped or replaced with apple extract.
Note 4: You can swap the erythritol with stevia drops or any granulated keto sweetener you love. Use my sweetener converter for ratio adjustment.
Note 5: Almond flour can be replaced with the same amount of sesame flour or sunflower seed flour for a nut-free option. Don’t use coconut flour, or the topping is too dry.
Note 6: or softened butter.
Note 7: Nuts can be replaced with seeds like pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds. Other keto nuts that are great include macadamia, peanuts, or almonds.
Note 8: If you don’t have sliced almonds, use chopped nuts you love or even unsweetened shredded coconut.
Tried this recipe?Mention @sweetashoneyrecipes
Serving Size: 1 serving (1 cup)
Yield: 6 servings (1 cup)
Serving: 1serving (1 cup)Calories: 247.9kcal (12%)Carbohydrates: 9g (3%)Fiber: 3.8g (16%)Net Carbs: 5.2gProtein: 5.8g (12%)Fat: 23.4g (36%)Saturated Fat: 7.5g (47%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.7gMonounsaturated Fat: 6.2gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 103.9mg (5%)Potassium: 340.5mg (10%)Sugar: 3.2g (4%)Vitamin A: 171.4IU (3%)Vitamin C: 16.9mg (20%)Calcium: 64.5mg (6%)Iron: 1.3mg (7%)Magnesium: 57.2mg (14%)Zinc: 1mg (7%)
Keto Apple Crisp
Carine Claudepierre

About The Author

Carine Claudepierre

Hi, I'm Carine, the food blogger, author, recipe developer, published author of a cookbook and many ebooks, and founder of Sweet As Honey.

I have an Accredited Certificate in Nutrition and Wellness obtained in 2014 from Well College Global (formerly Cadence Health). I'm passionate about sharing all my easy and tasty recipes that are both delicious and healthy. My expertise in the field comes from my background in chemistry and years of following a keto low-carb diet. But I'm also well versed in vegetarian and vegan cooking since my husband is vegan.

I now eat a more balanced diet where I alternate between keto and a Mediterranean Diet

Cooking and Baking is my true passion. In fact, I only share a small portion of my recipes on Sweet As Honey. Most of them are eaten by my husband and my two kids before I have time to take any pictures!

All my recipes are at least triple tested to make sure they work and I take pride in keeping them as accurate as possible.

Browse all my recipes with my Recipe Index.

I hope that you too find the recipes you love on Sweet As Honey!

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    9 Thoughts On Low-Carb Keto Apple Crisp
  1. 5 stars
    This was a great recipe! I used my cast iron skillet for both stove top and oven. It worked great. Next time, if I use the cast iron, I will simmer longer with less heat.
    Another thing I might consider is using some hemp hearts for the crisp topping.
    Has anyone tried that? They have a nutty flavor and a nice texture, but I don’t know how they bake up.

  2. Keep the zucchini peel – dehydratetill crisp, then pulverize. Use as a nutrient-rich sprinkle on other dishes

Disclaimer

The recipes, instructions, and articles on this website should not be taken or used as medical advice. You must consult with your doctor before starting on a keto or low-carb diet. The nutritional data provided on Sweetashoney is to be used as indicative only.

The nutrition data is calculated using WP Recipe Maker. Net Carbs is calculated by removing the fiber and some sweeteners from the total Carbohydrates. As an example, a recipe with 10 grams of Carbs per 100 grams that contains 3 grams of erythritol and 5 grams of fiber will have a net carbs content of 2 grams. Some sweeteners are excluded because they are not metabolized.

You should always calculate the nutritional data yourself instead of relying on Sweetashoney's data. Sweetashoney and its recipes and articles are not intended to cure, prevent, diagnose, or treat any disease. Sweetashoney cannot be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or advice found on the Website.

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