The Best Healthy Apple Crisp Recipe with Oats (No Flour!) (2024)

FAQs

What is a substitute for brown sugar in apple crisp? ›

A combination of white sugar and molasses is your best bet for a brown sugar substitute, as that's exactly what brown sugar is made of (1). To make your own light brown sugar, mix 1 cup, or 200 grams (g), of granulated white sugar with 1 tablespoon (tbsp.), or 15 milliliters (mL), of molasses.

Like an apple crisp, an apple crumble is a baked fruit dessert with a layer of topping. But unlike the crisp, the crumble topping rarely includes oats or nuts. Instead, a crumble's topping is more like streusel, made with flour, sugar and butter.

The best way to prevent a watery apple crisp is to use a thickener in the filling – some recipes use flour, but I've chosen to use cornstarch in this recipe (or arrowroot starch, which can be substituted 1:1 for cornstarch) because I think it provides superior thickening power.

Healthy Substitutes for Brown Sugar

For 1 cup brown sugar, substitute 1 cup organic brown sugar, coconut sugar, or date sugar, or substitute up to half of the brown sugar with agave nectar in baking.

The main reason your crumble topping isn't crunchy is probably because you haven't used Demerara sugar. Although, it could also be that you've got your topping ingredient quantities wrong: either too much or not enough flour and butter alongside the sugar.

Both are very similar apple desserts, but the difference mainly comes down to the crumble topping: Instead of the flour and oat mixture used in an apple crisp, an apple brown betty uses breadcrumbs for its crumbly, delicious topping.

In the Original Picayune Creole Cook Book (1901) a recipe identical to the Brown Betty traveled under the name “Mulatto's Pudding” furthering the idea that the sweet-sounding Brown Betty was more a race-based epithet towards its maker than a homey moniker denoting golden-brown bread crumbs.

The Cosmic Crisp^® apple is the remarkable result of 20 years of study and research by Washington State University's world-class tree fruit breeding program.

Are Paula Red apples good for apple crisp? ›

Later in the season, Paula Red apples develop a mealy, softer consistency suitable for several cooked preparations. The apples can be incorporated into crisps, cobblers, and crumbles, baked into scones, muffins, granola bars, and pancakes, or combined with firmer apple varieties in fillings for pastries.

Softer apples like Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, or Macintosh break down too much in the heat of the oven, basically turning into applesauce. So avoid those, and opt for a variety that's firm and crisp like Granny Smith, Fuji, Gala, or Honeycrisp. They'll turn velvety soft while still retaining their shape.

Add a little extra fresh lemon juice to help prevent the apples from turning super brown. Prepare the entire apple crisp, cover well, and refrigerate the night before baking. Don't wait any longer than overnight before baking, to prevent the apples from browning too much or drying out/spoiling.

Bake the apple crisp until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden brown and crisp, about 45 minutes. Serve the crisps warm with vanilla bean ice cream or fresh whipped cream, if desired.

And for that crunchy topping, it's best to use brown sugar. White sugar is fine, and the crumble texture is a bit lighter.

If you don't have brown sugar, you can use all granulated white sugar instead. If you do, add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and maybe a pinch of cinnamon or another spice you have just to add a little flavor (as some will be lost if you don't use brown sugar).

You can still create a suitable substitute for brown sugar if you have a liquid sweetener like maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, brown rice syrup, or date syrup. Of these, date syrup is your best bet thanks to its caramel-like, almost nutty flavor that's reminiscent of molasses.

Sukrin Gold - Natural Brown Sugar Alternative with Erythritol and Stevia - Zero Calorie Sweetener for Keto and Low Carb Diets 500 g.