Despite its fruity content, apple pie packs a lot of unhealthy ingredients. That doesn’t mean you have to bamish it from your holiday menu, however. Just use our scrumptious vegan apple pie recipe instead!
One piece of a traditional 9-inch apple pie carries 81 milligrams of potassium and a good dose of vitamins A, C, and B6 as well as calcium. However, these benefits are overtaken by the average apple pie recipe’s darker side. That same serving also holds approximately 300 calories, 14 grams of fat, 4.7 grams of saturated fat (23% of the RDA), 333 milligrams of sodium, 42 grams of carbohydrates, and only 2 grams of dietary fiber.
Being the legend that it is, there’s no need to completely change the face of apple pie, when cutting a few simple corners does the trick. This apple pie recipe is vegan and uses higher quality ingredients. The pastry of this apple pie recipe has a whole-wheat base and is free from eggs and dairy. Instead it is fattened up with coconut oil, which carries a few impressive health benefits all on its own. The filling avoids refined sugar and sticks to the brown-sugar-akin, minimally-processed turbinado sugar. Enjoy!
Vegan Apple Pie Recipe
Makes 1 pie serving 8-10 people
Ingredients:
For the Pastry Crust
- 2 ½ – 3 cups + 1-2 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup nut milk (Make it yourself!)
- Coconut oil cooking spray (or any oil cooking spray)
For the Apple Filling
- 10 Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
- 3 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
Directions:
Put a layer of paper towels over a large baking sheet. Spread the apple slices evenly across the paper towels and set aside while you prepare the pastry. This helps to remove some moisture from the apples.
For the pastry, sift together 2 ½ cups of flour and salt in a bowl. In a larger bowl, combine the oil and milk. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix until it clumps together. If too sticky, add another ½ cup of flour. Use clean hands to shape the dough into 2 equal-sized flat balls. Cover each in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Lay one dough portion on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle its top with flour. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to the size of a pie dish plus a few inches – you want the dough to overlap the dish’s edges. Repeat with the other dough portion. Spray the pie dish with cooking spray and place one of the sheets of pastry into the bottom of the dish, making sure it sticks to the corners and sides.
Back to the apples — pat the apple slices dry with the paper towel — and place in a large bowl. Pour the lemon juice over the apples and toss with you hands. Mix the cinnamon, salt, sugar and whole-wheat pastry flour in a separate bowl before sprinkling over the apples. Use your hands to toss the apples with the cinnamon mixture. You want the apples to be evenly coated. Pour as many of the apples as possible into the pie dish, atop the pastry. Top the apples with the other pastry sheet. Use your fingers to pinch together the edges of the both pastry sheets, sealing the pie filling shut. Trim any excess edges with a knife.
Use the knife to slice a few decorative lines across the top pastry layer several times. This will allow steam to escape while baking and prevent bubbles. Sprinkle turbinado sugar atop the crust and line the edges of the pie with aluminum foil to prevent burning.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, keeping an eye on the pastry. You want a crusted, browned top, but want to avoid burning the pastry.
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Photo Credit: benimoto