Low-Carb Keto Apple Crisp

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!

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 delicious 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!

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.

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.

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 10 minutes to cool down before serving. As it cools down, the toppings get very crispy.

Does apple crisp need to be refrigerated?

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.

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

Have you made this low-carb apple dessert? Share a review or comment below to tell me how it goes,

XOXO Carine

Recipe Card

Keto Apple Crisp

5.2gNet Carbs

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 35 mins

Net Carbs 5.2g

Fat 23.4g

Protein 5.8g

Calories 247.9kcal

Author: Carine Claudepierre

An easy Mock Keto Apple Crisp Recipe with no sugar and minimal carbs to enjoy apple flavors dessert on your keto journey.

Almond flour crisp topping

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• Preheat 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.

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.

Nutrition Facts

Keto Apple Crisp

Amount Per Serving (1 serving (1 cup))

Calories 247.9
Calories from Fat 211

% Daily Value*

Fat 23.4g36%

Saturated Fat 7.5g47%

Trans Fat 0.1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 5.7g

Monounsaturated Fat 6.2g

Sodium 103.9mg5%

Potassium 340.5mg10%

Carbohydrates 9g3%

Fiber 3.8g16%

Sugar 3.2g4%

Protein 5.8g12%

Vitamin A 171.4IU3%

Vitamin C 16.9mg20%

Calcium 64.5mg6%

Iron 1.3mg7%

Magnesium 57.2mg14%

Zinc 1mg7%

Net Carbs 5.2g

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.