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This Vegan Apple Pie is perfect for fall, easy to make, and one of our favorite desserts to make during the holiday season. It’s made with a traditional pie crust and tons of sweet and juicy apple slices! Get ready to fall in love with this homemade apple pie!
Table of Contents
Growing up, apple pie was something my mom made every fall, so it is always a bit nostalgic for me. There’s just something about warm ooey gooey pieces of apple and cinnamon paired with a flaky fresh baked crust that warm my heart. I’m stoked that Chris and I are able to continue my mom’s tradition with a 100% vegan version of the classic dessert!
Next, make sure to check out our other delicious fall desserts. We’ve got all of the classics – Vegan Pumpkin Pie, Vegan Sugar Cookies, New York Style Vegan Cheesecake, Vegan Gingerbread Cookies, Vegan Pecan Tarts, and Vegan Apple Cobbler.
We also have a full collection of our favorite 50+ Easy Vegan Thanksgiving Recipes. You’ll never need to worry about boring vegan holiday dinners again!
Ingredients You’ll Need
For the Pie Crust
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the main ingredient in the crust, providing structure and stability while keeping the crust light and fluffy.
- Sugar: A small amount of sugar is added to the crust to give it a subtle sweetness and complement the sweetness in the filling.
- Vegan butter: Cold butter is the key to a great pie crust. To prepare the butter, we like to pre-dice it and place it in a freezer-safe bowl to chill while we prepare the remaining ingredients before getting started.
- Ice water: Very cold water helps to form the dough and keeps the fat in the pie crust cold and solid. This helps to create pockets of air in the crust that will melt while baking and yield the lightest, fluffiest pie crust.
- Non-dairy milk: Milk is used to brush the top of the crust and helps the turbinado sugar stick to the crust. We used almond milk, but any unsweetened non-dairy milk can work in this pie recipe.
- Turbinado sugar: This sugar is optional, but adds the perfect sweet, crunchy top to the pie.
For the Apple Pie Filling
- Fresh apples: For the best sweet and tart flavor, we recommend using a blend of firm apples. We used an equal mix of honey crisp and granny smith apples, but you can also use pink lady or fuji or another variety of firm tart apples you like.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar and brown sugar sweeten the pie filling and help draw out the natural juices from the apples, resulting in a sweet, syrup consistency.
- Flour: In addition to being used in the pie crust, all-purpose flour acts as a thickening agent in the pie filling and absorbs any excess moisture from the apples.
- Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds an acidity to the filling, which balances the sweetness and prevents the apples from browning.
- Spices: A simple mix of cinnamon and nutmeg compliments the sweet apples and enhances the warm, aromatic flavors.
Equipment Needed
- Mixing bowls
- Pastry cutter or fork
- Plastic wrap or a bowl with a lid (for chilling the dough)
- Rolling pin
- Pie dish or pie plate
- Sharp knife
- Pastry brush
- Pie ring or foil
- Cooling rack
How to Make Vegan Apple Pie
Make the Pie Crust Dough
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt until uniform.
- Cut in the vegan butter. Using either a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the vegan butter into the flour mixture until a sand-like consistency forms. It’s okay if the butter pieces are uneven.
- Slowly add the water. Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time. Mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula. You most likely won’t need all the ice water; the dough should still be crumbly but should hold together when squeezed.
- You can also make the dough in a food processor. Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt and pulse until uniform. Add the cubed vegan butter and pulse until butter is broken up into pieces the size of large peas. Slowly begin to add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the food processor runs. Continue until the mixture begins to come together but before it becomes a ball. Some crumbs are okay.
- Refrigerate the dough. Dump onto a clean work surface and work together with your hands. Divide the dough into two even discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Set in the fridge to chill for at least one hour, up to overnight.
Assemble the Pie
- Roll out the bottom crust. Once the dough has chilled, sprinkle a work surface with flour. Roll out one of the discs of dough to roughly a 12” circle, about ¼” thick. You may need to let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes before rolling to soften up. Transfer to a 9” pie dish and carefully press into the bottom of the dish to form the bottom crust. Place in the fridge to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Make the apple pie filling. Add all the filling ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined.
- Fill the bottom crust. Remove the pan from the fridge and gently press everything down so it is evenly dispersed throughout. If you can, try to make sure all of the apples are lying flat in the crust. Place back into the refrigerator.
- Roll out the top crust. Using the same method used for the bottom of the pie crust, roll out the second half of the dough to ¼” thick.
- Cover the pie. Place the top crust on the filling. Cut off the excess dough around the perimeter of the pie dish. Press the 2 crusts together to seal, then fold the edges under. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork. You can also create a lattice top with the dough if desired.
Bake and Serve
- Brush the top crust with milk. Using a pastry brush, brush the pie crust with a thin layer of almond milk. Sprinkle the crust liberally with turbinado sugar.
- Vent. Use a paring knife to cut a few vents in the top for steam to escape.
- Cover and bake. Cover the rim of the pie with a pie ring or foil. This will help ensure that the crust does not burn. Then, place the pie into the oven and bake for 50-70 minutes, removing the pie ring after 30 minutes. Once the vegan apple pie is ready, the crust will be golden brown and the filling will be bubbling.
- Serve. Remove the vegan apple pie from the oven and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before serving (this usually takes 45-60 minutes). This will ensure that the apple pie filling thickens up and you do not have a runny pie. Once cool, slice and serve with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, or as desired.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, if you prefer to take a shortcut, you can opt to purchase a store-bought pie crust instead of making your own. Many store-bought pie crusts are accidentally vegan (they’re usually made with oil instead of butter), so check the ingredients! Or, check out this helpful guide: 25 Best Vegan Pie Crust Brands.
To make this pie gluten-free, replace our homemade pie crust with your favorite gluten-free pie crust (either homemade or store-bought), and replace the flour in the filling with a gluten-free flour blend, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend. If you’re looking for a Gluten-Free Vegan Pie Crust recipe, try this well-reviewed Pie Crust Recipe.
Pre-cooking the apples is not necessary. Since they are thinly sliced, they will bake through until soft and tender as is!
Baking Tips
- Make sure to use cold ingredients in the pie crust. Cold water and chilled butter are necessary for making a flaky crust. If the ingredients are too warm, the coconut oil will melt and the layers of flaky crust will melt.
- Use a pie shield or foil ring. This is essential to preventing the crust from over-browning and becoming hard. For a visual, learn How to Make a Foil Ring for a Pie Crust in this step-by-step tutorial.
- Allow the pie to cool completely. This helps the pie set and the filling thicken before slicing. If you are planning on making this vegan apple pie for the holidays, consider baking it one day in advance or preparing it the morning of. This will give you plenty of time to allow it to cool and ensure the filling is not runny.
Storage Instructions
Vegan apple pie will keep tightly covered at room temperature for 1-2 days, or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
This pie can also be frozen. After assembling the pie, tightly cover it with plastic wrap or slip it into an airtight freezer bag and seal it tightly, removing as much excess air as possible. Place the apple pie in the freezer and freeze for up to 1 month.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450F. Unwrap the pie and bake it on a cookie sheet for 15-20 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 375F and bake for an additional 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool completely, then enjoy!
More Vegan Apple Dessert Recipes You May Enjoy:
Make sure you tag us on Instagram @sweetsimplevegan and @consciouschris and hashtag #sweetsimplevegan if you recreate any of our recipes, we love to see your photos!
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Vegan Apple Pie Recipe
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 8 servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This Vegan Apple Pie is perfect for fall, easy to make, and one of our favorite desserts to make during the holiday season. It’s made with a traditional pie crust and tons of sweet and juicy apple slices! Get ready to fall in love with this homemade apple pie!
Ingredients
Pie dough:
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold vegan butter, cubed
- ½ cup ice water
Apple filling:
- 3 lbs apples, peeled & thinly sliced (about 8 medium apples, half granny smith, half Honeycrisp or fuji)
- ½ cup (105g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (30g) flour
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Assembly:
- Non-dairy milk
- Turbinado or granulated sugar
Equipment Needed
-
- Pastry cutter or fork
-
- Plastic wrap or a bowl with a lid (for chilling the dough)
-
- Sharp knife
Instructions
Make the Pie Crust Dough
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt until uniform.
- Cut in the vegan butter. Using either a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the vegan butter into the flour mixture until a sand-like consistency forms. It’s okay if the butter pieces are uneven.
- Slowly add the water. Add the ice water, one tablespoon at a time. Mix together with a wooden spoon or spatula. You most likely won’t need all the ice water; the dough should still be crumbly but should hold together when squeezed.
- Refrigerate the dough. Dump onto a clean work surface and work together with your hands. Divide the dough into two even discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Set in the fridge to chill for at least one hour, up to overnight.
Assemble the Pie
- Roll out the bottom crust. Once the dough has chilled, sprinkle a work surface with flour. Roll out one of the discs of dough to roughly a 12” circle, about ¼” thick. You may need to let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes before rolling to soften up. Transfer to a 9” pie dish and carefully press into the bottom of the dish to form the bottom crust. Place in the fridge to chill.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Make the apple pie filling. Add all the filling ingredients to a large bowl and mix until combined.
- Fill the bottom crust. Remove the pan from the fridge and gently press everything down so it is evenly dispersed throughout. If you can, try to make sure all of the apples are lying flat in the crust. Place back into the refrigerator.
- Roll out the top crust. Using the same method used for the bottom of the pie crust, roll out the second half of the dough to ¼” thick.
- Cover the pie. Place the top crust on the filling. Cut off the excess dough around the perimeter of the pie dish. Press the 2 crusts together to seal, then fold the edges under. Crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork. You can also create a lattice top with the dough if desired.
Bake and Serve
- Brush the top crust with milk. Using a pastry brush, brush the pie crust with a thin layer of almond milk. Sprinkle the crust liberally with turbinado sugar.
- Vent. Use a paring knife to cut a few vents in the top for steam to escape.
- Cover and bake. Cover the rim of the pie with a pie ring or foil. This will help ensure that the crust does not burn. Then, place the pie into the oven and bake for 50-70 minutes, removing the pie ring after 30 minutes. Once the vegan apple pie is ready, the crust will be golden brown and the filling will be bubbling.
- Serve. Remove the vegan apple pie from the oven and cool completely on a wire cooling rack before serving (this usually takes 45-60 minutes). This will ensure that the apple pie filling thickens up and you do not have a runny pie. Once cool, slice and serve with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream, or as desired.
Notes
- You can also make the dough in a food processor. Add the all-purpose flour, sugar, and salt and pulse until uniform. Add the cubed vegan butter and pulse until butter is broken up into pieces the size of large peas. Slowly begin to add the cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while the food processor runs. Continue until the mixture begins to come together but before it becomes a ball. Some crumbs are okay. Dump onto a clean work surface and work together with your hands. Divide the dough into two even discs and wrap each in plastic wrap. Set in the fridge to chill for at least one hour, up to overnight.
- For easy ice water, we just place a glass half full of water into the freezer for about 30 minutes before using it.
- Vegan butter: Cold butter is the key to a great pie crust. To prepare the butter, we like to predice it and place it in a freezer-safe bowl to chill while we prepare the remaining ingredients before getting started.
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
Nutrition facts label provided by Nutri Fox.
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I made this!! It was delish!!!❤️ xx
Amazing recipe! Simple, elegant, and tasty a simple f**k!
I like my apple pie on the sour side so I used golden reinette apples. I used unrefined coconut oil and looooved the slight coconuty flavour mixed with the apples and cinnamon. I’ve made this recipe twice in the last month and I have a feeling that it’ll become a staple in our household!
Jasmine this looks next level! The criss-crossing work you did on there is so artful.
With fall coming up, there’s nothing better than warm apple pie. My problem has always been that I feel TERRIBLE after a sugar-laden apple pie that spikes that glucose (fructose?). I have noticed I generally feel better after vegan pies.
Can’t wait to try this out and will be reporting back!
This pie is really good! I was lazy and I bought a pre made crust but the filling was just perfect. ???? Recommend IT!
I love this recipe, unfortunately my crust was hard once cooked, and the dough was not sticking well…
I was a little nervous to try this recipe because I’ve never made a pie before and don’t have a rolling pin or a pie tin. I followed the recipe, used a wine bottle and made this into mini pies using a jumbo cupcake pan and they turned out great! I reduced the cook time to about 18min. I didn’t have enough crust left to make another batch so I made some hand pocket pies as well and they turned out really great. I always have bad luck baking anything with dough but this recipe was so easy and I didn’t even burn anything 🙂 thank you!
OH MY GOOD! I just did this pie and it’s the best pie i’ve ever had in my life! Thank you so much for the recipe <3
That looks delicious! ❤️❤️❤️ How much time would you recommend for cooling? Also, is it possible to freeze an unbaked version of this and bake it the next day?
I would suggest about 45-60 minutes for cooling. And yes, you can totally freeze an unbaked version of this and bake it the next day. After assembling the pie, cover it up (or slip it into an airtight freezer bag) and pop it into the freezer. Be sure the pie is upright so that no filling spills out before it solidifies. When you are ready to bake it, preheat the oven to 450F. Unwrap the pie and set it on a cookie sheet. Put the pie in oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375F and continue baking for 30-40 minutes, or until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling. Remove from oven and cool.
Hi guys, really admire what you are doing here.
But I haven’t heard of a vegan brown sugar before? Are you sure what you used was vegan. Brown sugar is usually just bone-char processed cane sugar with maple added in.
Can u post what stores u get it from if it turns out ok? Thanks
Hi Jenn! We use “Wholesome” brand for a lot of the sugar we bake and cook with. Theirs is vegan and bone char free 🙂
yummy!