This vegan apple pie is bursting with ooey-gooey spiced apple filling between two layers of flaky vegan pastry. Perfect for holiday dinners, special occasions, or just those days when you're craving a sweet treat.
Are you a pie person or a cake person? I always feel like the world is divided that way!
I'll be honest and admit that I'm a cake kind of girl. Pie usually doesn't do it for me. I mean, it's good and all. Sweet fillings between layers of flaky crust? You can't not like it.
But it's not my favorite. I can usually turn down a piece of pie, whereas I can't say no to cake. But you know what? This pie is different. I'm not kidding when I tell you that it's the best pie I ever ate.
In fact, as I was devouring my piece with a scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream I had to confirm with my husband that it was really as amazing as I thought. "Honey, is this pie really effing good or is it just me?"
His response was "I think it's the best pie I ever ate!"
Jump to:
Why It's the Best
The crust. I used a double batch (for top and bottom crust) of my homemade vegan coconut oil crust, worked it into a lattice, washed with a brushing of almond milk and a sprinkle of sugar. It came out super flaky with just the right amount of crispness on top.
Spices. Just the right balance is what I shot for and I think I nailed it. Most of the time I'm disappointed by recipes not having enough spices, so I went a touch over the amounts you'd normally find in apple pie, without using so much so as to feel like a spice punch in the face.
Apples. Okay, so apple pie has apples. Duh! But choosing the right variety is key. I used Pink Lady for the pie in the photos. This guide is super handy for choosing an apple variety for your pie!
Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegan pie crust. I used homemade vegan pie crust, but store-bought crust works too. If you use store-bought crust you'll want to get the kind that you roll yourself (as opposed to pie shells in disposable plates) and read the ingredients to ensure it's vegan. Many brands contain dairy or lard. I like Wholly Wholesome brand pie dough, which is available at Whole Foods.
- Apples. Gala, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith are all good pie apples. Keep in mind how tart or sweet you'd like your pie to come out when choosing apples.
- Sugar. Use organic sugar to keep the recipe vegan.
- Flour. I've only tested the recipe with all-purpose wheat flour, so I can't guarantee results with anything else, though I think cornstarch would work.
- Lemon juice.
- Spices. We're using cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
- Salt.
- Non-dairy milk. You only need a tiny bit of this to serve as a vegan wash for your crust. Any variety that's unflavored and unsweetened will work.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Make your crust, either by using my homemade vegan pie crust recipe, or another recipe if you prefer. If you're using store-bought crust make sure it's thawed out and ready to go.
- When your pie dough is mixed, stick it in the fridge while you make the filling. Note: don't leave the dough in the fridge any longer than it takes to make the filling (20 minutes or so). After a while it'll get rock hard and you won't be able to roll it.
- Peel and slice your apples. Slice the apples thinly to ensure they cook all the way through.
- Place your apple slices into a large mixing bowl with sugar, spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger), lemon juice, a couple of tablespoons of flour for thickening, and a tiny bit of salt. Mix it up!
- Roll half of your dough out to fit the inside of your pie dish. Drape it inside the dish, poke some holes in the bottom, and then add the filling.
- You'll find you've got a lot of filling! It helps to arrange the apple slices horizontally and pile them on top of each other, then push them down a bit with a spoon.
Tip: If you make this vegan apple pie in a smaller dish than the recommended 9 ½ inch pie plate and find you have extra, just place them in an oven proof dish and bake them alone. Baked apples are delicious as a light dessert or snack!
- To make a lattice top, roll out the other portion of your crust and cut it into about ten 1-inch wide slices. Weave the slices over the filling, trim any excess, then gently roll and tuck the bottom crust over the edges to affix the top and bottom crusts together.
Tip: If you prefer a conventional top crust, simply roll out the dough, drape it over the fillings, then trim and pinch the top and bottom crusts together. Cut a few slits in the top crust to let steam escape while the pie bakes.
- Crimp the edges of your crusts, either with a fork or fingers, as shown in the photo.
- Brush the top crust with some non-dairy milk, and then sprinkle it with some coarse sugar (most organic sugar is sufficiently coarse for this purpose).
- Pop your vegan apple pie into the oven and bake it until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. I like to cover the edges with foil or a pie shield after about 20 minutes to prevent them from burning.
Tip: Be sure to place something underneath the pie plate while you bake it. There will be drips!
- Let your vegan apple pie cool until it's just warm. Slice and serve it with dairy-free vanilla ice cream.
Leftovers & Storage
Seal your vegan apple pie up in a plastic bag or airtight container. It will keep at room temperature for about 3 days, in the refrigerator for about 6 days, or in the freezer for about 3 months. The crust will loose some of it's crispness during storage, but otherwise the pie will still be delicious!
Frequently Asked Questions
I'm sure it can! Try this vegan gluten-free pie crust recipe if you can't find one at the store. For the filling, cornstarch would be your best bet as a flour substitute.
Yes! Skip the top crust, and instead mix up ⅓ cup of flour, ¼ cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 3 tablespoons of vegan butter or coconut oil. Sprinkle it over the filling before baking. Cover the pie with foil after about 30 minutes to prevent the topping from burning.
Conventional sugar is processed with animal bones in the U.S., so it's not considered vegan. Organic sugar is made differently using a bone-free process.
More Vegan Pie Recipes
Like this recipe? If so, please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you try it! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter for more recipes like this one!
Classic Vegan Apple Pie
This vegan apple pie is bursting with ooey-gooey spiced apple filling between two layers of flaky vegan pastry. Perfect for holiday dinners, special occasions, or just those days when you're craving a sweet treat.
Ingredients
- 2 batches vegan pie crust (or use store-bought pie crusts - Note 1)
For the Filling
- 7 cups peeled and sliced apples (Note 2)
- ⅔ cup organic granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For Topping
- 1 tablespoon non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons organic granulated sugar
Instructions
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If you're making your own pie crust, prepare the dough for that first. Once mixed, cover the bowl and place it into the refrigerator while you prepare the filling (up to 20 minutes, but no longer).
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Preheat the oven to 425°F.
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Place all ingredients for the filling into a large bowl and stir until well-mixed and the apple slices are evenly coated with the sugar and spices.
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Gather a 9 ½ inch pie plate. (Note 3)
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Get the pastry dough out of the fridge and divide it in half.
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Lightly sprinkle a work surface with flour and roll half of the dough into a thin circle. Invert your pie plate on the rolled dough to ensure your circle is large enough to cover your pie plate, with some extra — you'll want at least an extra inch all around the dish.
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Drape the dough inside the pie plate and gently press with your fingers to mold it to the inside of the plate.
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Use a fork to poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust.
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Place the filling inside of the crust in the pie plate. You'll have a lot of filling, so do your best to arrange the apple slices horizontally and stack them, then pack them into the crust as best you can.
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Roll the other half of your dough so it's large enough to cover the pie plate, with a bit of extra.
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Use a knife or pizza cutter to slice the dough into about ten 1-inch strips. (Note 4)
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Weave the strips into a lattice formation over the fillings, then trim them if needed so they extend just to the edge of your pie dish. (Note 5)
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Trim the bottom crust, then tuck the edges over the edges of your top crust.
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Crimp the edges of the crust with a fork or your fingers.
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Brush the top crust with the non-dairy milk, then sprinkle it with the sugar.
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Place the pie plate into the oven, with a large baking sheet or pan on the rack beneath it to catch drips.
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Bake the pie for 30 minutes. Optionally, cover the edges of the crust with foil when they begin to brown, after about 20 minutes.
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Turn the oven temperature down to 375°F. Continue baking the pie for 20-25 minutes, until you can see the fillings bubbling up inside the slits.
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Remove the pie from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.
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Slice and serve with vegan vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Notes
- If using store-bought pie crust, look for the type that you roll out yourself, as opposed to pie shells. I like Wholly Wholesome brand.
- You'll need about 5 apples or 2 pounds. Use a good baking variety, such as Gala, Pink Lady or Granny Smith.
- Anything from a 9 inch to 10 inch pie plate will work. You may have some extra filling if you use a 9 inch plate. I like to place it in a spare dish and bake it alone as a light dessert or snack.
- If you prefer to do a basic top crust, don't slice the dough. Instead simply drape the top crust over the fillings, trim the top and bottom crusts, then seal them together by pinching. Cut a few slits in the top crust for steam to escape while the pie bakes.
- For more guidance on how to make a lattice crust, see this tutorial.
I had a hell of a time with the crust. It seemed really dry even though I added a lot of more water than called for and although it baked up nice, it was VERY hard. Tasty but hard. I also thought I didn't have enough filling, even though I added 4 extra apples
Sorry you had trouble with it! Coconut oil crust can be a little tricky to work with. Did you roll it out very thickly perhaps because you were having trouble? That could be why it turned out so hard. I'm not sure what went wrong with the filling. Did you measure/weigh your apples instead of just going by the number? Or use a very large pie pan? There should be so much that you have to pile it up to fit it all.
I made this for Thanksgiving and it was so good that my Omni family insisted I make it for Christmas as well! I used a larger pie plate so the apples weren't piled high but we all liked it that way. I also left the dough in the refrigerator longer than I should have but after warming/kneading for a few minutes it was fine. Thank you so much for this recipe! Everything I have made of yours is perfection!
Yay! I'm so glad this was a hit! Wonderful to hear that you're enjoying my recipes. Thanks so much Jessica!
We used a premade crust from Aldi, but followed all the recommended instructions here. We all loved it!!
This was so delicious!! I kept the spices a little more basic - just used cinnamon and nutmeg, but it was still amazing.
Another Recipe- Another HIT! My husband was upset that I was making a “vegan” apple pie. He said he wasn’t going to eat it. Well I made this today and my husband devoured it 😂 he gave me the approval to make this again. It truly was delicious. I also made your homemade pie crust. TWO ENTHUSIASTIC THUMBS UP 👍🏼👍🏼 FOR BOTH RECIPES! Thank you kindly! 3 recipes down from your site and all three were a huge success! Bravo 👏🏼
Made it for the 4th of July and it was a hit! So delicious. Served warm from the oven with Oatly vanilla ice cream. Raves from everyone - didn't dare tell them it was all vegan.Yum.
How is this Vegan? You’re using apples, sugar,flower and regular spices! So when I make pizza, if I call it Vegan, that means it is? Please explain. I would love to hear your rationale! Unbelievable.
Happy to help! If you called your pizza vegan and it contained dairy (or any animal product), it wouldn't actually be vegan. This pie doesn't contain any animal products, so it's vegan. Typical animal products you might find in an apple pie include butter, dairy-based milk, lard (in the crust), or conventional sugar (which is processed using animal bones - organic is not).
You must be "Tired.." of yourself.
Seriously. What a complete and utter bufoon.
And now, I am going to attempt this pie. I’ve tried so many recipes from this site and loved them, and I’m excited that my first pie ever will be a connoisseurus veg recipe.
This looks and sounds delicious! I'll be doing a lot of cooking and baking this Thanksgiving, so anything I can prepare ahead of time is good. How far in advance can I make the pie filling? Will it keep in the fridge for several days? Thanks for your feedback. I always love your recipes!
Glad you're enjoying the recipes! I'm really not sure about making the filling in advance - that usually works well with precooked filling, but I've never tried it with filling that goes in raw, like this one. I'm guessing it would keep for 2 or 3 days if you wrap it up super tight. I'd love to hear how it works out if you try!
Thanks for your response, Alissa. I decided not to make the filling in advance. I made the entire pie the day before Thanksgiving and it was absolutely delicious when I served it for dessert on Thanksgiving night!
Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
This is the second Thanksgiving I'm making this! The pie crust was such a big hit last year. Thank you for sharing!
This pie was absolutely delicious! I was going to dinner with family who have a vegan houseguest, and I wanted to make sure dessert could be enjoyed by all. This was a smash hit (especially with some vegan vanilla ice cream from Ben & Jerry's on top!) and I left with an empty pie pan. I'm making it again just the same way even for non-vegans.
I did adjust things a little, using twice the cloves and thrice the nutmeg, and ginger paste instead of ginger powder since I happened to have some on hand. 10/10.