This Baked Apple Orchard Crumble is a simple, gluten-free apple crumble recipe for any table to share this fall season.
Salty Sweet + Apple Crumble = Bliss
This Salty Coconut Cream sauce is a complete curveball to this traditional apple recipe, yet goes SO well with that you just have to trust me on this one and try it out for yourself. When I was traveling in Thailand, it’s traditional and very common that most desserts are served with a salty component, which makes complete sense because all of their cooking relies heavily on making sure all textures and flavors are balanced to a “T”.
You really don’t even need a “recipe” for this Salty Coconut Cream sauce, but for the sake of this being a recipe post, I’ll ease your mind and share you the basics of it: 1 cup coconut cream (canned full fat coconut milk works perfectly fine) + 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (always adjust to taste). It should be fairly salty because the goal is to only use a little bit to balance out the sweetness of whatever dish you’re enjoying.
Crumble recipes are classics, and besides the Orange Julius, an apple crumble was the first recipe I ever fully cooked on my own when I was younger. Every kitchen needs a go-to crumble recipe, no matter what season, what time of day, or what meal. A crumble is a dessert that also easily transition into a sweet breakfast is one to know.
Apple crumbles are the simplest of desserts to make since it requires just a little chopping, mixing, and baking. No specific measurements are truly needed here. I particularly love this crumble in the fall or spring when the weather transitions. You can enjoy it cool, warm with a basic Coconut Milk Ice Cream, or with a heaping spoonful of this Salty Coconut Cream.
Rolled oats, walnuts and dates make this crumble-topping perfect for everyone but especially those living gluten-free since traditional crumbles are made with flours and mixed with butter.
Let’s break down why apples are a staple ingredient in my kitchen! Apples are one of my favorite digestive friendly fruits due to their unique fiber content- containing both insoluble and soluble fiber in apples are great for improving digestion and keeping us regular.
Apples have been studied and associated with improving cognitive function, reducing risk of heart disease, diabetes, reducing cholesterol, managing weight, bone health, and digestive health. Apples’ polyphenol content also contributes to their amazing health and nutrition profile.
One of the biggest health benefits of apples relates to digestion. It’s a natural coincidence that raw apple cider vinegar also is great for our digestion! From a culinary perspective, apples are great to add to dishes for added crunch, moisture, texture, crisp bite, and a hint of sweetness without being overpowering.
When baking, applesauce can also be used to replace many of your fat sources like vegetable oil or any other oil/butter called for in recipes- again depending on the recipe. When purchasing, apples are one of those whole foods that I highly recommend you getting organic, check out the EWG dirty dozen list. ).
- FILLING
- 6 large apples, any variety you enjoy, thinly sliced
- 1 heaping tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, minced
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- Juice from ½ orange
- CRUMBLE
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely ground
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 5 tablespoons organic cold-pressed coconut oil, melt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ground
- Pinch of sea salt
- Preheat the oven to 375 ° F. In a large cast iron skillet, or oven safe skillet pan, add sliced apples with 1 tablespoon maple syrup, heat on medium for about 5 minutes or until the apples just start to wilt. Add orange zest, ginger, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, orange juice, and sea salt. Stir and set aside.
- While those are cooking, grind 1 cup walnuts into a coarse flour using a food processor or nut grinder. In a separate bowl, simply combine remaining ingredients; orange zest, chilled coconut oil, nutmeg, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, rolled oats.
- Using your hands, create a crumble by squeezing the ingredients together and making sure all is well combined.
- Pour the crumble topping evenly over the fruit filling in the cast iron skillet (that you’ve been cooking in already). Sprinkle with extra cinnamon or ground walnuts if you’d like.
- Bake at 375 ° F for 30-40 minutes, checking at 20 minutes or until the top is golden brown and filling is tender.
- Take out of the oven and set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes, this will allow the crumble topping to get nice and crunchy.
- To serve: Drizzle with warm maple syrup, honey, or the salty coconut cream.
Salty Coconut Cream = 1 cup full fat coconut cream + 1 teaspoon sea salt, stir and combine. That’s it!
Make a date out of it!
Make a date with your friend or your love and take a little road trip to the nearest apple orchard; you’ll have so much fun picking fresh apples off the tree followed by taking them home and cooking up this crumble together! It’s such an amazing way to have that literal “farm to table” vibe in your own city and kitchen. Typically you’ll pick so many apples you won’t know what to do with it, so I highly recommend trying your hand at making homemade apple butter, this Apple Cinnamon Sweet Bread, or this Pear Apple Pistachio Crumble, or the famous Raw Caramel with fresh apple slices (heaven on a plate
I hope you all enjoy this one and share it with your friends and family! I would love to see this in action at your table at home, share all your pictures using the hashtag #nutritionstripped so I can see what you’re up to!
