The best vegan apple pie is made with a traditional flaky and tender homemade pie crust and a sweet apple cinnamon filling. It’s the perfect dessert for fall, winter, spring, and summer. Serve it with a dollop of our easy coconut milk whipped cream.
Published Nov. 24, 2015 and updated May 10, 2021.
Vegan apple desserts you’ll love
Vegan Apple Cinnamon Crunch Cake
Simple Dairy-Free Chocolate Covered Apples
Sugar-Free Stuffed Baked Apples
Ingredients, substitutions, and equipment
Vegan Pie Crust – Make our homemade pie crust or buy one. We don’t have a gluten-free pie crust recipe, yet. If you want to make one, try this recipe.
Apples – For the best flavor, we like to use a blend of apples to our pie filling.
You can substitute pears for this recipe.
Sugar – If you want a sugar-free pie, skip it and the apples will sweeten it. You can also opt for refined sugar-free and use coconut sugar or maple syrup to sweeten the filling.
Cinnamon – This adds warmth and depth of flavor to the filling.
Lemon Juice – Acid balances the sweetness of the apples. There are no substitutions for this ingredient.
Water – We add about ⅓ of a cup of water to the apples when we cook them to avoid scorching the apples. It will evaporate while cooking, so don’t worry about the filling being too watery.
Equipment
- Rolling pin if making homemade pie crust
- Apple peeler or paring knife
- Pie plate
- Large saucepan
- Stove
- Oven
Best apples for pie filling
We like to use a blend of apples. This will give the filling a more interesting flavor than using just one type.
Use two or three different types. These are our favorites.
- Honeycrisp apples are sweet. They add the perfect amount of sugar to applesauce.
- Granny Smith apples are tart and tangy. This balances the sweetness and makes the applesauce interesting.
- Fuji apples are sweet and juicy. They have a different flavor than Honeycrisp, and the two marry perfectly to make a great tasting applesauce.
How to make the best vegan apple pie
Step one
Make the pie crust.
For the best apple pie, you can’t beat making pie crust from scratch.
Our homemade pie crust recipe is easy. Click here to learn how to make flaky vegan pie crust.
If you’re not feeling ambitious or don’t have time to make crust, then vegan store-bought pie crust will do.
Here’s a list of vegan pie crust brands.
Marie Callender’s Frozen Pastry Pie Shells
Wholly Wholesome Pie Crust Shells or Dough
Mrs. Smith’s Deep Dish Pie Crusts
Step two
Make the apple cinnamon filling.
Slice the apples as uniformly as possible. If they’re different sizes, they won’t cook evenly.
Add the apple slices, sugar, cinnamon, and water to a large pan and cook the apples on medium-low heat until they’re just fork tender.
You really must cook the apples before baking or the filling will turn out dry.
STEP THREE
Fill the pie crust with the apples and cover the top with another pie crust. Be sure to slice vents in the top crust to allow steam to escape. You can also make a lattice top if desired.
bake for approximately 50 to 60 minutes, or until the pie crust is a light golden brown.
How to make a lattice pie crust
Roll the dough into a ⅛ inch thick circle and slice the dough into ½ inch thick pieces.
Lay two long strips of dough over each end of the pie plate, like a cross.
Continue adding strips of dough and weave them over and under each other.
This is what the lattice top should look like when you're finished.
It doesn't have to be perfect, so don't worry about it, just have fun.
What to do with extra excess dough
Our pie crust recipe makes enough dough to fill two pie plates. If you have excess dough, roll it out and use cookie cutters to make a pretty decorative addition to the pie, like we did with our vegan pumpkin pie.
You can also make cinnamon sugar pie crust chips.
Another option is to make little hand pies, hot pockets, or mini apple pies (cut the pie dough and place in a muffin tin, then fill with the apple filling).
Storage and freezing
Store the pie covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze it in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Reheat in a 350˚F (176˚) oven until it’s warmed through.
More vegan pie recipes you’ll love
Vegan Lemon Meringue Pie with Aquafaba
Classic Vegan Banana Cream Pie
(WITH A FLAKY VEGAN PIE CRUST
Equipment
- Oven
- Rolling Pin
- stove
Ingredients
- 8-10 medium apples – peeled and cored
- ¼ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- â…“ cup water
- 2 Vegan pie crusts One for the bottom and one for the top.
Instructions
- Use a ready-made crust or make our pie crust recipe, first. Click here for the recipe.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (176˚C)
- Peel, core, and slice the apples uniformly. If the apples aren’t sliced evenly, they won’t cook evenly.
- Place the apples, â…“ cup water, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, â…“ cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for approximately 10 to 15 minutes, or until the apples are just fork tender.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the apples to the pie pan that’s lined with piecrust. Cover the crust with the top layer of pie crust. If you cover with a solid piece of crust cut three slits in the top so steam can escape while baking.
- Bake for 50 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven and brush evenly with melted butter or coconut oil. Sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar (whisk the tablespoon of sugar and teaspoon of cinnamon together) and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is a nice golden brown.
- Let it cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.
MARIA says
My favorite!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Maria!! 🙂
Joe says
This looks amazing! 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?). Can't wait to try this out and will be reporting back!
Linda Meyer says
Thank you, Joe! We get it. If the apples are sweet enough, there's no reason to add a ton of sugar, or any. Please let us know what you think.
Amanjit says
Thank you for this recipe! I made it for my non-vegan husband's birthday, and he really, really, REALLY, loved it!
I used Granny Smith apples, which were quite tart, so I added more sugar and cinnamon until I was happy with how the filling tasted. I also cooked a few extra apples, because I wanted to make sure the pie was well-packed.
Thanks again for this amazing, easy, recipe. 🙂
Linda Meyer says
Hi Amanjit! Thank you so much for the kind comment. Happy birthday to your husband, I'm so happy you both enjoyed the pie. The next time you make it, try using a mix of sweet and tart apples, this will help balance the sweet and tart. 🙂
Amanjit says
Thank you, I will try the mix of apples next time. And there WILL be a next time. 😀
Linda Meyer says
Awesome! Thank you so much.
Joshua Howard says
Hi! Thank you for sharing this recipe! It sounds delicious but I have a question. What kind of apples is good for this pie?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Joshua, great question! We like a combination of Granny Smith and Fuji to get a sweet and tart flavor. 🙂
Deepa C says
Hello! Thank you for the recipe! I am not too sure if Cinnamon sugar is available here, could you please provide an alternative?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Deepa, all you'll need to do is mix sugar with cinnamon. 3 parts sugar to 1 part cinnamon is a good ratio, or if you want a stronger cinnamon flavor go with a 2 to 1 ratio. 🙂
laura Odum says
I'm new to this cooking from scratch thing (one of my kids has recently been diagnosed with multiple pain in the butt food allergies)... Is there a way to make ahead and freeze this to make holidays a little easier?
Linda Meyer says
Hi Laura! I'm so sorry to hear about your kiddo. What a bummer! Yes, you can make the pie and freeze it in a freezer safe container so it doesn't get freezer burn. Take it out and heat it in a 300 degree oven until it's heated through to the center. You may have to cover the top so the crust doesn't burn. 🙂 Enjoy the holiday!
Laura odum says
Another new guy question... do I freeze it before or after I bake it? Thanks!!
Linda Meyer says
For best results, wrap it up tight before you bake it and then follow the instructions on the recipe. If you bake it first, reheat it in a 300 degree oven until heated through. 🙂
Katie Hoffman says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe and the pie crust one! It was my first time making a pie and this recipe was really easy to follow and came out GREAT!! I will definitely be looking at more of your recipes:)
Linda Meyer says
Hi Katie! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Pie crust can be tricky, so it makes me happy to hear that it turned out on your first try. 🙂
Katelyn says
Looks delicious! Did you really mean three tablespoons of cinnamon? It seems like a huge amount with only 1/3 cup sugar.
Linda Meyer says
Hi Katelyn! Oh my gosh, thank you so much for pointing that error out. I changed my recipe plug in and it has changed the measurements and wording in a few of my older recipes. Thank you, thank you! 🙂
Katelyn says
Thanks for changing! I made the pie for a party on Saturday and it came out beautifully. Thanks for posting.
Linda Meyer says
I'm so happy to hear that, Katelyn. 🙂 I spent a few hours checking out the recipes on my older posts this weekend and found several more that needed adjusting. Technology is my friend and my enemy-haha!