This easy and delicious low-carb keto apple crisp doesn’t use any apples! To keep it keto friendly, the recipe is made with zucchini, but your taste buds will never know the difference!
Article Index
- Ingredients
- Quick Tips
- Instructions
- Serving Suggestions
- Variations
- FAQs
- Related Recipes
- Recipe
Sweet and tender pieces of sliced zucchini can have the flavor of apples by adding a sweetened spice blend. You’ll get all the taste you love without the unwanted carbs.
The delicious keto apple dessert is a simple and easy way to enjoy the crunchy, sweet flavor of apples on a low-carb diet. It's also a tasty way to get in your daily does of vegetables.
If you are trying to get your family to eat more veggies, this treat is a great way to do it. They may not even be able to tell you didn't use real granny smith apples or fuji apples in the mock apple filling.
Ingredients
You only need a few basic ingredients and a little time to make this low carb apple crisp recipe. In fact, you may already have everything you need right in the kitchen!
Mock Apple Mixture
For the low-carb apple pie crisp filling, you'll need the following:
- zucchini
- lemon juice
- keto sugar substitute
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
You can also add a keto-friendly thickener like xanthan gum to make a thicker filling and apple extract for a stronger apple flavor.
Apple Crisp Topping
I use a nutty topping for the zucchini apple crisp. It’s just a blend of these ingredients:
- Chopped pecans
- Almond flour
- Oat fiber or coconut flour
- Granulated keto sweetener
- Cinnamon
- Melted butter
Quick Tips
- Keep the zucchini slices at least a quarter inch thick. If you cut them too thin, the squash will get soft and mushy when cooked.
- Use a coarse almond flour. Low carb baked goods are generally better with fine almond flour, but for an apple crisp, a coarser grind works best. You can even use almond meal with the skin still on.
- Add apple extract. The lemon juice provides a fruity taste to the zucchini but you'll get a more believable taste if you add in a little apple flavoring.
- Use a ball shaped squash. There are round ball varieties of zucchini that you can grow yourself. The shape and size is more like an apple.
Instructions
To make the recipe, simply prepare the zucchini mixture then add the crumb topping. Then simply bake it in the oven. That's it!
Before using the zucchini, it needs to be peeled and sliced in half lengthwise. Then the seeds need to be removed using a spoon to scrape them out.
Cut the zucchini into half moon slices to look like apple slices. The summer squash pie filling will look just like apples!
Once the zucchini is sliced, it’s mixed with lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweetener and optional apple extract. Then it’s poured into a baking dish.
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then cut in the butter using a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle the topping over the filling and baked until the zucchini is tender. It takes about 45 to 50 minutes to cook completely.
Serving Suggestions
This keto zucchini apple crisp is perfect served warm or cold. When warm, it tastes great with a scoop of keto vanilla ice cream on top. Topping off with some whipped cream is also a great option.
Variations
It’s easy to modify this recipe into a keto mock apple pie. Just add my almond flour crust or coconut flour crust and bake in a pie pan. You’ll end up with a low carb Dutch apple pie!
If you’d rather have a traditional apple pie, add a top crust too.
FAQs
Before getting to the printable recipe card, here are some answered questions people have asked about the keto apple crisp dessert.
Are apples keto friendly?
Apples are generally avoided on a keto diet because even a small apple can have over 20 grams of carbs. That’s twice the limit for what’s recommended for each low carb meal, and it’s likely to knock you out of ketosis!
What can be used for low carb mock apples?
I’ve made various keto apple recipes using chayote squash, jicama, and yellow squash in addition to zucchini. I use chayote in my keto apple pie uses chayote and I use jicama in my keto apple pie filling.
This keto apple crisp is a must try low carb dessert for late summer or early fall! It’s definitely something you'll want to make over and over again. For more delicious treats, try one of these:
- Keto apple bread has all the flavor of apple fritters in an easy loaf recipe.
- Starbucks caramel apple spice recipe is a delicious coffee house drink without all the sugar.
- Keto peach cobbler is made with real peach slices, but carbs are kept low.
- Low carb blueberry cobbler is incredibly easy to make with just a few simple ingredients.
- Keto spice cake zucchini muffins are a perfect sized treat when topped with cream cheese frosting.
Follow us on FACEBOOK, PINTEREST, and INSTAGRAM for even more tasty keto-friendly recipes!
Recipe
Keto Apple Crisp
4.62 from 44 votes
Apples are a forbidden fruit on the low-carb diet, but this keto apple crisp using zucchini is a clever way to trick your taste buds when you crave apples.
Prep Time:15 minutes mins
Cook Time:50 minutes mins
Total Time:1 hour hr 5 minutes mins
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Print Pin Review Recipe Save Recipe
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 149
Video
Ingredients
FILLING:
- 6 cups zucchini peeled and sliced about ½ inch thick
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice can sub half with apple cider vinegar to add apple flavor
- ⅔ cup low carb sugar substitute or 4 tablespoon 2 teaspoon Truvia
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum optional thickener
- 1 teaspoon apple extract optional
TOPPING:
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour or oat fiber
- ¼ cup low carb sugar substitute or brown sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter
US Customary - Metric
Instructions
In medium bowl, combine zucchini, lemon juice, sweetener, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended. For a stronger apple taste, stir in apple extract too. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 9-in. baking dish.
For topping, combine pecans, almond flour, oat fiber, sweetener and cinnamon in a bowl then cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the zucchini mixture.
Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
Notes
Do not slice zucchini too thin or it will become mushy and release more water during baking.
A pie crust can be added along with baking in a pie pan to make a keto friendly Dutch apple pie.
Chayote squash, jicama, or yellow squash can be used for the mock low carb apples instead of zucchini.
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Calories: 149 | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 247mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 328IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg
Additional Info
Net Carbs: 4g | % Carbs: 11% | % Protein: 8.3% | % Fat: 80.7% | SmartPoints: 6
Notes on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Copyright
© LowCarbYum.com - Unauthorized use of this material without written permission is strictly prohibited unless for personal offline purposes. Single photos may be used, provided that full credit is given to LowCarbYum.com along with a link back to the original content.
First published August 26, 2011. Last updated July 15, 2022, with new images and additional recipe information.
