Easy Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler made dairy-free and vegan-friendly is a fabulous celebration of apple season! You’d never guess this easy cobbler is gluten-free and dairy-free!
Crispy cobbler topping, sweet, cinnamony sticky soft baked apples and all the flavors of fall and joy wrapped up into one dessert!
This incredibly easy cobbler recipe comes together quickly, requires absolutely zero baking experience, and results in the most inviting, impressive treat.
Desserts like this are just so sharable.
Scoop the cobbler into bowls, top it off with creamy vanilla ice cream, and you’re in for a wildly stimulating burst of joy that’s perfect for serving guests for a special occasion.
I’m such a fan of crisps and cobblers that I have quite a few recipes here!
My Gluten-Free Vegan Peach Cobbler , Paleo Blackberry Cobbler, and Vegan Strawberry Cobbler are some of my post popular.
Now, this apple cobbler recipe is a riff off my Gluten-Free Pear Cobbler recipe.
The cobbler topping has that picture perfect texture – crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, nice and flaky and buttery in flavor.
You’d never guess there’s no butter or eggs involved!
And those apples…
While the apples bake, they caramelize in their own juices, creating soft, flavorful fruit with the most amazing sticky sauce.
Not only is this big batch dessert loaded with all the good feelings and easy to make, but the ingredients involved are super simple!
Let’s chat about them.
Ingredients for Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler:
Fresh Apples: The centerpiece of the cobbler! Apple become sweet, soft and flavorful during the baking process. I use apples that came from my grandparent’s trees. Granny smith apples are customary in this recipe, but feel free to use whatever apples you love in baked recipes.
Granulated Sugar: Used to sweeten both the apple filling and the cobbler topping, we use a granulated sweetener. Choose your favorite! I like brown sugar, but coconut sugar and maple sugar are great refined sugar-free alternatives.
A sugar-free sweetener like allulose or monk fruit sweetener works great for less sugar.
Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour: Used for the cobbler topping! A gluten-free flour blend makes an amazing crispy yet soft biscuit topping. I use Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, which I find produces the best texture.
For a grain-free version of this recipe, check out my Paleo Apple Cinnamon Crisp, which uses almond flour.
Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice: Flavoring both the apple filling and the cobbler topping, we warm it up with ground cinnamon. If you love some extra spice, feel free to use pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice instead of ground cinnamon.
Coconut Oil or Butter: The fat portion of the topping. Coconut oil takes the place of butter and has a naturally sweet flavor to it. I also find it generates a sort of buttery flavor in recipes like this.
Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk: Adding liquid and more fat to the cobbler topping, full-fat canned coconut milk adds richness and moisture. Similar to coconut oil, it has a natural sweetness and adds lovely flavor to the topping.
Be sure to use canned coconut milk versus coconut milk from a carton. You want the fat content from the coconut milk for the best flavor!
Sea Salt: Sea salt is pivotal both in the apple filling and the cobbler topping! It brings out all of the flavors so that we get an incredibly rich experience. If you’ve ever had a slice of apple pie that tasted super bland it’s probably because there wasn’t enough salt or cinnamon.
Recipe Customizations:
- If you aren’t dairy-free, you can replace the coconut milk with cream or buttermilk. You can also replace the coconut oil with butter.
- For a streusel topping, replace 1/2 cup of the AP flour with 2/3 cup of quick oats.
- Use regular all-purpose flour in a 1:1 replacement if you don’t follow a gluten-free diet.
- Adjust the amount of sugar to your personal taste.
Let’s make apple cobbler!
Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients, let’s make it!
How to Make Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler:
Peel, core, and chop the apples and add them to a large bowl along with the rest of the ingredients for the apple filling.
Stir well until combined.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and spray a large 13” x 9” casserole dish with cooking spray.
Add the dry ingredients for the topping (gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, and coconut sugar) to a large mixing bowl and stir well. Add the melted coconut oil and coconut milk (wet ingredients) and stir until a thick dough forms.
Transfer the sliced apples to the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
Drop the dough over the apple filling.
You can also form biscuits, simply drop bits of dough on top of the apples or smooth the topping into an even layer. Whatever look you prefer!
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 minutes, until biscuits are golden brown.
Remove cobbler from the oven. If desired, drizzle melted coconut oil or butter over the biscuits. Serve cobbler with vanilla ice cream.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 2 days.
- Refrigerator: Transfer leftover cobbler to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
This is one of those desserts that leaves you feeling great and is healthy enough to enjoy for breakfast!
Share it with your friends and family during apple harvest season, or any time of year. It is the perfect way of using up a lot of apples if you have an apple tree.
More Apple Recipes:
- Applesauce Cake
- Flourless Oatmeal Protein Apple Pancakes
- Baked Apples
- Almond Flour Apple Cider Donut Bread
- Paleo Apple Pie Bars
Don’t forget the scoop of ice cream!
Gluten-Free Apple Cobbler (Vegan)
Ingredients
Apple Filling:
- 8 cups apples peeled, cored and chopped
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar maple sugar, or brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
- ½ tsp sea salt
Topping
- 2 cups Gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup coconut sugar maple sugar or brown sugar
- 8 tbsp coconut oil melted**
- 3/4 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
Instructions
- Peel, core, and chop the apples and add them to a mixing bowl along with the rest of the ingredients for the apple filling. Stir well until combined.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Add the dry ingredients for the topping (gluten-free all-purpose flour, baking powder, sea salt, cinnamon, and coconut sugar) to a mixing bowl and stir well. Add the melted coconut oil and coconut milk and stir until a thick dough forms.
- Transfer the apple mixture to a large 13” x 9” casserole dish and spread into an even layer. Drop dough over the apple filling. You can form biscuits, simply drop bits of dough over the apples or smooth the topping into an even layer. Whatever look you prefer!
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 35 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and bake for another 10 minutes, until biscuits are golden-brown.
- Remove cobbler from the oven. If desired, drizzle melted coconut oil or butter over the biscuits. Serve cobbler with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions:
The apple varieties that are best for apple cobbler are those that hold up during the baking process and don’t turn into mush. Great options are granny smith apples (green apples), honeycrisp apples, pink lady apples, gala apples, and Jonagold apples.
Granny smiths are tart apples, which bring classic apple pie flavor. My personal preference are gala apples because they taste nice and sweet and the texture is divine.
This recipe comfortably serves 8 people. That number can stretch to 10-12 if you’re including ice cream, and/or if there are other desserts available.
Yes. This recipe is entirely dairy-free and egg-free, which makes it vegan friendly. It is also gluten-free, which makes it a good option for those with dietary restrictions.
What purpose does the canned coconut milk serve ? The person I am making this for doesn’t like coconut. She is gluten, dairy and egg intolerant.
Hi Pam! The full-fat canned coconut milk is necessary for the liquid and the fat content. If it’s any help, you can’t taste the coconut at all 🙂
Do you think I could substitute the GF flour with Almond or coconut flour successfully for this recipe?
Hi Angela! I have a Paleo Apple Crisp recipe that uses almond flour, which you can check out here!: https://www.theroastedroot.net/paleo-apple-cinnamon-crisp-vegan/ I would double the recipe if you’re looking to serve more than 2-3 people 🙂