This vegan spelt apple pie is the perfect fall time dessert! The crust is made with whole grain spelt flour and overall free of dairy, eggs, and refined sugar.
As much as we eat apple pie around here, (it’s my hubby’s favorite) I’m very surprised that I haven’t added an apple pie recipe to the blog yet. I do have this apple-berry pie, a simple apple galette, and this other galette with cranberries, but a your basic apple pie, not a one.
Well, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a typical pie, because it’s a little more special than that. The crust is made with whole grain spelt flour, unlike most recipes. It’s also completely free of dairy and just happens to be vegan friendly as well. Instead of regular sugar, I opted for coconut sugar and I wasn’t skimpy with the apples either. I piled them high since they shrink during baking, which makes the perfect filling to crust ratio too. I mean, I did add a bazillion leaves to the border!
The nice thing about cutouts for the border is that you don’t have to worry about making a pretty crimp, which I’m just horrible at. My pie usually look a little wonky because I can never manage to get the dough into the pan evenly. There’s usually more dough on one side, so I’ll try to pinch extra dough to the short side, which doesn’t blend in too well, and then I just have this Frankenstein looking thing with lots of ugly seams and a pitiful excuse of a crust! 😩 Oh well, we can’t all be Martha Stewart.
This vegan spelt apple pie is definitely a must in the fall, but can be made throughout the year as well. Use snowflake cutouts for the winter, flower cutters in the spring, and star cutouts for the summer—so many possibilities! Enjoy!
Vegan Spelt Apple Pie
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 9-inch pie 1x
Description
This apple pie is the perfect fall time dessert! The crust is made with whole grain spelt flour and overall is free of dairy, eggs, and refined sugar.
Ingredients
- double pie crust, plus extra for leaves (Triple batch spelt crust recipe below)
- 10 cups peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples (about 8–10 apples. I used a blend of gala, honey crisp, granny smith, and golden delicious.)
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup coconut sugar
, use less with sweeter apples
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch of allspice or cloves
, optional
- pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
, use less with sweeter apples
, optionalSpelt Pie Crust (plus extra for leaves)
- 2 cups spelt flour
(could also substitute additional all-purpose or wheat flour if you don’t have spelt)
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour*
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1.5 cups palm shortening
or vegetable shortening
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup or coconut sugar
- 2/3–1 cup ice cold water, may need a little more, depending on the humidity in your area.
- almond milk or soy milk to brush onto crust
- coarse sugar, to sprinkle on crust (optional)
- leaf cutters
or other cutters, for border (optional)
(could also substitute additional all-purpose or wheat flour if you don’t have spelt)
or 
or other cutters, for border (optional)Instructions
Spelt Dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt. Add shortening and blend with a pastry blender or your fingers, until mixture is coarse and no large chunks or fat remain. Add sweetener and then add the water, a little at a time, just until dough holds together.
- Cut 1/3 of the dough and shape into a flat, round disc. Shape remaining 2/3 dough into another disc. Cover both with plastic wrap until ready to use. If your kitchen is warm, place into the fridge while you make the filling.
Pie:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- In a large bowl, mix together sugar, cornstarch, spices, and salt until well blended. Stir in apple slices, folding the mixture until apples are evenly coated with sugar. Stir in lemon juice.
- Lightly coat a clean kitchen counter with a light dusting of flour. Alternatively you can use a big sheet of parchment paper or a non-stick mat to roll out dough.
- Roll smaller 1/3 disc of dough into a large 12–13 inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch deep dish pie pan; trim edges to fit the pan and set aside.
To Make Lattice Top:
- Take scraps and add to the remaining 2/3 disc of dough. Roll into a large oblong shape.
- Cut strips for lattice—thick, thin, or a combo of both. If you do both, you’ll need about 6–7 strips of each. Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need a visual for making a lattice crust.
- The extra dough will be used for cutting out shapes for the border. You can hand cut simple leaves or use cutters of your choice. I used these leaf cutters
- Pour apple filling into the prepared pan. Top with lattice crust.
- Use milk to “glue” cutouts to the edge of the pie. When finished, brush top of pie with milk and sprinkle sugar to make a shiny crust (optional).
- Place pie onto a baking sheet and into the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 45– 55 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Cover edges with foil towards the end if it starts to get too brown.
- Let pie cool thoroughly before slicing.
Notes
*I haven’t tried it, but you could probably use all spelt flour if you’d prefer. Dough will be darker and may burn easier in the oven, so keep a close eye. The amount of liquid in the recipe may vary as well. Start with less and add more as needed.
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Cook Time: 65 mins
- Category: dessert, pie, vegan
Hi I am gluten free, and I baked similar pie wit h spelt flour. Mine dough was very fragile, I added 3 egg yellows on 200g of flour, was it too many?
How can I make it more flexible?
THx
Hi Anita, did the recipe you use call for both spelt and all-purpose flour? This recipe has both flours, which helps it to be more flexible. I had no trouble rolling or using the cutters. I haven’t tried it with spelt flour alone, so I couldn’t say for sure, if that’s what you used. It might also be that the recipe you used didn’t have enough shortening/butter or enough water. If it was dry or crumbly it may have needed either more fat or more water blended in. Hope that helps!
Your intricate lattice top is mindblowingly beautiful, Joscelyn! What a labor of love. And i love that this is both vegan and made of spelt for a healthy twist on apple pie! Gorgeous photography, as always!
I know what you mean about crimping and cutouts! I always try to crimp, attempting to improve my skill, but usually end up with cutouts because my crimping is not very elegant. I love these cutouts too… where did you get them? I have a few cutters, but they’re so small. I usually end up making larger leaf patters of my own and incorporating them in. This is a most beautiful pie – gorgeous pastry work Joscelyn! xo
Ahhhh… I see your leaf cutter link now! Thank you!! xo
Such a beautiful pie, I love your lattice top!
Your Apple pie looks amazing. I bet it also smells good too. It’s the season and I’ll have to make one
Thank you Andrea!
Apple pie is one of my favourite deserts throughout the year
Yes mine too! Have a great evening!
Beautifully elegant photography.
Really makes everything look absolutely delicious
StephenDiagram (Coffee, Health, Focus) | https://stephendiagram.com/
Thank you Stephen!
The lattice work on the pie is amazing!
Thank you Tom!
Ive never tried this with spelt flour but I bet I would like it. Your pie turned out absolutely beautifully, the leaf cut outs were a great idea, thank you for sharing this with us!
Thank you Sarah!