Vegan apple pie recipe

Vegan apple pie with lattice crust and apples scattered around.

5 from 3 votes

This delicious vegan apple pie recipe has a delicious, perfectly sweet filling of apples cuddled within a flaky, golden vegan pie crust. Serve by itself or topped with vegan vanilla ice cream for a cozy, all-American dessert!

Prep Time30

Cook Time1 5

Cooling time6

Total Time7 35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian

Servings: slices

Calories: 413kcal

Author: Vaishali · Holy Cow Vegan

Equipment

Large bowl
Rolling pin
10-inch pie plate (with sides that are 2 inches deep)

Ingredients

2 vegan pie crusts
7 apples (I used golden delicious apples. Peel the apples for best texture, then halve and core them. Cut each half into eight slices, then halve each slice).
Juice of ½ lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons corn starch (or tapioca starch)
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the crust

Roll out the bottom crust of the apple pie and carefully lift it into the plate. You can fold the dough once, transfer to the pie plate, and unfold. Tuck any overhanging edges under and flute or crimp the edges with your fingers or with a fork. Place the pie plate in the fridge while you make the filling.

Prepare the filling

Place the sliced apples in a bowl. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix.
Add the remaining filling ingredients to the bowl--sugar, corn starch, ground cardamom, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
Mix the filling ingredients with a ladle or spatula. Make sure there is no dry flour in the bowl. Set the filling aside for 15 minutes.

Assemble the apple pie

Pour the filling into the pie pan along with any juices that have expressed from the apples. Spread evenly.
Prepare the top crust. You can either do a lattice top, like this one (see FAQs for directions), or just place the rolled-out crust on top of the filling, tuck the edges under the bottom crust and flute or crimp the edges to seal them, then cut four vents in the center with a knife for the hot air to escape as the pie bakes. Place the pie in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Bake the pie

While the pie is chilling, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 degrees Celsius.
Place the chilled apple pie on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any juices that escape during baking and place on the oven rack. At this point you can make a vegan "egg" wash by adding a tablespoon of nondairy milk to the bowl that contained the filling and mix it with any residual juices stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Mix and brush the juices on the top crust for a lovely, golden-brown color.
Bake the apple pie for 30 minutes. Then turn down the oven temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190 degrees Celsius. Continue baking 35 to 45 minutes until the juices are bubbling through the vents and the crust is golden brown.
Remove the baked pie to a cooling rack and cool at least 6 hours or overnight. Then slice and serve!

Notes

Keep the pie dough cool while working with it. This will keep the larger bits of vegan butter in the pie dough from melting. Those pockets of butter to melt in the oven, creating flaky little pockets of crunchiness. Roll out the dough on a cool surface like a stone or marble countertop, or a metal baking sheet turned upside down. Chill the pie dough or unbaked pie anytime you are working on another task.

Slice the apples evenly. Cut the apples lengthwise, into ¼-inch thick slices, then halve each slice. Making sure the slices are uniformly sized will ensure the filling cooks evenly.

Bake the pie on a rack in the lower third of the oven. This way the filling cooks thoroughly without the top crust burning or browning too much. No need for a pie shield!

Use a deep-dish pie pan. Use a pie pan or pie dish that is 10 inches wide and 2 inches deep. There are seven apples in this pie, which is quite a lot. They will reduce in size as they bake and release their juices, but you still need a pie pan big enough to hold all that goodness in.

Cool the pie thoroughly. It's so tempting to eat that pie right away, I understand, but be patient. Let the pie cool at least six hours or overnight so the juices will thicken up nicely.

Nutrition