Swedish Apple Pie (Easy Crustless Apple Pie)
This Swedish apple pie is similar to an apple crisp, with spiced apples and an easy oat batter poured over the top. There’s no pastry crust to make, and it’s my most-requested Thanksgiving dessert. It can easily be made gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.
I was an exchange student twice in Sweden and have gone back for lots of summer visits, so I’ve eaten plenty of Swedish fruit pies. This version is based on the smulpaj I know from Sweden, with the addition of cinnamon and cardamom. It’s especially good with ice cream, vanilla sauce or custard on top.
I also have lots of love for other Swedish favorites, including Swedish pancakes, kladdkaka, which is like a dense and fudgy brownie cake, and pepparkakor, the thin, crisp ginger cookies popular around Christmas.
What Is Swedish Apple Pie?
The type of Swedish pie this recipe is based on is called smulpaj, or crumb pie. It’s closer to an apple crumble or crisp than a traditional American apple pie: the apples go directly into the pie dish and a simple batter is poured over them instead of enclosing them in pastry.
A lot of Swedish apple pie recipes I see online don’t resemble the pies I know from Sweden because they’re missing the oats. The oats add much of the texture in this version and are an important part of the topping.
Most of the Swedish fruit pies I’ve had didn’t contain spices, but I love cinnamon and cardamom with apples, so I added both to my version. The cardamom is optional if you don’t have it, but I highly recommend it.
If you’d rather make individual apple desserts with a buttery pastry crust, try my apple tartlets. They can be made with all-purpose or gluten-free flour and are another great option for Thanksgiving.
For another apple dessert with a different kind of crust, my caramel apple pies have an oatmeal cookie crust.
Ingredients
Please scroll down for the full recipe. These are just notes on select ingredients.
- Apples – I often make this pie with whatever apples I have on hand, but if you’re shopping specifically for the recipe, choose firm baking apples. I tested the pie with unpeeled apples and could taste the peel, so I recommend peeling them. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Rome, Jonathan or Jonagold, Braeburn and Northern Spy are among the varieties recommended for baking in this guide to baking apples.
- Rolled oats – the oats are an important part of the texture of this Swedish apple pie, so I don’t recommend leaving them out. Use certified gluten-free oats if needed.
- Oat flour, all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour – use oat flour for the gluten-free version or either of the other two flours for a non-gluten-free pie. If making your own oat flour, grind quick or rolled oats until very fine and powdery. A coffee grinder or high-powered blender gets the finest texture. With a large food processor, you may need to grind 1-2 cups of oats at a time so there’s enough to reach the blade.
- Butter or coconut oil – both are tested. Use butter for the dairy version or coconut oil for a dairy-free and vegan pie. I prefer refined coconut oil because it doesn’t add coconut flavor.
- Sugar – use raw or granulated sugar as written. Coconut sugar also works, but the pie will be quite a bit darker in color and have a darker flavor.
- Cinnamon and cardamom – these are additions to my version rather than something I commonly encountered in Swedish fruit pies. You can omit the cardamom if necessary, but I recommend keeping the cinnamon.
- Maple syrup – this is part of the tested topping. I haven’t tested replacing it with another liquid sweetener, so I recommend using it as written.
How to Make It
This pie comes together much faster than a traditional apple pie with pastry.
- Peel and chop the apples, then mix them with the cinnamon, cardamom and sugar.
- Spread the apples evenly in a greased 9-inch pie pan.
- Mix the warm melted butter or coconut oil with the remaining topping ingredients and spread the topping over the apples.
- Bake until the apples are bubbling and the topping is firm, then let the pie cool before slicing if you want neat pieces.
Make Ahead & Storage
This is a great make-ahead pie because it actually benefits from sitting for a while. After about 3-4 hours, it’s much easier to cut into neat slices. When it’s still warm, it behaves more like an apple crumble.
If you’re planning Thanksgiving desserts ahead of time, my paleo vegan pumpkin pie is another option and can be made 1 day ahead.
You can make this Swedish apple pie 1-2 days ahead. Cover it and store it at room temperature for up to 2 days, then refrigerate it after that.
This Danish apple cake is another easy make-ahead apple dessert.
Vanilla Sauce for Swedish Apple Pie
In the Swedish families I stayed with, fruit pies were usually served with vanilla sauce rather than ice cream – and the vanilla sauce usually came from a box! So apple pie with vanilla sauce is still my favorite way to eat this one.
The thick sauce shown in the photos is my vegan custard. The sauce in the video is my paleo vegan vanilla sauce. I’ve also included a non-vegan homemade vanilla sauce in the recipe notes below.
If you’re in the mood for a more traditional crusted pie, try my French apple pie with fresh apples and a creamy vanilla custard filling. This apple streusel pie is another option for a classic apple pie with a crumb topping.
- Peel the apples – I tested the pie with the peels left on, and the peel was noticeable in the finished pie.
- Use a 9-inch pie pan – that’s the size this recipe was tested in.
- Keep the melted fat warm – the topping is easier to spread over the apples when the butter or coconut oil is still warm and the mixture is pourable. If it firms up, warm it briefly at half power in the microwave.
- Don’t reduce the sugar in the topping – it helps the topping hold together. If you want the pie less sweet, you can omit the 1 tablespoon of sugar mixed with the apples instead.
- Look for bubbling apples – the pie is ready when the apples are bubbling and the topping is firm.
- Let it cool for clean slices – it can be eaten warm, but for neat pieces, let it sit for about 3-4 hours. The pie can also be served at room temperature or cold.
Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Vegan Options
If you don’t normally bake gluten-free but need a gluten-free Thanksgiving dessert, this is an especially easy option because you don’t need to buy a gluten-free flour blend. Just use certified gluten-free oats and oat flour, or make the oat flour yourself by grinding some of the oats.
For a dairy-free and vegan version, use coconut oil instead of butter. The pie itself is already egg-free.
You can also use the oats and oat flour in my gluten-free apple crisp. These healthy banana muffins are another option that uses both oats and oat flour.
Swedish Apple Pie (super quick, easy, amazing flavor)
Ingredients
For the filling:
- 4 cups firm baking apples peeled, cored and chopped to 1/4" chunks (that was 492 grams of chopped apples from 4 medium apples)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar or granulated sugar
For the topping:
- 9 tablespoons (126 grams) refined coconut oil melted and still warm or 9.5 tablespoons (133 grams) butter for a dairy version, see notes
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) raw sugar or granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (80 grams) maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups (113 grams) rolled oats if GF, use GF oats
- 3/4 cup + 1.5 tablespoons (78 grams) oat flour if GF, use GF oat flour; or for non-GF, use 3/4 cup + 2.5 tablespoons (113 grams) all-purpose flour or white whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the vanilla sauce:
- vegan custard or paleo vegan vanilla sauce, see notes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C) and grease a 9″ pie pan.
- In another large mixing bowl, stir together the topping ingredients just until combined. Spread the topping over the apples.4 cups firm baking apples, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1 tablespoon raw sugar
- In another large mixing bowl, stir together the the topping ingredients, just until combined. Spread the topping over the apples.9 tablespoons (126 grams) refined coconut oil, 1/2 cup (100 grams) raw sugar, 1/4 cup (80 grams) maple syrup, 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract, 1 1/4 cups (113 grams) rolled oats, 3/4 cup + 1.5 tablespoons (78 grams) oat flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the apples are bubbly and the topping is firm.
- Serve warm, room temperature or cold. I recommend letting it sit for about 3-4 hours or until it’s cooled. This allows the flavors to come together better and it’s much easier to cut. When still warm, it’s more like a crumble and you won’t get clean slices.
- Cover and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. Refrigerate after that. This is great made a day or 2 ahead of time!
Notes
- 1 1/2 cups (355 milliliters) milk of choice, but not canned coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons raw sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Nutrition
Categories:
Dairy-free, Desserts, Fall Recipes, Fruit Desserts, Gluten-free, Gluten-free Desserts, Gluten-free Pie Recipes, Gluten-free Vegan Desserts, Gluten-free Vegan Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Picnic and BBQ Recipes, Pies and Tarts, Seasonal Recipes, Special Diets, Thanksgiving Recipes, Vegan, Vegan Desserts, Vegan Pie Recipes, Whole Grain, Winter Recipes,
Is there a vegan version of the vanilla sauce? Some way to substitute the egg? Would “Just” liquid egg substitute work?
The two vanilla sauce recipes mentioned in the recipe box are vegan. Do you mean you’d like to make a vegan version of the non-vegan version in the notes? Egg sub isn’t possible, but you could make the vegan custard I linked to in the recipe box! It has similar ingredients but is vegan.