Healthy Apple Pie

Diet: Low Fat / Vegetarian

Homemade apple pie with a healthy twist. Flaky pastry loaded with sweet apples and cinnamon and a lattice pastry top. At just 200 calories a slice, this Healthy Apple Pie has all the comforting flavour you know and love, but a little bit lighter.

An apple pie with a slice removed, which is on a plate with a ball of ice cream.

An apple pie is perfect for any occasion. This healthy apple pie still has all that sweet apple pie flavour, but lightened up a little. A traditional slice of apple pie has between 300-400 calories, so this is a lighter option. The world healthy is of course subjective, but when compared to a more traditional store bought pie, this is much lighter. But it doesn't compromise on flavour.

If you are looking for some more fruit based desserts, try our Fruit Platter, Grilled Peaches, Baked Bananas or Apple and Blackberry Crumble.

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Why you will love it
Ingredients needed
Step by step
Health benefits
Variation
What to serve with it
FAQs
Extra tips
More apple recipes
Recipe
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Why you will love it

All the same flavour - This pie does not sacrifice on taste. It still has the delicious flaky pasty and sweet cinnamon apples, but with a few lighter changes.
Lightened up - We haven't used any crazy ingredients to lighten this up. Just a little maple syrup instead of granulated sugar, and a pastry top swap.
Delicious comfort food - When it comes to dessert, apple pie has to be the most comforting. It's the perfect summer dessert and delicious with ice cream.
Can be adapted to use other fruit - Why stop at apples! You could use an apple and pear combo, or even use berries instead.

Ingredients needed

Shortcrust pastry - Yes, we cheated. We honestly can't taste the difference with store bought pasty compared to making our own. So, we save ourselves a lot of time and buy it ready made. Feel free to make your own!
Apples - You want to use a firm, drier apple to make apple pie because whilst they will soften up when cooking, they won't turn mushy like a softer juicier apple would. We use Granny Smith apples because they are the right firmness and a perfect balance of sweet and tart too. If you love really sweet apple pie, then use Braeburn or Golden Delicious apples.
Cinnamon - Apples and cinnamon are just the perfect combination. You could swap it for nutmeg or ground ginger, or use a mixture of the three.
Maple syrup - This is how we have sweetened our apple pie. We have used just a little, as it is very sweet and has a strong flavour. You could swap it for honey or another liquid sweetener if you prefer.
Vanilla - This adds some warmth to the healthy apple pie. Use vanilla extract, rather than essence, as you will get a more natural flavour.
Cornflour - This is used as a thickener in the pie. You mix it with the apples before they go in to the pastry and it thickens up the pie filling juices.
Egg - This is brushed on at the end to give the pie that beautiful golden glaze.

A full ingredients list with measurements is in the recipe card below.

Step by step

One: Preheat your oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. In a bowl, mix the sliced apples, maple syrup, vanilla, cornflour and cinnamon until all the apples are coated.

Two shot collage of sliced apples in a bowl with cinnamon, cornflour and maple syrup, before and after mixing.

Two: Roll out the dough and put into a greased pie dish. Cut around the edges and save the leftover pastry. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork. Lay the apple slices on the bottom of the pastry and build up in layers.

Two shot collage of pastry in a pie tin and then filled with the apple slices.

Three: Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into thin strips. Lay the strips in a lattice pattern over the top of the apples. Cover in foil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush the egg over the pasty and return to the oven, Cook for a further 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Two shot collage of strips of pastry on top of the pie, before and after cooking.

Four: Cool for at least 30 minutes before serving

Health benefits

Let's us start off by saying that this is still a sugary pie. There is pastry and there is maple syrup coating the apples, but we have tried to make a couple of little lighter changes.

Firstly, apples are super nutritious. They are a good source of fibre, potassium and vitamin C and K. Apples have also been linked to a lower risk of heart disease. One reason for this may be that apples contain soluble fibre, and this can help lower your blood cholesterol levels.

Apples also contain polyphenols, which have antioxidant effects. However, many of these are in the peel, so if you peel the apples they they won't have the same benefits.

As you can see on the pictures of the pie, we have used a lattice effect on top. We could have covered it in pastry to make a lid, however we went with strips of pastry because it means using less pastry and also we think it looks prettier.

Apple pie needs to be sweet. Whilst the apples are naturally sweet, especially when baked, we added a little bit of maple syrup to add extra sweetness. Apple pie would usually be loaded with granulated sweetener, so by using a little maple syrup with have saved a few calories in this pie.

Sliced apples falling out of a cooked pie.

Variation

This is a really good basic fruit pie recipe that you can adapt. You could use half apples and pears for a nice autumnal mix. You could also do a berry mix of blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and blackberries. Or a stone fruit pie with peaches and nectarines.

Instead of using cinnamon, you could swap it for ground ginger or mixed spice, or even use a mixture of the three.

What to serve with it

Now, this is a source of great debate - especially in our house. Whilst you could just eat it by itself, straight out of the pan, it is delicious with vanilla ice cream or custard. Custard for a warming and comforting winter dessert and ice cream in the summer. Let us know in the comments what you like to serve apple pie with.

If you are looking for a hot drink to have this with as a bit of an afternoon pick-me-up, then why not they our Chai Tea Latte, Cinnamon Coffee or Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate.

A pie slice in an apple pie with some pie in the foreground.

FAQs

How to store apple pie

You can keep apple pie at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can then keep it in the fridge for an additional 2 days. Keep it covered with foil loosely. You can also freeze apple pie. Wrap it tightly with foil and place in a large freezer bag - it will keep in the freezer for about 3 months. Defrost it in the fridge and then warm it in the oven for about 30 minutes.

How can you make sugar free apple pie?

If you want to make this even lighter, then you can leave out the maple syrup and you will just have the natural sweetness from the apples.

Can you make apple pie without egg?

You don't have to add the egg wash to the pastry, but it does make it nice and golden.

Do you need to cook the apples first?

No, there is no need to cook the apples in a pan first. They are cooked in the pastry in the oven for 45 minutes, and if they are sliced thin enough this is plenty of time.

Do I have to put foil on top?

Yes, the foil is an important part of this recipe. Because we have added a lattice top, rather than a full pastry cover, the foil seals in the steam that the apples release while baking. This softens the apples and also keeps the top layer of apples from burning.

How do you make the lattice topping?

It is actually far easier than it looks. You lay half of the pastry strips down on top of the apples one way and then weave the remaining strips under and over in the other direction.

Extra tips

• Why not make this healthy apple pie extra fancy by cutting out some tiny pastry flowers with cookie cutters to put on top.
• Fancy something a little different? Swap half the apples for pear, or even make a peach version of this.
• Make sure the apples are sliced really thin. If they are on the thicker side, then they won't cook fully in the oven and you will have hard apple slices. You want them to be really soft and sweet.
• Although you will be super eager to cut right in to the pie to eat it, you should try to leave it to settle and cool for 2 hours just so that you can cut it and pull out a full slice without it falling apart.

More apple recipes

If you’ve tried this healthy apple pie recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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