Delicious and easy apple pie bars drizzled with the most wonderful paleo and vegan salted caramel sauce. They are guaranteed to be your favorite Fall dessert!
Apple pie is one of my favorite Fall time desserts. I just love the sweet and cinnamon-y flavor of the filling with the flaky and crumbly pie crust. There’s something so wonderful about the warm, gooey bites of the apple pieces, so I decided to make a much simpler version with these paleo and vegan apple pie bars.
Easy Apple Pie Bars Recipe with Salted Caramel Sauce
These paleo apple pie bars taste just like apple pie, with much easier steps and handling. I highly recommend you don’t skip out the vegan salted caramel sauce, because they make the bars taste even more amazing! The crust is first baked for 10 minutes, then you add the apple filling and a layer of the crumble before baking it again for another 30-35 minutes.
How To Make Paleo & Vegan Apple Pie Bars
There are 2 components to these easy apple pie bars: the flaky crust/crumble and the apple pie filling. The paleo caramel sauce is another layer that’s optional but HIGHLY recommended. But, let’s talk about how to make the main components of these yummy paleo apple pie bars first:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Combine all ingredients for the crust/crumble (except chopped walnuts) until they can be pinched into a dough between your fingers.
- Reserve 1/3 cup of mixture in a separate bowl and mix this portion with the chopped walnuts. This is the crumble layer. Set aside for now.
- Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish evenly and tightly. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Make the apple pie filling while the crust is cooling by combining chopped apples, coconut sugar, arrowroot starch, apple cider vinegar, and cinnamon. Mix until combined.
- Pour the filling mixture evenly over the baked crust, then sprinkle the top evenly with the walnut crumble mixture. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the apples are soft and the crumble layer is golden brown.
Don’t Forget the Vegan & Paleo Salted Caramel Sauce!
While these easy apple pie bars are amazing on their own, the paleo caramel sauce really takes it to the next level. Not only does it add a bit more sweetness, it also adds amazing moisture to the bars that makes them even more decadent.
Most paleo and vegan salted caramel sauces I’ve seen have multiple ingredients and takes over 30 minutes to cook down. This one is just 4 ingredients and is ready to be used in just 5 minutes!
4 Ingredients in Easy Salted Caramel Sauce
- almond butter
- maple syrup
- coconut oil
- sea salt
That’s it! All you have to do is heat the mixture over medium heat for about 5 minutes until it’s combined and thickened. So easy and wonderful! You might want to make extra because you’ll want to drizzle it over everything.
If you enjoyed these paleo and vegan apple pie bars, you might also like:
- Paleo Apple Blondies with Maple Coconut Glaze
- Easy Pumpkin Apple Butter (Paleo, Vegan, AIP)
- Paleo Pumpkin Pecan Pie
- Berry Pecan Bars (Paleo, Vegan)
- Vegan & Paleo Cherry Crumble (with Fresh or Frozen Cherries)
Easy Apple Pie Bars with Salted Caramel Sauce (Paleo, Vegan)
Ingredients
Crust/Crumble
- 2½ cups almond flour
- 1/4 cup coconut oil melted
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
Apple Pie Filling
- 2½ cups chopped apples
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp arrowroot starch
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1/4 cup almond butter or cashew butter
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 3 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line an 8×8 square baking dish with parchment so the 2 ends hang off the sides. Grease the areas where the parchment paper isn't covering.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients for the crust/crumble EXCEPT chopped walnuts. Mix until it forms a dough when you pinch with your fingers.
- Scoop out 1/3 cup of the mixture and add to another bowl and mix with chopped pecans. Set aside. This is your crumble layer.
- Pour the crust mixture into the prepared baking dish and press tightly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and make the filling while the crust is cooling for a bit. Combine all ingredients for the apple pie filling in a bowl and stir until evenly coated.
- Pour the apple pie filling over the baked crust, then evenly sprinkle the pecan crumble layer.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until the apples are soft and the crumble layer is gold brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes while you make the salted caramel sauce. Heat all ingredients for the sauce in small saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes until combined and thickened.
- Remove the apple pie bars from the pan by using the 2 parchment flaps hanging off the sides.
- Cut into 16 squares, and drizzle with salted caramel sauce before enjoying.
- Store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
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So delicious! I am an apple pie “anything” person, so this are my new favorite!
These are so decadent and delicious. Such fun for fall and getting us into the spirit, thank you!
OMG, so delicious! Love the salted caramel sauce on these.
Delicious and delightful! Apples, delicious nutty crust and that sauce! So good!
These apple bars are absolutely divine! Every bite is full of apple crumb goodness! I could eat the whole pan!
I don’t really love apple pie and I certainly don’t want to try to make it but apple pie bars are totally different. Love how easy these are!
These look amazing, quick question. Do they freeze well?
I’d love to make in advance for thanksgiving when we have lots of family around!
Thanks in advance,
Yes, that should work just fine!