Vegan Apple Pie Recipe (2024)

This deep dish Vegan Apple Pie recipe combines the best flaky pie crust with generous layers of sweet, tender baked apples. It’s a classic vegan pie with a saucy, homemadeapple pie filling. See my tips for making easy apple slices and lattice tips.

For more vegan apple recipes, try these Vegan Applesauce Muffins or this delicious Vegan Apple Crisp. For a light, easy dessert, try this simple Baked Apple Slices recipe.

It’s a tradition in our family to have apple pie at our family dinners, especially Thanksgiving. So, one day I realized I could be the one making that pie. And, of course, I would be making my apple pie vegan. It’s just what I do!

Easy Vegan Apple Pie

Is it possible to make vegan apple pies? Well, actually, yes it is. And this one is more than that, it’s a beautiful, latticed-topped deep-dish apple pie. The apple pie is the motherland of desserts and I feel so satisfied with this one.

For me, the higher the layers, the better. I like biting into a slice with a nice, flaky crust, and lots of apples.

Key Ingredients

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, including substitution ideas:

• Pie Crust — I use my vegan pie crust recipe, which makes a double crust. You’ll use both for this recipe.
• Apple slices — Here’s a guide on the best apples for apple pie, along with a visual guide on how to prepare them.
• Flour — I recommend all-purpose flour
• Lemon — You’ll need one lemon, and we’ll be using both the zest and the juice from it.
• Pumpkin pie spice — I love this combination of spices. If you don’t have any on hand, make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice.
• Vegan creamer — I prefer to use a soy-based creamer for my vegan egg wash.
• Agave nectar — Most syrup sweeteners will work, whether it’s agave, maple syrup, or even corn syrup.

Ingredient Spotlight

What Pie Crusts Are Best for Vegan Apple Pies?

Many store-bought pie crusts are not vegan because they’re made with lard (animal fat). However, you can find some store-bought crusts these days that are made without animal products, especially at health food stores. However, it’s easy to make a homemade vegan pie crust. Besides, homemade pie crusts deliver the best buttery flavor and the ultimate flaky pie crust.

How to Make Vegan Apple Pie From Scratch

Here are the steps you’ll follow to make the best vegan apple pie ever:

1. Roll out the bottom pie crust to about 12″ in diameter, arrange it in a pie pan, and refrigerate.
2. Peel, core, and slice the apples until they measure 11 cups. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
3. Combine the rest of the filling ingredients and sprinkle over the apples, gently tossing to coat.
4. Add layers of apple slices flat in the pie crust, filling in any gaps.
5. Roll the second pie crust into a 12″ circle and cut into 1-inch strips. Lattice the strips over the pie crust.
6. Crimp the pie crust edges
7. Brush the top crust with vegan egg wash.
8. Bake the pie for about 20 minutes, then add a pie shield, lower the heat, and bake for another 30 minutes.
9. Allow the baked pie to sit for 2 to 3 hours to cool and for the filling to set.

Here are more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Step One: Prepare the Bottom Crust

1. Remove the pie crust from the fridge.
2. Roll out the bottom pie crust to about 12″ in diameter.
3. Place it in your pie pan and tuck in the dough so it fills the pan.
4. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Step Two: Prepare the Apples

1. Peel, core, and slice the apples until they measure 11 cups. (See more below on preparing the apples)
2. Stir in the lemon juice and lemon zest.
3. Make the filling by combining the rest of the filling ingredients. Add this to the apples, and gently toss to coat.
   
4. Set aside for 5 to 10 minutes.

Step Three: Fill the Crust

• Lay the filling-coated apple slices flat along the bottom of the pie crust, filling in any gaps.
• Add another layer, followed by another, etc.
• It may seem like there are too many apples, but keep adding layers, filling up blank spaces wherever you can.
• Discard the juices at the bottom of the apple slices bowl.

Step Four: Apple Pie Topping

1. Remove the other chilled vegan pie dough disc from the fridge.
2. Roll the dough into a 12″ circle and use a pizza cutter or knife to cut it into 12 strips that are 1″ wide.
3. Use these strips to create a lattice topping crust. (See lattice tips below)
4. Flute the pie crust edges to seal.
5. Create a vegan egg wash by stirring vegan creamer with agave nectar (or maple syrup).
6. Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the creamer wash.
   
7. Place the pie on a baking sheet. Place this in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
8. Add a pie crust shield (to prevent the edges of the pie crust from getting too brown). Turn the oven temperature down to 375°F/190°C and bake for an additional 35 minutes.
9. Remove the pie from the oven and set it aside to cool for 2 to 3 hours. Either cover and refrigerate or serve.

Resting the Pie

Although it’s tempting to dive right in, there is residual baking that happens after an apple pie is removed from the oven and you don’t want to disturb this process.

I like to allow the pie to rest for 2 to 3 hours. This accommodates the residual baking and allows the filling to set. You can either serve the pie after this time or store it for serving later.

How Do You Prepare Apples for Pie?

Follow these steps to prepare your apples for apple pie:

1. Cut off Stems — Cut a thin slice off the stem end, creating a flat edge.
2. Peel the Apple — That flat edge helps your peeler grab hold, so use a peeler and peel down, away from the cut flat edge.
   
3. Remove the Core — Cut the apple in half and use a melon baller to cut a little circle to remove the core and any stem parts at the top.
   
4. Slice Apples — Slice the remaining apple vertically in thin slices, about 1/4″ each.
5. Drizzle — Immediately drizzle cut apples with lemon juice to keep them from turning brown as you cut the remaining apples.

Want a deep dive about preparing apples for apple pie? Here’s everything you need to create the best apples for apple pie along with a tutorial for preparing and slicing apples.

How to Make a Lattice Topping

To make the lattice topping, roll out the second disk of pie dough into a 12″ diameter circle. Use a pizza cutter to cut it into 12 slices, roughly 1″ each. A ruler can help keep the slices equal in size.

A Strips. Place 6 strips of the dough across the pie, equally spaced apart. We’ll call those the A strips.

B Strips. Let’s call the remaining strips of dough the B Strips. Pull back every other A Strip of dough and lay one of the B strips down. Pull the A strips back up, over the B strips. Now alternate and pull back the other A strips and add another B strip of dough. Pull those up over that strip. Continue with that process.

Here’s a great video showing how to lattice a pie.

Frequently-Asked Questions

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