These Vegan Pecan Crumble Baked Apples with Coconut Milk Caramel are the most perfect, easy dessert addition to your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving table! The apples are filled with an oat pecan crumble mixture which is out-of-this-world good, and the caramel sauce is made with coconut milk and coconut oil instead of cream and butter! The only thing these cozy baked apples need is a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
(This post is sponsored by Sprouts! Thank you so so much for reading and supporting the brands that I love!)
Aside from a really fudgy, warm brownie, any type of apple crisp/apple crumble with vanilla bean ice cream is my dessert of choice. These baked apples are one of the BEST things I’ve made all year and I’m so in love. They’re incredibly easy, and ridiculously delicious. Like the speechless kind of delicious. And they’re vegan! Instead of butter, they’re filled with coconut oil, and the caramel is made with coconut milk instead of heavy cream! So they’re just a little bit lighter and healthier, and you get that subtle coconut flavor which is really nice in these!
Also, who doesn’t love an individual dessert?! They’re extra special and just all-around fun.
With Thanksgiving around the corner, my friends at Sprouts asked me to create a plant based dessert, that was suitable for a Friendsgiving celebration as well! These apples are just that. They’re a little different than your typical apple, pecan, or pumpkin pie, and the recipe is super easy to make for a crowd.
To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of pie, so I vote these apples even for a traditional Thanksgiving dessert!
The pecan-oat mixture inside these apples is one of my favorite things EVER. You will want to eat it with a spoon (and trust me I have, many times). It’s perfectly caramelly, sweet, salty, nutty, and crunchy.
And when it’s baked inside of honeycrisp apples, then doused in vegan caramel sauce, it’s beyond delicious.
I love shopping at Sprouts so much, because it’s super affordable, especially for organic and natural ingredients. I love buying my bulk items there, like pecans, as well as things like coconut oil because you really can’t beat the price tag! I’m always blown away by the value Sprouts provides for natural ingredients, and their overall selection. Every time I go, they have really exciting and fun new products that I have a hard time finding at other grocery stores!
They offer such an amazing selection, constant abundance of sales, and everything always super high quality, which I really appreciate. They’re definitely a one-stop shop for me, which is saying a lot! I usually have to go to multiple grocery stores multiple times a week to get what I need, but I can always count on Sprouts to have everything I need in one spot!
I’m usually a die-hard heavy cream and butter homemade caramel person, but this vegan caramel sauce is DELICIOUS. I’m actually blown away by how easy and how good it is, and it’s perfect to have on hand for all of your dairy-free friends over the holidays! If you do dairy, the caramel sauce from this cake is my favorite caramel sauce, probably ever. So you should totally make that one too!
If you love coconut though, you will flip over this vegan caramel. It’s made with canned, full-fat coconut milk (make sure you use the full fat stuff!), brown sugar, vanilla, coconut oil, and salt. Super simple, and it’s less finicky than making a caramel with cream and butter.
It’s a lazy caramel, if you will. But incredibly good.
I don’t know how the pecan crumble filled apples could be improved upon, but the addition of the caramel sauce (and ice cream!) makes them next level.
This recipe makes eight apples, so it’s perfect for a Friendsgiving celebration, or any kind of fall dinner party! If you’re serving it on Thanksgiving, and you have a larger crowd to feed, you can easily double it!
Or, you can cut the recipe in half, and just serve it as a vegan or dairy free option for anyone who might want that! But really, you will want leftovers. I may or may not have had one of these for breakfast one morning.
Spoiler alert: they re-heat really well!
The other thing I love about these apples, is that the oat-pecan crumble stays CRUNCHY, even after you bake them. You get that sweet, soft apple, the crunchy crumble (for lack of a better word!), the silky caramel sauce, and melty vanilla ice cream. And it’s just……the best thing ever.
I’m always partial to vanilla bean ice cream with warm apple desserts, but something like a butter pecan or bourbon caramel ice cream would even make these even more cozy and fall-like!
If you’re eating these for breakfast (no judgement, ever), you could add a scoop of Greek yogurt or plant based yogurt to them! That would be so delish.
Basically, you can’t go wrong. These are completely acceptable at any time of day and for any celebration.
I love you, fall.
Vegan Pecan Crumble Baked Apples with Coconut Milk Caramel
These Vegan Pecan Crumble Baked Apples with Coconut Milk Caramel are the most perfect, easy dessert addition to your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving table! The apples are filled with an oat pecan crumble mixture which is out-of-this-world good, and the caramel sauce is made with coconut milk and coconut oil instead of cream and butter! The only thing these cozy baked apples need is a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Ingredients
For the apples + crumble
- 8 honeycrisp apples
- 1 cup Sprouts Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup Sprouts Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, melted
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
- 3/4 cup pecans, chopped
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- vanilla ice cream for serving (use vegan if needed)
For the vegan coconut milk caramel sauce
- 1 (15 oz.) can Sprouts Unsweetened Full-Fat Coconut Milk
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon Sprouts Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350℉. Begin by prepping the apples. Using a sharp knife, cut just the tops off of the apples to expose the flesh. Using a spoon, scoop out the insides, leaving about ¼’’ flesh around the edges. Discard the seeds, core, and flesh (or save for another use!) Lightly sprinkle the cavities of the apples with cinnamon.
Make the crumble. In a medium bowl, combine the oats, flour, coconut oil, brown sugar, pecans, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Stir until combined.
Fill each apple generously to the top (it’s ok if a little spills over!), and place in a baking dish. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until crumble is golden on top, and apples are tender.
While apples are baking, make the coconut milk caramel. In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk and brown sugar. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat slightly and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until volume has decreased and caramel has developed a deep amber color. Be careful here - the caramel can boil over and/or burn in an instant, so watch closely! Once caramel has reduced, stir in the vanilla, coconut oil, and salt. Let cool - caramel will thicken upon standing.
Serve apples warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a generous drizzle of coconut milk caramel!
Recipe Notes
*Caramel sauce will keep for up to 2 weeks in a sealed container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks, or in the fridge for longer! In that case, you might need to microwave it to loosen it back up!
*Gluten free all purpose flour can be substituted for a gf option!
[…] Vegan Pecan Crumble Baked Apples from Spices in my DNA are the most perfect, easy dessert addition to your Thanksgiving table! The apples are filled with an oat pecan crumble mixture and a coconut milk caramel sauce! […]