The best keto apple crisp doesn’t use any apples! To keep it keto friendly, this low carb apple crisp recipe using zucchini as the mock apples. Because it tastes like apple, your taste buds will never know the difference!
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Keto Apple Crisp with Zucchini
Sweet and tender pieces of sliced zucchini can have the flavor of apples by adding a sweetened spice blend and some apple extract. You’ll get all the taste you love without the unwanted carbs when you make a keto apple crisp with zucchini.
The Filling
Before using the zucchini, it needs to be peeled and sliced in half lengthwise. Then the seeds need to be removed using a spoon to scrape them out.
The zucchini is then cut into half moon slices. Be sure to keep the slices at least a quarter inch thick. If you cut them too thin, the zucchini will get soft and mushy when cooked.
The summer squash pie filling tastes just like apples with the right seasoning.
There are round ball varieties of zucchini that you can grow yourself. The shape and size is more like an apple. So you may want to add them to your garden to use for low carb apple recipes.
Once the zucchini is sliced, it’s mixed with lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, sweetener and optional apple extract. Then it’s poured into a baking dish.
The topping
I use a nutty topping for the zucchini apple crisp. It’s just a blend of these ingredients:
- Chopped pecans
- Almond flour
- Oat fiber or coconut flour
- Granular sweetener
- Cinnamon
- Melted butter
Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then cut in the butter using a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly.
Sprinkle the topping over the filling and baked until the zucchini is tender. It takes about 45 to 50 minutes to cook completely.
Serving Suggestions
This keto zucchini apple crisp is perfect served warm or cooled. When warm, it tastes great with a scoop of keto vanilla ice cream on top. Topping off with some whipped cream is also a great option.
Zucchini Apple Pie
It’s easy to modify this recipe into a keto mock apple pie. Just add my almond flour crust or coconut flour crust and bake in a pie pan. You’ll end up with a low carb Dutch apple pie!
If you’d rather have a traditional apple pie, add a top crust too.
Are apples keto friendly?
Apples are avoided on a keto diet because even a small apple can have over 20 grams of carbs. That’s twice the limit for what’s recommended for each low carb meal and it’s likely to knock you out of ketosis!
What to use for low carb mock apples
I’ve made various keto apple recipes using chayote squash, jicama, and yellow squash in addition to zucchini. I use chayote in my keto apple pie uses chayote and I use jicama in my keto apple pie filling.
Low Sugar Apple Crisp Recipe
This keto apple crisp is a must try low carb dessert for fall! It’s definitely something you'll want to make over and over again. If you give it a try, be sure to let me know how it worked out in the comments.
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📖 Recipe
Keto Apple Crisp (i.e. Zucchini Apple Crisp)
Video
Ingredients
FILLING:
- 6 cups zucchini peeled and sliced
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice can sub half with apple cider vinegar to add apple flavor
- ⅔ cup low carb sugar substitute or 4 tablespoon 2 teaspoon Truvia
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum optional thickener
- 1 teaspoon apple extract optional
TOPPING:
- ½ cup pecans chopped
- ½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup oat fiber or coconut flour
- ¼ cup low carb sugar substitute or brown sugar substitute
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter
Instructions
- In medium bowl, combine zucchini, lemon juice, sweetener, cinnamon and nutmeg until well blended. For a stronger apple taste, stir in apple extract too. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 9-in. baking dish.
- For topping, combine pecans, almond flour, oat fiber, sweetener and cinnamon in a bowl then cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over the zucchini mixture.
- Bake at 350 F for 45-50 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
Notes
Low Carb Sweeteners | Keto Sweetener Conversion Chart
Nutrition
Additional Info
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
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Janice
This was an easy dessert to whip up. Since we have 4 adults in the household eating mostly low carb I am always looking for new takes on recipes. I used yellow squash and cubed it. Topping was tasty and crunchy. This recipe is a keeper!
Karissa
As great as this recipe is (it really does taste like apple crisp!), I would like you to find me someone on this planet who can peel, core, and slice six zucchini in 5 minutes (in addition to the other steps required before this goes in the oven). I think saying 5 minutes of prep time required is a little unreal. The zucchini process alone took 30 minutes. Plan ahead.
Lisa MarcAurele
I'll get that changed. It took me more like 15 minutes.
Shelli
Would replacing the almond flour with pecan meal work?
Lisa MarcAurele
I haven't tried it personally, but it should work out.
Diana
I know my apples. I am an apple crisp lover (instead of birthday cake I prefer apple crisp). Friends and relatives say my apple pie is the best they ever tasted. With this said, I was an absolute skeptic this would taste like apple crisp but thought I'd give it a try. To my surprise it did taste like apples! I took advice of other reviewers and used a 1/4 tsp xanthan gum, ACV for part of the lemon juice and brown sugar swerve in the topping. I did not have apple flavoring (used vanilla) pecans or oat fiber but used coconut flour. Turned out perfect. ( sliced zucchini thin rounds, then halved, salted (waited 20 min) drained and dried with paper towels. Excellent! would make again try to find apple flavoring just to see if it makes a difference.
Lisa MarcAurele
Using apple cider vinegar for some of the lemon juice is a good way to get in a little real apple flavor since apple extract is not that easy to find. I should add that in to the notes. Thanks for sharing!
Marie
This recipe is absolutely delicious. Made it last night for dessert. My husband said he could not believe it was not actual apples.
TMarie
Made a believer out of the skeptics.
This was so good warm and cold.
Used suggestion of ACV and vanilla extract, as that's what I had. Also added a bit of xantham gum to filling. And used 1/2 brown 1/2 granular Swerve in both filling and topping. Thanks for this great recipe!