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Cranberry Apple Oat Crumble (Dairy Free)

Cranberry apple crumble is the perfect dessert for the holiday season. It has sweet apples, fresh cranberries, and a buttery oat crumble topping. This easy recipe is dairy free and gluten free.

Looking for more crumble recipes? Try my recipe strawberry apple crumbleblackberry and apple crumble, or apple and blueberry crumble.

What You’ll Love About This Recipe

  • Easy – This fruit crisp recipe is a great alternative to apple pie and takes less effort to make.
  • Not too sweet – The combination of tart cranberries with the sweetness of the apples creates the perfect balance of flavors.
  • Simple ingredients – A mix of fresh ingredients and a few pantry staples make up this easy recipe.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this cranberry and apple crumble:

  • Sweet apples – such as Fuji, Gala, Golden delicious, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp apples.
  • Fresh cranberries – add little pops of tartness that balance out the sweet apples and sugar.
  • Brown sugar
  • Corn starch or tapioca starch/flour
  • Ground cinnamon
  • Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice
  • Buttery oat crumble topping – old fashioned oats, all purpose flour, brown sugar, organic cane sugar, ground cinnamon, salt, and cubed dairy free butter (or unsalted butter).

How to Make Cranberry Apple Crumble: Step By Step

Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!

1.  Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch pie dish, baking dish, or large cast-iron skillet (10-inch would be ideal).

2. Mix the apple slices, fresh cranberries, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, starch, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl until well combined. Transfer the fruit mixture to the prepared pan and spread it into a somewhat even layer.

3. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: oats, flour, brown sugar, organic cane sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until combined, then work in the cubed butter with your hands until you’re left with pea-sized clumps of crumble.

4. Sprinkle the crumble topping over the top of the fruit layer. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool down for a few minutes before digging in. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Helpful Tips

  • Tart apples like granny smith apples aren’t ideal for this apple cranberry crisp. Unlike many fruit crumbles, you want sweeter apples for this cranberry apple crisp, so granny smith apples aren’t ideal. This works better with the tartness of the cranberries.

Quick Tip: Initially it’ll look like a lot of topping when you layer it over the filling, but as it bakes, it loses some volume and shrinks down.

Storage

Allow it to cool to room temperature, then cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days.

To prevent the topping from getting soggy in this time frame, I recommend not transferring it to an airtight container and just keeping it in the dish you cooked it in, if possible.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.

How can you make this apple cranberry crumble recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…

  • No lemons? – use orange zest and orange juice.
  • No organic cane sugar or white sugar? – use all brown sugar.
  • No corn starch or tapioca starch/flour? – you can also use all purpose flour.
  • Gluten free? – use gluten free flour if needed. I’ve had great success with gluten free Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour and use certified gluten free oats.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is melted butter or cold butter better for the crumb topping?

Either one will work. Some people believe cold butter yields a more crunchy, crumbly texture, but I’ve found both to be successful. 

Is a fruit crisp and a fruit crumble the same thing?

Crumbles are more widely associated with the UK, whereas crisps are a popular dessert in the United States.

Both use a combination of flour, sugar, and butter for the crumbly streusel-like topping. Crisps also use oats in the topping, but you’ll find some crumble recipes do too (like this one).

More Dessert Recipes

I hope you love this Cranberry Apple Crumble Recipe! If you make it, be sure to leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!

Cranberry Apple Oat Crumble (Dairy Free)

Plates with cranberry apple crumble and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Cranberry apple crumble is the perfect dessert for the holiday season. It has sweet apples, fresh cranberries, and a buttery oat crumble topping. This easy recipe is dairy free and gluten free.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6

Ingredients
 

Fruit Filling

  • 5 medium sweet apples, peeled and cut into slices such as fuji, gala, honey crisp, pink lady, etc.
  • 1 ¾ cups fresh cranberries
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch or tapioca starch/flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • zest of 1 small lemon
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Oat Crumble Topping

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9-inch pie dish, baking dish, or large cast-iron skillet (10-inch would be ideal).
  • Mix the apple slices, fresh cranberries, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, starch, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl until well combined. Transfer the fruit mixture to the prepared pan and spread it into a somewhat even layer.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until combined, then work in the cubed butter with your hands until you're left with pea-sized clumps of crumble.
  • Sprinkle the crumble topping over the top of the fruit layer. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool down for a few minutes before digging in. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Notes

See the blog post for helpful tips, storage, and FAQs.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

No lemons? – use orange zest and orange juice.
No organic cane sugar or white sugar? – use all brown sugar.
No corn starch or tapioca starch/flour? – you can also use all purpose flour.
Gluten free? – use gluten free flour if needed. I’ve had great success with gluten free Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour and use certified gluten free oats.

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