Elana's Pantry

New York Times Bestselling author Elana Amsterdam founded Elana’s Pantry, the go-to website for easy, healthy, grain-free, Paleo recipes, in 2006

Apple Tart

Paleo Apple Tart

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When chilly weather arrives the boys ask for Paleo Apple Tart with Pecan Crust on a nightly basis.

Cold weather means apple pie (or some version thereof) in my house.  Our favorite is this cinnamon-spiked apple tart encased in a pecan crust. Since my boys go gaga for anything involving baked apples, this gluten free apple tart with a high protein, grain free crust doesn’t last long around here.

I love that the boys (and their friends) gobble down a treat high in fiber and other nutrients, with a minute amount of added sweetener –this entire dessert has a mere one tablespoon of honey. While super kid-friendly, this not-too-sweet tart also makes a gluten free, dairy free dessert that is rich enough to satisfy discerning palates, hence the place it will take on on our Thanksgiving table next month.

Print Recipe
Cinnamon Apple Tart with Pecan Crust
Serves:6
Ingredients
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, toss apple slices, lemon juice, arrowroot, honey and cinnamon
  2. Fan apples out on top of uncooked crust, forming a circle
  3. Layer more apples over circle and in its center
  4. Cover tart with foil, and bake at 350° for 45 to 70 minutes, or until juices are bubbling
  5. Remove foil and cook uncovered for 5-10 more minutes
  6. Serve with Vegan Coconut Whip (page 94 Gluten-Free Cupcakes)

Here are some of my other fall friendly apple recipes:

Are you looking forward to Thanksgiving? What types of recipes would you like to see here before the holiday?

Comments

  3. Can I make the filling and freeze it to make the tart later? I have lots of apples to process. I was thinking about making applie pie filling and freezing them for use later. Now that I follow a paleo lifestyle, I’m unsure how the ingredients will hold up or if they will be too soggy after I thaw. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

    • Faith, I haven’t tried freezing this so not sure how that would work. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes :-)

      Reply

  4. Two Q’s – would this work with Pears? and is there an alternative for the arrowroot powder? (What about coconut flour in its place?) I will use the honey and everything else, but thinking about omitting the arrowroot powder. From the comments sounds like it may get a little soggy possibly – even if I keep the honey?

    Reply

  5. I made this last Friday. The crust wasn’t soggy at all. The test came when I presented a slice to my husband with some whipped coconut cream (with a little vanilla extract in). He said it was honestly one of the best apple tarts he’d ever had. I had to use Cortlands as I couldn’t get Jonagolds, but everything came out wonderfully! In fact, I’m blogging about this pie right now, giving people the links to your recipes! Thanks so much, once again. (He also loves the chile lime mustard chicken)

    Reply

  6. Hi, I made this for Canadian Thanksgiving. It was terrific in taste. My only comment is the bottom crust was a bit soggy – but I skipped the honey and arrowroot powder. I’m guessing that caused it? I was hoping for a roasted nut flavour. Next time (and there will be one!) I’ll skip the lemon juice. Unless anyone has other suggestions for a non soggy crust?

    Reply

  8. I have made this recipe twice now. The results have been well received at both a family gathering and my wife’s book club. I will make more, for sure. Because it is a little early in the apple season, I have not been able to buy Jonagold apples yet. The first tart used Tango Crisp, the second used Gala. Sure, there was a small difference, but I’m not sure which I liked better. I expect to hear about the need for several at Thanksgiving.

    Reply

  9. Did u serve this straight from the oven? I’m cooking it a day ahead and wondering the best way to store and then serve it… Refrig? Leave out? Reheat? Serve room temp?? Thx in advance <3

    Reply

  10. Hi,
    I have tried this recipe several times and have never had it come out OK. I can’t seem to find Jonagold apples and have tried several combinations, but the juice never bubbles and it never looks like Elana’s. Mine look just dried up! I have tried slicing the apples thick, and then today tried slicing them as thin as I could get them. Any suggestions as to what might be going wrong? Any tips I could try? I love the idea of this tart, and make it every Rosh Hashanah, but after this, I might abandon this recipe! I usually have very good luck with Elana’s recipes, so not sure what the problem is with this one.

    Today, I used 2 ginger gold apples, one mac and one either honey crisp or gala apple.
    Followed the recipe exactly.

    Thanks for any help anyone can give!

    Reply

    • I think it was the choice of apple. I just made it for the first time for Rosh Hashanah and couldn’t find the Jonagold either. Whole foods told me they would be out in a few more weeks. They also told me gala and mac were two good substitutes for Jonagold, so I mixed them. Results were ok, but I won’t use next time as they weren’t juicy enough. Might try granny smith if I can’t find the Jonagold.

      Reply

  11. I have made this several times and each time was very pleased with the results. I leave out the arrowroot powder and use stevia (sometimes not). Am about to make it again for a friend tonight, who is trying to go grain-free and I am sure this will have a positive impact on her.
    Thank you so, so much for your wonderful, simple, healthy recipes.

    Reply

  13. Hi,

    I used the wrong sort of apples and they never softened :( However I did use chestnut flour instead of almond flour and it was really tasty! no sweetness required at all. Great recipe thanks!

    Reply

  16. This turned out great! I’m excited that I can make something for myself for Thanksgiving. And it seems healthy enough for breakfast, so that’s what I’m having this morning.

    Reply

  17. I made this last night with your tart crust. AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved the crust– it came out much better than a previous walnut crust from a different website I made months ago. Not too sweet and absolutely wonderful.

    Reply

  18. This looks like heaven I cannot wait to make it and I love pecans. The crust is going to be my favourite part. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuum :)

    Reply

  20. I made this for my coworkers today and it was a huge hit! I didn’t have a tart pan, so I used a pie dish, and I was surprised that the crust still came out clean. Delicious!!

    Reply

  24. I made the apple pie the other day for a Birthday party and everyone enjoyed it. I think it tasted more as apple crisp instead of a pie but delicious! I am a vegan so I replaced the egg with an egg replacer and still was great!

    Reply

  25. I made this using 2T coconut nectar instead of 1T honey. The jonagold apples I found must have been big because it took less than 4 to fill the tart (I used the same pan listed). I thought the apple portion tasted delicious. I thought the pie crust was ok, but seemed to be missing something flavor-wise. Overall it tasted like a healthy, yummy addition to the brunch we served it with today. Thank you!

    Reply

  26. I made this for Shabbat and loved it. I used golden delicious apples and they were still reasonably firm, but soft, and delicious. I substituted taopioca flour for the arrowroot, as I had run out. I warmed it up on the blech for about 20 mins and everyone loved it. Thanks for another great recipe!

    Reply

  27. Curious for those of you who made this recipe, I could not get this recipe to work. I could not find Jonagold apples, and instead used red delicious and golden delicious and they never softened enough to look like what they look like in the picture, nor did the juices break down enough to boil. Any suggestions on apples, or why this may have been the case?
    Thanks!
    Monika

    Reply

    • Delicious apples are terrible for cooking or baking. Try Macintosh or Royal Gala if you can’t find jonagold. Granny Smith also cook up nicely but can be kinda tart. Hope that helps!

      Reply

  28. I think next time I’ll go with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, rather than a tablespoon.

    But thank you for taking the time to figure out how to cook with gluten free ingredients. I am grateful for all the work you do; and for the inspiration I find here.

    Reply

  29. I have made this twice now and my husband has had to restrain himself from eating the entire thing in one sitting. The recipe is more or less fool proof (given that I am quite the baking buffoon). I subbed the arrowroot for corn starch, sliced the apples a little thicker and added twice the honey the second time around. I bake for 50 then 10 without the foil. The crust came out amazing each time exactly as per the recipe.

    I make your chocolate chip cookies up to four times weekly. My step son inhales them and he’s not gluten sensitive. I use the trader joe brand of almond meal. It seems to work really well.

    Thanks, Elana, for making me out to be a much better baker than I am. I get so many undeserved compliments. But don’t worry, I tell them about your website every time. :)

    Reply

  30. This comment is not related to the above post but I looked and looked for a place to send you a question and I didn’t find one.

    I was on your ingredients page, under chocolate, and reading about Dagoba having added dairy to their chocodrops and your switch to the El Caco (I’m sure I don’t have the whole name right) brand. So, I followed both links. Dagoba says their chocodrops are dairy free and the El Caco brand has been discontinued and they have a link to Dagoba. So, I was just wondering what you’re using these days. I do avoid dairy, so hence the question. Just wondered if maybe Dagoba switched back to non-dairy? Or any other suggestions?

    If you can help, I’d appreciate it.

    Reply

  31. My mouth starts watering even before your page pulls up! I know every time, I’m going to find something satisfying and healthy. You never fail me. The apple tart looks delicious and I’m especially fond of the pecan pie crust( nice change from the usual walnut crust I make). Thank you, Elana!!

    Reply

  33. Hi Elana! I am looking forward to trying the apple tart as I am furthing my quest in eating healther and smarter. What I respect is your appreciation for the environment and wanted to contact you. I have along with one of my friends found a desiccant filter made of diatomaceous earth that will absorb moisture and ethylene gas which causes produce to decay prematurely. The outside of our filter is made of recyclable paper so not only does it helps naturally preserve food but doesn’t harm the environment. I have been using my filter (we have different size filters depending on size of refrigerator)since April and I save an average of $50 a month on produce because I don’t have to throw out spoiled veggies. With all your work in testing recipes and other foods, I would like to send you one of our filters to test in your kitchen and would love to hear how our filter works for you! When I started having great results I want to share this with everyone! Feel free to check our website and contact me in my email so I can send you a free filter! Thank you and looking forward to all your new recipes! http://www.fridgtech.com

    Reply

  34. Crystal I have used the coconut flour pie crust recipe from the blog delicious obsessions. It turned out great & I was just thinking about it when I saw Elana’s pie. Don’t know if the two recipes would work together from a baking perspective, but I might just have to try it!

    Reply

  37. MUCH healthier version than my classic french apple tart recipe…paleo to boot! Question for all fellow Elana fans out there…Is there a way to make the pecan crust look less dark in color?..I fear my french family will not appreciate the paleo “aspect” of the presentation despite its inherent nutritious and delicious ingredients!..Thanks in advance for any enlightenment!

    Reply

    • Elana has an almond flour crust that is much paler. …And while it won’t taste like pecan, almond is yummy too…or you could try going half and half with the flours.

      Reply

  38. WOW! THIS SOUNDS SOOOOOOO GOOD! I HAVE ALREADY PRINTED IT OUT TO TRY WITH THE GRAVINSTEIN APPLES THAT WE HAVE STORED IN THE GARAGE FOR THIS WINTER.
    THE THING THAT SEEMS TO GO WITH THANKSGIVING WOULD BE SOMETHING WITH PUMPKIN. HOW ABOUT A PUMPKIN SOUP? WARM AND HEARTY FOR A WINTER DAY.

    WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ALL THE BLESSINGS OF THE SEASON!

    Reply

  39. Elana…you’re an amazing woman. Your family is so lucky to call you theirs. You can just smile back at yourself and be happy inside
    when you look in the bathroom mirror tomorrow morning. Remember this, okay?

    Reply

  41. WOW! Thank you.
    This is exactly what I was going to try and make after I got your email with the pecan tart crust recipe. I was actually thinking of trying to convert a recipe for making a tarte tatin by cooking the apples in a cast iron frying pan with 6Tbsp butter and 1/2cup sugar(thought I would try honey to make caramel sauce)and then putting the pecan crust over the top and baking for 30 min.
    This looks like a much healthier plan.
    Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

    Reply

  42. looks delicious! and i love the idea of a pecan crust. i’ve never cared for traditional pie crust, but i’ve loved your crust recipes that i’ve tried. this recipe reminded me of your cranberry bars, which everyone around here is crazy about and will definitely be a permanent fixture at thanksgiving. can’t wait to try this apple tart!

    Reply

  43. I would love to see more side dish recipes for Thanksgiving. Some savory recipes and maybe some tasty appetizers.

    Reply

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