Vegan Apple Crumble Bars with Oat Pecan Streusel

Vegan apple crumble bars with a pressed oat shortbread base, cinnamon apple filling thickened with cornstarch, and a buttery pecan streusel top. Makes 16.

VeganUnder 400 kcalContains GlutenContains Tree NutsMeal Prep
Prep
25 min
Cook
62 min
Rest
2 h
Serves
16
Vegan Apple Crumble Bars with Oat Pecan Streusel — Vegan apple crumble bars with a pressed oat shortbread base, cinnamon apple filling thickened with cornstarch, and a buttery peca
Illustration generated by AI · SDXL

Vegan Apple Crumble Bars with Oat Pecan Streusel is a vegan dessert recipe made with firm baking apples (about 4 medium), light brown sugar, lemon juice. It takes 87 minutes of hands-on time, plus 2 hours resting, serves 16, and each serving has 282 calories, 3 g of protein and 3 g of fiber.

One bowl of coconut oil dough does double duty here: two-thirds gets pressed into a base that's par-baked so it stays crisp under the fruit, and the rest is tossed with pecans for a chunky streusel. The apples are cooked down with cornstarch before they go in the pan, which drives off the water that otherwise soaks the base and makes the filling set firmly enough to cut clean squares. The bars need a full cool — ideally a stint in the fridge — before slicing, so they're built for making a day ahead.

Ingredients

16 servings

Apple filling

Base and streusel

To serve

Kit: 9x9-inch baking pan, parchment paper, large skillet or saucepan, large mixing bowl

Cook mode · Vegan Apple Crumble Bars with Oat Pecan Streusel

Tips

  • Coconut oil should be firm enough to rub in, like cool butter. If your kitchen is warm and it's liquid, chill the jar for 15 minutes first — melted oil makes a greasy base instead of a crumbly one.
  • Dice the apples small and evenly; 1/2-inch pieces cook through in the skillet and let the bars sit flat instead of doming over big chunks.
  • Don't skip cooling the filling before it goes on the base. Hot filling steams the par-baked crust and softens it.
  • Cutting warm bars is the main reason they fall apart — the cornstarch needs to cool to set.

Swap ideas

Use walnuts instead of pecans
Slightly more tannic and bitter against the sweet apples; toast them 5 minutes first to round it out.
Swap the coconut oil for a firm vegan block butter
Richer, more shortbread-like base with a faint dairy flavor; the streusel browns a touch faster.
Replace half the apples with firm pears
Softer, more floral filling — add an extra teaspoon of cornstarch since pears run wetter.
Use half whole-wheat flour in the dough
Nuttier and sturdier crumb; add an extra tablespoon of oat milk to keep it from drying out.

The numbers

282kcal per serving

Protein2.9 g
6% DV
Fiber2.8 g
10% DV
Carbs37.4 g
14% DV
Fat14.1 g
18% DV
Everything else · 16 servings per recipe
Saturated fat
8.8 g 44%
Sugars
18.9 g
Sodium
104 mg 5%
Potassium
132 mg 3%
Calcium
38 mg 3%
Iron
1.3 mg 7%
Vitamin C
3 mg 3%
Vitamin B12
0 µg 0%

% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.

Sources: Apples, raw, with skin (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Sugars, brown, Lemon juice, raw, Spices, cinnamon, ground, Spices, nutmeg, ground, Salt, table, Cornstarch, Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Vanilla extract, Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached, Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry, Leavening agents, baking powder, double-acting, sodium aluminum sulfate, Oil, coconut, Oatly Original Oatmilk (Nutrition Facts per 1 cup / 240 ml: 120 kcal, 5 g fat, 0.5 g sat fat, 100 mg sodium, 16 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 7 g sugars, 3 g protein, 350 mg calcium, 0.3 mg iron, 390 mg potassium, 0.4 mcg B12). Converted to per 100 g assuming ~244 g per cup (density ≈ 1.02 g/mL); vitamin C not listed, treated as 0., Nuts, pecans

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x9-inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides so you can lift the slab out later.

  2. Cook the filling: combine the diced apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar, lemon juice, 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the apples release their juices and a piece is tender at the edge but still holds its shape when pressed, 7–9 minutes.

  3. Whisk the cornstarch into the cold water, pour it into the skillet and stir for 1–2 minutes, until the juices turn glossy and thick enough to coat the apples rather than pool. Stir in the vanilla and set aside off the heat to cool while you make the dough.

  4. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt and baking powder. Add the coconut oil and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like damp sand with some pea-sized lumps, then drizzle in the oat milk and toss until it clumps when squeezed.

  5. Scoop out about a third of the mixture (roughly 2 cups) into a small bowl and toss it with the chopped pecans — that's the streusel. Tip the rest into the lined pan and press it firmly and evenly across the bottom, using the flat of a measuring cup to compact it.

  6. Par-bake the base until it looks dry and is just starting to color at the edges, 15–17 minutes. Leave the oven on.

  7. Spread the cooled apple filling over the hot base in an even layer, then squeeze the streusel into clumps and scatter it over the top, leaving a few gaps so steam can escape.

  8. Bake until the streusel is deep golden and the filling bubbles slowly at the edges, 35–40 minutes. If the topping browns fast after 25 minutes, tent loosely with foil.

  9. Cool in the pan on a rack for at least 2 hours, until fully room temperature — for the cleanest cuts, chill another hour. Lift out by the parchment and cut into 16 squares with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Drizzle with maple syrup if you like.

Storage: Keep covered in the fridge up to 5 days — the bars firm up and slice best cold. At cool room temperature they hold 2 days. Freeze cut bars, wrapped and boxed, up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge and warm in a 325°F oven for 8 minutes to re-crisp the streusel.

Questions

How much protein is in vegan apple crumble bars with oat pecan streusel?
Each of the 16 servings has 3 g of protein, 3 g of fiber and 282 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
Is vegan apple crumble bars with oat pecan streusel vegan?
Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
How long does vegan apple crumble bars with oat pecan streusel take to make?
25 minutes of prep and 62 minutes of cooking, so 87 minutes of hands-on time, plus 2 hours of unattended resting.
Can you make vegan apple crumble bars with oat pecan streusel ahead?
Keep covered in the fridge up to 5 days — the bars firm up and slice best cold. At cool room temperature they hold 2 days. Freeze cut bars, wrapped and boxed, up to 3 months; thaw in the fridge and warm in a 325°F oven for 8 minutes to re-crisp the streusel.
What can I substitute in vegan apple crumble bars with oat pecan streusel?
Use walnuts instead of pecans — slightly more tannic and bitter against the sweet apples; toast them 5 minutes first to round it out.. Swap the coconut oil for a firm vegan block butter — richer, more shortbread-like base with a faint dairy flavor; the streusel browns a touch faster.. Replace half the apples with firm pears — softer, more floral filling — add an extra teaspoon of cornstarch since pears run wetter.. Use half whole-wheat flour in the dough — nuttier and sturdier crumb; add an extra tablespoon of oat milk to keep it from drying out..
Does vegan apple crumble bars with oat pecan streusel contain gluten or tree nuts?
Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.

Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.

Published September 22, 2026 ·american