Caramel Apple Crumble
Get cozy with caramel, apples, and crunchy oat clusters this season—without the sugar spikes!
Recipe Overview – Caramel Apple Crumble
🔪 The Recipe: Caramel Apple Crumble
⏲️ Estimated Time: about 35 minutes from scratch.
💵 Cost to make: $4.05 USD / $5.59 CAD
🍽️ Servings: Around 3-4 servings
🕹️ Difficulty: Medium
Coming Next Week: Traditional Cabbage Rolls
Stay tuned for next week’s dinner recipe, and if you haven’t already please subscribe so you don’t miss it or any of my other upcoming recipes!
The Menu
Indulge in the warm, comforting flavors of fall with your own Caramel Apple Crumbles.
Sweet, just tender, apples covered in a creamy date (or other WFPB not-dates options) caramel and topped with crunchy, golden caramel oat clusters. Each bite offers the perfect balance of sweet, tender, crisp, creamy, and crunchy.
This wholesome dessert is free of refined sugars and oils, making it a guilt-free treat that’s as nourishing as it is delicious. Enjoy the taste of autumn in every spoonful!
A Note About Glycemic Index & Dates
Avoid Sellaj and Maktoomi dates since their glycemic index is quite high 74.6 and 71.0, even
For a low glycemic index pick common: Medjool, Deglet Noor, Ajwah, (Khudri; GI:62), Parnoosh, Sukkary, Barhi, Nabtat-ali, Sabaka for a glycemic index below 60 more research and information on dates and their glycemic index (including a chart of GI and GL and common varieties) can be found in the Science-to-Ingredients Lookup for Dates / Date Fruit
A Brief History of Apple Crumble
Apple crumble has a history rooted in British cuisine, dating back to the Second World War.
It emerged as a popular dessert during WWII due to rationing, which limited access to more traditional baking ingredients like flour and butter. Instead, families turned to simple, affordable ingredients like apples and oats, creating a dish that was both delicious and economical.
Today, it remains a beloved dessert in many households, cherished for its warm, homey appeal and versatility, making it a staple in autumn and winter baking.
“I can't get enough of this Caramel Apple Crumble! I’m glad this dessert is as tasty as it is healthy since it’s hard for me to put the spoon down once I’ve started! It’s amazing warm, but I also love it cold and I’ve even been known to sneak a bite or two right from the fridge when nobody is looking! Whether it’s a family gathering or a quiet night in, this recipe is a fall staple that fills the kitchen with the smell of cinnamon and apples and brings comfort, joy, and warmth to every occasion!”
- Chef Rob (me)
Why You Shouldn’t Use Non-Stick
I see too many of my fellow chefs, cooks, and food bloggers all using their cherished non-stick pans everyday. Please, for all of our safety: please stop.
Avoiding non-stick cookware since even the new GenX™ cookware has been found, so far in animal studies, to be just as dangerous as Teflon™ as it showed in animal studies as far back as the 60s done by DuPont Inc.—I know that humans aren’t mice though. Currently, the EPA even has an ongoing assessment to try to figure out the minimum and maximum toxic dosages of GenX™.
If you don’t know about how toxic Teflon™ is and the forever chemicals, PFAs, that non-stick cookware uses to pollute everything including you and even unborn babies and how the toxic pollution has killed countless animals, wildlife, and will continue to pollute our planet forever. Then I highly suggest you watch the movie: The Devil We Know, it’s on YouTube (Free) or on Amazon etc.
Teflon™ Flu & Polymer Fume Fever
One of the lesser-known dangers of nonstick cookware is the dreaded “Teflon™ flu.” This occurs when nonstick pans are overheated, releasing toxic fumes into the air.
In 2023, there were 267 reported cases of polymer fume fever, the highest number in over two decades. These fumes, which can be emitted when a pan reaches temperatures as low as 400-500°F (205-260°C), cause flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, headaches, and muscle tension.
Okay, now please season your steel cookware so it is safe and just as non-stick (or use cast iron) so we don’t keep putting these chemicals into our bodies and the environment.
How To Season Steel Cookware
Caramel Apple Crumble Recipe
🧰Equipment
1 Spice / Coffee Grinder
1 Pots
1 Seasoned Steel or Cast Iron Pan
🥣Ingredients
CRUMBLE CARAMEL
3 tbsp oats
½ cup dates pitted dried (I like Parnoosh-
½ tbsp vanilla extract or better
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cups water
CRUMBLE CLUSTERS
½ cup oats ground into a flour
½ cup oats steel cut/rolled/large-flake whole
¼ cup dates pitted dried Parnoosh
2 tbsp sunflower seeds hulled
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ cup date caramel sauce
CARAMEL APPLE FILLING
1 cup apples small dice the side of a pea
¼ cup date-oats flour
2 tsp cinnamon
½ cup water
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup date caramel sauce or as much as you have
🔪Instructions - Caramel Apple Crumble
The full caramel apple crumble recipe can be found here:
(including step-by-step photos and more detailed instructions and tips.)
Basic Directions
Date Caramel Sauce
Turn oats into a flour in your spice grinder. Next, open the dates and coat then in the oat floor.
Pulse the dates and oats flour every second for 30 seconds then grind and shake the grinder, to avoid clumping, for 20 seconds. Add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Once the caramel is boiling turn it down to a low simmer, for about 10 minutes or until it thickens.
Crumble Clusters
Grind oats into a flour the open and coat the dates in the flour, then pulse both together for 20 seconds followed by grinding for 20 seconds while shaking the grinder to avoid clumping. Reserve ¼ cup of the date-oats flour.
In a seasoned plan add all the dry ingredients to a pan and cook on medium high, stirring often. When the oats become toasty smelling add in the caramel and stir and press down with the back of a spoon to make sure everything gets covered in the caramel and starts to make small cluster clumps.
If it’s not clumping add water 1 tbsp at a time while stirring and pressing until it does, cook until it gets nice and lightly crispy, about 10 more minutes on a medium high heat, stir often to avoid burning.
Caramel Apple Filling
Dice apples and add everything to a pot, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil.
Cook uncovered until the liquid thickens and the apples soften a little, or about 5 minutes more.
Fill a dish ¾ full with the Caramel Apple Filling, then top it with the Crumble Clusters and Fast Freeze Ice Cream
Enjoy and stay nourished!
Updates
The ingredients section continues to grow as I add old and science-based research for each ingredient that I use in all recipes. Most of it is very recent data—I won’t use science older than 15 years, but much of it is from the last few years and from RCTs (Randomized Controlled Trials) and meta-analysis, or reviews studies based on quality RCTs or meta-analysis.
I have also added more to science-based research for each disease so you can easily cite how a plant-based diet fights specific non-communicable diseases, as well as disproving myths like incomplete plant proteins, heme iron, omega-3, and other common misconceptions—all science-backed.
But I’ve mostly added to the re-design of that which currently only has these sections: Cancer, Dementia (Alzheimer's), Diabetes, Genetics / Epigenetics, and Heart Disease but more are coming soon!
You can also share this link as PlantBasedProof.com/research or PlantBasedProof.com/proof for the single page. I know too often people ask us to back up claims on a plant-based lifestyle or have concerns about your protein or calcium intake etc. hopefully this will put us all at ease.
That’s all for this week.
Have a great weekend and stay nourished!
Making this ASAP 😍