Mock Apple Zucchini Pie with {vegan}

Here’s a surprise! A sweet pie with a cinnamon spiced zucchini pie filling! Baked in an easy whole-wheat press-in crust with a healthy “Dutch apple” crumble topping, this mock apple zucchini pie tastes like, you got it, homemade apple pie!

Just when you think fresh zucchini is over and out for the season, someone gives you a bag of zucchini from their garden, or maybe the one huge zucchini that grew well hidden amongst the foliage. What to do? Make dessert, a healthy mock apple pie using zucchini. I swear, if you didn’t tell them they wouldn’t know.

Click here to PIN Mock Apple Zucchini Pie!

Years ago, a baker friend emailed a short recipe for “Pretend Apple Pie”, made with zucchini instead of apples. “Tastes like apple pie”, she wrote. I told myself one day I’d try her recipe, making it healthier and vegan, with less sugar.

Here’s my vegan pretend apple pie recipe, tested and retested, healthy with a whole grain crust and an oat almond crumble topping. Guess what? It tastes like homemade apple pie!

Zucchini Pie and Oat Almond Crumble recipe notes:

• Want it easy and simpler? Make a mock apple crisp with zucchini: Skip the crust, layer the pie filling in an oiled 8 x 8 pan, and top with the oat and almond crumble.
• For accuracy, use a scale (Affiliate link) to weigh your almond flour. A cup of almond flour (Affiliate link) can vary quite a bit in weight, from 2 ½ to 4 ounces, depending on how compact or loose your flour.
• Coconut sugar vs. organic cane sugar: Coconut sugar (Affiliate link) has a caramel brown sugar-like flavor and is less sweet than cane sugar.

• It helps to preheat the oven at a higher temperature than baking temperature. Why? Ovens lose 35 to 50 degrees of heat when opened. So, peheat the oven to 425°F to compensate for the heat loss, then turn the dial down to 400°F. when the pie goes in the oven.
• Allow your pie to cool at least an hour. 3 hours is even better. It will be much easier to cut and look better plated.
• If you use cane sugar, stir in a little dark molasses for that brown sugar note. You could also swap in brown sugar for the coconut or cane sugar.
• For savory pies, make this vegan press-in whole wheat olive oil pastry.

Ingredient details for this pie:

• If you find yourself short on brown sugar, white sugar combined with molasses makes a fine substitute.
• White whole wheat flour is 100% whole wheat, ground from white whole wheat kernels, instead of red wheat. White whole wheat flour (Affiliate link) is lighter in color and flavor–nice for baking. If you can’t find white whole wheat flour, use regular whole wheat flour.
• Arrowroot flour (Affiliate link) is a more nutritious substitute for cornstarch or flour. Ground from root tubers of the tropical arrowroot plant into a starch-like white powder, arrowroot starch aka powder or flour is completely neutral in taste and translucent clear when cooked.

Still got zucchini? More zucchini recipes:

• Grill thinly sliced ribbons and mix it with fettuccine noodles and pesto.
• Make spicy zucchini rice soup.
• Zucchini, cherry tomato, and gorgonzola appetizers.
• High Altitude Zucchini Bread.
• Chocolate Zucchini Muffins–so good they should be called cupcakes without the frosting.
• 11 more ideas to use up that zucchini.

Make it a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and make something delicious—with zucchini!

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• Peruse my Pinterest boards for more vegetarian recipe ideas,
• You’ll find daily vegetarian and healthy living ideas on my Facebook page.

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Print Recipe

5 from 4 votes

Zucchini Mock Apple Pie with Oat Almond Crumble

Use your favorite pie crust or this whole wheat vegan crust. You could skip the bottom crust for a zucchini mock apple pie crisp! Makes one 9-inch pie, 8 to 10 servings.

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Cooling time1 hour hr 22 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: mock apple pie, zucchini, whole wheat pastry, oat almond crumble streusel

Servings: 8 servings.

Author: Letty | @lettyskitchen

Ingredients

For the whole wheat pie crust:

• 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour (see note)
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or organic cane sugar (see note)
• 6 tablespoons avocado or grapeseed oil
• 3 tablespoons water

For the filling:

• 3 to 4 pounds zucchini about 5 medium
• ¾ cup coconut sugar or organic cane sugar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon dark molasses if using cane sugar (see note)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 3 tablespoons arrowroot or cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

For the crumble:

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 cup almond flour (4 ounces) (see note)
• ⅓ cup coconut or organic cane sugar
• ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ cup avocado or grapeseed oil

Instructions

Make the crust:

• Stir the flour and salt in a bowl. In another bowl or the liquid measuring cup, using a fork, whisk the oil and water until it lightens in color, about 15 seconds. 
• Immediately pour the oil/water mixture into the flour. Mix with a fork until all the flour is incorporated. Work gently with your hands until the dough holds together for the most part. (Add a bit more water, a teaspoon at a time, if needed, but be careful–too much moisture takes away from the flaky texture.) The dough will always be a bit crumbly but will become a beautiful pastry once you press it in the pan. 
• Press the dough evenly on the bottom, up the sides, and onto the rim of a 9-inch pie pan, pushing the dough with your fingers, patching in the thin spots. The dough comes together the more you work it into the pan and up on the rim. Crimp the dough on the rim in a fluted shape.

Prepare the zucchini:

• Peel the zucchini and cut in half lengthwise. Scrape out and discard the seeds. Slice about 1/8-inch thick. You should have 7 or so cups of sliced zucchini in half-ring shape.
• Place zucchini in a steamer basket over simmering water. Cover and steam 5 to 7 minutes, until the zucchini is no longer raw yet not soft. Drain and let sit in the colander while you prepare the crumble.
• Preheat the oven to 425°F. (You will bake the pie at 400°F. but you want it preheated at the higher temperature.)

The crumble:

• Put the oats, almond flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl. Pour in the oil and use your hands to mix everything together.

Assemble the pie:

• Dump the steamed and drained zucchini into a bowl. Stir in the sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, arrowroot and lemon juice. Immediately spoon the zucchini mixture into the prepared piecrust, pouring the juices from the bowl over the zucchini. Cover the zucchini evenly with the crumble, pressing it gently into the fruit and tucking in any zucchini slices poking out around the sides.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and you see evidence of bubbling juices around the sides. Let cool minimum one hour before cutting.

Notes

• Coconut sugar has a caramel brown sugar-like flavor and is less sweet than cane sugar. You could also use brown sugar.
• I recommend weighing the almond flour–a cup of almond flour can vary tremendously in weight, from 2 ½ to 4 ounces, depending on how compact or loose the flour.

Nutrition

Calories: 478kcal | Carbohydrates: 58g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 388mg | Potassium: 529mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 340IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 86mg | Iron: 2mg

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