This healthy dessert pizza features an oat crumble & almond butter “caramel” combined with fresh apple slices on an easy homemade pizza dough!
Recently I put together an article for Shape that rounded up healthy dessert pizza recipes, and it got the wheels turning in my head for a caramel apple dessert pizza. Especially since it’s autumn and time for all things apple!
I thought why not combine a few of my favorite things? After all, pizza + dessert + apples must = a heavenly recipe! Am I right?
And so here we are with this vegan caramel apple dessert pizza, which features an oat crumble & almond butter “caramel” atop fresh apple slices on an easy homemade pizza dough.
I’ve made a healthy caramel sauce with several different recipes, and the combination of maple syrup with almond butter and cinnamon makes for a deeeelicious pizza “sauce” – not to mention way healthier than your typical sugar, butter, and cream laden caramel.
If you’ve gone apple picking and are looking for a fun way to use up a few pieces of fruit in your peck, I hope you give this healthy dessert pizza recipe a try!
Healthy Caramel Apple Dessert Pizza {vegan}
Ingredients
For the oat crumble:
- 1/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 TBSP all-purpose flour
- 2 TBSP brown sugar
- 2 TBSP coconut oil melted
- 1/2 TSP cinnamon
- Pinch of fine sea salt
For the caramel sauce:
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 3 TBSP coconut oil
- 2 TBSP creamy almond butter
- 1 TSP vanilla extract
- 1/4 TSP cinnamon
For the apple layer:
- 3 medium apples pictured, I use Granny Smith
- Juice from 1/4 lemon
- 1/2 TBSP cane sugar
For the crust:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 standard packet rapid rise yeast
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1 TSP sugar
- 1 TSP salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- First, prep the crust: Combine the warm water, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl. Let it sit for 5 minutes or until it becomes foamy.
- Add in the olive oil, salt, and flour 1 cup at a time. Stir together well, then transfer the mixture to the counter and knead for 5 minutes.
- Turn off the oven. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover it with a dish towel, and place it in the warm oven to rise for 30 minutes. The dough should about double in size.
- While the dough is resting, prep the apples: Peel and thinly slice the fruit. Place the apples in a colander, then toss them with the lemon juice and sugar.
- Leave the apples in the colander while prepping the oat crumble: Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and pinch of sea salt in a bowl. Drizzle in the melted coconut oil and stir until evenly combined. Set aside.
- Once the dough has risen, remove it from the oven and roll it out to a pizza dough with a rolling pin and a bit of flour.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Arrange the apple slices onto the dough. Spoon the oat crumble on top. Bake the pizza for 15 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned.
- While the pizza bakes, make the caramel sauce: Combine the maple syrup, coconut oil, almond butter, cinnamon and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Warm until the mixture becomes bubbly, stirring often.
- Once the pizza is done cooking, remove it from the oven and drizzle the caramel sauce on top.
- Allow the pizza to slightly cool, then cut it into slices and enjoy.
Nutrition
I met up with a girlfriend to go apple picking with my 1-year old a few weekends ago, and we’ve been eating apples in some form every day. One of my current go-to ways to eat apples is throwing them in our morning smoothies – such as in this apple pie smoothie recipe.
Apple picking with my babe
Tell me… Have you gone apple picking this fall?
well this is super creative! I love the idea of pizza for dessert or anytime really!!
Thank you!! I’m with you, pizza can work any time of the day!
We went apple picking about 2 weeks ago, and we’ve been enjoying our Honeycrisps! This is a really fun way to use some of those apples, though. That caramel base sounds delicious – love maple syrup – and I bet it would be a great treat for the end of the day! Plus, pizza. You can’t ever go wrong with pizza. 🙂
Pizza is always a win in my book! Well ok, not from one of those crappy pizza chains like Papa John’s haha I guess I’m pizza spoiled having grown up in NJ/NY, where I’d say the pizza is the best in the US!
Wow Nicole — this looks amazing! I’ve never had anything like it and now I’m craving it! I love the oatmeal crumble and healthy caramel — this is such a fun way to enjoy apples right now!
Thank you! 🙂 Same here, I do oatmeal crumbles with a bunch of recipes because it’s just so yummy.
Why have I never had dessert pizza before??? I feel like I’m missing out – this looks fantastic!!
Ahhh yes you definitely should try dessert pizza! The first time I had it was at an Italian restaurant, & the pizza had banana & Nutella. So yum!!
You had me at “Caramel Apple!” You know how I love dessert pizzas, and yours looks incredible. Can’t wait to give it a try.