All the comforts of Grandma’s homemade dessert is now a keto apple crisp? Oh, yeah, baby!
Apple crisp is the way to my hubby’s heart. When we first got married, it was one of the recipes that I *had* to master right away. It made him so happy and I loved that.
The original recipe calls for lots of brown sugar, honey, apples, and oats. However, on a keto diet, that doesn’t work. I could easily replace the sweeteners, and even the oats. But, how do I make the apples keto friendly?
The answer-you really can’t. Although apples are a great fruit to enjoy once in a while, the amount of carbs in them can knock you out of ketosis quicker than you can say, “Why did I eat that?”. For us, apple crisp was off the menu for good, or at least a long time.
Until I figured out the perfect way to replace those apples. I was with the Frenchman in the kitchen, testing another recipe entirely. He took a bite and said, “This tastes like apples in a way.” And you know what, he was right!
What is that secret ingredient that makes this the perfect keto apple crisp? Turnips.
Yes, turnips. Those little pinkish white globes of wonder that have 3 net carbs per 1/2 cup serving. It was perfect!
Back in the times of WW2 and victory gardens, America would put the troops first and send them the bulk of the fruit. The remainder was rationed out very carefully. My grandmother would tell me stories of how they grew turnips in their garden and use them as an applesauce replacement.
That came back to me as the Frenchman and I were munching baked turnip pieces. “What if I could use them in a low carb apple crisp?”, I wondered. Here you are!
A low carb, keto apple crisp that will “fool” just about anybody.
Can I use regular erythritol in this keto apple crisp recipe?
Yes, you can replace the brown sugar Swerve for regular swerve, if you’d like. The brown sugar adds a bit more flavor to this, but if you can’t find it, or it’s price prohibitive, then feel free to use what low carb sweetener you have.
if you choose to sub the brown sugar, you may find that you will need to add a bit more cinnamon for that “appley” flavor we are going for here.
Can I use shredded coconut instead of chips?
Absolutely! You can easily sub out shredded coconut, if you want. Decrease the amount to 1 cup, as the shredded coconut takes up less bulk and will measure a bit differently.
Do I have to prebake the turnips?
Yes, please do. I tried it without prebaking the turnips and the top burned before they were soft enough to pass for apples. Prebaking them helps to give them more an apple like texture in this low carb apple crisp. Hard turnips are still slightly sweet, but won’t really taste like apples.
What about a vegan option for this low carb apple crisp?
You can totally make this dairy free and vegan! Simply replace the butter for an equal amount (1/2 cup) of coconut oil. It’ll taste great!
Other Keto Desserts To Try
Ingredients:
- 2 cups turnips
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 3/4 cup brown sugar erythritol (brown sugar swerve)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 2 cups coconut chips
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease an 11×7 or 8×8 baking pan with coconut oil or cooking spray.
- Peel and slice turnips into thin slices. Place in baking pan and bake in oven for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
- Remove turnips from oven, and spread topping mixture over all. Return to oven.
- Bake for an additional 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving. For best flavor, serve warm.
- Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before enjoying.
What is your favorite dessert? Can you make it more low carb? Be sure to let me know what you think of this keto apple crisp!
Keto Apple Crisp

Ingredients
- 2 cups turnips
- 1 stick butter, melted
- 3/4 cup erythritol (brown sugar swerve)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 cup coconut chips
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease an 11x7 or 8x8 baking pan with coconut oil or cooking spray.
- Peel and slice turnips into thin slices. Place in baking pan and bake in oven for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, combine remaining ingredients.
- Remove turnips from oven, and spread topping mixture over all. Return to oven.
- Bake for an additional 30 minutes, until top is golden brown and bubbly.
- Allow to cool slightly before serving. For best flavor, serve warm.
- Refrigerate leftovers and reheat before enjoying.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
- Swerve Sweetener, Brown, 12 ounces
- Starwest Botanicals Organic Cinnamon Powder - 1 Pound - Freshly Ground Korintje Cinnamon
- NOW Foods Almond Flour, 2 pk
- Watkins Original Gourmet Baking Vanilla Extract, with Pure Vanilla Extract, 11 Ounce (Packaging may vary)
- Terrasoul Superfoods Raw Coconut Chips (Organic), 12 Ounces
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 382 Total Fat: 33g Saturated Fat: 14g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 17g Cholesterol: 40mg Sodium: 208mg Carbohydrates: 17g Fiber: 6g Sugar: 8g Protein: 7g
Zach
Some of Zach's favorite keto resources include:
Perfect Keto: For those who are looking for easy supplements that support a Keto diet, Perfect Keto offers a variety of products that make it easy to stay in ketosis including keto bars, whey protein, and keto nootropics.
KetoLogic: For those who have a sweet tooth, KetoLogic sells keto-friendly chocolate candies with only 1g of net carbs & zero added sugars.
Latest posts by Zach (see all)
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- Stuffed Peppers Without Rice (Keto-Friendly) - December 10, 2019
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I did NOT see the turnips coming! Wow! How cool! I can’t wait to try this!
excited to hear what you think!
Turnips?!? Way to throw in a curve ball! Haha. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten turnips, so I can’t really imagine how this tastes, but I’m definitely intrigued!
LOL! Pretty cool, huh? I hadn’t tried turnips before trying this out, either 😉
Turnips totally work! They have a similar texture to apples when raw and bake similarly. The only I felt would be missing is the tartness of the apples, so I added some lemon juice and it worked great.
Oh, lemon juice would be a great addition!
Whoa. Fascinating. I love turnips just steam/sauteed in olive oil and honey but this never would have occurred to me. So innovative!
I’m obsessed with apple crisps and I love that you made a low carb version! SO interesting to use turnips. Can’t wait to try it!
Such a good idea!! I can’t wait to make this, thank you!
Apple crisp is my favorite. A healthier apple crisp takes it up that many more notches!
This dessert is so nostalgic for me. Love the twist with the turnips!
Yum! My husband loves apple crisps. I guess I will be a nice wife and make him one:)
interesting idea to use turnips instead of apples! I bet it tastes great
Wow I was very surprised to see turnips in this! Love how you have made a low carb version of a classic dish!
I’ve made this with jicama, but not turnips before. Such a great idea!