Wheat Free Honey-Nutmeg Apple Crumble Bars
These bars hit every note you want from a fall dessert — tender spiced apples, a buttery golden crumble, and that warm sweetness from honey and nutmeg that makes your kitchen smell incredible. The base and topping come together from rolled oats, rice flour, and tapioca starch, so there's no wheat flour anywhere in the recipe, and no need to hunt down specialty blends or worry about hidden gluten in a store-bought mix. Cold butter worked into the dry ingredients creates that irresistible crumbly, slightly crisp texture that holds together beautifully once the bars cool. Tapioca starch does double duty here — it binds the crumble and thickens the apple filling so every slice stays neat and satisfying rather than falling apart. Honey brings a floral depth to the filling that plain sugar just can't match, and the nutmeg keeps things cozy without overpowering the fruit. Letting the bars cool completely is the one step you really can't rush — the filling sets up firm enough to cut into clean, shareable squares. Whether you're baking for a crowd or just want something genuinely good with a cup of tea, these deliver.
About FigFig is a food discovery app that helps you find foods and recipes that fit your dietary needs. Whether you have food allergies, intolerances, or follow a specific diet, Fig makes it easy to eat with confidence.
Learn more →Ingredients
9 servings
For the crust and crumble
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup rice flour
- ¼ cup tapioca starch
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into ½-inch cubes
For the apple filling
- 3 medium apples (about 1 ½ lb), peeled, cored, and cut into ¼-inch slices
- 3 tbsp honey
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two opposite sides to use as handles for lifting the bars out later.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the rolled oats, rice flour, tapioca starch (the crust-and-crumble portion), granulated sugar, and fine sea salt until evenly combined. Add the cold butter cubes and work them in with a pastry cutter or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse, clumpy crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter remaining — do not overwork it into a smooth dough.
Want the full recipe?
Create a Fig account for step-by-step instructions, access to our full recipe library, and more!