I wanted to make a dessert for my family, but a healthy one. I wanted no added sweeteners, healthy or not, and no grains or starches, healthy or not. I had a bunch of apples in my fridge, and my first thought was apple pie, but again, no grains. So I thought to just serve apple pie filling without the crust, and figured I’d use chia seeds as a thickener instead of the usual flour or starch, and let this apple pie filling be sweetened just from their own juices.
I experimented and this recipe came out so great I had to share it with you.
This recipe is vegan, sugar free, GAPS legal, Paleo/Primal diet friendly, allergy friendly, and much else. Feel free to use this to fill your standard pie crust or in any other recipe that calls for pie filling. Or just eat it plain- it’s great all ways!

Homemade Apple Pie Filling Recipe- Sugar Free, Starch Free, Vegan, GAPS Legal

Ingredients:
14 sweet apples (red delicious, golden delicious, gala, pink lady, etc… not granny smith, macintosh, etc… or other sour varieties)
2 cups water
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground chia seeds
1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon lemon juice, as needed

Instructions:
1. Chop up your apples. You can peel them first if you want, but I didn’t bother.

2. Add your water, salt, and cinnamon to your apples.

3. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for a while, until the apples are fully soft, and the liquid is concentrated and sweet.

4. Gently mash up a small portion of the apples to thicken the batch. Add your ground chia seeds and mix well, trying to ensure there are no clumps. Heat for 2-3 minutes more, stirring constantly, until it thickens.

5. If needed, add a drop of lemon juice. If your apples are slightly tarter, feel free to leave this out.

6. Enjoy hot or cold, plain or with toppings…


What type of healthy desserts do you like making? Are you a fan of apple pie? Apple pie filling? Ever try to make either one of those without any added sweeteners? How did that go for you? Does this look like a recipe you’d try?


Linking up to Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Fat Tuesday, Mostly Homemade Monday, Tasty Tuesday, Allergy Free Wednesday and Real Food Wednesday