These Salted Caramel Apple Parfaits are the warm and comforting fall treat you've been waiting for. These parfaits are nut free, gluten free, and dairy free, and full of fall flavor. Store in a mason jar for a pre-portioned treat.
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My love for parfaits is getting a bit out of hand. I have a summery recipe for AIP Key Lime Pie Parfaits, and a Chocolate Blueberry Pots de Creme (dairy free), and yet here I am with a fall parfait recipe.
My motivation behind sharing healthy, yet still delicious recipes?
It makes it easier to stick healthy lifestyle choices!
When I first started out on the Autoimmune Protocol, I identified 5 ways to rock the AIP transition. However, it took me all this time to realize that I missed a pretty crucial tool to have in your arsenal when planning to rock a successful transition into the diet – a plethora of healing, AIP friendly, DELICIOUS dessert recipes.
Up until that time, every single dessert recipe I found as basically just a vegetable disguised as a dessert. Which meant that on top of all the other foods I was giving up, I was also missing out on desserts that actually tasted good.
Instead of moping around, I got to work and started creating!
This recipe has more sugar than you might typically see on a healing diet like the Autoimmune Protocol (AIP), but I personally found that to be necessary in order to actually stick to the diet – especially during the holidays. If I'm sharing a dessert with my family, I want it to be full of ingredients that make me feel great and flavor that tastes great, too!
I'm pleased to share that this one satisfies both.
Which brings me to these Salted Caramel Apple Parfaits.
With the fall and winter holiday season coming up, these AIP-friendly Salted Caramel Apple Parfaits are sure to be included on my holiday menu (and the occasional weekly meal plan as well).
They’re so simple to make, they travel well, and they aren’t starch and sugar bombs.
If you like this recipe, you'll also like:
Cranberry Orange cookies (AIP, Paleo, dairy free)
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Collagen Protein Bars (AIP, Paleo, dairy free)
Apple Pie Collagen Protein Bars (AIP, Paleo, dairy free)
Need other healthy Thanksgiving recipes? Here are a few you'll love!
Easy Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (dairy free, AIP)
Ranch Mashed Cauliflower (keto, dairy free, AIP)
Salted Caramel Apple Parfaits
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2 cups apples, peeled and sliced (you can also use pears or a combo)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil, butter, or ghee (coconut oil for AIP)
Salted Caramel Sauce
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk, room temperature (be sure your can of coconut milk is well combined, otherwise you may end up with too much cream or too much water)
- 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, optional
Coconut Crumble
1 batch of my Pumpkin Spice Granola or:
- 2 cups shredded, unsweetened coconut
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Assembly
- 1 batch Apple Filling
- 1 batch Salted Caramel Saunce
- 1 batch Coconut Crumble
- 1 batch Coconut Milk Whipped Cream, this can be purchased from a store or you can make your own using this recipe
Instructions
Apple Filling
- Peel and slice your apples and/or pears.
- Melt coconut oil in a saute pan and add sliced fruit and cinnamon. Stir occasionally until the fruit is soft (about 5-10 minutes).
Salted Caramel Sauce
- Heat maple syrup over medium low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Timing should start with the syrup is bubbling. Be sure to stir constantly, and don't overheat or it will burn.
- Remove from heat and add remaining ingredients. Stir to combine.
- Add pan back to heat for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. The timer should start when the mixture starts to bubble again. Don't bring to a boil, or it will over harden. The mixture should thicken, but won’t solidify. Set aside in a jar to cool.
Coconut Crumble
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine ingredients in a bowl until the coconut is well covered with syrup and cinnamon.
- Spread the mixture evenly across cookie sheet, and bake until it turns golden brown. The coconut will crisp as it cools.
Assembly
- Drizzle Salted Caramel Sauce around the top of six small glasses. Allow caramel to drizzle down the sides of each glass.
- Alternate layering Coconut Crumble and Apple Filling in the jars, stopping about 1” from the top.
- Top each parfait with a small scoop of Coconut Milk Whipped Cream and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.
Temp for sautéing apples?
While coconut is difficult to classify, The United States Food and Drug Administration consider coconuts to be a tree nut. It is also listed botanically as a tree fruit or a seed. I mention this because this recipe is listed as being nut free, but with such a large dependence on coconut as an ingredient, I don’t think it’s an accurate description. I have to avoid all nuts and seeds, including coconut. I am disappointed that once again what looks like a lovely recipe won’t work for me. Please think about how you label your recipes in the future. It’s very disheartening to open a recipe with high hopes only to have to abandon it as a no-go when I read the list of ingredients.
You might have an allergy or intolerance to coconuts, but that would not be considered a tree nut allergy. You can see here how identifying these as a tree nut in regards to allergens is not accurate.
“Coconut is not a botanical nut; it is classified as a fruit, even though the Food and Drug Administration recognizes coconut as a tree nut. While allergic reactions to coconut have been documented, most people who are allergic to tree nuts can safely eat coconut. If you are allergic to tree nuts, talk to your allergist before adding coconut to your diet.”
https://acaai.org/allergies/types/food-allergies/types-food-allergy/tree-nut-allergy
Also via this podcast:
“Even though it has “nut” in the name, it is not a nut. It’s a “drupe.” Coconuts do not have the same reactive properties of tree nuts.”
https://www.thepaleomom.com/paleo-podcast-coconut/
Personally, I choose not to base any dietary decision on the FDA. This is also the organization that recommends a daily vitamin D requirement at 400 IU (should be closer to 5000 for most adults), and as approved many pharmaceuticals as safe to use despite the evidence of side effects including death.
All that to say, I agree with these sources that coconut is not to be classified as a tree nut, and instead a “drupe”.
I made that recipe but as soon as I put the caramel in a glass for assembling, it became hard and stuck at the bottom. Any tips?