A character in “The Nice Guys” enjoys a slice of apple pie at a diner, so it came as a natural pairing. You should appreciate that I’m not pairing a bourbon martini, which is mentioned in the film and appropriately dismissed as disgusting.

This vegan, gluten-free apple pie makes 8 slices or “servings.” (If you want to go the extra mile with your apple pie, try our caramel apple pie ice cream recipe.)

Ingredients
2 gluten-free, vegan pie crusts, premade or homemade
1 cup sugar
0.25 cups flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 cups apples, cored and sliced

Instructions
Make sure your pie crust is prepped as appropriate. My homemade recipe requires some chilling, and some premade frozen crusts might require some thawing time.

Preheat your oven to 400°F and grease your pie pan.

Whisk the sugar, flour and cinnamon together.

Toss the apple slices in the cinnamon sugar mixture with tongs. Set aside.

Carefully roll out one of your pie crusts and place it in your greased pie plate. Pour the apple mixture in.

Roll out your second crust and use a pizza cutter to cut 1 inch-wide strips.

Carefully place and interweave the strips across the top of your pie. I am not a lattice perfectionist, so I am fully aware mine might not look like it came out of a glossy magazine (but it tastes wonderful!).

Brush the lattice crust with canola oil or melted vegan butter.

Bake the pie at 400°F for 20 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 375°F and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes.

The crust should be golden brown and the filling should be slightly bubbling.

Slice and serve with “The Nice Guys.” A scoop of vegan vanilla ice cream or a dollop of vegan whipped cream can make a nice optional addition to this dessert, too.

The Easy Route
Using a premade crust, a crust mix and/or premade pie filling are all options to make this easier. If you find pie filling, keep an eye out for non-vegan items, like sugar processed using bone char, or flour containing gluten.

Of all the pie flavors, apple might be the easiest to find in a vegan, gluten-free premade option. If you have a favorite brand, bakery or restaurant that makes one, please share those details in the comments!

The Pairing
Considering filmmaker Shane Black wrote and directed “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” one of my favorite pulpy neo noir films, it should come as no surprise that I also love “The Nice Guy,” an equally pulpy neo noir.

“The Nice Guys” follows two private detectives, Holland March (Ryan Gosling) and Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), as they are on conflicting cases.

Healy has been hired by a young woman, Amelia (Margaret Qualley), to protect her from people looking for her, and March has been hired as one of the people looking for her.

Opening exposition demonstrates how effective Healy is, to counteract how ineffective March is.
They quickly cross paths and wind up reluctantly working together.

Gosling and Crowe are both at the top of the game. The one liners and chemistry they share are absolutely incredible. Gosling also delivers big time on the physical comedy, really selling as a bumbling idiot at times.

One of the real scene stealers, though, is Angourie Rice, who plays March’s daughter, Holly. She frequently accompanies him on cases, serving as his designated driver even though she is too young to be driving.

As I mentioned up top, “The Nice Guys” and “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” are the big standouts in Black’s career. I hope he continues to make more pulpy neo noir, because it is clearly a genre he knows how to execute. It looks like his upcoming film, “Play Dirty,” might fit the bill.

If you decide to make apple pie and/or watch “The Nice Guys,” let us know! Tag us in your Instagram posts & stories, threads, tweets or TikTok videos: @veg_out_recipes