This easy apple crisp is made the old fashioned way like Grandma used to make, and is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and salted caramel sauce!
A true classic Fall dessert, this easy apple crisp recipe is reminiscent of generations past. Pop this apple crisp in the oven and wait for the delicious smell to waft through your house!
Do you have a classic Fall dessert that you just LOVE? I have several, but one of them is definitely this apple crisp recipe! Growing up, my Mom had two classic desserts that she made… one was her famous Carrot Cake, and the other was a mouthwatering apple crisp.
This isn’t her exact recipe, but it’s one that I’ve tweaked and been working on for a while, and I’ve finally gotten it just right! While I do love pumpkin, apple is actually my favorite Fall flavor. Mostly because of this crisp lol.
Some apple crisp recipes don’t use oats, which is totally fine if that’s your thing, but I LOVE the crispy oat topping, so I made sure to add a good amount of it.
What apples do I use for this easy apple crisp
Simply put, you can use any apples that you like! My personal favorite for this recipe is the golden delicious variety, but Granny Smith or Fuji are some other great varieties.
To peel, or not to peel
It’s 100% up to you! I’ve made this recipe both ways, and I like them both equally. Generally, when I make this easy apple crisp, I’m making it for my family, and my kids wouldn’t eat it with the skins on, so I peel them more often than not. I’m sure this goes without saying, but if you choose to leave the skins on, be sure to wash the apples thoroughly 🙂
That right there is my FAVORITE way to enjoy hot apple crisp… with a cold scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, and drizzled with my luscious browned butter salted caramel sauce! If you’ve never tried it that way… you totally need to!
Looking for other recipes that use that caramel sauce?
- Caramel Apple Pie Bars
- Bourbon Vanilla Ice Cream
- Vanilla Chai Cheesecake Bars
- Butterfinger Toffee Cookies
I invite you all to join me in making my favorite Fall dessert… this easy apple crisp. Once you have it in the oven, you’ll LOVE the smell that fills your house!
Shop the recipe
- 8″ baking dish – I love the clean white look, plus it bakes beautifully!
- Vegetable peeler – You probably already have one, but in case you don’t, this one is my personal favorite!
- Pastry Cutter – I love that this is sturdy and the blades don’t bend nearly as easily as some other brands!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
Spiced apples
- 6 golden delicious apples peeled and chopped (other varieties can be used, can also be sliced)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
Crisp topping
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats quick oats can be used, but it may have a slightly different texture
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- pinch of kosher salt
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter diced into small cubes
Instructions
Prepare
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter an 8×8 baking dish, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Make spiced apples
- In a mixing bowl, add chopped apples, granulated sugar, 3/4 tsp of the cinnamon and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then transfer to prepared baking dish.
Make topping
- In a separate mixing bowl, add topping ingredients (brown sugar, oats, flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, salt, and diced cold butter).
- Use a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the oat mixture, using a slight downward twisting motion, until mixture resembled pea-sized crumbs. Alternatively, you can use two forks or even your hands to cut butter into the mixture.
Bake
- Spread topping over apples in baking dish, and gently pat to even it out. Bake 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
Serve
- Serve warm and enjoy! We love to top ours with some vanilla bean ice cream, or whipped cream.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
- The amount of chopped apples would be about 6-7 cups.
- Note that all ovens bake differently, so yours may take a little less or a little more time to bake.
- I don’t have an issue with my crisp being watery (due to the water content in the apples), but if a little juice at the bottom is something you want to avoid, you can try adding a little all purpose flour to the apple mixture.
Make-Ahead Directions:
- Bake as directed. After the crisp cools, cover and refrigerate until the next day. When you’re ready to reheat, set it out at room temp for 20 minutes or so, then bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until hot throughout.
- I haven’t tested assembling this ahead of time (although I’m pretty sure other readers have done this successfully – you’d have to check the other comments).
- I haven’t tested freezing this recipe, although many other readers have frozen it successfully.
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
NEVER MISS A CHUNKY CHEF RECIPE:
FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / PINTEREST / TWITTER
Barbara M Devine says
Super yummy Apple Crisp recipe. Thank you!!
LJ says
what is wrong with you? If I search for a recipe I want a recipe, not commentary and pictures
The Chunky Chef says
Well aren’t you just a peach? If you want a recipe and nothing else, food blogs aren’t for you. Feel free to go pay for a cookbook and be on your merry way.
Anny says
My thought exactly –
Lisa natwick says
Perfect answer 😃
EmFos says
<3 <3 <3
Autumn Lunsford says
Amen Sister. You don’t like it just look elsewhere. Perfect and very professional reply my friend. I enjoyed your commentary and found it very helpful. This has been my favorite apple crisp so far. I also added nutmeg and cloves and boy does my house smell yummy…. Thank you
Oh and Peaches would be good for this recipe too….. LOL
Betty Barboro says
Yes THIS! 👏🏻👏🏻
Michelle says
We replaced the white sugar with maple syrup….. yum!
Patty Keyes says
This is amazing! Very similar to my Mom’s recipe. It turned out so good and I had to have a tiny taste before tonight. I did have a struggle with the cold butter and the pastry blender (but I won).
Nada says
This is a great apple crisp recipe. Tried a couple other web recipes, but this one was far above the rest. Very balanced and tasty. I did use quick cooking oats and it worked fine. I also expanded the recipe by about half again for a larger pan and cooking time was about 5-10 minutes more. DELISH!!!
christina potter says
Don’t you be messin’ with my grammy’s apple crisp by changing the recipe which you never had. Because if you did, you would not put only……..OOPS. looks like I misread the recipe, ok that makes sense. ok I put in 3/4 a cup of brown sugar and then decided to add more apples and make extra topping. at the beginning I add the lemon juice to the apples like you did. but I threw in a little secret sauce to mine; cup of half apple juice, half rum.
Hani says
Delicious☺
Sharon K Murphy says
I make the apple crisp all the ime… the I make a lot of and freeze it for later use… it’s always amazing
Susan says
The best recipe! This was our 7th try and third recipe….fall apple picking prompted the baking frenzy. The key to this successful recipe is the cold butter cut into the topping. I am not a baker, so my daughter and I kept trying until we got it right. (Friends and family got our trial runs.)
Now, I can confidently make an apple crisp worth serving….so excited! Thank you.
Gloria Biermann says
Absolutely
Stacey says
Delicious☺
Christen says
Have you ever refrigerated this dessert overnight before baking? Do you think it would do ok?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Christen 🙂 I never have before, but I think it will work. I would make the filling and refrigerate it in the dish, and make the crumble and refrigerate it in an airtight container. Take the dish out about 30 minutes before you want to bake it, then top with the crumble topping and bake as directed. It might take a few extra minutes, but that depends on the size of the apples and how your oven bakes 🙂
ANDREA says
I made it like normal and froze it! Thaw before cooking then bake a sandwich normal. Delish! Fresh homemade apple crisp in the winter!
Wendy Adkins says
Hi. I’m wanting to make this , but all I have is quick cooking oats. Will those work or no? Thank you!!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Wendy 🙂 I’ve never used quick cooking oats in this, but I think it should work. You may have a softer texture to the crisp topping though, but the flavor should still be good 🙂
Corinne says
Will cooking times very if I double the recipe and use a 9by13 pan?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Corinne 🙂 The baking time should be similar, so I would check it at the 40-50 minute mark and see if it’s golden and bubbly. It may need a few minutes more, depending on your oven.
Jennifer says
This looks AHHmazing! I need to try this ASAP! A sure hit with my family!
Krista says
Best Fall Dessert! I love this so much!
Trish - Mom On Timeout says
Gimme! This crisp is absolutely perfection! My favorite fall treat!
carrie @ frugal foodie mama says
You just can’t go wrong with a classic dessert like apple crisp for the fall! 🙂 One of my favorites.
Dee says
Apple crisp is my husband’s favorite! I should surprise him and make this!
Tiawana Hunter says
Great recipe it was off the chain, my Husband’s favorite and the kids loved it as well. Thank you
Allyson Zea says
It doesn’t get any better than this classic recipe! Looks AMAZING!