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.
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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.
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V F says
This recipe more than once with a couple of variations. I substituted fresh berries for some of the apple. I also added chopped pecans to the topping. My husband loves it and asked me to make it often. Thank you!
Darlene says
Can you add some Jim Beam Apple?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it, but I’m sure a splash wouldn’t hurt 🙂
Jean Hall says
This has become a favorite on regular rotation. So traditional and comforting! Usually make it as written (no peeling the apples) but sometimes add blueberries or blackberries
James McCoy says
Good
Jenell says
I have made this recipe several times and every time it’s a huge hit! Thank you so much for understanding the importance of the topping! 🤣 Love this!
Shelley McMillen says
Great recipe. I doubled it & baked in a 13X9 pan. This time I used Granny Smith apples. Sour apples & sweet topping was the perfect combination.
Sarah Hafer says
This is seriously the best apple crisp recipe i have tried! I did however made a tweak to the recipe, which i mixed the oats with the apples and its filling instead of the topping. The topping was minus oats and i liked it better that way due to oats being soft and the topping didn’t overpower the dish like my first time making this with oats in the topping. The second time i excluded the oats from the topping but put them with the apples and it was perfect for me!
Stephanie Romey says
Definitely no skins. The skin falls off and it gets chewy. Didn’t stop my husband from polishing it off.
Shari says
I love this recipe! I have used it many times and everyone loves the results.
S Brown says
Fantastic recipe! Thank you so much.
Vera says
Although I made minor adjustments, more oats than flour,raisins ,Walnuts. I’ve been ask for the recipe. So thank you for the delicious recipe. 😋
Danna Frint says
Very good like my Mom used to make it – yummy !!!
KP says
Way too many ads on this site. Ridiculous.
The Chunky Chef says
I’m sure you see ads a lot on websites, and that’s to offset the sometimes very large monthly and annual costs of running a website. Running ads allows me to share delicious recipes every week… and without them, this website would be shut down, as I don’t have the funds to sink thousands of dollars into without recouping those costs. This is my job, and how I support my family. I’m assuming you get paid for your job, so why shouldn’t I? However, if ads are popping up and covering the entire screen, please let me know, as I don’t allow those and I’ll work with my ad company to remove those.
Toni says
Best recipe ever!
Ps, I agree with you and the ads don’t bother me a bit. Just ignore the negativity out there. You’re worthy of all you have!
Thank you for all the amazing recipes!
Sophie Hunter says
My family ate these apple crisps right up. A perfect dessert to a meal.
Alisha says
Overall was a hit with me and my daughter! My husband just didn’t love that the oats had that uncooked taste. I would give it a 4.5 if I could just for that but otherwise I will make it again 🤤🍎
Tina NIEVES says
Should apples be blanched first if they are very firm, like not quite ripe yet?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested it, but you could do that, or just cut them into thin slices so they’ll cook faster 🙂
Diana says
I have made this recipe many times, in several different countries, with local ingredients, and it works perfectly EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. Thanks!!
Ronda says
Did not come out as expected and not in a good way.
Lori says
Came out just as described. Quick and easy and quite good. Thanks!
Alice46478 says
This was NOT good, especially the topping:
– Topping was soft & mushy.
– Oats tasted raw.
– Too much brown sugar; it was brown sugar mud
– Too much topping.
– I think there was too much butter.
– And maybe the butter should be melted so topping would be crumbly before being added.
– The apples got very soft, should be thicker maybe
– Filling wasn’t great.
Sherry says
I. Have learned from baking oat butter flour mixture of any type ie…date squares i have to after cutting in the butter to flour mixture then i add oats ten i mix with spoon THEN I USE. MY WONDERFUL TWO HANDS TO MAKE THE OAT BUTER SUGAR FLOUR MIXTURE A STICKY GOOEY TEXTURE THEN I DROP BY SPOON OVER FRUIT MIXTURE>I PLAY WITH IT TILL spread evenly ..cooking is an art ..so be intuitive and you can see its a very loose mixture..so intuitively you think oh I’m going to make it stick togeather by working with it..its so much fun to play with recipes!!!!
K says
I use this recipe for crumble all the time and the family always comments about how delicious it is, I even use different fruit like blueberries and it always turns out.
Camillia Scott says
I made this recipe and it is in the oven and I will let y’all know how it turned out❤️❤️❤️
Cindy Slaasted says
I add Walnuts to mine 😉 This recipe ia scrumptious 😋