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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Gp says
Delicious!!! A favorite of mine
Amy says
Delicious, but the 8 × 8″ pan seemed way too small. I ended up using a 10 x 10″ pan, and it was fine. I think I’ll cut back on the topping next time, as it was a bit too sweet for our taste.
Juan Sandoval says
I went to an apple orchard and found some honey gold apples they were so sweet so I used them for this recipe..Will see how it turns out..hopefully yummy I’ll keep you guys updated
Laura says
Do you peel the apples?
The Chunky Chef says
You can peel them, or not; it’s totally up to you.
Kathy C says
I made this, as written. Assembled quickly. Made my kitchen smell oh, so wonderful! Hubby loves it and told me I need to make a separate batch just for me! 😉
Danice says
This was amazing!!! I used honey crisp apples in mine. The whole family loved it!
Bibos says
I FORGOT TO ADD THE FLOUR 😭😭 I’ll update you guys how it turns out!
Bibos says
LOL IT WAS GOOD! Not as crispy but it was okay still delicious😭 my own fault!
The Chunky Chef says
Mistakes happen to the best of us! Happy to know it was still tasty 🙂
Carmen says
Thank you, this recipe was amazing! I made 2 batches and took them on a fall camping weekend with friends. This was a huge hit!!! Thank you for the tips for reheating this – your directions were spot on!!
Brenda R Eipp says
Loved it! I used a little less butter to make it lower calorie and it was still delicious!
Anne says
Delicious! I tripled this for a large group of people.
Sarah says
This needs to be a 8 x 12 dish.
The Chunky Chef says
I make it as written all the time, as have about 3,000 other people. All apples will be slightly different in size though, and it sounds like yours were bigger than mine.
Eliza says
So good! Couldn’t wait for the ice cream and almost burnt my tongue!
Eliza says
Forgot to mention I also used instant oats and it turned out fine!
Judy says
What does the lemon juice do?
The Chunky Chef says
It adds flavor, cuts the sweetness a bit, and prevents any discoloration.
Timothy Theos says
Just made this , awesome recipe I absolutely love the oats all crispy on top .easy and quick .
Becky says
Very good!
Carrie krupa says
So many adds can i get rid of them? Will all your recipies have this many ads? It makes it super hard to completly read the recipes.
The Chunky Chef says
Ads cover the enormous cost of running this website and offering the recipes for free, so I can’t get rid of them. However, if you click “print recipe”, there are no ads on my print pages, so you can view it there (even without actually printing it).
Georgette Bellack says
How much flour do I use in apple crisp?
The Chunky Chef says
Do you mean with the apples, so it thickens? If so, use a few tablespoons 🙂 If you mean in the topping, it’s listed at 3/4 cup.
Amy says
Easy and delish. I used 3/4c of brown sugar, replaced granulated sugar with Stevia, and used 1/4c butter vs 1/2. Turned out amazing, didn’t miss the extra amounts at all.
Cheryl Zaworski says
Turned out fabulous! I doubled the recipe and made it in a 9×13 pan!
Patti Brown says
The recipe is fantastic, with a couple of changes. I added 2 T of flour to apples and less sugar in the topping. Baked 20 minutes longer, my apples were not done at the time stated. Will be making it again!!