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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E says
way too sweet but tasty otherwise
Jessica says
My family loves this apple crisp but we’re a family that likes extra apple filling so next time I will add a couple more apples. The flavor is amazing so much so my toddler was drooling after one bite. Thank you for sharing this
Linda says
A with most recipes, it does not say whether to cover or not when baking. Makes a difference
The Chunky Chef says
Because the default is uncovered. If a recipe needs to be covered during baking, it will be specified.
Donna marsh says
Taste delish!
natasha vissering says
This has become my go to recipe. We love it- thank you!!
Yum yum!!
Lisa says
Excellent recipe. I’ve made it 3 times and every time it is a hit!
Rich says
Excellent recipe! I must have made this 4 times now, it’s my go-to for when we go apple picking, and the family insists on this consistently delicious recipe! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Tori Rizzo says
Could this be made in the crockpot/slow cooker ?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe using a slow cooker, so I can’t say for certain how well it would work, or whether any changes would need to be made. I don’t think the topping consistency would be very good though. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Bob says
I used crab apples, sea salt and margarine substitutes and to my surprise the apples were not tart tasting. It was so delicious 3 people devoured it in a day. I was the biggest Fan and a week later am trying it with BC Macintosh apples. Today I’ll see what happens.
Lynda Cottrill says
Delicious! I substituted almond flour to make it gluten free. We all loved it! 😍
Lynda Cottrill says
Delicious! Will make again
Tia T. says
I sliced the apples cause I didn’t know how to feel about chunks. Best I ever made and ate! Thank uuuu!
Cheryl says
Easy & delicious! My favorite kind of recipe!
Cindie Kline says
Delicious!!
Sandra says
Great recipe! Very easy to follow instructions. This is a way to get fruit into my picky kid!
Mare says
I made this apple crisp last night and it was the best I’ve ever tasted! The apples I needed to use up were absolutely enormous Honeycrisps, so I used 4 instead of 6 and it was more than enough. The topping got wonderfully crunchy and the apple chunks were tender and cinnamon-y. One difference is that I only ever have salted butter so I used that, and it gave it that firm salty-sweet interface that I love. Thank you for this recipe and the inspiration to make it!
Bill Negrelli says
Grandma never used salted caramel sauce. Forget the sauce and use real rolled oats and you’ll be golden
The pastry cutter butter technique is great and gives you s nice clumpy granola crisp
The Chunky Chef says
Everyone’s Grandma likely served her dessert a bit differently 😉
Jes says
My second year using this recipe! Love that it’s a smaller portion for my little family.
Hilary Herlinger says
Came out awesome! Used McIntosh and do I skipped the lemon juice and the apples sort of fall apart for yo type used- but the topping turned out crispy and perfect!
Rachel says
Delicious & exactly what I was looking for. Thanks so much!