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.
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KatBK says
I didn’t have much for oats for the recipe but it still came out delicious and I’m being asked to make more, it was such a hit!
Larry says
Made this with Asian pears – instead of apples – from our trees and it is delish! It is a bit watery – I think our pears have more moisture than apples – so next time I’ll add a little flour or cornstarch(?) to the pears.
Karen says
Easy to follow. We haven’t tasted the dish yet but it looks and smells amazing. Thank you for sharing.
Alyssa says
I’ve made this countless times; it is now expected from me by friends and family. So easy, so good.
Holly K. says
I always omit the sugar for the filling and add caramel, and my family always raves about it!!
Kayli Sturlaugson says
This recipe is amazing and hits the mark every single time! I do add a splash of vanilla extract to the apples but that’s the only thing I change from the recipe. I make this recipe in the fall at least 2 times a week because it is eaten and gone so fast in my house.
Susan A. says
I followed the recipe to the T and this came out amazing!!! 👏👏👏
Hina says
An absolutely delicious recipe and SO easy! You are extremely talented in what you do! Making this again for the 74839339th time 😌🍎
Jasmine says
Delicious! Fairly simple recipe with scrumptious results. I added a few teaspoons of tapioca to the apple mix to absorb some of the liquid—it’s also a tasty surprise in the finished product!
Lauryn says
Fall staple! I’ve made it twice in two weeks, delicious!
Helen says
Sounds so good! I’m an 86 year old Grandma and would like to make this for our family’s Octoberfest. How can I send it to my email to have a hard copy to follow?
The Chunky Chef says
If you hit “print recipe”, you could copy and paste into an email, or save it as a pdf and email it to yourself 🙂
Patti says
Used four baseball sized Granny Smiths. Not too sweet seasoning for apples. +
The topping was sweet and crisp.
Sarah says
Just put it into the oven. Was easy to follow the recipe but the tipping made about 1/3 too much so I would recommend reducing that part of the recipe to avoid waste.
Thanks!
Brooklyn says
It was my first time making apple crisp, it was so easy to do and it tasted amazing! One thing though was that when I was putting it into the pan I had to switch to a 9×9 because my apples could barely fit into the 8×8, but other than that it was great
Jean paschke says
I made this just this afternoon. It’s still in the oven I have vanilla ice cream
Michelle B says
Waaay too sweet. Almost inedible. Reduced the sugar and butter and it would probably be ok.
Pat Pacheco says
Great apple crisp and easy
Judy says
Just love it thank you for sharing
Katalin says
Wonderful revipe
Snd essy to make!
Kathy Tvedt says
I made this and it’s so simple!!! The topping mixed a little better once the butter wasn’t real cold and hard. I think this recipe is the best!!