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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Brittany says
This recipe is sooo good! I followed it exactly. Definitely up for making it again. It was easy too!
Claire says
Perfect for fall! I cooked mine 40 mins since I like my apples to have a little bit of a bite to them. I also used dark brown sugar instead of light and the taste was immaculate! Definitely going to be a staple in my house!
Amy says
First one I ever made and it came out delicious! At least that’s what the hubby said as he gobbled it up 🙂 I didn’t have a lemon so juiced one orange instead, and just because I love cranberries, I threw in a handful of chopped up dried cranberries with the apples. Yummy!
Gayle. Heinz says
I’m looking to make this on Saturday. So looking forward to get a good Apple Crisp for my freshly picked yellow delicious apples. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Karen.finkbeiner@gmail.com says
I haven’t ate any yet but it looks delicious.
Please indicate how many cups ( along side the #) of apples needed I had peeled many for pie and crisp , I guessed with 4 cups.
Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
I would estimate about 6-7 cups 🙂
Courtney Lynch says
What do you think the 6 apples would amount to cups wise?
The Chunky Chef says
Approximately 6 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups 🙂
April says
Just made this as my first ever apple crisp, and it came out great. I used Golden Delicious apples from our local orchard, and replaced with 3/4 tsp of cinnamon with nutmeg. It was excellent.
Ann G Fisher says
My friend Sharon served the crisp and caramel sauce last weekend….amazing….best ever.
Now I’m going to make it for friends on Friday. Thanks for a great recipe!
Robin says
I made this with spie apples. It’s so delicious and easy to make! Thank you for sharing.
Chelsea says
This apple crisp was absolutely amazing! I said several times while eating it. It knocked my socks off. It’s perfect!! Oh, I did use different apples though (honey crisp), so not sure how I’d like it with the variety suggested, but I’m not going to bother finding out. For my liking, the honey crisps were perfect. Thank you for an outstanding apple crisp! Look no further, fellow food lovers!
Lisa Bryant says
What oats would work better? Steel cut hearty traditional? Or quick oats? Looks delicious. I’m about to make it now.
The Chunky Chef says
If those are the only two to choose from, I’d choose quick oats.
Theresa says
Is It ok to melt the butter
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not tested it personally, but a few other readers have used melted butter in the topping sucessfully.
Shahira says
So I think I have some sort of incompatibility with any kind of crisp/crumb topping. I have never been able to make one and I was hoping this recipe would break the slump. Alas that was not the case. The filling came out spectacularly but my crisp topping never crisped. It just stayed this kind of soggy uncooked mush even after cooking it for 30 minutes past suggested cook time. Any helpful suggestions would be so appreciated…
The Chunky Chef says
How frustrating! I’ve never had my topping not crisp up… have you ever checked your oven’s temperature? My old oven was off by quite a bit, so this could be the case. If you continue having problems, a few other readers have used melted butter instead of cutting in the cold butter and had good results.
Tierra says
Just made this recipe, all I can say is amazing!! best apple crisp recipe by far.
Alexandra Garcia says
This recipe looks really good- I just have a question.
I usually use salted butter in all my recipes, but I was wondering if you thought it would affect the apple crisp if I used salted butter instead of unsalted. Thank you <3
The Chunky Chef says
I think it would work fine, just omit the pinch of salt 🙂
Jen says
Have made this twice now and it’s my new favorite! Love the oatmeal! I did add a little vanilla to the apples along with the cinnamon and lemon juice. A crowd pleaser for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Nancy says
Delicious! Used cortland apples instead. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Definitely a keeper.
Alexandra Fitzgerald says
Can you successfully put this together a day ahead and bake it the next day?
The Chunky Chef says
Without testing it myself, I can’t say for certain… but I think that would work well 🙂
Daniela says
Hi there, I’d I want to prepare this recipe ahead of time, is it best to bake it and then store it in the fridge (and warm it up before being served), or to prepare the raw ingredients in the oven dish and make them just before being served?
Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
I would bake it the night before, cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Once you’re ready to bake, I’d reheat it at 350 F degrees for about 25-30 minutes, until warmed through.
Connie says
I just made this and it was wonderful! I baked it at 325 in my Emeril Lagasse air fryer oven. Took about 34 minutes. Thank you for the recipe!
Alli says
My husband loves apple crisp buy we usually buy it at a local orchard. This recipe came out great and we all loved it. The only thing I changed was for the topping. It came out of the oven looking drier than I expected. I drizzled a couple tablespoons of melted butter over the top and then baked it an additional 10 minutes (50 min total) and it was perfect!