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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Kim Turocy says
Doubled the recipe & it was delicious!Will be a go to for my family ❤️
Cheyna B says
Excellent recipe! I changed out the brown sugar for 1 C of golden Monkfruit and 2 TBSP of regular sugar for Erithrotol, since my father in law is diabetic. The dessert was a hit! Thank you 👌
Claire says
Can this be put together earlier in the day and refrigerated then baked later?
Amanda says
Without testing it myself, I can’t say for certain. I feel like the apples may brown before you get to bake it.
Fred says
I have made this three times now, it’s awesome and my wife loves it too. I use Fuji apples, a total of eight. It fills a 9 x 13 pan beautifully, changing nothing in the recipe other than a tad more cinnamon.
Thanks for sharing!
Stephanie huner says
I’ve seen a bit better recipes
Amanda says
Obviously you’re free to make any recipe you want; it doesn’t have to be this one.
Rebecca says
I haven’t made this old-time dessert in a while but I had apples to use up. Mom used to make it and this recipe is so reminiscent of hers. Warning: it is dangerously good! But even with the sugar and butter, it has to be healthy–it has apples! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Rosemary Wilkes says
Turned out great! Yummy on a cold night. My son loves it with whipped cream and said it was good
Wanda Loving says
I used to make this for my family years ago. I came across this recipe and tried it. My family loves it. They want me to make it weekly!
Lisa says
I love this as is. However, when I made it the second time, I changed it a bit because of available ingredients. I used 2 granny smith, 2 honey crisp and 2 johnathon apples. I also cut the brown sugar in half and subbed out half of the white flour for whole wheat. It was great especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream
Nancy Smith says
This is awesome! But for some reason, it was too much for the 8×8 pan. I ended up using a 9×13, and it turned out great! Made it this morning, and it’s about all gone. My husband loves it! Thank-you!
Jane says
Very good! Have shared it with my 18 year old grandson who has started cooking during the quarantine! I did warn him, however, that the prep took me longer than 15 minutes.
Brianna Miller says
I made this!! It is divine!! I used 5 very large granny smith apples, a big squeeze of fresh lemon and an extra tablespoon of sugar. I topped it with homemade whipped cream while it was still warm. 100 percent will make again!
Brittany says
This really is the best recipe out there. The perfect amounts of apple and crumble topping. I have added this to my hand written recipe box. Try this, you will NOT be disappointed!!
Marjorie McCorriston says
This was the best apple crisp I’ve ever made. Easy and delicious ! Thank you.
Lilred says
Made this tonight, right after dinner. I had a bunch of random apples in the basket that needed to be used up soon. There were Golden, Red Delicious, and Fuji. Prep takes a while and there is a fair amount of work, however, it is sooooooo worth it. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe, it was perfect as is! We did not have any caramel sauce, but no one complained. A scoop of french vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whip cream was all we needed!
TIP: I use Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter for all cooking and baking! Adds so much rich flavor! Not sure how I ever cooked without it! Anyway, thanks for sharing your recipe!
Blessings!
Mel says
I dont know if this question has been asked and answered already. I scrolled and seen almond flour as an alternative but was wondering if cornstarch would work as well instead of flour for the topping? Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Jamie says
hello, can you half this recipe? if so, how long do you suggest to bake it? thanks 🙂
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, just make sure you halve all the ingredients. The bake time will likely be close to the same, as it’s needed to cook the apples. I’d start checking 5-10 minutes early and go from there 🙂
Carrie King says
We love it. Just cut down sugar to only 1/2. Perfect, not to sweet. Great morning breakfast with coffee !!!
Verna says
Our 5 year old loves to cook/bake and try new recipes. We had six apples left so she decided this was what she wanted to make. It is absolutely delicious and the instructions were very easy to where she was able to complete each step on her own! Only thing I had to do was put it in the oven and take it back out.
Marisa says
This is one of the best recipes I have EVER made, hands down. My family and I almost ate the entire thing tonight it’s soooo good!! Really easy and comes together quickly. It only took 30 mins in my preheated BlueStar range. Do not skip this recipe!!!