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 Fugi 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
- 6 golden delicious apples, peeled and chopped (other varieties can be used, can also be sliced)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup old fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, diced into small cubes
- pinch of kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Butter an 8×8 baking dish, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- Spread topping over apples in baking dish, and gently pat to even it out. Bake 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
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No-licky says
Used my frozen apples and couldn’t have worked out any better. Next day was even better as the syrupy juice thickened up. We had whipped cream, but I’m sure some vanilla ice cream would be even better. Enjoy!
Nancy says
Fabulous & easy to make
My family LOVES when I make this dish. They all love the oats even my kid who doesn’t like oats!! YUMM!
Thank you Amanda!❤
Chante Colton says
Would using the salted butter make that big of a difference versus the unsalted?
Amanda says
Nope, just omit the pinch of kosher salt from the recipe 🙂
Nicole says
Best tasting apple crisp I’ve had in a long time. I used margarine instead of butter due to lactose intolerance, the topping was still crispy. So good! Thanks for posting!
Kate says
Can you share the nutrition facts for this recipe (ie carbs, sugar, etc)?
Amanda says
As this isn’t a health-focused website, and I’m not a nutritionist, I don’t provide full nutritional information for recipes as there is a potential for error and I wouldn’t want to potentially and/or unknowingly pass along incorrect information. If full nutrition information is important to you, I recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer, or that you seek a nutritionist/dietitian for exact nutritional information.
DA, NYC says
Hi,
Recipe looks great and I can’t wait to try it! Just one question, this seems like way to much to fit in an 8 inch square pan. Should we be using 6 very small apples?
Amanda says
It’s all going to depend on the size of your apples, so if it’s too full, you can definitely switch to a 9×13″ pan 🙂
Jane says
Thank you, Amanda for posting this great recipe for apple crisp. So straight forward and it turned out beautifuly.
I’m looking forward to checking out your other recipes Take care!
Jane, from Ontario
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Julia says
DELICIOUS!! It was demolished within minutes of cutting into it. The top had the perfect amount of crunch.
Kim says
Great recipe. I made it following the instructions the first time. Second time I used pumpkin spice mix and only half cup of brown sugar. Still tasted great though!
Terry M says
Delicious and simple!
Thanks
Sarah says
Ive made this a couple of times. We have a snow day here today and was very good! This always gets all eaten up!
Kathleen Flowers says
Looks really good. Love anything with apples in it.
Janet Montgomery says
It is so good in it took no effort you can make it even if you have a couple hours for a dinner thing it’s really nice and I’m only 11 years old
Marilyn says
Wonderful for breakfast with vanilla yogurt or cottage cheese.
Candice says
Great recipe! Thanks! I needed to use up a bunch of mixed apples and pears from my weekly CSA box and this was perfect! I doubled your recipe and used a few pears in there too. No peeling skins off so this recipe came together in no time. Only other thing I added was freshly grated nutmeg. House smelled great and it tasted amazing. Thank you!