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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Dahyam says
I made this the other day no picture because it was such a hit my boyfriend devoured it! Thank you!!!
Cami Putnam says
I wonder I have canned homemade apple pie filling, could I put that down first and just make your crisp recipe for the top and cook it?
Amanda says
I’ve not tested it so I can’t say for certain, but I think that would work 🙂
Tory says
This was delicious! My boyfriend is a type 1 diabetic and an extremely picky eater besides that. One of his favorite desserts is Apple Crisp but he almost never gets it because of the sugar so I’ve been trying different apple crisp recipes with sugar alternatives and they’ve all been flops until this one! I used bocha sweet for the granulated and truvia for the brown. It was just the right amount of sweet and I got rave reviews from my BF, who went back for several helpings. It was wonderful to see him get to enjoy one of his favorite dessert guilt free for once and your delicious recipes helped make that happen! Thank you!!
FRAN says
Great recipe for apple crisp. I’ve shared it with friends and the agree …. it’s the best!
Melissa says
A co-worker brought this to work. It was delicious! I had to have the recipe. I made it tonight for my husband. It was easy to make and my husband loved it!
I had to use Fugi apples because my local grocery store did not have Golden Delicious. Still good!
Christine Guastello says
Best ever – everyone LOVES it!!! I used golden delicious apples. I don’t normally use those in baking but they were perfect.
Lee says
Love it. Made it with Ambrosia apples and added chopped walnuts and a bit of cinnamon on top.
Lisa says
Great recipe!!! I iused granny smith and golden delicious apples.
Jude says
May be the best apple crisp I’ve ever tasted. Brava, Amanda!
Courtney Stolberg says
I’ve made this twice now, both times I omitted the salt because I only had salted butter. Also used a mixture of Granny Smith, Cosmic Crisp and Honeycrisp apples. Sooo yummy and simple to make.
Teressa Sherwood says
Best ever and so easy..it was gone right after I took it out of the oven. Best ever Thanks so much
Jeanette says
The best I’ve ever made! The whole pan was demolished in 1 night. Thanks for the delicious recipe. It’ll be the only one I use from now on!
Andrea Spurlock says
This was our first crisp we ever made. We used six Gala apples and no salt because I used salted butter and we had a scoop of Madagascan vanilla bean talenti gelato on top, it was amazing!
Judy says
Delicious and easy!
Kara says
Can’t wait to try this. Could this be prepared and then frozen to be baked at a later time?
Amanda says
I haven’t tried it myself, but I know several other readers have done so successfully 🙂
DEE says
I used honey crisp apples. Added a half teaspoon of nutmeg, and baked it at 375 degrees, for 50 minutes, and it came out perfect, and delicious.
Vince says
Hello from Vietnam! My expat family loves Western food and I grew up in my mom/grandma’s kitchen so Dad is the defacto cook in the house. I knew right away this apple crisp recipe would be a good one (just from reading). I had 3 crisp Jazz apples and 3 Granny Smith, turned out fantastic. Thanks for a great recipe!
Kim says
Extremley yummy
Barb Stuff says
Excellent recipe! Measurements were just right. Old fashion oats make it extra crispy and delicious. I add two tablespoons apple juice when apples are dry. Turned out perfect🥰
Shelly says
So So 😋 Yummy
Lisa says
Used granny Smith and honey crisp with Steel cut oats.
Little extra texture was great
Lee says
First time I made apple crisp and it’s excellent!