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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V says
So easy to make!
Christina Payne says
Best apple crisp recipe I’ve ever made! I had no lemon juice & it was still more than fantastic!
Beth says
Loved this recipe..turned out very tasty. My only minor issue was that I felt the recipe called for too much I’d rhe ingredients. I made two pans..and only used 7 apples total, not 12. Also I used about 3/4 of the topping for each pan until I just couldn’t fit anymore in the pan. Did anyone else have this problem?
Sharon Langan says
6 apples
Erica Greene says
This looks great. Anyone ever try it with a gluten free flour? If so, what kind did you use?
Mary says
Just made it with Pillsbury all purpose gluten free flour — it turned out perfectly! One of the better tasting gf baked dessert recipes.
Kaitlyn says
I just made it!!! I’m so excited to give it to my family for Christmas! I’m nervous because used quick oats, but it looks fine so far.. it’s still baking!!
Anna says
This looks like a really good recipe. Just wondering, do you think this would work in a pie crust?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not tested it that way, so I can’t say for certain, but I think it would 🙂
MG says
If you are putting the apples into it—unless they are already cooked down, you will end up with a soggy-bottomed pie, I would guess.
Shannon says
Could I use oats n’ honey granola (instead of just oats)? And, I would LOVE little hint of peanut butter (maybe just add a tad to topping crumble?)…How would you adjust?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never used granola or peanut butter, but I think using the granola would work, and maybe add a tbsp of peanut butter to the topping? You could also melt some peanut butter and drizzle it over the top after it’s baked 🙂
Shannon says
Thank you! Being pregnant, I now HAVE to go out and get some apples right away! This sounds way too delicious!
Lydia says
This was delicious and exactly the apple crisp I was craving. Thank you!
Daphne says
This is great. Keeping the recipe.
Barb says
I keep coming back to this recipe so I decided to take the time to leave a reply. I made it pre-Thanksgiving to test it out and it was awesome. For Thanksgiving I doubled the recipe for 20 adults. It was gone by the evening. I am making it right now for after dinner tonight. I have used MacIntosh and Fuji apples, both delicious and tonight I am using Galas, because they were the freshest I could find. I am quite sure it would be delicious with any kind of apple. 😀
Renee says
Loved this recipe!! My girls Loved the topping too 🙂 one question, would you make this in a pie crust? I’d so, bake time would be the same? (Like a Dutch apple pie?) thinking of doing it for thanksgiving. Soooooo good! Now my go to apple crisp recipe!
The Chunky Chef says
Without testing it and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if the bake time would be the same. I would probably look up your favorite Dutch apple pie recipe, then use this recipe in it 🙂
KP says
Love this!! Do you think baking times would need to be adjusted if I made this in a cast iron pan?
The Chunky Chef says
I wouldn’t think so!
Barbara says
I cant wait to try it just made it
JoAnne says
This was ridiculously good! My whole family loved it. I used all Granny Smith bc that is
what I had on hand. This will be my new go to recipe. My husband won’t come home with the
“red box” mix for me to make anymore. 😉 Thank you!
Juliana Fendez says
These looks soo good! I just bought a bag of apples and cant wait to try this recipe! yum! Regards Juliana
Briana says
Hi! What does the lemon juice do? Just curious as I’m done have a lemon..
Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
The tartness of the lemon juice brings out the sweetness of the apples, but isn’t 100% necessary if you don’t have one.
Angie says
OMG!! This is the best apple crisp I’ve EVER MADE!! Even my hubby likes it… and let me say..he is PICKY!!! Thanks for sharing this hands down best recipe.. I had to go buy more apples to make some more. The batch I made at Thanksgiving Day.. was gone the next day
Diana Medina says
Made this for a family dinner today and everyone loved it! Not a tiny piece was left. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Jim says
My son made this this morning and it’s delicious.hes 11 and did it all by himself.so it’s a great recipe for the kids to make.fun ingredients and totally impressed with the results.
Melanie Reilly says
I’ve made this twice now, once for my bible study and once just for my husband and me. My husband said it was the best thing he’s ever eaten, and I agree. It is AMAZING, and so easy to make (I found your blog by searching for “easy apple crisp”). I’m about to make it right now for Thanksgiving. 🙂 Thank you!
Pat Sinner Dickey says
Thats how I found the blog also. Going to try it tonight! Sounds amazing. And I LOVEEEEE apple crisp💙
Mary Taylor says
This is very good. I used my hands to blend the topping – quicker and easier!