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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Dianne says
I have made this recipe 3 times and it turned out great each time. I used MacIntosh apples and they worked great. This is my number one apple crisp recipe from now on. I could not walk past the dish without swiping a spoonful lol. My whole family loves it. I used a little bit bigger pan cause I had big apples but it still worked out great. Thank you a million times for this great recipe
Karen says
Mine turned out with lots of liquid on the bottom. I came here to see what I did wrong. I forgot to add flour. Would that have helped with the liquid? Or am I still missing something? The flour goes into the topping. Is it maybe the melted butter that’s at the bottom? It was still very good! Any ideas what to do with all the liquid?
The Chunky Chef says
Different types of apples, and even apples of the same type, can vary greatly in the amount of moisture in them. I’ve never had a liquid-y bottom, but you could certainly toss the apple mixture in a bit of flour or cornstarch before adding to the baking dish to help counteract any potential extra liquid 🙂
Marcella Rice says
Good, but topping way too sweet; will try using less brown sugar.
Leigh says
This turned out really well. Both my husband and I enjoyed it with ice cream. I didn’t have lemon juice so I skipped that ingredient. Also I hate peeling apples so I just did a rough chop with the skins on and it still came out great. Nice and easy!
Lo says
Apple crisp is my go-to and I have made many versions. This is my favorite! Over the years I have made it at sea level in a little toaster oven, I have made it at high altitude in the Colorado mountains, and everywhere else is between haha. It turns out great every time!
Tamara says
Very yummy, the best so far! Sometimes I increase the flour and sugar and butter by 1/4th to make a little more topping because we overboard when we have dessert, hahah, but it’s just perfect as is, too! Thanks for sharing. Highly recommended!
Jessica H says
Loved this recipe. Came out delicious! How do I store it? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you loved it! 🙂 I store mine in the refrigerator, covered tightly.
Jaime Williams says
Frickin’ delicious! My husband said “you HAVE to make this one again!”
Tracy says
Hello looks delish. What can I use in place of cinnamon. Some of my children is allergic. Thanks.
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Tracy 🙂 I’ve never made this recipe without cinnamon, so I honestly can’t say with any certainty. Here are some other alternatives from my quick google search https://thekitchencommunity.org/best-substitutes-for-cinnamon/
Glenn Davis says
Very good recipe. It’s a recipe with great taste. Second time we’ve made it!!
Sherri Lagace says
Love this recipe. Easy & delicious
Nadine says
Great recipe! I have always doubled it.
Amanda says
Hands down the BEST apple crisp I have made. My family’s jaw was on the floor. Sweet, flavorful, crunchy!
Danna says
I love the simplicity! I am cutting back on sugar so I used monk fruit sugar for the apples and cut back on the amount of sugar for the crumble by a quarter cup. It was still plenty sweet— and gave me room for vanilla ice cream topping! Great east recipe! Thank you!
Pedro Verde says
Awesome! Peeling and prepping apples takes longer than stated 15 minutes but this recipe is a winner!
Roast says
Sugar ratio was bad. Didnt come out like the picture and not nearly as good as other recipes if you do them. This just happened to be the first recipe i found, wish it wasnt. Used to make this years ago and it had chunks of crunchy balls like some apple pies. This was just a mess of brown sugar on top. Maybe swap the flour and sugar ratios for this recipe to come out correctly. Its still edible but not what i expected for an apple crisp.
The Chunky Chef says
Well I’m sorry you didn’t have a good experience, but the ratios and amounts are correct (assuming you didn’t alter anything). I tested this recipe no less than 5 times before posting it, had several recipe testers across the country make it, and over 1,800 people have made it (the vast majority of those have loved it). But it sounds like this wasn’t the recipe for you, and that’s okay. Best of luck.
Tammy says
I’ve tried this recipe 2 times and it was delicious!
Bevan says
I like cooking and this concoction is right up my alley. We have followed the recipe fairly carefully. My only thoughts and criticism is the time stated for preparation. Like many online instruction this on took double the time estimated. However, the results justify the effort and time.
Melinda Havens says
Very easy to make and delicious!
Annie says
I have found that it works really well to use beaters to combine the butter and the flour mixture for the topping! Thanks for the amazing recipe!!
Cheryl says
Truly was the best apple crisp I’ve made! Everyone loved it!! I used macintosh apples as that’s what I had and instead of white granulated sugar I used course raw sugar (only because I don’t keep white granulated sugar in my house.). What an absolutely delicious recipe!!
Elsie says
Can I use vinegar instead of lemon juice?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this recipe using vinegar, so I can’t say for certain how well it would work. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
MiKayla says
I used Orange juice (1:1 ratio) because I didn’t have lemon juice and it turned out great!