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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Diane Glass says
I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup in the oatmeal flour part. Granulated brown cane sugar used. And only 2 tsps of sugar on the apples. Much healthier and never missed the sugar. Also added chopped almonds to the topping mixture for added crunchiness.
Donna Lawrence says
Just made it. So so good. I forgot the flour but don’t think it mattered. Will make again
Kathy says
This recipe should have the Good Housekeeping seal of approval. It’s absolutely delicious. My husband and my 91 year old Mother loves it. I had lost my recipe from years ago from my Mother-in-law. I’m thrilled to find this. I’m heading to make another one now. The only thing I did differently was to add nutmeg. Thank you so much Amanda!!
Donna Lawrence says
Just in the oven but forgot the flour 🤪
Marilyn says
I made this for our Friendsgiving and added Carmel sauce on the top this was an amazing recipe. Thank you
Janet Miles says
This is delicious but I like to bake an hour because the apples are still crunchy. That extra 15 min makes a big difference
Eddie Generic says
This is one of my family’s favorite dessert recipes. When the fam was down with the ‘Rona, this is all my wife wanted to eat. Thank you for bringing joy to us.
Kris L says
I wanted to try this for myself before I made for company. This was delicious! Super easy. Added a little vanilla extract and nutmeg to topping. Will definitely be making again for the holidays!!
NDee says
I can’t remember ever having one that good. Delicious! Thank you for sharing this.
DesRosiers Renee says
Way too sweet
Susan Sutherby says
I try recipes and always make. Adjustments like sugar salt whatever may need adjusted . I noticed someone said way to sweet ! Then fix it cut back on sugar to taste
Gloria says
This apple crisp recipe is so so good. Easy to make. I don’t count how many apples I use.
Kellie says
This was amazing! Making more today!!
Brenda Pangerl Huenecke says
I made this recipe and we enjoyed it a lot. Today I’m baking a double one for my daughter and her family.
KC says
I loved this recipe! I’ve made lots of apple crisps and this one was by far my favorite! I used ginger gold apples and they were soft and yummy!
Carolina Andrade says
This is my go-to Apple crisp recipe. I use Granny Smith and I also use half of what is says for all the dry ingredients b/c we prefer a more apple to crisp ratio to keep it more healthy for my prediabetic mom. It’s a hit with everyone at home! For the kids we add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I like mine with vanilla Greek yogurt!
Alex says
So I looked up apple crisp recipe from scratch about 2 weeks ago and I just tried it today and I have it in the oven for 50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly and I hope for my first time making something from scratch that is used as dessert will come out great but overall ingredient directions are Pretty easy once you get the hang of it But overall I enjoy this recipe and I will be tagging the owner of this recipe on Instagram when it’s done cooking
Paula says
This was delicious – turned out just as expected. I (generally) hate baking but this was essentially fool-proof:)
Two minor substitutions:
– I used mix of granny Smith and Gala apples (what I had)
– I did not have lemons/lemon juice – so subbed juice of one fresh squeezed orange – did not taste like orange at all in final product.
My kiddos loved in and it made the house smell good – will definitely make again!
Beth says
Wow! This was the best apple crisp I’ve ever had. I especially liked how the oatmeal crumble got a cookie like texture in some spots.
Tracey says
This is my second time this week making this! Very yummy and super easy!
My family just loves it!!
Thank you
Sheila says
Best recipe!!!