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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tracy says
this was so damn good! i baked it the day before thanksgiving and had to stop myself from sneaking little bites! served with vanilla bean ice cream and your brown butter caramel sauce!
Jenni says
We served this yesterday for Thanksgiving with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. It was fabulous and all our company loved it! We baked it for just under 50 minutes and the topping was wonderfully crisp and sweet! I only wish there were more leftovers! Thank you!
Bruce Johnson says
This is a very average dish with the topping blending too much into the apples. there is no crisp…and the apple mixture is very bland..
it was a huge disappointment to serve this on Thanksgiving
Susan w Roberts says
Did you make it exactly as written because I, along with everyone else on here (and my guests) LOVED every bite.
Veronica Gonzalez says
Delicious!!! Would definitely do it again! 100% recommended! Thank you for this recipe 🙂
Lisa says
I did add some cardamom to the apple spice mixture. 2 tablespoons of ginger to 1 tablespoon clove, 1 teaspoon cardamom and 1 teaspoon nutmeg, and I cooked the apples in a sous vide Vide at 180 for two hours
Lainie says
Fabulous! Received lots of compliments when I took this to a party. Love the crunchy oat topping. Making it again for Thanksgiving!
Andy C says
You are a very GOOD cook and I love your cooking style . I would love to see more of your work and recipes please.
Ash says
I’ve been using your recipe for YEARS! Always loved throughout, in laws too! Now I make the deserts for thanksgiving and it all started with this recipe! I thank you immensely!
Heather says
I just made this ahead of time for Thanksgiving tomorrow and it’s taking all that I have in me not to sneak a bite! It smells sooooo good! I can’t wait to eat some tomorrow with vanilla ice cream!
Paula says
I am so happy to find this recipe. So, today, the day before Thanksgiving I was to make a double crust apple pie, which I have done many times before. Well, I screwed up the pie dough, which became soggy pizza dough in my oven, butter dripping everywhere….smoke, nearly caught fire. Well, after about 15 seconds, I took the whole thing out and tossed the top goopy crust, but I had all the tasty apples below. Looking for a “no pie crust” recipe because I don’t want to make pie crust for a while, I found your recipe. I dumped all my lovely apples in the dish, added your easy topping, popped in the oven, and we are all saying how good it smells! Yay for no crust recipes! Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!
Jessie says
Hello,
I only have a 9&3/4” square baking dish; what do you think I should adjust to accomodate a bigger dish? Cooking time or ingredient amount or both? Thanks for any advice during this busy time!
The Chunky Chef says
You should be able to make this recipe as directed, maybe shaving 5-10 minutes off the baking time (as the crisp will likely be more shallow). Just test the apples for doneness with a fork to be sure 🙂
Jessie says
Thank you so much!
Karen says
Wonderful! I made this, following the recipe and using apples I had at hand – just to use them before they turned. It smelled so good in the oven that I had to run out for vanilla ice cream for it. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Lisa M Rhodes says
Making this for Thanksgiving! the Betty Crocker recipe wasn’t quite what I remember, so I’m trying yours… I’m SO EXCITED!
Be careful assembling the apple filling TOO FAR in advance– adding the sugar to the sliced apple forces liquid OUT of the slices and makes it very goopy (kinda like what happens when you sprinkle sugar over strawberries– they get gooey and yield liquid). I’ve done it before and it didn’t go well.
Has says
How far in advance would you recommend assembling it? If I want to bake fresh at another house, can I prepare it at my house a few hours before/same day?
half-pint says
Absolutely excellent recipe. I’ve made it several times now and gotten good feedback as well.
Patience Buchanan says
My whole family loved it! Thank you for sharing.
BK says
This is excellent and very easy and quick to make. Fantastic with ice cream, of course — I like that there is nearly twice as much crunchy crumble topping as with most apple crisp recipes, so you get a good helping of that with your melty spiced apples and vanilla ice cream — what a trio of flavor! Having a second helping now!
I used Ginger Gold apples (similar to Golden Delicious, a tender variety that stays white when cut and becomes quite soft and caramel like when cooked) I had only on hand about 3/4 stick of butter where the recipe calls for one stick (equal to a half cup) so my topping was just a bit scant on butter but it still turned out wonderfully.
Katherine Winslow says
I have made this recipe with a few tweaks of my own probably 20 times and it’s delicious every time!
Angie says
Love this recipe. Made it a few weeks ago and I have 4 of them baking now. 💗
David Urner says
Made it once and making it twice. That says something for the repeat.
Gooder than good! This apple crisp is making me go crisp rather than pie. Equally as good, no crust. I used extra apple or two. It’s a winner!
J Forer says
This truly was the best apple crisp I made. The apples were soft and as a whole was moist and just simply very tasty!