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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Taren S says
Equal parts crisp vs apples, finally. Beats apple pie in my opinion. Much easier. Kids and adults loved it. My 2nd time and elite g it for keep pile. And we used gluten free flour and it’s amazing.
Abdul Muhammed says
Great recipe. Made EXACTLY as written.
My pet peeve is people who say “I substituted gluten-free.., I substituted white sugar… I substituted a different fruit, I didn’t have…
Ok, thanThat is NOTHING like the poster’s recipe so good or bad, your comment is meaningless to me. A positive or negative review should only be on the Exact recipe being posted…
Ugh. Sorry for the rant. It happens on EVERY recipe site.
Lora says
I am certain that the poster of this recipe does not mind if other people make suggestions or comments about the way others have maybe altered this recipe a bit. I have my own recipes that I’ve created and I am always adjusting them for my mood at the time. Recipes are always a great place to start and I’m sure once you start finding your inner voice, you will be able to adjust a recipe to make it taste even better to you. Do you never season any food you ever get? You don’t have a salt or pepper shaker? You don’t put condiments on anything? Once you have, you are no different than the people who change recipes a bit to suit themselves.
anne marie faes says
Agree 1000 percent
Tess says
That was great. I recommend to peel apples. That was the only thing we thought to much peel. Or you could peel some and leave some skin.
Norma says
Easy, Tasty, Love It!
Steina says
The best apple crisp I have ever had and I will make it again. It was so good. Thank you so much.
Ryan says
Tried it twice and loved it both times
Danielle says
Love it
Susan w Roberts says
I told my guest no, do not buy apple pie, I am making apple crisp! It cooked as we ate Thanksgiving dinner, so it was fresh and hot when we were ready for the awesomeness served warm with vanilla ice cream!
Thank you!!!
TJ says
So good. I had it cut into 6 pieces, ended up eating a whole row. Within a day it was eaten, making it again tonight…
Michelle says
Lovely recipe! Reminds me of my grandmothers ❤️
Jo says
Sooooo delicious and easy.
I used 1/2 the amount of sugar and it was perfectly sweet.
Cynthia says
Love this recipe! Everyone enjoys it. With a bit of vanilla ice cream and a caramel drizzle it’s divine.
Nada Khaled says
Beautiful! My favorite quick and ridiculously easy go to dessert when I wanna make something yummy for a crowd or for the family. I sub regular flour for gluten free flour and gluten free oats and it works beautifully.
Where I’m from, we don’t always have brown sugar regularly available, so I sub regular sugar and molasses.
Thank you so much for this marvelous recipe! I always recommend it to everyone
Koko says
This recipe saved my Thanksgiving! Thank you so much for sharing it!
No leftovers and everyone asked me for the recipe.
I added an extra 1/2 cup of oats (it was an accident) and it was delicious!
Melissa A Ondesko says
I literally had all of the ingredients on hand. Super easy to make and so good with some whipped cream on top. I appreciate the simplicity to make something so delicious!
Kathi says
This is a great recipe. The topping is super flavourful and crispy. I’ll be using this regularly.
Glenda says
This was The Best Apple Crisp!!
Thank You For Sharing Your Recipe.
Christina says
Incredible, thank you!
Cynthia Hilts says
Made this today..(11/26/2023). Very easy to put together with Amazing flavor! I cooked this a few minutes longer because I used a few more apples! Thank you for an awesome recipe!
Candace Moore says
I make this with pears instead of apples. It’s my husband’s favorite. Don’t tell him but I like it too. He thinks I make it special for him. Lol