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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Rose says
I made as directed and found it very dry. It would be good with ice cream as it is really just a topping with Oates and apples for ice cream ..the apples were firm and not cooked to soft as there is no real liquid in them when baked. If you are wanting a stand alone desert without Ice Cream or caramel this is not the apple crisp recipe you are looking for.
Sydney Snyder says
Fabulous recipe. It’s a favorite every time.
Heidi says
Love this recipe! I use coconut oil instead of butter (with a flax seed egg to get the crumble to stick together a little better). Big BIG hit! Have made it for several times and have had to send it home with my guests, it was that popular!! (Also used more apples than called for, just my preference.)
Donna says
Delicious – thanks so much
I added some pecans and raisins with the apples ☺️
Diana says
I am a pretty decent baker, but the topping came out dry. The oats/flour topping was almost like when I mixed it. Checked my measurements twice and they were accurate. Would adding a couple oats of butter to the top and baking a few more minutes help?
The Chunky Chef says
Hmm I’ve never had it be dry unless the butter wasn’t cut into the topping very well. But some extra pats of butter certainly wouldn’t hurt 🙂
Stephanie says
This recipe is delicious and it comes together so quick!
Aizlyn Lucero says
AMAZING
Paula says
Excellent! It’s very crispy as an apple crisp should be. Delicious….this is already a family favorite ❣️
Barb Ashbee says
I made this recently and it was awesome! Has the right amount of ingredients. I was using an old recipe forever and I could never get it right. Now I know why.
Barbara Mykkanen says
I made this. By mistake I mixed all dry ingedients together mmm mixed with chunked unpeeled apples, put in pan and topped with butter spread over top. Have made twice and family loves it this way. It tastes complex, satisfying. It’s our go to crisp recipe now.
Kathryn says
YUM
S. Knight says
Really tasty and smells so good when baking. Thanks.
Lauren says
I adjusted down to 2-3 servings, way too much crumble topping, had more crumble than apples. Overall a really frustrating recipe.
Libby Lawson says
Tasted too much like cinnamon. Almost a metallic taste to it. I do not recommend this apple crisp recipe! There are better ones on the internet. The crisp part was dry. Probably needed more butter.
Rob says
Did you divide the amount?
Ryan McDougall says
Apple crisp used to be just for the fall. Not anymore. I make this recipe year round. The best apple crisp I’ve made. And easy too!
Gloria Penman says
Can I just say how great my house smells!? This is a great easy recipe tasty crisp. I didn’t have lemon juice so I just added a little water. I used Galas and one red delicious since that’s what I had and they needed to be used. So yummy.
Rhondena Urban says
Easy and wonderful. Just the old recipe I was looking for.
Cambridge says
Use whatever apples are on sale – regardless of variety! Use your hands to mix and break. Use a fork and a knife if you want. In the end, it all comes out about the same and the same is what our Grandmothers made when we were children!
Annie says
I’ve made this 3 times in the past 2 weeks and the kids keep begging for more. I’m a big fan of using the cheese grater to cut in the butter. I am going to be making a quadruple batch and freezing the topping to keep on hand for when the mood strikes, which I’m sure will be soon.
Kira Spellman says
The cheese grater idea! Oh my word! Will try next time! Currently in the oven and I’m waiting patiently, haha!
Melanie J GRAFFIUS says
Yep, I use a cheese grater, too, on my butter!
Kelly says
Quick, easy and delish!
I adapted to my Gf/Df diet restrictions.
Used GF flour and oats.
Used DF butter.
6 sm/md honey crisp apples
I didn’t have a pastry cutter, so I just cut up my block of DF butter into small pieces and massaged into to flour mixture into fine crumbs.
At first I thought it was too much crumb mixture, but it was perfect!
Topped it off with some DF whip cream…it was delish!