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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Linda says
Love this recipe it’s so easy and so delicious. Thank you.
Dianne Asphar says
Made it tonight and loved it. 😍 Thanks 🙏
Shannon says
Absolutely delicious!!
Carra says
Mine took 55 minutes total to cook in the oven. Also, while the recipe is delicious, it’s too sweet for my taste. I would reduce the 1 cup light brown sugar in half, or even just put 1/4. Thanks for this recipe!
Mickey says
Just made your apple crisp for our family dinner.. it was delicious. Everyone loved it. Used a variety of apples—whatever we had in frig. Will definitely make it again. Baked it 40 minutes. Top was crunchy and golden. Apples were cooked. I cut them up rather than sliced them as we ran out of oven space..
Trisha says
This recipe has been a staple at my gatherings the last few years & it’s always the first dessert to go. So I’ve learned to double it but still no leftovers ha! I use whatever combination of apples I have on hand but we are partial to honeycrisp. Thank you Chunky Chef!
Andrew Wight says
Great recipe! I love apple crisp because it’s so easy to make and so delicious. I never used to prepare the apples in the lemon / cinnamon / sugar before but it’s well worth it.
Also I will respectfully disagree that recipes that don’t use oats are NOT fine, haha! 🙂
Thanks for posting!
Eileen Edwards says
So easy and delish! Serve hot with vanilla ice cream or a nice dollop of whipped cream… 🤤
Terry says
Can you double it for a 9×13 pan?
The Chunky Chef says
Absolutely 🙂
Nope says
Absolutely insane amount of sugar in the filling (about 200 grams). I reduce it down to 50 grams and it comes out far better that way. Otherwise a relatively decent recipe but I’ll be sticking with the classic non-American versions that aren’t insanely sickly sweet.
Teddy says
Good for you…….
RH says
Made this for a dinner party with 4 couples and not a drop left. I mistakenly put too much lemon in it but that didn’t matter. I also froze the crisp topping for an hour before putting it on top and baking.
Delicious!
Rachel says
go away and leave us with our sweets
Rick says
Perfect ! Everyone loved it, Thank You !
Lorraine Curtiss says
This recipe is just like I remember it! Yummy.
Christina Carey says
My daughter could eat this everyday. So quick and tasty.
LG says
I made this without the added sugar and my family loved it!
Juanda Stewart says
Should add chopped nuts in addition to oatmeal. Also, melt butter as opposed to dicing it. A very good dessert though.
Jean says
Just a thought, there is purpose in the method of cutting in butter as opposed to melting it. It’s about texture and flakiness. The bits of butter melt as it bakes leaving behind pockets of air that result in flakiness.
In addition to that though, if one simply does not care about flakiness and texture then it wouldn’t matter. For those who may be new to baking and correct methods and their purposes though, it is important to note the differences in the outcomes.
Shelley says
Very easy to make. Added walnuts to topping as husband loves them
This dessert was a hit
Cindy says
This recipe is great. My husband and I loved it. First time I used chopped apples instead of slicing them. Much better in my opinion. Will definitely be making this again!
Kimmberly Smith says
This worked awesome!, Thank you so much for the recipe
Rachelle says
This if my families favorite apple crisp ever!! Making tonight for the 3rd time in two weeks. Thank you!
Mary says
Can you use quick oatmeal instead of old fashion?
The Chunky Chef says
The texture might change slightly, but yes, you can use quick oats if that’s what you have available.