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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NANCY HUANG Ng says
Hi:
can i use this receipe but make it in ramekins or cups?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’m sure you could, I haven’t tested this recipe using smaller baking containers, so I can’t say for certain how long the baking time would need to be. If you do some experimenting, I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Michaelann says
Excellent and sooooo easy
Jess says
This was delectable. Made it exactly as instructed and topped it with some vanilla ice cream and a swirl of caramel sauce. Amazing fall treat, the whole family loved it.
Lisa T says
Amazing! I’ve made this 4 times now for guests and each time it’s delicious. Love it with the suggested vanilla ice cream plus salted caramel drizzle…My hubby says it’s as good as (better, but she may see this) than his mom’s apple pie – a HUGE compliment so thank you!! 😉
Lyndsey Simpson says
Delicious and easy to make!
TRACI ARNOLD says
I just prepared your apple crisp recipe.
It’s going in the airfryer to bake now.
Thank you!
Hélène says
It was very good, but for those of us who like their sweets but not too sweet, half a cup of sugar would do.
Christin says
Thank you for this delicious recipe! Mine just came out of the oven and looks amazing.
Julia Bowser says
Absolutely perfect!!!
Ashley says
I have a harvest of small apples this year. Can you tell me roughly how many cups you get with 6 apples?
The Chunky Chef says
Around 6 cups 🙂
Sheley Bess says
Easy and oh so yummy with a delicious topping made of crispy brown sugary topping with lots of oatmeal just like my mama and grandma made! Note: I used apples from the tree in our yard not sure of the type but they are tart & crispy versus Red Delicious which is my preference. I also do not have a pastry tool so I use the tool used when cooking hamburger!
Linda says
What a great idea to use the kitchen gadget that breaks up hamburger! I used my Pampered Chef one and worked like a charm breaking up the butter and mixing it in! Thanks for sharing that tip I will do that from now on! Great recipe! Perfect!
Jen Oliver says
I made the apple crisp and it was delicious. Thank you
AMY says
This was super easy and yummy! I used 3/4 sugar based on the other comments and it was still sweet enough for us. My husband also loves cinnamon so I used so much.
I would like to make a “thicker crisp” next time, as that’s my favorite part. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Robin K. says
Made this crisp and was gone within an hour!!!! The bomb!!! Thank you!!!
Whitney Rushing says
Absolutely delicious… this is absolutely my new go to. And apples are always abundant here in Washington state so I plan on making this delicious dessert here around.!
Robin K. says
I’m also from Washington state.
Tammy Hayrynen says
Me three from Washington! Chelan county, the “apple capital” of the world!
I also like a extra thick and crispy topper.
Lori says
I did everything as said but I cut the apples in half gutted them and used the apples as cups and baked them with the goodies inside and they r superb
Sunnie Allen says
Anyone else notice the steps go 1, 2, 4, 3?
The Chunky Chef says
Feel free to send my an email to amanda @ thechunkychef.com and send a screenshot of what you see, because on all my devices it shows the normal order of the steps/instructions. If it’s truly showing incorrectly, I’d love to see it so I can correct it 🙂
Joan says
Mine shows 1 2 3 4
Monica says
Very tasty recipe. The only thing I would change is cut the apples in smaller chunks. Very addictive 😍
Nora says
Just made this yesterday and it was delicious! I used 4 Honeycrisp apples and 2 McIntosh. (Just what I had on hand.) I did make it ahead and put it in the fridge for a few hours. Turned out great. Got lots of compliments! Thank you, Amanda, for sharing this. 🙂
Lexi Gay says
I am about to make this recipe either super late tonight or early tomorrow morning before church and can’t wait to try it! Nora, can you clarify what you meant when you said you made it ahead? Did you prep all ingredients and assemble the dish but just not bake until you were ready to, or did you bake and then store in the fridge until you were ready to eat? I searched through several pages of older comments but have only found yours regarding making it ahead. Thanks in advance!!
Sue says
This is by far the best and easiest recipe I have ever found! Thanks