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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Kathleen Snyder says
Absolutely delicious! I did 2 Granny Smith, 2 Pink Ladies, and 2 Golden delicious apples to have some different flavors for the filling. I also added a little bit of clove, mace, and ginger to the mix! Very tasty dessert that will for sure be a crowd pleaser at the next food function I attend!
Mary says
This was delicious and easy! I also like that you can click on the number of people to get a larger or smaller recipe.
Served it with Salted Caramel ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
AKD says
Amazing – my go to recipe
Aislinn says
I sub brown sugar with maple syrup or maple sugar and it still comes out amazing.
Zoey says
Soooo yummy. Definitely will make this again!!! 10/10!!
Heather says
Quick, easy and delicious! My family loved it!
Laurie says
Yummy
Becky says
Best apple crisp ever! So many compliments… and it is easy!
Jami Kester says
Just made this today, it’s delicious! Just had to try it while it was warm. I didn’t change a thing, made it according to the recipe. We added some whipped cream to the top. Thanks for the recipe!
patty says
Amazing I used almond flour in place of flour
Amy Beth Lambert says
I made this yesterday and it’s phenomenal. I made a few small changes. I used Swerve brown sugar replacement and Monk Fruit zero calorie sweeteners, as they sub one for one and I wanted less sugar. I also crushed some pecans into the topping. If anyone is wondering about using sugar substitute, they worked out great in this.
Neda Sestan says
So good, it’s like a haven. I also add a cup of fresh cranberries and half of cup chopped pecans..
Paula says
Just made this tonight!! Absolutely delicious- husband couldn’t stop talking about! This is a keeper.
Frank says
Good recipe. I added some chopped walnuts. Turned out very good with some unknown tart apples from our yard orchard. I think next time I will cut back on the one cup of brown sugar: it was a bit too sweet for my taste but it was great with some vanilla ice cream.
Pamela Myers says
Going to make this. I had it a Winston Salen Baptist hospital. In North Carolina
olivia dell says
your six apples how much did they weigh or how many cups were they.
The Chunky Chef says
As mentioned in the “chef tips” section of the recipe, my 6 apples yield approximately 6-7 cups.
Brooke C says
I made this today! It’s my first ever apple dessert. I had a bag of gala apples that I needed to use. It came out absolutely perfect. I didn’t peel the apples, but I like it this way. A+ recipe!
Michelle Ogle says
I have your apple crisp recipe in the oven as we speak. Can’t wait until it’s done. It looks delicious 😋
Julie V says
This was so good!! Best Apple crisp I’ve had! It’s nice & thick with lots of the delicious topping! Easy to make too!
Tony P. says
Made this recipe for my picky daughter and she loved it. I added more apples. Will definitely make it again.
Dar says
I have made this many times. Everybody loves it. I even put some pecans in the crumble mixture. I have one in oven right now. My niece and sister-in-law can’t stop eating.