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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Annjay says
My family and I just didn’t care for this recipe.
motz says
This recipe first caught my eye because it called for so much less sugar than others I had scanned. Then, because it was so easy to make. It is delicious; a keeper!
Ksears says
So easy so delicious 🤤
Nancy says
So good! Thanks for sharing
Lisa says
This is a GREAT recipe…! We’re also watching our sugar. However, it’s great either way but we prefer to go a little easier on both the white and brown sugar for the topping. The CHUNKY Chef does a nice job writing her extra comments. I will look for more recipes from her.
G says
So easy and we love the crunchy oatmeal. The topping is much too sweet for our taste so we keep reducing the sugar. So far we’ve made three times, next time we will use half the sugar and see how it goes. It’s personal preference though,
Elizabeth says
Absolutely amazing!
April says
This was really good! Very good flavor, very good recipe.
Jess says
My crisp was like apple soup…. Such a waste of ingredients
The Chunky Chef says
That’s certainly unfortunate! All apples, even from the same variety, will give off different amounts of water. I’ve never had an issue with my crisp being that watery (as you can see from the photos), but I know some can run into that issue, which is why I mention that you can add a bit of flour to prevent that.
Katie says
People keep asking me to make this again! It is such a delicious version!
Janet says
Great recipe
Quinn says
No way do 6-7 cups of apples fit in an 8 x 8 dish.
The Chunky Chef says
You can clearly see that they do, as that’s an 8×8 baking dish in the photos.
Quinn says
I used to y little apples that were growing in the back yard must have been about 15……I’m gonna measure this time…..I like how easy it is to make your recipe:)
Quinn says
Tiny not y
Mim says
The recipe says six apples not 6 cups….
The Chunky Chef says
To be fair, I do mention that on average, 6 small to medium sized apples will yield about 6-7 cups.
Caitlyn Joseph says
Just made this recipe as is and it was delicious!!! We added vanilla ice cream on top. I did premake the crisp, put it in the fridge and then baked it a few hours later and I think it came out perfectly
Darla Sutherland says
Awesome recioe!
Jan says
Best apple crisp I ever had! So many compliments on it too. It’s my go to now!
JoAnn Mammone says
This apple crisp was delicious! I am saving this recipe.
Rebekah says
This recipe was really good. I used it as a springboard recipe for a sugar free, dairy free dessert. I also used fresh milled flour (combo of soft white and spelt). I also used at least twice as much cinnamon as it called for. Final result was delicious.
Wendy says
I was given an apple crisp portion from a friend at work and it was the best I’ve ever had! I love everything about this recipe and I don’t change a thing!
BolderK says
Delicious…tripled the recipe for a big party. It was a hit with vanilla ice cream.
Sally Christensen says
Everyone loved it. Very easy to make, followed the recipe.