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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Kelly says
If I make this tonight, can I bake it tomorrow or will the ingredients get soggy and the apples bad? Is this something tha needs to be made day of? Or if I bake tonight can I keep in fridge and then reheat in oven for serving purposes on Thanksgiving, and does bake time change?
Kelly
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never made it ahead of time, but I think it would be okay. Maybe add a little more lemon juice so the apples don’t brown. Make the filling and keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator; then make the topping and keep it in a sealable baggie in the refrigerator. Assemble it tomorrow and bake as directed 🙂
Ashley says
What size apples?
The Chunky Chef says
Medium sized apples
Kirstin O’Carroll says
Hi Amanda – I moved to Denver a few years ago & living at high altitude can make baking a challenge. I would like to take this delicious dessert to a Friendsgiving on Thursday, but am a little trepidacious as I have’t had any practice runs😀 Do you think any adjustments are needed for 5280 altitude? Thanks so much
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Kirstin, sadly I have no experience with high altitude baking… but I did find an apple crisp recipe from a high-altitude blog, and it mentioned that no changes were needed to make the recipe at any altitude, even sea level. So I’m thinking no changes are necessary? Here’s the link I found btw, in case you wanted to peruse the site for yourself https://highaltitudebakes.com/fruit-desserts/2013/09/28/brown-butter-bourbon-apple-crisp/
Amber Rodriguez says
I know this was posted a year ago, but just in case somebody else sees it and wonders the same thing: I just made this at 7,200 feet (Santa Fe) and the only change I would recommend is cooking for a longer period of time to make sure those apples get bubbly and melty. I cooked it at 350 for 65 minutes and it was perfect.
Shannon says
I’m short on time. I have 2 kids under 2. Can I use apple pie filling instead and then proceed with the topping? If so, how long would you bake it and anything else to know if I do it this way. I’m an amateur. 🤦🏻♀️
The Chunky Chef says
Honestly, I’ve never made it that way before, so I can’t say for certain if any baking times will need to be adjusted. I wouldn’t think it’d need to bake as long, since the apples are already softened in the pie filling, so maybe 30-40 minutes, just so the topping gets browned and cooked? I also can’t guarantee that it’ll taste the same, as it’s not how the recipe was designed to be made.
Sheri A Betty says
Love it
Liz says
This looks aaahhhmazing! Planning on making for the family Thanksgiving. I have the one-minute oats. Will that work instead of the old fashioned oats for the topping?
The Chunky Chef says
The texture may not be as chewy, but they should work just fine 🙂
Janet Schreyer says
Why are some folk complaining? I find the comments and blog really helpful, that way you know if it’s the right recipe for you amongst all the other hundreds of possibles and how a tweak here and there might affect the outcome. I guess you just can’t please everyone and some just aren’t happy unless they’re finding fault. I’d just like to say thanks for taking the time and trouble to write all this out for the benefit of others. You are wonderfully kind.
Barbara says
I am making recipe with peaches and I put a pancake mix on the bottom with a nail in it we’ll see how it tastes when it’s done thank you
Amanda says
Made this for girls night and it was amazing and so well received!! Going to make it again to bring to Thanksgiving at my boyfriends dads house, fingers crossed for a repeat performance! QUESTION: can you add some pears to this recipe? Curious if it would work, wanted to make it a little extra fancy for the holiday.
The Chunky Chef says
So glad everyone loved it! I think pears would be great in this… although you might want to test it to make sure the pears work just as well with the apples before you take it to the big event 🙂
Nancy says
Great, easy recipe. Thank you!
Terri Parker says
The crisp is the same as the one I learned when I was a child. Came out the same way. Thank for the right measurements that’s all I forgot. Almost everyone that had the crisp love it. So I gave them your site and they fell in love with the old food.
Galen says
Too much preamble.
The Chunky Chef says
Poor thing… you had to scroll for the free recipe. Did you not see the “jump to recipe” button right at the top of the post?
Rowan Bright says
I just stumbled across your food blog, and I think I love you already!!!! The recipe looks divine (I’ll make it today and report back), and I adore your spunk. Keep it up!!!!
T says
Best. Response. Ever.
Jen says
I made this today and it was delicious. I love to cook, but don’t bake often and was very pleased with how this turned out. Used a variety of apples I had from apple picking in NYS. Added a granny smith from the market. Made as written except I used a larger casserole with more apples and increased the crumble recipe a bit too. I added vanilla extract. It cooked a little longer and I was worried the topping wasn’t cooking and added a little melted butter on top. Amazing!!!
Nancy Campbell says
This was very easy and quick to put together! I wanted to make a 9×13 because i had alot of apples that were “on their way out”. I kept everything the same on the recipe, just increased the apples I used. It was AMAZING! Not too much sugar and just the right amount of crunch. I always have a hard time blending butter into a crust, so I just cut the butter really small and mashed it into the topping mixture. It came out perfect!
Dana says
This was one of the easiest and best things I have ever made. It tastes amazing. I used pink lady apples I bought at the farmers market.
Kelley says
I use a couple boxes of jiffy yellow cake mix instead of flour…holy moly is it good!
Shannon says
How long did you bake yours for?
Celeste P Lewis says
Thank you sharing your recipe. I make this into a deep dish pie with a bottom pie crust.
Kris says
I made this apple crisp tonight! My family loved it! I substituted “apple flour” for regular flour. It added a bit more sweetness to the crumble topping. Thanks for the great recipe!
Cindy says
Quick and fabulous… family loved it. I also used quick oatmeal worked fine.
Michelle twitchell says
Great recipe I also added touch of nutmeg the house smells divine