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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Nancy says
I made 2 of these at once and used honey crisp apples as that is all I had. It was the best apple crisp I have ever tasted. I have made lots of different ones over many years too. My husband Who is not normally a big fan ate most of one. Definitely will be making this again. Using this topping today to make blueberry crisp. Worth the extra cost of the apples.
Peggy says
Excellent, easy recipe. My family devoured it.
Luann Barber says
Very good recipe!
Ora says
Really Good!!!
Robin says
It was good but very dry, and I went exactly by recipe
The Chunky Chef says
Oh no, that’s unfortunate! Sadly, all apples give off different amounts of liquid as they cook.
Cheryl says
Tons of compliments. Thank you!
Kelly says
Apple crisp was Excellent
Thank you !!!
Was Very Very Easy too!!!
Linda says
Awesome! Very easy and delicious!
Kristopher says
I found I wanted more topping to cover the apples in my 8×8 dish on my first try so I made it a second time, but made too much topping by almost doubling the amounts.
I like grinding the oats a little, too.
Mike S says
The apples from my tree are quite small . Could you tell me how much apple in terms of cups should I use ?
Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
Approximately 6-7 cups 🙂
Judy says
Hi , I made this and it was a hit, but if I wanted to make a 9×13, would I just double the recipe? Thanks again
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, just make sure you double all the ingredients 🙂
Angélyca Soucy says
I made this recipe for our “apple dessert night” with our friends and everyone LOVED IT! Super easy and super delicious! I’m excited to make this again.
Shell says
Love this recipe and make it often thank you so much for sharing. We have done this and added a little carmel drizzle under the topping
Laura G says
SO easy and SOOO addictive!!!
Jessica says
Mine wasn’t sweet enough and I used Granny Smith apples. Next time I’m going to go with a sweeter apple.
Alexander says
I have made many apple crisp recipes over the years and this one is by far the best! The browned butter sauce was next level and a great addition to a classic. I used Fuji apples and baked for 50mins (they were still too crunchy at 40min mark). Also I didn’t have heavy cream for the sauce so I substituted 1cup of milk and 2Tbsp of corn starch mixed together (although I only used what was needed for the recipe). Turned out great!
Julie Chipman says
We love this recipe and make it all Fall. It’s easy and delicious and the browned butter caramel sauce makes it unbelievably yummy.
Lenore Loder says
I feel like I didn’t use enough butter for the topping. It doesn’t look like yours at all, actually its kinda dry looking! Should I cut slats of butter on top next time?
The Chunky Chef says
Did you fully cut the butter into the mixture? It will look a bit powdery when you add it, but as it cooks, the butter melts and turns it into the topping you see. Did you watch the recipe video that pops up? That shows the powdery-ness.
Delta says
would have given this 5 stars but was just a little too sweet for my taste. Making this again but will reduce brown sugar to 1/2 cup, may even go to 1/3 cup, but then again my apples are home grown and very sweet.
Katie says
I used swerve sugar alternative and it was just as yummy!!
Kathe says
Gotta get myself a pasty cutter! Easy to make in advance- just popped into the oven before my company arrived. Cut the apples into little pieces- never have luck with the sliced ones! Delish with ice cream. There was none left!!! ❤️❤️❤️