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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Chelle says
My family and I loved the apple crisp. Truly a delicious and classic dessert. Thank you 🙂
Mary Lynne says
Best ever!
Mish9305 says
Very easy to make and taste just like Grandma use to make.
Janet says
Muy bien explicado
Shanti says
I did tweet it very very slightly (added a few pinches of corn starch to the court land apples and used vanilla/almond granola crushed up instead of the oats) and it is one of the very best desserts I’ve ever had!! It was such an easy recipe to follow as I had never made apple crisp before!
Ellyn says
I made this today with a mix of red and golden delicious apples from my neighbor’s tree, using gluten free flour and oats. I substituted corn starch for 1/4 of the flour so it didn’t have the gummy texture gluten free flour often has from xanthum gum in the flour mix. Delicious!
Sam says
Can you use coconut oil or applesauce instead of butter?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Marianne says
This was by far the best apple crisp I’ve made.
Shannon Ernst says
Hello Amanda,
I would like to make this ahead of time and bake it at my friends house for after our dinner party. Do I make everything, and then put it in the fridge until ready to bake?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not tested this recipe that way, so I can’t say for certain, but I believe many other readers have done this successfully. It may take a little longer to bake since the dish will be cold.
Kay McNealy says
Noticed that you must have had to peel all the apples by hand.
So sad!
I have an apple peeler/corer that peels and cores and slices in seconds!
You might want to put that on your Christmas list!
My 10 year old niece thought that peeling the apples was great fun….and we loved your recipe too.
The Chunky Chef says
What made you think I had to peel the apples by hand? I have a peeler that I use sometimes, and other times I recruit my kiddos to help me. Glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Dana Paliotta says
i made this for my bunco babes last night, and they, as well as i, loved it! i doubled it exactly and wholly cow were there a lot of Granny Smith clices!! thankfully i had a disposable aluminum pan that was deeper than my 9X13 because i definitely needed the depth! this was deep, and the apples were cooked through. juicy too! if you’re going to double it, USE A DEEP PAN! i also had to leave it in oven for may 10-15 minutes longer than the 40 i set it for. just keep an eye on it!
V2 says
CC I appreciate the sugar alternative suggestions.
Switched to a 9 x 13 cookware because 8 x 8 was filled to the brim with apple mixture. Had 2 golden delicious fresh from the tree and 4 Jazz apples. Kept the peels on. Couldn’t even tell since they softened with the baking. And the red peel added some colour.
Substituted cold pressed virgin coconut oil instead of butter. Family gobbled it up but some found it a little too sweet. Maybe because we used the jazz.
Thanks Amanda! One of my fall favorites too!
K says
Delicious! Should leftovers be refrigerated?
The Chunky Chef says
So happy you enjoyed it! Yes, it should be covered and refrigerated 🙂
Courtney says
Any difference if I switch the old fashion oats for steel oats?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work, although I don’t think steel oats would work as well. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
JFL says
This was delish! We froze some of it otherwise we would have eaten it all!! Can’t wait to pull it out in a couple of weeks as a great treat!
Suzie Percy says
Hands down, best apple crisp recipe I have made! As always… I doubled the topping, as that’s our favorite part. :o)
Cassandra Eden says
Made a big pan of this that was gone within 10 minutes of cooling down. Big hit in our household! Love this recipe 😊
CC says
I made the recipe but I substituted maple syrup and honey for sugar and brown sugar. My partner loved it! He almost ate half of it in one sitting. Will make it again but with other fruits. Thank you for the recipe.
Sherry Gardner says
I just made this tonight. I modified it to a 13×9 by adding in an extra 2 tablespoons of butter a half cup each of flour and oats, and two more apples for 6 total. We’ll never do pumpkin pie on thanksgiving again!
Gail says
I made the Apple crisp today and the caramel sauce,, it was delicious, hubby went for seconds,will definitely make it again YUM!!!