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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Linda Hedgepeth says
Great recipe @THE CHUNKYCHEUsed this at pig picking sponsored by a local community group and got rave reviews!!
Kaitlin says
So easy and delicious!
Angie says
Best apple crisp recipe I’ve used! Made it twice in 3 days!
Michelle says
So delicious! And so easy! Highly recommend
Kathleen Catanella says
Easy and Wonderfully delicious!!
Mandy says
Made it to the T and it was perfect, it fit into the 8×8 just enough sweetness mind didn’t need the full 50min but I used convection. Cooked for about 35min.
Kim says
Just made this last night and it was wonderful! Really enjoyed that it didn’t have such a heavy topping and too little apples. Made it exactly by the recipe, Thank you
Helen says
Easy thank you. Yummy
James Albert Small says
Easy and very good.
Sandy says
Can this be frozen, and served at a later date?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not frozen this recipe myself, but I know many other readers have done so successfully.
Samantha says
I love this recipe. I have frozen it several times and it comes out crispy and delicious when heated up, even in the microwave. I do wonder how long you recommend if I make 8 mini crisps. I can’t seem to get the timing perfect, last time the apples were slightly underdone.
The Chunky Chef says
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! I’ve not tested this recipe making 8 mini crisps, so I can’t say for certain how long the bake time would be. I would say add 5-10 minutes to however long you baked them the last time 🙂
Betty says
Sadly, There just wasn’t enough spice. I could barely taste the cinnamon and I added more than the recipe called for. Next time I’ll just stick with using my own blend of spices and pumpkin spice. Just a little cinnamon makes it pretty bland and there’s not even enough to have that cinnamon flavor.
Ana Petrus says
SUPER easy-to-follow directions, this was a big hit with my family, thank you from one “chunky chef” to another!🤩👏🏻👍🏼👍🏼💜
Denise Bluth says
I followed the instructions but had to use Granny Smith apples and I think that 6 was way too many. My crisp was a mound that went above the edges of the 8 x 8 pan. And I don’t know if I didn’t mix it well enough or the apples were too dense but the crisp part never incorporated into the apples and the butter didn’t seem to melt. It smells great. It doesn’t look done yet so I’m giving it 5 minutes at a time. I’ll let you know how this one turns out but I think next time I’ll use a 9 x 13 pan.
Andrea says
To make ahead – do i combine all the ingredients and stick in fridge until ready to serve and bake so it is hot. Or do I bake it then reheat when ready to serve?
The Chunky Chef says
You can do it either way 🙂
Lisa says
Made this tonight for dessert, I used a little more cinnamon than recipe called for. I was surprised how easy it was & It was delicious!
Kenny says
This was my first time making this. It was easy to make. But I think I should have cut my butter in smaller pieces.. My topping turned out dry in spots.. but it was delicious anyway
Kate Hughes says
Wayyyyy too much butter
The Chunky Chef says
You need that much butter to incorporate into the topping, otherwise it comes out dry.
Debra Redilla says
Good recipe if you can get your phone to type it right! But ghis is awesome
Rebecca Yovanno says
Best apple crisp recipe I have ever used. Perfect combination of sugar flour & oats.
Brie says
Absolutely delicious, and super easy to make!
Jim says
Overall good, but would definitely go more liberal on the spices. I almost doubled the cinnamon and also added some clove.
Esther says
I made it yesterday it is delicious and I’m making another one upon family request. This Apple crisp is so good.