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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Pat says
I added whole cranberries. It was just an added flavour to the already amazing crisp!
Don White says
You didn’t show the recipe for the salted caramel sauce
The Chunky Chef says
It’s a separate recipe, which I linked to in the post above the recipe, but here it is again https://www.thechunkychef.com/browned-butter-salted-caramel-sauce/
Don White says
Mmm mmm. One of my favorites from mom
Laughingdogmv says
Yummy!!! Loved it! Simply DIVINE! 🍎🍎🍎
Wendy says
Easy to make and the four of us over-50s loved it! We used 4 small Macintosh apples so had to 2/3 the recipe, so I look forward to making the full recipe. It was fun to pack the strudel topping over the apples! Thanks for your easy and delicious recipe!
Wendy, MA
Mackenzie says
Thank you so much for this recipe! Wow, it’s so easy and a new family favorite!
Angela K. says
Wonderful recipe 💓
Sooz says
Yummo and easy-peesy!
PATRICIA says
The taste of this Apple Crisp is amazing but it was very dry. Does anyone have a remedy for this as I would like to make it again.
The Chunky Chef says
The amount of liquid will vary since all apples give off various amounts of juice as they cook. What kind of apples did you use? You could try adding a splash of apple cider or juice to the apple mixture.
Mike verges says
Taste great, also I used splenda great for for low sugar dessert.
Kayla Marie Parisotto says
this is absolutely delicious. when I first made it my house loved it so much I had to make 2 more throughout the week since it doesn’t last more than 2 days here.
Kathy says
Can I use quick cooking oats and what adjustments would Ned to be made.
The Chunky Chef says
While I haven’t personally tested this recipe using quick cooking oats, many other readers have done so, with no other changes needed 🙂
Kelsey says
Followed your recipe to a T, and couldn’t have been more satisfied. Delicious!
Mikayla Zia - Sears says
Very good, I put walnuts and coconut flakes in the crust and used gluten free flour (red-mill) with Whole GF oats – SO GOOD!
LinZ says
Fabulous! I’be been an avid baker for 40+ years and have made all sorts of crisps and cobblers. This one is has a perfectly sweet ‘crisp’ topping and good ratio of apples – I used all honey crisp (great texture when cooked) tossed with 1 Tbsp. cornstarch. Made for Thanksgiving (in addition to homemade pumpkin cheesecake and sour cream apple pie) and it was a huge hit. Great the next day too! Next time will add walnuts or pecans to topping.
Laura T says
My new favorite dessert! Everyone loved this recipe at Thanksgiving so much so that we are making another pan the day after!
Karen Craig says
I’ve made apple crisp many times but decided to try this recipe. I used honeycrisp apples and organic oats. My grown kids said it was the best apple crisp I had ever made. They compared it to a local restaurant that makes it and then said it was better than theirs. This is the recipe I will use from now on. Thank you
Cathy says
I made this because my son in law requested I made it he ate the whole thing . I was fine like I said I made it for him . Next I made it for Thanksgiving it doubled the recipe it was almost gone by evening . I at least I got a taste the next day . I put icecream on the side with the Carmel and it was fabulous thanks for the recipe 😊
Asha says
Delicious! The apples were still crunchy and I’m not sure if that’s how it’s supposed to be? I broiled it for about 10 mins to get a nice brown topping. Next time I’ll add the vanilla ice cream, yum!
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! All apples will have various levels of crispness, so sometimes it may need a little longer in the oven 🙂
Laura ODONNELL says
Hi Amanda 🙂
I had a bumper crop this year of apples and after trying your recipe I wanted to know if you’ve ever prepared ahead and freeze for future baking? Or if you have any suggestions….
Thank you for your time!
Laura
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Laura 🙂 I’ve not frozen this recipe myself, but I know many other readers have done so successfully.
Mary says
Hadn’t made apple crisp in decades… this said Easy….so I tried it. And it was absolutely Awesome!!
It was the most loved dessert at Thanksgiving … no leftovers!
Pumpkin pie move over!
Didn’t do the caramel topping. And the person bringing vanilla ice cream forgot it… A little whip cream and bingo…the whole dish was empty before I could turn around.
I never write reviews, but had to this time.
Marilyn Nelson says
Best apple crisp recipe ever! Made for my family at Thanksgiving. Big hit!!!