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.
NEVER MISS A CHUNKY CHEF RECIPE:
FACEBOOK / INSTAGRAM / PINTEREST / TWITTER
Professor Jeffrey Rath says
Me wr found the recipe on the website. Perhaps less wordyness and actually making the apple crisp recipe on the webpage where regular folks can find it, thank you.
The Chunky Chef says
That “wordiness” is what encouraged Google to place it on page one of the search results, so you could find it. And because I know some folks just don’t want to read, I offer a “jump to recipe” button right at the top of the page that takes you literally right to the recipe.
Jackie says
Hi!
So excited to try this recipe, if we are doing mini ones in a muffin pan with our fourth grade students, what do you suggest for cooking time?
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Jackie 🙂 I love that you’re baking with your students! Unfortunately I haven’t tested this recipe in a muffin tin, so I can’t advise on the exact baking time. I would start with 20 minutes, and just test them to see how tender the apples are 🙂
Elaineelliottart says
I found some steel cut oats in the pantry (which I didn’t use) but it started to inspire me. I had no old fashioned oats so I used granola and some raisins that had been soaking in coconut rum. No ice cream so served with vanilla yogurt! It was amazing!
Lynda says
Apple Crisp~this is so easy and always gets requests for seconds and the recipe!
Teri says
Made this for our home fellowship. It was a hit! Thank you!
Heidi says
Pretty good! Quick to put together. I did add some extra “crisp,” because that is my favorite part. My only issue was how very sweet it was! When I make it again (and I will) I will add a bit less brown sugar. My kids loved sugar, though, so they devoured it.
KG says
I’ve made this at least 6 times and we LOVE it. Thanks so much for the recipe. It’s absolutely fantastic with some vanilla or caramel ice cream.
Lynn says
Definitely using this one again! Loved how easy it is! So yummy!
Glenda says
Everybody loved it. This recipe is a keeper.
Desi says
Made this with the salted caramel and it was delicious!! I can’t get over how good the crumbling is!!
Denise says
This recipe is outstanding!!!! Absolutely delish!!!
Trish Ratzlaff says
I made this last night for our Easter Dinner and it was a hit! My apples were huge so I adjusted the recipe a little. Delicious and so simple to make. Thank you!
GuyH says
Amazing, this is the one to make!.
Melissa says
This was absolutely delicious! I doubled the recipe but cut the flour back to 1 cup. I also added a drizzle of Ghirardelli Caramel Topping over the top after it came out of the oven! I saw where another reader used Almond Flour so may even try that next time instead of all purpose flour! This is def my go to Apple Crisp recipe for the future!
janet sunderland says
I make this every Easter and it always comes out yummy and crispy on top.
Camryn says
Can you use regular brown sugar?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, you can use dark brown sugar if you’d like, it will have a more molasses-y flavor 🙂
hotdeliciousreward says
Gonna make this today. After looking at the reviews it seems we might be in for a treat later. We both love the warm excitement and pleasure that this dessert brings. It’s not “Hard” to read what you need to do to get the best results Bon Apetite….
Amy K says
This was simple, easy and AMAZING. Made it for a friend’s birthday (she’s a chef) store bought dessert wouldn’t do! This was a hit and I served it with the Brown Butter Caramel sauce. There aren’t enough words to describe how wonderful that sauce was. NEVER buying store bought again! THANK you! Great recipe for this non-baker
Anita says
Good instructions, simple recipe, fabulous results. Many Thanks🙏🏽
Donna says
Can you substitute sugar with splenda
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!