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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Gretchen says
I had some friends coming over for an afternoon visit. I wanted to serve something with coffee. This apple crisp was quick to make and I had all the ingredients on hand. The house smelled so great when my guests came in the door. I used fresh picked Organic Honey Crisp and Cortland apples. I topped the warm crisp with cinnamon ice cream. It was extremely delicious and my guests left not a crumb. Thank you.
DG says
I never really liked apple pie, but I’m all about the crisp topping and that sweet, cinnamon-tangy flavor of a great crisp. This recipe nailed it. I didn’t have oats, so I used Quaker Oats Granola cereal. It took some work to massage the butter in all the way, but the little extra crunch was glorious. Four of us stood around it with forks and finished it in one go.
Katie says
I’m allergic to dairy and eggs, so I made this with vegan butter and it was AMAZING. Its a wonderful recipe. If you’re considering making it- DO IT.
Lisa says
I made this last weekend and everyone loved it and asked for the recipe. I was too lazy to do the thing with the cold butter so I melted the butter and mixed it with the topping ingredients. It made a nice crust on top. Really good.
Dakota says
Just wondering does it get refrigerated.?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, leftovers should be refrigerated 🙂
Martin Weaver says
I made this tonight with rave reviews from everyone, including me. I used Honey Crisp apples. this is the best ever.
Robby says
This will be my second time making this. It’s baking in my oven right now. This is a perfect, simple, classic apple crisp recipe. I used a mix different apples that I picked from a nearby orchard and followed the recipe. Thank you.🍎
Annette says
Made this yesterday. It was delicious. Followed the recipe made no adjustments and it came out perfectly. Also topped with with the ice cream and caramel sauce. Will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing.
Caryn says
Hands down the best apple crisp I’ve ever made!!!! Thank you!!!!
Vince says
Well… not one of my best treats…. Yes I did line up all the ingredients, and mixed mostly according to the direction…. except…. butter is not on the list…. and I over looked it in my mix…from instruction number 3…. and no amount is listed even if I had set it aside with the other listed items…
The Chunky Chef says
I think you overlooked the second to last ingredient listed in the ingredient section…
Judy says
I made this and we loved it! Can you freeze this?
The Chunky Chef says
So happy you loved it! I haven’t tested it, but I suspect it would be okay 🙂
Lynne D. E.Taunton MA says
My daughter and son in law went apple picking and asked that I make an apple pie, I’ve never really liked apple pie but apple crisp is definitely one I like,I found your recipe and it’s by far one of the best.Very easy to make and it came out perfect, I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone who says they don’t think they can do it. Loved it
Tracy Johnson says
How many cups do u think for this recipe
The Chunky Chef says
Approximately 6 1/2 – 7 1/2 cups
Robin says
Thank you for a quick and simple recipe. I made it tonight and it turned out great! I didn’t have regular old fashioned oats so I used quick oats and it was fine. The topping was extremely crunchy and tasted wonderful! Over all great recipe!
Nanette McClellan says
This is the absolute best, amazing recipe! I did not have enough light brown sugar so I did half light and half dark and was still awesome.
john c lamb says
never mind ive got it now
john c lamb says
what temp do you bake it on? 350?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, as written in step 1 of the recipe.
Sandy, MA says
I followed the recipe exactly as written. Used my CLEAN hands to work in the butter (so much easier than a pastry blender). This recipe turned out awesome. Happy to say my search for a good apple crisp recipe is over.
Leanne says
This was such a great recipe! Wonderfully not too sweet. The perfect topping as well. I make a lot of crisps but this recipe is now my favourite.
Bonita Cullen says
This Recipe is the best I have ever used. It is just like Grandma use to make. I doubled this recipe and used 48 medium sized apples off my own tree and made two 9×13 inch cake pans. I baked both pans together for 50 minutes. I will use this recipe many times again in the future. Thank you so much for bringing back memories that I had forgotten and for sharing this recipe.