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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Kathryn says
Three are delicious! I have only crumbs left in my pan.
Sharon says
This was super! I added a little more cinnamon to both the apples and topping (love me some cinnamon) and a little nutmeg to the apples. Fantastic! With the vanilla ice cream on top and drizzled with caramel, it was great! This is gonna be my thanksgiving apple dessert! Will make it many more times! Thank you so much!
Michele says
Tried this recipe and it was PERFECT! I always struggle to have the topping be crunchy but this was the right recipe for it! Perfect sweetness and my husband had Ice cream with it. I just made 3 more to freeze for Canadian thanksgiving 🙂
Lisa Hudgins says
This will be the second time in 2 days I’ve made this recipe! My husband and I love it! Most recipes call for way too much sugar, this one is just right! Saved to make again and again!
Gr1m says
Great recipe, but prefer with extra cup of oats and used monkfruit instead of white sugar and slight reduced brown sugar.
Dani says
I love this recipe!!! Sooo delicious! Can any party of this be done in advance? I want to bring it to a friend’s house to serve as dessert. I can heat it up there but don’t know how long ingredients can sit before having to cook. Thank you!
The Chunky Chef says
I’m so happy to hear that you love the recipe! I haven’t tested making this ahead of time, but many other readers have. I would suggest baking it, then letting it cool completely. Then cover after it cools and refrigerate until the next day. When you’re ready to reheat, set it out at room temp for 20-25 minutes or so, then bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, or until hot throughout 🙂
Mandy says
Would I be able to prepare this in a disposable baking tin pan? Or would you say a glass or stone baking dish is best? Thanks
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve baked this in a glass, metal, ceramic, and disposable foil pan… it’s pretty versatile 🙂
Olivia Bergman says
Waaayyyyy too sweet! Disappointing.
The Chunky Chef says
Well it is a dessert, but I’m sorry you found it to be too sweet. As always, feel free to adjust the sugar amounts to your tastes 🙂
Michelle says
I made this today and it was soooooo good! Probably the best I have ever had! This is a keeper! I also put it in 9 x 13, I had 7-8 c apples, I did not dbl anything, but did 3/4 c more of oats, 1/3 c more brown sugar. Tart with yummy topping. Now, if I just had vanilla ice cream, lol!
Net says
Love this recipe and make it often! I may use a half cup less brown sugar if the apples are sweet. I put extra cup of oats in two..this is for a double batch. 13 x 9 pan.
Allison M says
I keep going back to this recipe! Not too sweet, and heavy on the crisp topping. The only thing I do differently is add extra cinnamon.
Jen says
Loved it! Perfect in every way. The apples are nicely tart with the wonderful and very generous crunchy topping. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Jenna says
My family loved this! We used apples right off the back yard tree. So yummy!
Craig says
Excellent!
Sara says
I have smaller apples from our tree, not store bought. So a big smaller than store bought. How many cups of chopped apples do you think you need?
The Chunky Chef says
Approximately 6-7 cups.
alene says
would love to try this, I have many apples from my tree, but they have worms. How many cups of chopped apples does this recipe need?
The Chunky Chef says
Approximately 6-7 cups
Brian says
Just finished baking this, this morning absolutely amazing! I must have had bigger apples lol made a huge dish. Thank you so much for the apple crisp recipe! 🍎 🍏
Cindy says
Delicious!!!! Warm apple crips on a cool fall day, delightful. I have tried many recipes, this one takes the cake.
Kristine says
I made this recipe…..I did tweek it a bit…..I used margarine, I used 1/2 cup sugar for the apples, I only used 1/2 cup brown sugar for the topping and I had no oats so I used 1 package of instant apple oatmeal..oh and I used honey crisp apples…..I baked it in a 9X11 glass dish…..omg this was so amazing, reminded me of the apple crisp I had when I was young (40 or so hears ago)…..the whole pan was gone in about 3 hours after it cooled…..my daughter’s boyfriend ate half of it……so glad I found it and I will make it like this every time if that’s what I have available
Kristine from missouri
Nicole K says
This has to be one of the best apple
crisps I have ever eaten!! It is so yummy!
It was so very easy to make. I thought that it had too much crumble on it when I made it but left the recipe as is. Boy I’m had I did!! There was plenty of crumble when you were serving it. No one got short changed. So pile it up there when you make it. And please do yourself a favor and try this recipe. It will become one of your new favorites!!!!