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.
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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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Joan says
Can I use salted butter?
The Chunky Chef says
You can, just omit the pinch of salt.
Jill says
too much sugar
Sarena says
Yum!!! Turned out so amazing! Ended up baking for 65 minutes and it was perfect! Nice and crispy and gooey. I had to add a little extra cinnamon, yum. Thank you for this delicious recipe!!
Susan says
My golden delicious apples are small to medium this year so my question is how many cups of apples do I need?Thank you.
The Chunky Chef says
Approximately 6-7 cups.
Susan says
Easy doesn’t involve a pastry blender etc… I make apple crisp all the time, this one is a pain.
The Chunky Chef says
Well I’m sorry you don’t want to use a pastry blender Susan. If you make apple crisp all the time, you may want to stick to that recipe then 🙂
Kevin says
No pastry blender here so, as you suggested, I used forks and ultimately switched to my hands, which was a quick and perfect solution! Thank you for offering an alternative. Baking it later today so it will be warm for dinner!
Far away eyes67 says
Well Susan most crisp recipes will need cold butter..so if you took the time to read her recipe the chef did say use your hands. People really are challenging at times..much more than recipes. Good grief.
Kaitlyn says
Can this be made ahead of time and reheated when needed?? Looking to make in the morning and reheat after dinner!
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, I would bake it in the morning then would cover it after it cools and refrigerate until later. 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 🙂
Violetrose Odell says
Alright.. I’ve been searching for a Apple Crisp recipe since my mom passed away in 1996. She took hers to the grave with her. Never wrote any of her stuff down. Today I found this Recipe and I made it.. I swear it’s just like my mom used to make. It was devoured up in no time. My son whose vwry picky asked me to make it again tomorrow. Thank you so much fir sharing your recipe. It was a huge hit with my family
Carey says
Thank you Chunky Chef! Delicious and simple to make.
Rhonda says
Delicious 😋
Super easy! And super good!! I made one topped with pecans and one plain, and everyone loved both!!!
AMM says
Any suggestions on heat/time for baking this in small 5” round individual serving sized aluminum dishes?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested baking this recipe in individual dishes, so I can’t say for certain. I would start with about half the baking time, check the apples for doneness and go from there 🙂
Natalie Ohanna says
This is an absolutely fantastic recipe. I made very little if any modifications.
I layered the apples And topping so they were two layers of each. I also added toasted walnuts to the layers which put this over the top. A drizzle of salted caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream to finish.
Jane says
I made this last night and it was fabulous, we all real enjoyed it.
I cheated by melting the butter, which then stirred easily into the dry ingredients.
Diego says
Loved it, chunky chef.
Lori Anne says
I used honey crisp apples and didn’t peel them. The recipe turned out so amazing. I will be making this repeatedly until the day I die. Thanks so much for sharing your gift with the world, Amanda. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Nancy lane says
Do we refrigerate or leave out?
The Chunky Chef says
We always refrigerate (covered, so it doesn’t dry out).
Stacey says
How long would I bake this if I doubled the recipe and used a 9X13 casserole dish?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested doubling this recipe, so I can’t say for certain. I would add about 10 minutes to the baking time, and check the apples for doneness and go from there 🙂
Terri says
Easy and delicious!
Lara says
Can the butter caramel sauce be made ahead of time and easily be reheated? Looking forward to trying this recipe!
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, absolutely! Just heat it up in the microwave and you’re good to go 🙂
Karen says
This looks so good. Can’t wait to try it. Can it be put in the freezer? I wanted to premake some desserts and freeze them for a couple of weeks. Do you think it will come out ok?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not frozen this recipe myself, but I know many other readers have done so successfully.
Marlene says
Sounds great! I’m going to make it this afternoon!
Ariane says
Wow! Finally found a phenomenal, simple recipe for apple crisp! This is THE ONE, THE “prettiest of them all” lol. I cut the sugar to 3/4 cup cause I always eat this with ice cream and you don’t even miss the sugar at all. Also used honeycrisp apples which are my fave.
Gloria says
In oven now but with way less sugar…monk fruit substitute for the white sugar and less than half of the brown sugar. I expect it to be delicious….I added cranberries and walnuts to the topping, smells yummy, thank you.
Char says
How did you apple crisp turn out with using the Monk Fruit, which is what I use too.