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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Kim says
I had a bunch of apples left over from the market and didn’t know what to make with them. I found your recipe and have the apple crisp in the oven now, it smells so good!! I’m still learning to bake & the video was easy to follow. Can’t wait to taste it! 🍎
Courtney says
The absolute best apple crisp/pie/apple anything I have ever tasted. I do not know how to bake, and this was the easiest recipe that turned out DELICIOUS. Thank you The Chunky Chef!!!!
Miranda K. says
Mybdry ingredients were measure perfectly, cutting the butter but it’s still very dry. Should I add more butter?
The Chunky Chef says
Did you watch the video in the post? It shows the way the crisp topping will look after you mix it together… but it’s supposed to look dry. When it’s baking the butter melts and it turns into a buttery topping like what’s shown in the photos 🙂
Marjorie Cavey says
Can I use Quick Oats instead of Old Fashioned Oats?
The Chunky Chef says
The texture might change slightly, but yes, you can use quick oats if that’s what you have available.
Tania says
We just went apple picking so I had about 6 different varieties. I cut them pretty small as is my liking, doubled the lemon, added more oats and cut the sugar back a smidge. My family LOVED this recipe. I’m making another as a gift immediately! Thanks for sharing!
Darla Grimm says
Can this be frozen before baking for a couple of weeks later?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not frozen this recipe myself, but I know many other readers have done so successfully.
Tracy says
Amazing every time I make it- added walnuts to flour mixture…
Marjorie says
Thanks for this delicious recipe
I used 4 Courtland apples and instead of cutting them in chunks, I sliced them quite thin. I used a gluten
free flour mix and I didn’t have lemon juice so I used lime juice. I will say that it is the best apple crisp that I
have made. My son who really loves his sweets said that it could be in a restaurant. Thank you for this flavourful
Fall dessert. I am sure that I will be making it again very soon. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Kristen says
Oh WOW! This tastes just like how my Grandma made it! So easy and SO GOOD! I love the plentiful crunch topping! Like others who commented, I went crazy with extra cinnamon. #chefskiss
Regina L JORDAN says
Straight forward recipe! Love the flavor, reminds me of heath bar center. Does require patience which brings in the Love and makes this recipe GREAT!
thanks for sharing……
Helene says
This looks delish I’m trying it for first time
Victoria says
So easy and soooo good! My grandma even wanted it for her birthday dessert and that’s saying a lot.
Annette says
Delicious 😋
Dallas Sheehan says
Awesome recipe turned out amazing added a few tweaks mixed golden delicious and honey crisp and add skor bits on top so good major crowd fav
Judith says
Can I freeze this apple crisp?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve not frozen this recipe myself, but I know many other readers have done so successfully.
Debbie says
It was great made it several times
Thalie says
I’ve never liked apple crisp until I tried this one!! Amazing 🤩
Sherry says
I accidently forgot the flour. I realized it right after I put it in the oven. I took it out of the oven and dumped it all in a bowl and added the flour. It was so good! The topping was all mixed throughout the apples. Tasted great! Will do that again!
Teresa Rinnert says
We like our crisp on top crisper, otherwise I would have given it a 5
Alissa says
My friend made this and I immediately asked for the recipe. It’s exactly what I think of/want when I think of apple crisp. Friend did mention she used extra cinnamon. Thanks for a great recipe!