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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Pat says
Wonderful! I Only had soft margarine but worked just fine! Cut the sugar slightly as apples used were very sweet.
Shellie says
Ah, I had to use Easy spread butter- that is butter mixed with some canola oil. Mine came out all right too.
Lillian Henry says
Family loved it!
Sara says
I usually don’t bake, because I somehow always managed to mess it up but I was craving apple crisp and when I tell you this recipe is amazing ya it’s 100 I love it so much thank you for sharing!!!
Liz says
Could you give suggestion about freezing this? In loaf pans maybe for later/smaller servings? Is it recommended?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested freezing this recipe, although many other readers have successfully frozen it. You could scroll through the comments to see if they had any additional information or suggestions.
Tracy says
Clicked this recipe bc I LOVE the url, saved the site for future because this recipe was perfection! Thank you 😊
AK says
So good and easy! Loved the topping (I used Country Crock plant butter because of a dairy allergy) and used a mix of Granny Smith, honeycrisp, and envy apples (thought it made a great combo of sweet and tart). Will definitely make again.
Karen Brooks says
This was delicious! Definitely will make again!
.joanne says
Old-fashioned apple crisp at its finest thank you so much!
Carol Jollymore says
Worst apple crisp I ever made.
The Chunky Chef says
I’m surprised this didn’t work out for you, as so many others have enjoyed it. Happy to troubleshoot if you’d like!
BBB says
I’ve made this a couple of times now, everytime I made it. The apples came out mushy, is there something I could be doing wrong?
The Chunky Chef says
Did you change the varieties of apples being used? Different types are softer or more crisp, and they have different baking times. It could also just be that your oven takes less time than mine and my recipe tester’s, so you can reduce the baking time a bit and just test the apples for the doneness level you’re looking for.
Janet says
Delicious and so much easier than making apple pie..🍎
Felicia says
OMGEEEE!! I was looking for a recipe that tasted like the apple crisp I grew up eating and this one DID NOT disappoint! The only change I made was adding in a 1/2 tsp vanilla to the crumble… magnificent!
Janis Fetinger says
Fuji apples not Fugi.
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, as a human, I do sometimes make a typo. Thank you
Deb V. says
WOW !!
Janice says
Best Apple Crisp ever. I was hesitant about the oatmeal topping, but it made it!
Lance says
Question: is real butter an absolute. I’ve found some baked goods come out better with margarine…. cookies, homemade caramel.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe with butter, so I can’t say how well it would turn out with margarine.
Alicia says
I have made this recipe twice now with only one change, I prefer granny Smith apples and it turned out delicious. It didn’t even last a weekend with my husband and myself. Thank you for sharing such an easy and yummy recipe. 😋
Barbie says
Made this with gluten free flour was fantastic ! Thanks will make again I used homemade applesauce was delicious saved a little time !
Julie says
Were you using the applesauce instead of sugar?
Marielle says
loved this recipe it was so yummy and easy
thanks!!
Bethany M says
I’ve made this recipe for a few years and it’s my most requested item. The only change I make is I always double the topping for that old school thick crunchy top. Yummmm
Alan Roy. says
Apple crisp is now my favourite Apple recipe.I had no light brown sugar so used dark brown,it was superb.Am about to make it now for the second time.Will be checking out more of your recipes.