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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Kelaiah says
Could I use quick oats?
The Chunky Chef says
The texture might change slightly, but yes, you can use quick oats if that’s what you have available.
Chaya says
Will it taste good served at room temperature?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes 🙂
Becky says
Was very tasty but for some reason
Was really “soupy ” like it needed a thickening agent like flour. Any suggestions?
The Chunky Chef says
Unfortunately, all apples (even those of the same variety) will have different amounts of moisture inside, which comes out during the baking process. You can certainly stir a little flour into the apple mixture if you’d like, which would thicken it up as it cooks 🙂
Cindy says
Made this today with some fresh picked apples. I had only dark brown sugar but still… Delicious! 😊
Jenn Francis says
This is one of my all-time favorite recipes! Apple Chris is one of my favorite dessert dishes and I have made it so many times 😬🫣🤭 I will forever to continue using this same recipe like I have every time I’ve made apple crisp, it comes out perfectly every time! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Bren says
Hey there,
The crisp was excellent. However, I brushed it with lemon juice ever so lightly to cut down the sweetness and it worked and it remained crispy. Otherwise, it was really great. Thank you for sharing, I will be putting this in my recipe box to make again.
Gina says
This was excellent! My son loved it! My hubby doesn’t care for the oats , what would be a good substitution for the 3/4 cup?
The Chunky Chef says
So glad you enjoyed it! I’m not entirely sure, as I’ve only made this as written, but if you do some experimenting I’d love to know how it turns out 🙂
Susan says
Doubled the recipe and made it for a family gathering. It was a huge hit. Great recipe!
Asta says
I found this very sweet, would reduce to 1/2c sugar
Donna says
Can I make a few and freeze them? I would not bake them first.
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested freezing this recipe, although many other readers have successfully frozen it, so you might want to check out their comments 🙂
Connie says
I doubled for 9×13 pan. Also used Splenda for white sugar and sugar free brown sugar for half the brown sugar and half regular brown sugar because I cook for a diabetic. He said it was really good.
Cara says
Perfect recipe. All ingredients on hand, nothing complicated hello cardamon.
Tammy Maher says
I’ve not heard of sugar free brown sugar! WOW!!! Thank you
Krista Belmont says
Easy to make, Great Recipe! Used apples from our tree. Recipe turned out Great!
Alice Arnold says
Can you use can apple pie filling instead?
The Chunky Chef says
I haven’t tested this as a pie filling, so I can’t say for certain, but I think it would work well 🙂
GMJ says
IF the apple pie filling has a ” goopy “kind of “sauce” with it then I would NOT use that one. It will turn out mushy. You MIGHT get away with the type that has JUST sliced Apple crammed into the can & NO goopy stuff. I think that one is Lucky Leaf. I think Walmart sells it.
BUT in reality FRESH apples will ALWAYS work best. That said, AVOID Macintosh Apples AND RED Delicious. They are too mushy for baking. They meant for eating / snacking apples
Chelsea j says
Just made this with fresh picked apples and it was a HIT with the whole family. So delicious!
Darlene Cain says
I made a double patch they turned out great yummy 😋 to thank you so much 😊 will make again
Julie says
Turned out great!! I used a few different varieties of apples from my in-laws yard. A perfect blend. My husband loved it…said it was his favorite, the best I have ever made. Absolutely delicious !!!
Alesha says
So easy! I doubled (and made 3 of those) and put in a 9×13 ceramic dish. I think next time I’ll only 1.5x the crumble, but overall it was amazing (says 70 varsity football players and their mamas)!
Anna Herren says
Whole family thought it was really good! I’m not even a huge “fruit for dessert” kind of person. It usually needs to have chocolate in it in order for me to like it, but fresh out of the oven with ice cream…. *chef’s kiss*
Karen J Wangensteen says
just made this today – absolutely delicious!