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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Emmy says
Made this for a party and left with an empty pan! Everyone loved it (including me), and I’ll be making this all season long. Thank you Amanda!
Lynda Stall says
Yum!! First time making this and here are my “tweaks”: I took a stick of butter (1/2 cup), froze it and grated it into the topping mixture. Sure blended well! I also added 3 tablespoons of brown sugar to the filling with a pinch of kosher salt, some chopped walnuts to the topping and freshly grated nutmeg to both the topping and the filling, which added additional warm spice to the mix.
My hubby and 87-year-old mom both LOVED the result! Definitely making this again during the winter months using my “elderly” apples. Love recipes I can adjust to my tastes!
Lin says
OMG! This is absolutely the best Apple crisp I have ever eaten. I am in heaven. I did double the cinnamon because I love cinnamon. The apples were done to perfection, not mushy. I used what I had, don’t know what kind they were, all different. The topping was thick and crusty and crispy. Will make this many times. My grands will go crazy!
Thank you!!!
Allyson says
If I need to double the recipe for a larger crowd what size pan do you recommend and how long to bake it?
The Chunky Chef says
You’ll want to use a 9×13″ pan, and the baking time might need to be increased a little, but likely not too much. I would add an extra 5-10 minutes and check the apples for doneness with a fork 🙂
Peg says
PERFECT AND EASY, VERY DELICIOUS.
Marti says
This was anything but EASY, although fewer ingredients. It is labor-intensive and it took way longer than 15 mins. to prepare, then wait another almost hour for finished treat. Sorry, but I need the simplest, easiest & fastest things when I have to bake. Thank you, everyone, for your comments.
The Chunky Chef says
Baking things from scratch is always going to be more labor intensive than buying a dessert or making a semi-homemade one. Best of luck.
Debbie R says
Not easy??? If you found this recipe difficult, then maybe you should apply for the Worst Cooks in America show. It’s very simple to cut apples – was the washing part difficult? And combining dry ingredients in a bowl – yes that’s a very time consuming, difficult process. And then the impossible task of mixing in the butter.
half-pint says
I loved the recipe! Did it pretty much as written. HOWEVER, I did not mix the fruit mix (apples, cinnamon, sugar, etc) in a separate bowl! Just cut them up and mix them in the baking dish. Cuts down a bit on dishes. Mix those items directly in the baking dish, then mix topping in a mixing bowl and them over the fruit mixture in the baking dish.
Oh, and it’s POINTLESS w/o vanilla ice cream! POINTLESS!! LOL LOL
Frances Hale says
Delicious
Kim says
Made yesterday! So good.
I did have caramel leftover from caramel apples so I drizzled it on apples before adding oat mixture – amazing.
Will make again & again! Thank you!
judy says
Outstanding , delicious
Abbie says
I made this tonight, in need of a quick fall dessert for dinner guests. It was delicious!! I used 3 different kinds of apples because that is what I had (Fuji, Granny Smith, Cosmic Crisp) all peeled and chunked. I added ground cardamon and nutmeg to the cinnamon, totaling about 2 TBSP, split between apples and dry mixture as suggested. I added 1/2 cup pecans to the dry mixture, and pulsed all of it (with butter) in the food processor very briefly. I put the apples (in a prepared ceramic pie plate) and topping (in a separate container) in the fridge for a few hours before I combined them for baking. It was awesome!!!! I served it with vanilla ice cream, but if I had time to do the caramel sauce, it would have been just stellar. Or, maybe homemade salted caramel ice cream?? Next time (and there will be one)!!
Eve Kelton says
Made it just as described and it Came out PERFECT and was so delicious !!!
Loxey says
Yummy, just like my mom used to make!!!:)
Ashley Frendo says
Fast, easy & delicious 🤤
Carol Vermeersch says
I’m 76 yrs old …. Been making Apple crisp for at least 40 plus years….this is without a doubt the BEST crumble recipe out there …..
Thank you! Thank you!
Nicki says
Thank you for posting this recipe. It’s been my go-to apple crisp recipe for about 3 years. It’s so delicious and a hit with my friends and their kids! I typically use gala apples. I wash but don’t peel the apples, and slice them rather than chop them. It’s always delicious.
Lacrecia Otto says
Today is my first time attempting to make Apple Crisp. I made a few substitutions by using honey in place of the sugar/brown sugar. I’m sure I’ll be tweeking the ingredient portions each time I make the recipe until I get the right ingredient combination!
Happy Fall everyone!
Littlemama
Ellison says
This is the best recipe for apple crisp I’ve ever made.
Thanks Amanda!!!
Cristina says
My family LOVED this recipe. Thanks!!
Julie-Phx says
Today is the second time I’ve made this recipe in the last week! I made the mistake of adding the 1 cup of brown sugar into the apples instead of the 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, I happily made the same mistake intentionally the second time. I did cut down the brown sugar in the topping by half.
I doubled the cinnamon in the apple mixture and added toasted walnuts to the topping. I grated the butter into the topping mix for better distribution throughout the topping. I used locally grown Haralson apples both times. The first time we ate the crisp alone, the second time with vanilla ice cream and caramel. DELIGHTFUL
denise says
Thank you for the perfect proportions! Often what seems like the simplest recipes can be the hardest to get just right, and you delivered. I wouldn’t change a thing besides doubling everything!
For a 9×13′ pan I used a 3 pound bag of Galas
Lisa says
Did you have to modify the baking time when you doubled the recipe?