Easy Apple Crisp (THE BEST)

What Is Apple Crisp?

Apple crisp is a traditionally fall dessert made of stewed apple filling and a crumbly oat topping. Baked in the oven, apple crisp showcases the best of both worlds when it comes to texture. The inside is gooey but the outer oat crumble is crispy and crunchy. What’s the only thing that makes this dish better? A heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream. Oh, yeah!

Apple Crisp vs Apple Pie

Apple crisp is similar to apple pie and uses many of the same ingredients. However, apple crisps tend to use additional ingredients such as oats and nuts for the toppings. Also, crisps have more of a crunch due to the crumbly topping, whereas pies have a flaky crust with a soft apple-filled center.

Apple Crisp Video

How to Make Apple Crisp

This easy crisp recipe takes a quick 15 minutes to prep and requires only one bowl and one baking dish. That means less time for dishes and more time for yourself!

• Prep the apples: Peel and cut the apples into small cubes or thin slices. Place them into a large bowl.
• Add in the spices: Add sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon to the sliced apples and toss together.
• Transfer to a baking dish: Spread the apples into an even layer in an oiled baking dish.
• Make the crumble: In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients to form the crumble.
• Cut the butter: Slice the cold butter into small cubes and toss into the oat mixture.
• Top with the crumble: Spread the oat topping onto the apple filling.
• Bake: Bake at 375°F until the apples are soft and the crumble is a beautiful, golden brown color — about 40 minutes.

The Best Apples for Apple Crisp

Any and all apples will work just lovely in this recipe. However, we tend to use either Granny Smith apples or Fuji apples because they have a wonderful balance of sweet and tart. Other great options are Mutsu apples (also known as Crispin apples) and Winesap apples.

What if you have a variety of apples on your counter that are on their way out? Feel free to mix and match the apples for this crisp. It’s fun to experiment with different combinations!

Tips for The Best Apple Crisp

Perfection is not elusive with this apple crisp. Avoid any problems with the texture and flavor with these tips.

• Peel the apples: Make sure to peel the apples before cutting or slicing them. The peels don’t bake well and really mess up the texture of the crisp. Peeled apples make for such a luscious filling! I highly recommend this peeler!
• Cut your apples into thin slices: The thinner the apple is cut into slices or cubes, the better the texture of the filling. 1/6-inch thickness is the sweet spot.
• Avoid over-salting: Adjust the amount of salt, especially if using salted butter.
• Use old fashioned rolled oats: Old fashioned rolled oats have the sturdiest texture and richest flavor — making them perfect for toppings.
• Chill the butter: We love a crispy topping. For a crispy oatmeal topping, use cold butter. For a softer crumble topping, use room temperature butter.
• Bake until apples are soft and sauce is thick: Keep baking the crisp until the apples are softened and the apple filling is nice and thick. This will keep you from eating undercooked apples and dealing with an undesirable runny sauce.
• Serve right out of the oven: For the best taste, serve the apple crisp right out of the oven (or soon after). This will keep the topping from becoming too soggy as the crisp cools.

Serving Ideas

Serve this apple crisp with your favorite ice cream. The combination of apple crisp straight out of the oven and a scoop of ice cream is simply heavenly. Old-fashioned vanilla, speckled vanilla bean, caramel flavored ice cream, or simply a dollop of whipped cream all taste wonderful.

If you’re feeling extra decadent, drizzle hot caramel sauce over the crisp. Try your hand at making your own homemade dulce de leche sauce in the Instant Pot. It’s so easy and so yummy. You won’t regret it.

Making Apple Crisp In Advance

It’s best not to make the entire apple crisp in advance. For the best flavor and texture, make the crisp fresh — fresh and hot is where it’s at! However, to get a step ahead and make prep faster and easier, prepare your apples in advance. Just make sure to mix up the crumble last, otherwise the crumble will be soggy instead of crispy.

Storing & Reheating Apple Crisp

If you have any leftovers (lucky you!), store them up to a week in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Enjoy leftovers hot or cold! If wanting to reheat the leftovers, do so in the oven at 350°F to get the crumble crispy again and the sauce nice and bubbly.

FAQ

Other Apple Recipes

• Apple Turnovers – Nothing is more American than a tasty Apple Turnover.
• Air Fryer Apple Chips – Cinnamon apple chips with an addicting crunch
• Dutch Apple Pie – A classic pie, filled with spiced apples and a brown sugar crumb topping.
• Apple Sharlotka Recipe – This Ukrainian-style apple cake is “comfort in a slice”
• Caramel Apple Cake – Two ingredients have never been more perfect for one another.
• Banana Apple Bread – Perfect for those overripe bananas hanging out on the counter

Recipe

Apple Crisp

Print Pin

Servings

8 servings

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Recipe contributed by: Natalya Drozhzhin

Apple crisp is a classic dessert made with delicious apples and a few basic pantry staples. Indulge your sweet tooth with this yummy one-pan dessert!

Ingredients

• 6 apples Fuji or Granny Smith
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter

US Units – Metric

Instructions

• Peel apples and cut them into small cubes or thin slices. Place them in a large bowl and set aside.
• Add sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon on top of your sliced apples and toss together until evenly coated.
  
• Spread apples into a well-oiled baking dish. (An 8-10 inch pan is a good size)
  
• In a large bowl, combine oats, brown sugar, salt and flour. Toss it together to form your crumble.
  
• Cut butter into small cubes and add it to the oat mixture. Use a fork or pastry cutter to combine until it's crumbly in texture.
  
• Spread the oat crumble on top of the apples.
  
• Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes or until the apples are soft and crumble topping is golden. Serve right away.
  

Nutrition Facts

Apple Crisp

Amount Per Serving

Calories 362 Calories from Fat 108

% Daily Value*

Fat 12g18%

Saturated Fat 7g35%

Cholesterol 31mg10%

Sodium 48mg2%

Potassium 228mg7%

Carbohydrates 63g21%

Fiber 5g20%

Sugar 46g51%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 428IU9%

Vitamin C 7mg8%

Calcium 43mg4%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.