We’re singing all the praises of apple crisp because it’s THE dessert of the season. Featuring warm gooey cinnamon apples and a brown sugar oat topping, this comfort food classic takes half the time and effort that traditional apple pie requires. You just need a handful of basic ingredients to get started including baking apples such as Granny Smith and Honeycrisp.
I originally published this recipe in 2020 and have since added new photos, a video tutorial, and more success tips.
How many ways can we bake with apples? Hopefully you’ve been enjoying sweet and simple baked apples or even dove headfirst into apple cinnamon bread, apple cake, and caramel apple upside down cake. There’s apple cinnamon babka and so many more apple recipes. But today, let’s get down to the basics.
This is pure and simple apple crisp, a timeless dessert highlighting the natural flavor of apples. This apple dessert is an end-of-the-meal treat that delivers BIG flavor for very little work.
Let’s be honest—if you can chop apples, you can make apple crisp.
One reader, Lori, commented: “I have made many apple crisps in my 66 years! There are many good recipes that are easy to follow, use ingredients I typically have in my fridge and pantry, and they have been enjoyed by my family. But THIS recipe? How do you outdo ‘outstanding,’ ‘incredible,’ and ‘fabulous’? Honestly, the best apple crisp that I’ve made and enjoyed yet! You’ve done it again, Sally and team! This will be my go-to apple crisp recipe! ★★★★★”
Another reader, Cheryl, commented: “I have been making this apple crisp recipe for several years now. Great balance of flavors! It’s one of my go-to recipes! Just yummy! ★★★★★”
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Apple Crisp Recipe
- Easier Than Pie: It’s easy to adore apple pie, but there’s no doubt that homemade pie is a labor of love. In this fruit crisp, we’re swapping pie crust for oat streusel topping. Skip all the pie dough chilling and leave your rolling pin in the cabinet.
- Basic Ingredients: Crisps are pretty unfussy and there’s no strange ingredients required. Most of the ingredients you need are repeated in both layers, too.
- No Eggs: Many bakers have been asking for egg-free baking recipes like this.
- Short Cooling Time: Sometimes we need a crowd-pleasing dessert that’s a little quicker, but just as seasonal and impressive as pie. Today’s crisp joins 30+ others in my collection of Quick Dessert Recipes—ready in 1 hour or less!
- And It’s Delicious: What’s better than warm cinnamon apples and chewy-crisp oat topping? This is a cold weather must.
And above all else—if you have little ones, this dessert is convenient and manageable. You don’t have to wait for anything to come to room temperature, chill, or cool down. Kids have a ball spreading the apples into the dish and sprinkling the oat crumble on top. (And in the summer, have the young bakers help make a peach crisp!)
Overview of Apple Crisp Recipe Ingredients
There are 2 components in apple crisp: the apple layer and the oat topping. The topping is the same recipe we use for blueberry crumble pie, apple cranberry crumble pie, and bourbon cherry crisp, only slightly increased for a larger 9×13 inch dish.
- Apples: See below for the best apples to use. You need about 8 medium apples, peeled and chopped into chunks.
- Brown Sugar: We use brown sugar to sweeten and bring flavor to the entire dish. You need it for both the apple layer and topping.
- Flour: All-purpose flour thickens the apple filling and is the base of the topping. Do you need a gluten-free version? Here’s my super flavorful gluten-free apple crisp.
- Vanilla & Salt: I’ve made a lot of apple crisp recipes and nothing compares to the way I make it now (recipe below). Vanilla complements these warm flavors and salt balances out all the sweetness. Trust me, you don’t want to skip either—the dessert tastes flat otherwise.
- Cinnamon & Nutmeg: Use cinnamon and nutmeg in the apple layer and cinnamon again in the topping.
- Butter: To prevent it from melting too soon and losing texture, use very cold butter. Take it right from the refrigerator and cut it into cubes. Then use a pastry cutter or fork to mix it into the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Don’t overcomplicate this step, let the mixture be messy, crumbly, and coarse. Less is more. (Music to our ears!)
- Oats: Some oats get a little crispy, some stay soft and chewy. Use whole oats for the best texture. Stir the oats into the topping mixture *after* you cut in the butter. We do this with strawberry crisp as well—you just don’t want the oats to break down too much.
What Are the Best Apples to Use for Baking?
Firmer apples are ideal for baking. Avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of tart and sweet apples. For apple crisp, I usually use 4 tart and 4 sweet.
- Tart apples I love to bake with: Granny Smith (in my opinion, this is the best overall apple for baking), Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose
- Sweet apples I love to bake with: Jazz, Pazazz (sometimes harder to find but delicious!), Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Fuji
For a detailed list of my favorite apple varieties and when to use each, you can visit my post The Best Apples for Baking.
If you’re not into an oat topping, but still want an easy, quick, and gooey apple treat, try this apple cobbler instead.
Peel & Slice Apples into Chunks
You can skip peeling the apples if you’d like, but many prefer peeled apples in desserts. I use and love (affiliate link) this OXO peeler. A lot of apple crisp recipes use apple slices, but I prefer chunks because chunks easily fit onto a spoon or fork. It’s also difficult to get perfectly uniform slices, so some pieces can be much thinner than others—and that means mushy apples. 1-inch chunks that are between 1/4 and 1/2 inch thick are ideal for this apple crisp.
Toss them with the rest of the apple layer ingredients and then top with the oat topping.
Apple Crisp Toppings!
Of course you can serve apple crisp plain, but this warm dessert truly shines with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s just an apple crisp non-negotiable! Add a drizzle of salted caramel for good measure. Or even a dollop of fresh homemade whipped cream. This is the best fall dessert around.
Can I Make Apple Crisp Without Oats?
Yes, absolutely. To make apple crisp without oats, use the topping from apple crumble pie, only slightly increased. Use 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 cup (125g) all-purpose flour, and 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled. Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together. Using a fork, stir in the cooled melted butter until the mixture is thick and crumbly. Don’t over-mix—it will become a paste if you over-mix. Use the same oven temperature and bake time as below. I prefer melted butter to keep the crumble topping on the softer side. If you want a crispy crumble topping, use cold butter and cut it into the mixture just as you do in the recipe below.
Or try apple cobbler instead.
However you choose to make your crisp, it will be a welcome (and easy!) addition to your lineup of Thanksgiving pies—or a “just because” dessert on a cool fall evening. Enjoy!
Print
Classic Apple Crisp Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic apple crisp combines warm gooey cinnamon apples with a buttery brown sugar oat topping. See recipe notes for make ahead & freezing instructions.
Ingredients
Filling
- 8 medium peeled apples, cut into 1-inch chunks that are 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick (about 10 cups, or 1200g, chunks)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Topping
- 3/4 cup (94g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
- 1 cup (85g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- optional: salted caramel and vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. Any 3.5-4-quart baking dish works.
- Mix all of the filling ingredients together in a large bowl, then spread into the baking pan.
- Make the topping: Whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture becomes super crumbly. Stir in the oats. Sprinkle over filling.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges. Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes before serving. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold; plain or with salted caramel and/or vanilla ice cream.
- Cover leftovers and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Baked and cooled crisp freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bake (covered) in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 30 minutes or until heated through. You can prepare the crisp through step 3, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day before baking. You can also freeze the unbaked crisp for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then continue with step 4. Bake time will be a little longer since the crisp will be cold.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×13-inch Baking Pan | Vegetable Peeler | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Cooling Rack
- Apples: Here are the best apples for baking. An equal mix of Granny Smith and Jazz or Pink Lady is my favorite for apple crisp.
- Oats: Whole oats are best, but you can use quick oats if needed. The crumble topping will just be a little more powdery. (Don’t be tempted to reduce the flour, though– the topping may turn out greasy.) Use a 1:1 swap from whole oats to quick oats. For an oat-less topping, see blog post above.
- Nuts: Feel free to add 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the crisp topping. Stir into the mixture when you add the oats.
- Half Recipe: You can easily halve this recipe by halving all of the ingredients and baking in a 9-inch square or 9-inch round baking dish/pie dish. Reduce bake time to about 30-35 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Oh, so DELICIOUS! I made this weeks ago and it was a HIT! Everyone loved it and for that reason, I’m making it again this weekend. This time, I decided to add chopped pecans topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
I’ve made this Apple Crisp a dozen times and it’s amazing. I need to double the recipe for Thanksgiving. Will that affect the cooking time?
Hi Wayne, This recipe should be fine to double, but making separate batches guarantees consistent results. If you do use a larger pan, we’re unsure of the exact bake time so keep a close eye on it. So glad it’s a favorite!
hi sally, can maple syrup be substituted for the brown sugar in the recipe in either the apple mix and/or crumb topping, ty 😉
Hi Sonny, we haven’t tested a liquid sweetener here. We recommend sticking with brown sugar for best results.
Hi! This looks yummy! My family wants an apple cranberry crisp… shall I do a hybrid of this recipe along with the apple cranberry crumble pie? Thank you!
Hi Teri, You can replace some of the apples with cranberries without any other changes here. If using fresh cranberries the filling would be similar to this Apple Cranberry Pie. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious! We’re big fans of this recipe. I used a combo of Cosmic Crisp and a few Cortland apples. Dark brown sugar really gives a nice caramel taste so an extra sauce isn’t necessary, but don’t forget the ice cream for the win 😉
This recipe looks great, but I have a couple of gluten free guests. How could I make this GF? Thanks so much and I LOVE your recipes.
Hi Debbie, here is our gluten free apple crisp recipe instead!
Could I add a couple tablespoons of bourbon to the apple mixture?
Hi Corinne, we haven’t tested anything, but that shouldn’t be a problem. Let us know what you try!
We have loved your website and several of our go-to recipes are from you but I thought you should know that recently, it has become unusable on our phones as an Amazon ad taking up the entire screen pops up with no possibility to “x” it out without going through some very lengthy process of “hiding distracting items” on my phone. It is super frustrating and makes us want to just give up. We want our favorite sites to have revenue and don’t mind ads but when they make seeing the recipe impossible it becomes too much.
Hi Brooke, I’m so sorry for the trouble. That pop-up ad was not supposed to appear on the site (we do not allow ads to block content). We’ve flagged it with our ad team several times, and it should already be blocked. If you’re still seeing it, a quick refresh or trying a different browser usually clears it.
I have made an Apple crumble for year and use equal parts flour, brown sugar and oats and if it is one cup of each I use I stick of butter but soften or melt the butter, then mix it. This has worked well, I thought I would try your method, mine is much easier.
I’m planning on making this tomorrow, but just had one question. Why do you assume lemon juice to the Apple Crumble Pie and to the Apple Cobbler, but not to this recipe?
You can certainly add lemon juice if desired!
where did you get that oval baking dish at 2:18 on your Classic Apple Crisp youtube video !?? I need it !!!
Hi Robert, I believe that was from Home Goods several years ago!
Can I use chayote instead of apple?
Hi Nunya, let us know if you give that a try!
Hi,
i love this recipe but when it cooked some of the topping mixutre seemed like powder on top. how can i avoid that. did i not mix it enough? either way it was a hit in my family…
Hi RuthAnn, it could be that the topping was not mixed enough. How did you measure your flour in the crisp topping? Be sure to spoon and level (or use weight measurements), otherwise too much flour could dry out the topping. Over baking can also make the crisp a bit dry. We’re glad it was still a hit!
I was making this apple crisp to use up the last few apples we got from apple picking. The weren’t the ones mentioned here, but it didn’t matter. This is the best apple crisp I’ve ever made. I did add a little lemon juice and zest because I was using all sweet apples and I like a little tartness in my apple crisp. The caramelization on the apples is spot on. From now on this is the only recipe I will ever use.
Hands down the best! We have egg and dairy allergies in our family. No egg is great, since texture is sometimes affected by substitutions. Used dairy-free milk in the glaze, with a splash of melted plant butter, and it’s perfect! Will be making a 2nd one tomorrow!
Would there be a baking time change if I were to split the recipe up into 8oz ramekins?
Hi Sharon, We are unsure of the exact time for your size ramekins, but keep an eye on them and bake them until the tops are golden brown and the fruit juices are bubbling around the edges. Enjoy!
So good. Big hit at the firehouse. Served with some vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce
Can I double this recipe? What size dish would it need to be in?
Hi Diane, this recipe should be fine to double, but making separate batches guarantees consistent results.
I doubled the recipe and baked it in a 9″ x 13″ baking dish. It required adding 10-15 minutes to the baking time and, to prevent the crisp from being overdone, I covered it with aluminum foil after 30 minutes. I poked the apples with a cake tester to assure the apples were soft before taking it out of the oven. It came out perfect and was delicious. I used the 8 apple recipe and baked it in a 9″ x 9″ baking dish tonight. We can’t wait for it to cool off.
Hi Toni,
The original recipe calls for 9×13 pan. If you doubled the recipe and used the 9×13 pan, did it just fill up the 9×13 more then the original recipe?
I’m making this for thanksgiving and wondering about doubling it.
Thanks
Martha
I just made this today…absolutely delicious…my 94 year old mom had 2 helpings
With two of us, I made 1/2 of the recipe. It was quick and easy! I used the crumble topping rather than with the oats. Hubby loved it and I was able to put it together while I cooked dinner.
Could cranberries be added to this recipe?
I’m thinking of making this for Thanksgiving this year – we live in Europe, so we choose a Saturday in November and just go with it – although it’s usually a week or so earlier than the regular US Thanksgiving.
Thanks!
Hi Tina! You can replace some of the apples with cranberries without any other changes. If using fresh cranberries the filling would be similar to this Apple Cranberry Pie. Enjoy!
A+
Soooooo good! Everyone in my family LOVED it! We picked fresh apples in MI and brought them home to FL and made this recipe. It brought us straight back to the Orchard and the bonus is the smell in house of baked apple and cinnamon! Delicious! We stopped with your salted caramel and homemade whipped cream. Perfect!
I accidentally bought quick cooking oats. Is this going to turn out ok if I use them instead of old fashioned oats?
Hi Michelle, Whole oats are best, but you can use quick oats if needed.
Love your recipe. I added broken pecans to oat topping before placing in the oven
So easy and delicious! Had some apples from the orchard to use up and was too lazy to make a pie. This was much easier and just as delicious with vanilla ice cream on top!
Delicious. Reliable. Repeatable. No fail.
Turned out great!
thank you
I’ve made this twice now and each person I’ve shared my bakes with has said that this is the best apple crumble they have ever had. Safe to say I’ll be making this every apple picking season!
Should the rolled oats be quick cooking or regular old-fashioned? I used the old fashioned and they didn’t mix in well. Some are sitting on top and are dry and chewy. Apple filling is very good. I added a bit of lemon juice to the apples.
Hi Delores, this recipe calls for old-fashioned whole rolled oats in the topping. Did your crumble mixture look like the photos above? Thank you for giving this recipe a try!