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
I made this recipe with Ruby Frost apples. Wonderful. Since I have never mastered cutting in butter, I put the topping in the food processor for a couple of pulses. Worked fine. Thank you for this recipe.
Very delicious! I like the texture using chunky apples better than sliced ones. I added the oatmeal before I cut in the butter by mistake. So there were a couple of dry spots on the topping, but nothing that the overall deliciousness and some ice cream didn’t cure.
two big flaws: no water or other liquid is added to the apples and no instructions to cover while baking: both kept the final product from drying out
Hi Sally,
I plan on making this for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday here in Canada. Since it’s still the pandemic it is going to be a small gathering and I plan on doing this recipe and preparing it without the oats. I have made a lot of your other recipes with the crumble top so I am hoping it will turn out with the same texture. Since I have a lot of cooking to do that day I wanted to try and prep this the day before. I notice that in the recipe notes it says you can prep it ahead of time up to step 3. My question is if I prep it the night before will my apples brown or go mushy in the fridge? Is it better to do the day of? Perhaps if I did it the morning of and waited till late afternoon close to evening to bake it. Any recommendations?
Hi Helaine! See the section of the blog post titled “can I make apple crisp without oats?” for details on an alternate crumble topping. Preparing the recipe though step 3 the day before won’t produce brown, mushy apples in our testing. However, if you’re concerned about it you can certainly prepare the filling in the morning. We would love to hear how it goes for you!
This recipe looks so good! I just made the crisps individually in ramekins and I am wondering how long I should bake them for? Thanks for another great recipe:)
Hi Sofia, 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!
Thank you so much for the quick reply!
Hi Sally- Love this recipe. (I love all of your recipes, really. 🙂 ) But! I’m having trouble getting my topping to crumble. It feels like I’m using the pastry blender for ages, and I’m still left with a lot of flour/sugar mixture in the bowl. How long do you recommend spending on this step? Am I just not doing it for long enough?
Hi Jaimie, We are so happy you enjoy this recipe! You can try a few things to help with the topping. You can cut your butter cubes a bit smaller so that they mix easier. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to mix up the ingredients part way through cutting in the butter if you have a lot of dry ingredients stuck to the bottom of the bowl. And finally, be sure you are not over-measuring your flour. Use the spoon and level method (scooping the flour will result in using too much). I hope this helps!
I love the idea of adding pecans. How much would be a safe amount without messing up the topping consistency?
Hi Janine, Feel free to add 1 cup of chopped pecans to the crisp topping. Stir into the mixture when you add the oats. Enjoy!
We have an abundance of apples & l made an apple crisp using your recipe, it was delicious. My hubby wants me to make & freeze another crisp for Thanksgiving
Terrific! I only had Gala apples that were on the sweet side, so I added just a squeeze of lemon juice to the apple mixture, and I think it really helped balance the flavors and add a bit of tartness that I didn’t get from the apples.
I’ve made a few different apple crisp over the years- this is the winner! I added pecans and served with vanilla ice cream as you suggested … delicious!
Hi, Sally. I precut all my apples into 1/4 inch slices cause initially I was thinking about making 2 apple pies, 1 for a friend. Can I use this thin cut of apples for this apple crisp? Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Hi Jewel, We love using thicker chunks here for the best texture. You can certainly use your slices but they may bake a little quicker or get a little softer, just keep your eye on it when baking!
i plan to half this, but only have an 8×8 pan! would that work? what would be the baking time?
Hi Sally, You can cut the recipe in half. If you use an 8×8 inch pan your crisp will be thicker but still delicious!
I have a bunch of smaller apples from my neighbour’s tree. They are about 2” in diameter. It’s going to take a few apples to pull off this recipe. Do I have to peel them or can I just give them a good wash and chop, skins and all?
Hi Sandy! We prefer to peel the apples, but you can certainly leave the peels on if you prefer – the texture will change with the thicker peels. Enjoy!
Best apple crumble ever!!! I used the topping from the Apple Crumble Pie since I didn’t want to use oats, and my butter was a bit too hot so it became pebbly but still tasted delicious. The apples were perfect, except I used dark brown sugar which was a little sweet for some of my family. I loved it though!!! 100% will make again with cooler butter and light brown sugar. Another hit Sally!
Added a pear to round out the 10 cups and cut sugar in filling down to 120g. Delicious! Took it to a gathering and it was gone within 15 minutes.
It came out great! I just have one question, my topping wasn’t crumbly. It was more dough-like. I followed the directions exactly except that I used salted butter as that’s all I had. It was crumbly until I added the butter. Could that be the culprit?
Just made this with with a few modifications and it was great. I made half the recipe in an 8 x 8 glass baking dish. I added rhubarb to the recipe since this is rhubarb season. In order to have 5 cups of fruit, I used 1 cup of rhubarb, 1 Granny Smith apple and 2 Pink Lady apples which provided 5 cups of fruit. The combination worked very well. Other modifications that I used were substituting 2/3 of the flour in the topping with whole wheat instead of all purpose. I also reduced the amount of butter in the topping from 4 tblsp to 3 tblsp. Some people might think the topping is a bit too dry, but I thought it was very good and a little healthier.
The one problem I experienced was that even though I halved the recipe, I had to bake a bit longer than the 45 minutes because I didn’t see any bubbling. I added a couple tablespoons of water around the edges at that point, covered with aluminum foil and then baked for an additional 5 minutes after which it was bubbling.
One question I have is, why is a 9 x 9 suggested if the recipe is halved? I used an 8 x 8 (64 sq inch) instead because it is still a bit larger than half of the 9 x 13 (117 sq inch).
Thanks for another great recipe.
Can you melt the butter and mix in the topping
Hi Ron! See the section of the blog post titled “can I make apple crisp without oats?” for details on an alternate crumble topping that uses melted butter. Enjoy!
This recipe looks delicious! Could I make it with a shortbread base?
Hi Tala, definitely — see our Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars as a guide, but you can swap the streusel there with the crisp topping here. Let us know if you give it a try!
Wow. I scoop out about 1/4 cup, heat it up and then put about 6 oz of plain Greek yogurt on top. The sweetness balances the tartness of the yogurt. Better than ice cream. And, I love ice cream. I used quick oats on hand and the top was crunchy granola like – so perfect. Thanks for the recipe.
Hello! The pictures all seem to show rolled oats (not whole oat grain) and the cooking time and sparse amount of liquid used all suggest rolled oats. Is your recommendation to make this exact same recipe using whole oat grains ? Thank you!
Hi Deana, Rolled oats are whole oats, yes. (Can also be called old-fashioned oats.) However, you can use quick oats if you need to. See recipe notes for more details. If you give it a try, we’d love to know what you think!
what kind of apples do you use
Hi Marian, for depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of tart and sweet apples. See the pink box above the recipe — “What are the best apples to use for baking?” — for some of our favorites.
This is the best Apple crisp we’ve ever tasted. I used the old fashioned oats as you suggested and Honey Crisp apples. The top was so nice and crunchy. Thank you for the great recipe.
Thank you so much for this recipe. It’s the best Apple Crisp we’ve ever tasted.
Wow!! I’ve made this three times and it’s better every time! I’ve been thinking about adding some of your salted caramel to the filling below the topping like in your apple pie (that’s a family favourite in my house!). Have you tried it and was it good?
This was so so delicious!!!!
Hello Sally
I’m hosting an outdoor skating gathering and would like to distribute this recipe into individual serving size aluminum pie dishes ( approx. 6 servings). Should I adjust the bake time and by how much?
Love your recipes! Thank you.
Nicki
Hi Nicki, we’re unsure of the exact bake time, though it will be shorter. Just keep an eye on them in the oven so they don’t over-bake!
Hi Sally, this recipe was delightful (as are all of your recipes)–I actually had some caramel leftover from the last recipe I made from your website, and it was a perfect addition to the top of this! I would love to make another batch for some colleagues for the holidays, and I’m wondering what you think of adding the caramel on top of the apples (beneath the crumble topping) prior to baking? I’m just worried that the caramel on top will start to make the topping a bit soggy on the leftovers…?
Thank you again!
Hi Rhemi, I’m just seeing your comment/question now so my apologies on the delay responding to you. I don’t recommend adding a layer of caramel underneath the oat topping unless you reduce the sugar in the filling a bit. I think you’ll be better off drizzling it on top of the finished crisp when it’s still warm (like you did before).
Hi Sally!
Made this recipe today for my (almost) 2 year old, husband, and self… it was INCREDIBLE! To be honest with you, I could have eaten the apple mixture all before baking! We actually couldn’t wait until after dinner, so we had some a couple hours before AND after! I used Gala apples, and I think they taste great in this recipe. Unfortunately, I doubt it will last more than 3 days. I will definitely be making this again sometime!! Thank you so much!!
Delicious! Will definitely be making again. One question, though. Could I make this in a 11×15 inch pan?
Hi Jennifer, you could try spreading out to fit an 11×15 inch pan. Make sure the pan is deep enough. (I’d say at least 2 inches.)