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This easy Apple Crisp recipe is a delicious fruit dessert – it’s your answer for what to do with all those freshly picked apples from the orchard! This apple crisp recipe is quick to make and uses simple ingredients and instructions, so it’s a perfect beginner baker recipe. It’s one of those classic fall desserts we always make!
If you’re looking for an apple crisp recipe that’s simple yet full of warm and cozy flavors, you’ve found it! This one’s easier than making an apple pie, but it’s still really tasty. You’ve got your apples with a hint of cinnamon, topped with a crispy topping that’s oaty, a bit sweet, and oh-so-crunchy. When I first learned how to make apple crisp, it became one of my favorite fall desserts–especially with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
Why you’ll love this Easy Apple Crisp
- No Eggs Needed. Perfect for those who might be out of eggs or have an allergy.
- Less Sugar, Still Sweet. I’m using less sugar than a lot of other “healthy” apple crisp recipes, but you won’t miss it. The natural sweetness of the apples really shines through!
- Versatile Serving Options. While it’s superb with vanilla ice cream, this crisp is also great with whipped cream, yogurt, or even on its own. It’s a dessert that can adapt to your sweet cravings or what you have on hand.
- Great for Gatherings. It’s easy to double or triple this recipe for bigger crowds. A surefire way to please everyone at birthday parties, cozy family gatherings, or Thanksgiving dinners.
Ingredients to make Apple Crisp
- Apples: Choose juicy apples like Fuji or Honeycrisp. They should be peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces.
- Granulated Sugar: Gives the apple filling its sweetness. If you’re aiming for a healthier crisp, you can opt for honey or maple syrup.
- Lemon Juice: Helps keep the apple color vibrant and adds a zesty kick. Freshly squeezed is the best, but store-bought will do in a pinch.
- Cinnamon: For that signature warm and comforting flavor.
- Rolled Oats: These give the topping its nice, crunchy texture. Make sure you’re using old-fashioned rolled oats, not instant.
- All-Purpose Flour: This is the foundation for the crispy topping. Whole wheat flour can be a wholesome substitute.
- Light Brown Sugar: Adds a deeper sweetness to the topping. If you run out, you can mix white sugar with a dash of molasses or just use white sugar alone.
- Pecans: They give the topping an extra layer of crunch and nuttiness.
- Salt: Just a pinch to balance out the sweetness. Pink, sea, or even kosher – any will do.
- Unsalted Butter: This makes the topping all crumbly and delicious. Dice it cold so it mixes in just right.
- Vanilla Ice Cream (For Serving): The perfect pairing! However, you can serve it with whipped cream or yogurt. And if you like ice cream but are keeping it dairy-free, almond or coconut-based ice creams work wonders.
How to Make Apple Crisp
Prepare the crisp topping
- Start the the oats, flour, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
- Mix them together until well combined.
- Dice up the cold butter into small cubes and rub them into the oat crumble streusel mixture.
Layer the apples & crisp
- Peel the apples if you prefer, and cut them into large chunks.
- Toss the apples with lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon.
- Add the streusel mixture on top of the prepared apples.
- Bake in the oven until the apples start to bubble and the crisp topping is golden brown.
When it comes out of the oven, you’ll smell a warm cinnamony sweetness that is so cozy, comforting, and calling your name! Scoop out a nice big helping of the apple crisp, and serve it a la mode.
Tips FOR MAKING THE BEST Apple Crisp
- Pick a mix of apples: For best flavor, you can combine sweet and tart apples. If they’re all sweet, the easy apple crisp will lend itself to an overly sweet apple crisp. And if you only use tart apples, you may need to add sugar to cut through the tartness. The combination of different apples will give the perfect flavor balance. Some good varieties include Honeycrisp, Fiji, Gala apples, Green Apples or Golden Delicious.
- Peel the apples for smoother consistency. You don’t have to peel the apples if you like the texture that the skin provides. But normally, the skin doesn’t break down as easily, which can create a tougher texture.
- Keep apple pieces small: Chop up the apples small because it helps them cook faster, and ensures that they are super soft by the time the crumble is browned.
- Allow time to cool: Easier said than done! But this is very important because it will give the sauce made from the juicy apple filling a chance to thicken, and the flavors to settle.
Popular substitutions & additions
- Add different nuts. While I use pecans in this apple crumble with oats, feel free to swap them with walnuts or almonds. Each nut brings its own unique flavor and crunch, so you can play around and find your favorite.
- Make it gluten-free. Swap out the all-purpose flour with a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour. Many brands offer a blend that acts just like regular flour, so your topping will still be crumbly and delicious.
- Use dairy-free butter. If you’re out of butter or prefer a dairy-free alternative, you can use coconut oil or vegan butter instead. Just make sure it’s cold, so you still get that crumbly texture.
- Use other fruits. Apples are the star of this recipe, but you can mix in berries, pears, or even some rhubarb for a different fruit combo that’s sure to surprise.
How to store & reheat apple crisp
Once your apple crisp has cooled down, you can cover it with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in the fridge. This is perfect for when you’ve made a big batch and want to enjoy it throughout the week.
To get that fresh-from-the-oven taste, just pop the portion you want to eat into the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes. If you’re in a hurry, microwaving works too, but the oven keeps the topping crispier.
How long will apple crisp last in the fridge?
Your apple crisp should keep well in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. It’s a great make-ahead dessert for busy weeks or for when you want to do all your dessert baking in one go.
Can i freeze this easy apple crisp?
You can! Once cooled, place your apple crumble with oats in a freezer-safe container or wrap it tightly with aluminum foil and then a layer of plastic wrap. Label with the date, and it can stay frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw it in the fridge overnight and then follow the reheating steps.
Frequently Asked Questions
A crumble and a crisp are both fruit desserts topped with a streusel-like mixture. However, the key difference lies in the topping. A crisp, like this recipe, includes oats, giving it that extra crunch. So, an apple crisp is essentially an apple crumble with oats. On the other hand, a crumble is softer, made with just butter, sugar, and flour.
One common method is adding a bit of cornstarch or flour to your apple mixture before baking. This helps absorb some of the juices and thickens things up. Another tip is to let the apple crisp sit a bit after taking it out of the oven; as it cools, the filling will naturally thicken a bit.nths.
This is up to you! You can leave the skin on or peel the skin if you and your family prefer it that way. The consistency of the peeled apples is softer and the result is more consistent and smooth.
For more apple desserts:
- Rose Apple Pie
- Easy Apple Pie
- Cinnamon Baked Apples
- Cranberry Apple Mini Pies
- Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Cups
This is one of the best fall desserts that you can easily whip up when you have extra apples on hand, people coming over and craving a cozy dessert when it starts getting cold outside. The great thing about it is it’s reminiscent of homemade apple pie with all the same flavors. But it’s a little healthier than apple pie and much easier to make
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Easy Apple Crisp recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Easy Apple Crisp
Video
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 6 apples peeled and chopped
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Crisp Topping
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter diced cold
- Vanilla ice cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish or 7-inch x 11-inch baking dish.
- Place the apples into the greased baking dish; add the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon on top, stir and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, pecans, cinnamon and salt. Cut in butter using a fork or your hands until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crisp topping mixture over the apple mixture.
- Bake until the crisp topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Serve warm with a scoop of ice cream, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- For the flour, you can use almond flour, gluten-free flour or even all purpose flour. I love using oat flour to keep it gluten-free and light.
- For the butter, you can use a vegan butter stick or coconut oil
- For the pecans, you can leave those out completely as I’ve done in the images or use walnuts or almonds
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Delicious! I used 3 Granny Smith and 3 Cosmic Crisp. Perfect combination!
To apple filling, I used a King Arthur spice called Speculaas Spice. It’s cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and some other warm spices and it’s awesome in apple pie! I also always put a quarter tsp almond extract in my apple pie filling. I used just cinnamon in topping.
Serving it tonight with salted caramel vanilla icecream to guests. They’re gonna love this! Thank you!
Yum! Your tweaks sound amazing!! I’ve never thought of adding almond extract to the filling, I will have to try that myself! And salted caramel vanilla ice cream sounds like the perfect pairing, too. Thanks for the inspiration, Candi!!
This is an excellent recipe. I appreciated the reasonable amounts of sugar in the whole deal. The sweetness was just right. I’ll never go back to using sliced apples either. Chopping them gave a great, consistent bite, especially since I prefer to leave the skins on. I added ginger cardamom and nutmeg along with the cinnamon in the topping, and toasted my pecans before adding them. We all loved it. A real keeper, thanks so much.
Love that you made it your own, your tweaks sound so good!! Thank you, Anna! So happy you liked it!!
This recipe kept coming up on my social media feeds so I knew it was a sign I had to make it. I’m glad I did because this apple crisp came out perfect! I used honeycrisp apples and it was so easy to make. I love that it’s not overly sweet. The topping to apple ratio is spot on. Highly recommend making this recipe!
Yay, so happy you loved the recipe! Honeycrisp apples are so good, especially this time of year!
Delicious and easy.
So happy you liked it!
The Apple Crisp was the first recipe of yours that I made. It was fresh, easy, and the instructions were very clear, which I love. I probably overbaked it because the juices were almost gone when I went to reheat, but I will make again. I used Honeycrisp and Jazz apples. Looking forward to making more of your recipes.
Yum! Honeycrisp and jazz apples sound like the perfect combination. So happy you liked it, Marie!
GREAT and super easy to make
So glad you liked it!
Can I use sprouted rolled oats instead of old fashioned oats. Would that change the taste or baking time?
Yes, it should work without having to change the time. Let me know how it turns out!