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This Easy Homemade Apple Crisp Recipe is always a favorite fall treat! Tender apples cooked to perfection with a sweet crumb topping. Don’t forget the ice cream!
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This Easy Apple Crisp Recipe has been in our family for years and one that is in regular rotation during the fall months. My dad requests this dessert on Sunday afternoons, always with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The tender apples are perfectly cooked; not too soft but not too crunchy. And the crumbly sweet topping bakes to a golden brown and is to die for! I could eat it all on its own with a spoon. For a simple apple dessert without fussing with pie crust, try this homemade apple crisp recipe. It’s sweet, delicious and the perfect way to use up all those glorious autumn apples!
Ingredients in this Easy Apple Crisp
This really is the best apple crisp recipe you’ll ever try! Easy ingredients combine together for one delicious treat.
For the apple filling:
- Granny Smith apples – or any other kind of tart apple. Avoid red delicious or other sweet apples.
- Lemon juice – optional, to keep the apple slices from browning.
- Sugar – white sugar for this part of the recipe.
- All Purpose Flour – about a tablespoon
- Cinnamon – start with a teaspoon ground cinnamon. Add a bit more if you like.
- Nutmeg – this warm spice pairs beautifully with cinnamon and apples.
- Almond extract – You can substitute vanilla extract if you don’t have any almond extract on hand, but the almond gives the dish a rich, nutty flavor that is so yummy!
- Water – about two tablespoons
For the oat topping:
- Quick cooking oats – I like to stir the quick cook kind into the dry ingredients for this recipe rather than old fashioned oats.
- Brown sugar – one cup, packed
- Flour – one more cup of all purpose flour for the topping mixture
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Butter – softened. You can also whisk melted butter for different textures and crumbles.
- Nuts – walnuts or pecans, optional
- Pinch of salt – optional but enhances the flavors of the crisp.
Best Apples for Apple Crisp
If you aren’t familiar with baking with apples you should know that some apples are better for baking than others. The apples should be tart and crisp. You don’t want them turning to mush while baking. For this particular recipe, I usually opt for Granny Smith apples. Granny Smith apples are pretty tart and they balance out the sweetness of the crumb topping nicely. You can try any of these tart or semi-tart apples:
- Granny Smith
- Pink Lady
- Honeycrisp
- Fuji
- Gala apples
- Jonagold
Prepping the Apples
- First, use an apple peeler to get all of the peeling off the apples.
- Next, slice apples using a slicer or a sharp knife. I like to also use a corer to get all the seeds out before dicing the apples into slices or cubes.
- In a medium bowl, pour a little lemon juice over the apples so they don’t brown while you’re assembling the rest of the recipe.
Best Apple Crisp Topping
I know that the apples take center stage in this recipe but I adore the crumbly topping! It is sweet but not too sweet and pairs perfectly with the tender apples. Mix them all together and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter until it’s nice and crumbly and pour into the baking dish over the apples. It’ll brown and crisp up perfectly over the apple mixture. So delicious!
Substitutions for this Recipe
- When serving this traditional apple crisp, I always add a big ol’ scoop or vanilla ice cream and then drizzle with a little caramel sauce for good measure.
- Add half a cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the topping mixture for even more crunch and flavor.
- If you’re crazy about oat streusel crumb topping like me, double the amount!
- For extra cinnamon flavor, add another teaspoon into the crumb mixture.
- Top with whipped cream instead of ice cream.
- If you aren’t a fan of apples or you don’t have any on hand, you can always use peaches or pears instead. We actually have a great Slow Cooker Peach Crisp Recipe that is so yummy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Both desserts start with an apple layer, but the difference is in the topping. An apple crisp will have oats and nuts in the topping, while a crumble is more like streusel, made with flour, sugar and butter.
Yes! Apples should always be peeled and cored when making this dish. Leaving the skins on will mess with the textures and consistency of the final product.
Tart, tangy and crispy is best. Avoid sweeter, softer apples like red delicious and opt for tangy apples like Jonagold or Granny Smith.
READ NEXT: 25+ Traditional and Easy Sunday Dinner Ideas
More Apple Recipes
If you have an abundance of apples this year or are just looking to try some new apple recipes, we have lots of favorites to share with you! Try our Dutch Apple Pie that bakes in a brown paper bag, our Disneyland Apple Pie Caramel Apples, or Apple Fries with Caramel Cream Dip. If you want to try something a little more savory, try our Copycat Bluebird Turkey and Brie Sandwich or our tasty Apple, Ham, and Cheddar Melts.
How to Make Apple Crisp
Homemade Apple Crisp
Video
Equipment
- 9×13 inch pan
Ingredients
APPLE FILLING
- 7 Granny Smith apples or any other kind of tart apple. Avoid red delicious or other sweet apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 tablespoon water
TOPPING
- 1 cup oats
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup butter softened
Instructions
- Combine sliced apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and almond extract in a large bowl.
- Toss until apples are evenly covered.
- Place apples in a 9×13 pan and sprinkle evenly with 2 Tbsp. water.
- In a separate bowl (you can actually use the same bowl you did the apples in to avoid extra dishes), combine topping ingredients, minus the butter.
- When topping ingredients are well mixed, add the butter using a pastry blender or wooden spoon. Mix until it becomes nice and crumbly then sprinkle over the apples.
- Place in the oven at 350-degrees for 40-45 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and caramel topping.
Notes
- First, use an apple peeler to get all of the peeling off the apples.
- Next, cut apples using a slicer or a sharp knife. I like to also use a corer to get all the seeds out before dicing the apples into slices or cubes.
- In a medium bowl, pour a little lemon juice over the apples so they don’t brown while you’re assembling the rest of the recipe.
I like to bring dessert when asked over for dinner. Because I love a real crispy crumbly topping, I add 1 egg to the topping.
This is a delicious dessert to bring to dinner! Thanks for the tip!
Will home canned honey crisp apples work in this recipe?
Yes, they should work
I’m going try these delicious looking apple deserts,they look amazing
Thank you, Donna!
This is delicious! The filling is so nice. We prefer the topping with old fashioned oats, 1 tsp. cinnamon added, and no leavening agents. Many thanks!
I also made this with peaches. I tossed 2-16 oz bags of frozen peaches in 1 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1 stick of butter, 1-1/2 tsp of vanilla and 1-1/2 tsp of cinnamon I used the crumble for the top of the peaches. Don’t add a lot of juice because it will bubble over.
That sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing!