Ultimate Apple Crisp is a fall favorite full of sliced apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and crispy baked oats ready in just 45 minutes!
We have a passion for apple dessert recipes around here, and apple season is the perfect time to bake up Apple Crisp Crumb Cake, Apple Crisp Cookies, and my Legendary Apple Crisp Pie!
Ultimate Apple Crisp is a must if your family loves the warm cozy flavors of fall baking when this time of the year rolls around. The best part is that it tastes a lot like a Classic Apple Pie recipe, with less than half of the work!
The topping is the best part of this apple dessert because it’s crispy, buttery, and full of brown sugar. It’s just perfect with a giant scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream melting over it, with the creamy, cool sweet ice cream melting over the buttery, hot crumbly topping. Underneath is a heavenly gooey, warm cinnamon apple mixture that is sure to be a hit.
The apples cook down with the brown sugar and spices to make something really close to apple pie filling. And the soft texture of the apples are perfectly matched with the crispy crunch of the oat crumble topping. Your kids will love having this irresistible dessert with vanilla ice cream on the holidays.
You can assemble this apple crisp recipe ahead of time or even freeze it so it’s ready when you are. You can also throw nuts into the crisp streusel topping, like pecans or almonds, to add even MORE crunchy texture. In addition to ice cream, serve your delicious Apple Crisp with a drizzle of Hot Fudge, Salted Caramel Sauce, or Whipped Cream to make it extra special.
How to Make Apple Crisp
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl add the apple slices, orange juice, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. If you cut your apples ahead of time, add 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice to keep them from browning.
- To make the crisp topping, mash together the flour, ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, salt, oats and butter. To make mixing easy, you can pulse the topping ingredients a few times in a food processor. Just make sure to not over-process, or the topping won’t turn out as crispy. Once you add your butter you want about pea-sized pieces.
- Add the apples to a 8×8 pan and add the crisp topping on top before baking for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
More Apple Cinnamon Recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
Both crisps and cobblers refer to baked dishes with a fruit filling that has a sweet topping. Cobblers have a topping that is more like a dough or batter, and sometimes even biscuits are used. Crisps are usually topped with a crumbly streusel topping made from brown sugar, butter, flour, and oatmeal. If you leave out the oats, it would be more like an Apple Crumble.
Apple crisp topping uses all-purpose flour, butter, and sugar as the base. From there, you can add ingredients like oats, nuts, seeds, or pieces of dried fruit for sweetness and crunch. Each apple crisp recipe does it a little bit differently. You want to cover the entire dessert, so make enough for the length of the baking dish.
Fuji, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Honey Crisp, Braeburn or Granny Smith apples all great choices for this because they are all sweet, tart apples, and hold up really well in this crisp recipe. These are also great for baking other recipes, like Apple Slab Pie With Spiced Glaze. Choose your favorite apple and it will likely work well. Avoid using apple filling from a can or store bought caramel sauce.
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Key Ingredients in Apple Crisp
- Apples: We recommend Granny Smith or Fuji apples for this baked fruit dessert because they are tart and crisp and won’t get mushy when cooked. You can use any of your favorite fresh apples. Just make sure to slice them all the same size so that they cook evenly.
- Oats: Make sure you’re using rolled oats for this topping and not quick oats or oatmeal. You need the firmness of the rolled oats to stand up to the baking, the others will disappear into the topping when baked and become mushy.
- Brown Sugar: Don’t skip the brown sugar. It adds some of those deep molasses notes to the apple crisp that make it really flavorful instead of just sweet. Always use light brown sugar for baking recipes unless it specifically calls for dark brown sugar.
- Butter: Always use unsalted butter when baking so that you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. For the best texture in your crisp topping, you want the butter to stay a bit chunky when mixed with the other topping ingredients. To do this, cut the butter quickly when it’s very cold (you can even freeze it for a few minutes before dicing) then return it to the refrigerator until you’re ready to use.
Slow Cooker Apple Crisp
- Add apples to slow cooker and stir together with orange juice, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- In a separate bowl mix together your all-purpose flour, sugar, and other topping ingredients, and add on top of apples.
- Bake on high for a total time of 3-4 hours, or on low for 6-8 hours. In the last half hour, open top slightly. This will help the top crisp up of the dessert.
- Serve warm with ice cream.
Can Apple Crisp be Made Ahead?
Apple crisp is a great make ahead dessert because it can be assembled in a baking or casserole dish and stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 days before baking. You can also seal it tightly and freeze it, then defrost in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours before baking.
Variations on Ultimate Apple Crisp
- Apple Cranberry Crisp: Add ½ cup dried cranberries to the apple mixture
- Chocolate: Mix ½ cup of semi sweet chocolate chips into the apple mixture for a chocolaty take on Ultimate Apple Crisp.
- Peanut Butter: Use peanut butter chips in the apple layer or drizzle ¼ cup softened peanut butter before adding the oat topping to make this kid favorite dessert even more exciting.
- Caramel Apple Crisp: Mix caramel chips, chopped caramel candies, or a drizzle of caramel sauce with the apple layer to give your Apple Crisp an extra layer of sweetness.
- Nuts: Add chopped pecans, walnuts, sliced almonds, or crushed peanuts to the topping mixture before baking for a nutty crunch.
- Apple Cider Glaze: If you want a fun topping that isn’t caramel sauce use apple cider that you cook down to a glaze. You’ll love it so much you’ll never use caramel sauce again.
- Apple Crisp Pie: If you want a hybrid of apple pie and apple crisp, follow this recipe and assemble it on top of a deep pie pan with a pie crust on the bottom. You’ll have a flaky, buttery pie crust on bottom with the delicious crunchy topping on top.
- Individual Apple Crisps: Assemble the apple and topping layers in ramekins or mini baking dishes to serve guests a cute individual portion of Apple Crisp. Put out different topping options like ice cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream for guests to serve themselves.
More Crisp and Cobbler Recipes
How to Store Apple Crisp
- Serve: Serve Apple Crisp about 10-15 minutes after baking so it is still warm from the oven. Do not leave at room temperature longer than 2 hours.
- Store: Cooked apple crisp should be completely cooled and tightly sealed either in a container or with plastic wrap, and stored in the refrigerator. It will keep about 2-3 days.
- Freeze: You can also wrap the apple crisp tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap and freeze it. When you’re ready, defrost in the refrigerator overnight and reheat in the oven.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Fuji or Granny Smith apples , peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar , packed
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup rolled oats , (not instant)
- 1/2 pound cold unsalted butter , diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl add the apple slices, orange juice, ¼ cup sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- To make the crisp topping, mash together the flour, ¾ cup sugar, ¾ cup brown sugar, salt, oats and butter.
- Add the apples to a 8×8 pan and add the crisp topping on top before baking for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.
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Notes
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If I wanted to double the recipe for a party & put it in a 9×13, how long would you suggest cooking it for? Looks amazing, can’t wait to try!
I’d recommend 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!
I’ve only ever made apple crisp with fresh apples, but I have a bunch that have started to go mealy. Would this be a good use for them since they get cooked anyway, or would the texture still be noticeable and ruin the dessert?
I think it might be noticeable. I’m not sure I would use them.
I absolutely Love your recipes and I thank you so much for Sharing! I am a 72yr. old Grandma that can still learn something new everyday.
That’s so sweet of you, Pat!
Looks like a good recipe, but the popups and ads chased me away. I want recipes, not intrusions.
My apologies John, I actually run about half the ads of most food blogs which is the minimum I can run to actually pay my bills since I have done only one sponsored post this year. Since I don’t charge for any of my content it is the only way to keep this blog afloat. I apologize, I do actually try really hard to keep it to a minimum because I am really sensitive to ads too.
I currently have this recipe baking in the oven. It looks and smells wonderful. I hope it tastes as good! I would just like to note one thing – there is absolutely, positively no possible way this recipe was going to fit in an 8×8 pan. No way. The apples alone filled 3/4 of the pan. I am using a 9×13 and that’s filled end to end and to the top.
You mentioned cooking down some apple cider as a glaze, but don’t expand upon that… Is there any trick to it? Or other ingredients? Or do you just cook apple cider?
It’s pretty easy. Bring apple cider, sugar, butter and corn syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in a bit of vanilla. Enjoy!
“Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.” Is that celsius or fahrenheit?
Fahrenheit 🙂
Help…I’m currently making this and have read through most of the “how to”, looking for the pan size. ? I used a 9×13 as it appeared to be a lot of everything, and buttered it.
I’ll let you know how it turns out. ?
So sorry about that. It should be in a 8×8 pan. I’ve edited the recipe card.
The best apple crisp I’ve had. So so good. Easy to make. Turns out perfect every time. Tonight I made it for our Thanksgiving feast tomorrow cause it’s so good! Thank you!
I’m so happy reading this! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi, is this recipe for a 8 or 9” pan or a 9×13”? I don’t seem to see where you say what size pan to use. Thanks!
Thanks for catching that. You should use an 8×8 pan for this recipe. 🙂
Looks divine! Did I miss the size pan to bake this in?
You’ll want to use an 8×8 pan. Enjoy!!
We couldn’t have loved this more! Made it for a Friendsgiving and everyone was asking for the recipe. The double topping is key and it comes out super crispy and delicious. A must make, especially for the holidays.
Yay!! You know it’s a hit when everyone asks for the recipe.
I don’t know if I missed it but what size pan do I use??
You’ll want to use an 8×8 pan for this recipe. I’ve edited the recipe card to add that. Thanks for letting me know it was missing. 🙂
Omg. This is the best apple crisp I have ever made/had! Love love love it’s so so good. My friends and family all love it Making for the second time in two weeks. Love serving it warm with a dallop of Vanilla ice cream and a bit of Carmel sauce. Decadent! Thank you for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Nicole!
The BEST apple crisp I have ever made ? Had guests over who weren’t fans of “cooked fruit” and they went back for seconds.
I love it!! Thanks for coming back to let me know.
I’ve been making apple crisp for 30 years and this is simply a perfect recipe
Thanks Marsha!
I looked under your nutrition information and the calories is left blank. How many calories in one serving would you say? TY!
About 221 calories 🙂
This is pretty awesome. It would have been better if I had old fashioned oats.
This was the best apple crisp I’ve ever made! Thanks for sharing! I did cut the recipe in half and it worked great!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
My family & I love desserts with apples this time of the year. Apple Crisp has always been my favorite Autumn dessert, and yours sounds super tasty & easy. I’m planning to make this with Fuji apples this coming weekend. I might cut down a tiny bit on the sugars, but I’m sure it will still be delicious!
I hope you enjoy it!
This is a family favorite!
Thanks for dropping by to let me know! I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it!
How many cups of apples would 2 pounds be?
Because apples vary is size so much, I would suggest about 6 cups of apples to equal 2 pounds. Hope this helps!
This is the BEST Apple Crisp ever! I made this and it was gone so fast! My mom’s new favorite. Thank you for the amazing recipe.
So glad you enjoyed it!! This is one of my favorites too!
What’s the best way to mix the crisp topping if I don’t have a stand mixer?
Hey sorry this got snagged in the spam filter Teresa! I’ve used my hands or hand mixers or in a pinch I have just pulsed it very quickly in a food processor for just a few seconds until the butter was combined but before the oats were pulverized.
This is delicious. I add slightly more apples(peeled) and used gluten free flour blend but kept everything else the same. Made this for my family twice so far and it was gone within minutes both times. Now I’m making again for get together and I know it will be a hit! Thanks!
Yes it is a bit crisp heavy haha! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know how it turned out!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’ll keep it and use it again with just a few minor changes. I made this today and as delishus as it is, it is a bit too sweet for even me. Next time I will cut back on the sugars. There is a lot of liquid in the dish so I will mix a quarter cup of flour with the apples and sugar and I’ll probably peel my apples next time too!
This apple crisp look mouthwatering. I love apple crisp they are one of my go-to desserts.
Thanks, Michelle!
My topping didn’t get crispy…it stayed as a powder almost. Any idea why this happened? I’m pretty sure I followed the directions…is there a quick fix for this?
Did you mix it well with the butter? Look at the last picture before it goes in the oven, the topping should look sort of like clusters. I usually use a stand mixer or you can use your hands to sort of mash it together like you would a hamburger mix before forming patties. The topping shouldn’t be powdery even before going in the oven. We can definitely troubleshoot more if you would like, you can always email me at [email protected] 🙂
Yum! This apple crisp looks amazing! Double the crisp, double the delish!
Thanks! The crisp really is delicious!
I always fail at making apple crisp 🙁 I will have to see if this recipe works for me. I love eating it for breakfast!
I think the secret is always lots and lots of butter. I find with tons of butter the top always gets crispy!
This is one of my favorite desserts. It’s delicious and so easy to do.
Mine too 🙂
once again! a super amazing dish. girl you should be on the food network.
Aww thanks Dawn 🙂
I have a ton apples i need to do something with. This looks like a great recipe to try. I bet it smells amazing when it is baking.
It smelled so good I burnt my tongue because I didn’t wait for it to cool even ten seconds before taking a bite. Molten apples, lol.
I love making apple desserts. I will have to try this apple crisp recipe. It looks so delicious and easy to make. I am sure my family will love it.
Hope they do!
Ahhh this looks too good! I don’t think I could resist having some for breakfast either.
Hey apples are healthy right?
This is exactly what I need to make with the apples in the fridge. It looks so yummy and is calling my name!
Thanks Lisa!
This looks delicious. I can almost smell it from here. I will definitely be trying this recipe.
Hope you love it Stacie!
OK double the crisp is right up my alley! You are totally speaking my language! I love anything crisp and so you know I am going to make this one!
Crisps are the best!
WOW. This is my all time favorite dessert, and this looks amazing. Mine never looks like this though, I will be doing this over the weekend. YUM.
Awesome, I hope you love it!
Anything with warm, cooked apples and a scoop of ice cream is a win in my book. It’s crazy how often I crave this combo, so this recipe would be perfect for me.
Yup, vanilla ice cream was made for apple crisp in my opinion!
I am totally with you on the double crisp! I love the idea of keeping the peels on the apples as well.
I’ve done it both ways and to be honest I like the taste better and I love the extra ten minutes of my life not spent peeling them where I get to watch more Bravo instead 😉
More crisp, yes please! This would go great with my caramel apple granola recipe! I haven’t used my cast iron skillet in a while either….
That sounds amazing! I love granola!
This is one of my favorite desserts and it looks SO good!
Thanks Marye!
I love that your recipe is much different than my oat free version. I love making apple crisp when I do not feel like making a pie!
Agreed! Although next week I am posting the ultimate apple crisp, haha. It is apple crisp PIE.
You had me at Double the Crisp! The crip is absolutely the best part and this recipe looks divine!
Thanks! It totally is!
Do you double entire crisp recipe including oats and butter etc??
Wow! This looks amazing – I’d love to say you had me at the apple part – but double the crisp!! mMMM!
Yes! The double crisp is the best!
The crisp is my favorite part of these types of recipes – so double the crisp is even better! Definitely making this recipe!
Hope you love it Brittany!
Looks so comforting, perfect for fall!
Thanks Florian!
One of my favorite desserts! And YES on doubling the crisp, it’s the best part!
Totally agree with you!
I always make apple crisp in the fall. It’s usually gone as soon as it comes out of the oven around here 😉
I don’t blame your boys, if someone made a crisp for me I would be waiting by the oven with a spoon!