This is the best Apple Crisp recipe featuring tender, spiced apples nestled under a buttery, crisp oat crumble topping. It only takes about 15 minutes to put together and bakes up in under an hour. This is the perfect easy dessert to serve during the fall!
Take advantage of the abundance of apples during fall apple season and bake up this classic apple crisp recipe! If you’ve never tried apple crisp before, think of it as a sister to apple crumble, the main difference being the topping. Apple crumble has a classic streusel topping, made without oats. It’s also like a cousin to apple cobbler, which has a similar filling, but is topped with a biscuit-like batter instead of a crumb topping.
Apple crisp is similar in flavor to apple pie or apple galette, but without the effort of making a pie crust, so it comes together so much faster. I developed and tested this recipe with fresh, spiced apples that are sprinkled with a crisp oat topping before baking. The topping is a variation of a classic streusel that is beyond easy to make– just stir everything together to form a crumbly, chunky mixture and you’re done! Trust me when I say it is a hit every time and is simply the perfect classic fall dessert.
Key Ingredients:
Here are the main ingredients needed to make this easy apple crisp. For the complete list of ingredients with measurements.
Apples — peel, core, and slice the apples into equally sized pieces. Feel free to use one type of apple, but I prefer to use a variety for a more complex flavor. (More on that below!)
Lemon juice — a little squeeze of this natural acid prevents the apples from oxidizing (turning brown). It also helps balance the sweetness of the sugar and enhances the flavor of the apples.
Spices — two basic baking spices, cinnamon and nutmeg, add lots of warmth and cozy flavor.
Oat streusel topping — use old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick oats) for the crisp topping. You’ll combine the oats with all-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter to form the crisp, crumbly topping.
What Are The Best Apple Varieties To Use?
As a baker, I have found that using a variety of apples makes for the best-tasting crisp! A mixture of tart apples (like Granny Smith or Pink Lady) and sweet apples (like Honeycrisp and Fuji) introduces different textures and flavors, ultimately yielding a more complex, delicious apple crisp. These apples also hold up well after baking! You can also use Golden Delicious, McIntosh, and Gala apples in this recipe if you like a softer filling.
How To Prep The Apples
For the best texture, peel the apples first. Apple skins can be waxy and bitter, and often bake up wrinkly and tough, which ruins the texture of most apple desserts. Once the apples are peeled, remove the fibrous core and seeds before cutting the apples into equally sized slices or chunks. Thicker pieces will yield a firmer crisp, so if you prefer a soft and tender filling, slice them thinner. However you cut them, make sure they’re roughly the same size so they cook at the same rate.
How To Make Apple Crisp
1. Toss the apple slices or chunks with the lemon juice in a large bowl.
2. Add the sugar, flour, and spices, and toss until the apples are well coated.
3. Spread the spiced apple mixture into an even layer in a greased 8×8-inch baking dish. Dot the cubed butter all over, then set aside.
4. Make the oat crumb topping in a medium bowl by stirring together the dry ingredients.
5. Add the cold cubed butter to the mixture and work together until a crumbly mixture forms with pea-sized clumps.
6. Generously sprinkle the topping all over the apples. Bake at 350°F until the top is golden brown and the juices are bubbling, about 45 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
