Apple Crisp Recipe

This easy Apple Crisp Recipe has tender, cinnamon-spiced apples baked under a crunchy, buttery oat topping. Apple Crisp is just as irresistible as our Apple Pie, but it’s much quicker and easier to make, making it perfect for feeding a crowd.

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Apple Crisp Video

Watch me make this easy apple crisp recipe and my time-saving tips for using an apple peeler. Apple Crisp is the perfect dessert for apple season, which is any time of the year in our house.

Classic Apple Crisp Recipe 

We love all things autumn, which also means we love apple recipes. From Apple Fritter Rings to Apple Turnovers and Sharlotka Apple Cake loaded with crisp apple slices, we can’t get enough! If you love apple season as much as we do, this recipe is a must-try.

Every year we go apple picking in my parents’ yard. They have 4 apple trees that produce a ton of apples, so we like to get creative with them to capture the season. We also make this recipe every time we visit our cabin in the cooler months. It’s incredibly cozy.

Ingredients for Apple Crisp Filling

You only need simple baking staples for the apple filling:

• Apples – we used Golden Delicious apples, but any crisp apple would work well (see list of options below). Toss with some lemon juice to add brightness and balance sweetness.
• Sugar – adjust to taste depending on how tart your apples are
• Flour – helps to thicken the filling. You can substitute with 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch for gluten-free apple crisp.
• Cinnamon – adds classic warm apple-pie flavor.

Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp Topping Ingredients

Here’s the winning apple crisp topping mixture:

• Flour – bonds the crumb together, feel free to use your favorite 1:1 gluten-free flour
• Oats – use old-fashioned oats for the signature crisp, slightly chewy texture. Quick oats can work but have a finer texture. Avoid steel-cut oats.
• Sugar – we combine brown sugar and granulated sugar for a sweet caramel-like filling
• Cinnamon and Salt– cinnamon adds warm spice and salt balances the sweetness.
• Butter – use unsalted, softened butter.

Which Apples are Best for Apple Crisp?

Select crisp, firm apples so they won’t get mushy in the oven. Apples vary a ton in sweetness so adjust sugar accordingly. I used Golden Delicious here with 3/4 cup of sugar, but if you use Granny Smith Apples, increase the sugar to 1 cup or add it to taste.

A combination of sweet and tart apples gives especially good flavor. These are my favorites:

• Golden Delicious
• Granny Smith
• Fuji
• Honeycrisp
• Jonagold
• Braeburn
• Pink Lady

Tips for the Best Apple Crisp

• Slice apples evenly – aim for 1/4-inch-thick slices so they soften at the same rate.
• Use firm apples – soft apples can turn mushy before the topping is crisp.
• Don’t overmix the topping – work the butter in just until coarse, pea-sized crumbs form. Overmixing can mke it dense instead of crumbly.
• Look for bubbling filling – just like an Apple Pie, the crisp is done when the topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling around the edges and toward the center. This means the apple juices are hot enough to thicken with the flour so you don’t end up with a watery filling.
• Tent if needed – if the topping starts getting dark before the apples are tender, loosely cover with foil for the remainder of baking.

How to Make Apple Crisp

Slice, mix, dump, bake—see how easy it is to make this classic recipe:

1. Prep – Butter a 9×13 casserole dish, preheat oven to 375˚F.
2. Cut Apples – peel, core, and slice apples into 1/4-inch-thick pieces (an apple peeler makes it easy), then transfer to a bowl, and toss with 2 Tbsp lemon juice.
3. Coat Apples – in a bowl, combine flour, sugar, and cinnamon then sprinkle over apples and stir to coat. Transfer to buttered casserole dish.
4. Topping – In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, both sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add diced softened butter and use your hands to stir in the butter until pea-sized crumbs form throughout. Then, spread the topping evenly over your apples.
5. Bake – place on the center rack in the oven and bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes until bubbling at the edges. If the top is browning too quickly, loosely cover the dish with aluminum foil until the apples are bubbling.

The best way to serve apple crisp is warm, topped with a generous scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. It’s also delicious topped with Butterscotch sauce, or homemade whipped cream.

Can I make this gluten-free apple crisp?

Yes, you can replace the flour in the filling with half the amount of cornstarch and then replace the flour in the topping with 1-to-1 gluten-free flour or flour substitute for a gluten-free apple crisp recipe. Also, make sure to get gluten free oats.

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