This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see our affiliate policy.
Fall is in the air, and for some that only means one thing: homemade Apple Crisp. This glorious dessert, made from scratch with a buttery oatmeal streusel topping, is the easiest, most outstanding way to celebrate the season.
A rustic, homey dessert made for digging into with a big spoon, topped with ice cream, and snuggling up to a fire while the leaves fall. Choose your favorite baking apples; the farmers at the market are happy to make any recommendations.
It’s so much easier than any apple pie, but tastes just as delicious. You don’t need to roll out dough, make sure your butter is chilled, or worry about overworking the crust. All you need to do is enjoy it.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Rolled oats: Flat and flaky, these are otherwise known as “old-fashioned” oats. Quick-cooking oats can work in a pinch, but do not substitute steel-cut oats.
- Walnuts: I think the walnuts add a wonderful flavor and crunch to the topping, but it’s okay to leave them out. I’ve also done testing with raw pecans and raw cashews, and they were both excellent.
- Apples: Tart apples, sometimes called “pie” apples, work best. Some prime candidates for baking: Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, McIntosh, and Cortland. See my tutorial on how to cut apples if you are looking for tips.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a medium bowl, add flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or rub with butter. In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apple slices and toss well to coat.
- Pour intro prepared baking dish and sprinkle with topping.
- Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Apple Crisp, enough for 8 servings, ¾ cup each (plus ice cream).
- Storage: Cover the Apple Crisp with foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: Cut the apples and submerge in water with lemon up to 24 hours in advance. You can make the topping head too; refrigerate until baking time.
- Freezer: Fully-baked Apple Crisp doesn’t freeze well. Unfortunately, the crunchy topping turns mushy upon thawing.
- Finish the bushel: Have extra apples on hand? Make a batch of homemade Apple Pie Filling or Apple Butter, a warm Apple Strudel, or a batch of Caramel Apple Dip with fresh apple slices. See more apple recipe ideas in The Best Apple Recipes for Your Orchard Haul.
Recipe FAQs
Fill a bowl with cold water and add the juice of half a lemon. As you slice up the apples, drop them into the lemon water. The acid keeps them from turning brown.
Technically, an apple crisp without oats is considered a crumble. But it really doesn’t matter what you call it as long as you try it. Both crisps and crumbles are easy, delicious desserts that go great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Oats are naturally gluten free, so just make sure yours are processed in a facility that maintains GF standards. Substitute your favorite GF flour blend for the all-purpose flour.
All ovens are a little different. If the crisp starts to brown too soon, cover it loosely with a layer of aluminum foil and continue baking.
More fruit desserts to try
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Blueberry Cobbler
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Peach Cobbler
Fruit Dessert Recipes
Cherry Clafoutis
Cake Recipes
Cinnamon Apple Cake
Join Us
Apple Crisp
Ingredients
For the crisp topping:
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (see note 1)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup walnuts finely chopped (see note 2)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter melted (1 stick)
For the apple crisp:
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 6 medium tart apples such as Granny Smith, peeled, halved, cored, and sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 6 cups or 1 ½ pounds, see note 3)
- Vanilla ice cream for serving, optional
Instructions
- To make the crisp topping, in a medium bowl, add flour, oats, brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon, and salt. Drizzle butter over mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate while preparing the filling.
- Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and preheat to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray or rub with butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add apple slices and toss well to coat. Pour intro prepared baking dish and sprinkle with topping.
- Bake until the fruit juices are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream if desired.
Notes
- Rolled oats: Flat and flaky, these are otherwise known as “old-fashioned” oats. Quick-cooking oats can work in a pinch, but do not substitute steel-cut oats.
- Walnuts: I think the walnuts add a wonderful flavor and crunch to the topping, but it’s okay to leave them out. I’ve also done testing with raw pecans and raw cashews, and they were both excellent.
- Apples: Tart apples, sometimes called “pie” apples, work best. Some prime candidates for baking: Granny Smith, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, Jonagold, McIntosh, and Cortland. See my tutorial on how to cut apples if you are looking for tips.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 6 cups of Apple Crisp, enough for 8 servings, ¾ cup each (plus ice cream).
- Storage: Cover the Apple Crisp with foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 1 to 2 days or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
This apple crisp is one of the best I’ve tried. My husband gave it a thumbs up, then proceeded to polish a big dish of it off. And that was without ice cream.
I’m so happy you both loved it, Pat! – Meggan
This is a really good one