The Best Apple Crisp Recipe
This Apple Crisp recipe is the best fall dessert! Fresh sliced apples are topped with a buttery cinnamon oat topping that tastes divine with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
For more delicious Fall Recipes, be sure to check out my Crockpot Pumpkin Dump Cake, Southern Sweet Potato Pie, and The Best Chocolate Pecan Pie.
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This Apple Crisp Recipe was the first thing on my mind when my family took a little trip to a local apple orchard this past weekend. It wasn’t really the best day to go; it was drizzling, and the temps were in the 50s.
But our kids still had a good time, especially since it was their first time going apple picking. Plus, we came home with a “peck” of apples to put to good use!
While there are lots of great recipes for apples that we could have made, apple crisp is always my favorite.
We were lucky enough to pick my favorite kind of apples, Honeycrisp. Their sweet yet tart nature and sturdy composition make an irresistible dessert and the perfect choice for this apple crisp recipe!
Ingredients for The Best Apple Crisp Recipe
- fresh apples
- granulated white sugar
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- all purpose flour
- old fashioned oats
- brown sugar
- salt
- butter
How to Make Homemade Apple Crisp – Step by Step
Step 1: Preheat oven
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a baking dish with butter. Grab a large bowl and combine about 5 cups of sliced apples (this comes to about 2 pounds of apples, or 4 large ones) with some granulated sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract.
Step 2: Add to baking dish
Pour that yummy goodness into your baking dish. Next make the topping by combining flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pour in some melted butter and stir until well coated and crumbly (I usually put my hands in there to get it mixed up well). Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the apples.
Step 3: Bake
Now pop that dish into your waiting oven for 45-60 minutes, and get ready for heavenly smells to start floating your way! I cook mine until my apples are soft and tender. Once it’s done baking, allow it to cool slightly then serve. It tastes amazing warm with some vanilla ice cream on top!
FAQs
This kind of comes down to preference, or what you have available, but generally you’re going to want a variety of apple that will hold its shape after baking and not turn to total mush. We had a huge bag of Honeycrisp apples (my personal favorite) to use up, so that’s what I used. Granny Smith are usually considered the best apples for apple pie, but Golden Delicious, Braeburn, and Pink Lady apples would all work well for this apple crisp recipe, or for a pie.
My short answer for this is no! But that’s because I don’t like to do more work than I have to, and I don’t mind apple peels, especially once they’re baked. If you would prefer your apple crisp without the peel, though, feel free to remove them!
You can store your prepared and baked apple crisp covered tightly on the counter top for up to three days. You do not need to refrigerate it unless you would like to. Due to its crisp, crumbly topping, apple crisp tastes best when served the same day, as the topping can get soggy the longer it sits. Just keep that in mind!
Yes! Prepare the apple crisp recipe as directed and allow it to cool completely. Cover with both plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 4 months. Allow it to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
More Tips and Notes for the Best Apple Crisp Recipe
- Slice your apples evenly. I slice my apples using this slicer to speed up the process and remove the core easily. I then slice the apples one more time each with my knife so that the widest part of the slice is roughly 1/2 an inch wide. You can also chop them into big chunks if you would prefer, but just make sure that you chop your apples to a uniform size to ensure even baking in your apple crisp.
- Prevent over-browning. If your topping is starting to get too brown but your apples still need more time to cook, simply place some aluminum foil loosely over the top of your pan and continue baking.
- Optional additions: Chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts would be a delicious addition to the topping! I didn’t add any to ours because my son has a nut allergy.
- Serving: this apple crisp tastes AMAZING with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! You could also top it with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Yum!
More Awesome Apple recipes
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below. I love to hear from you and always appreciate your feedback!
The Best Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Filling:
- 5 cups fresh apples, sliced
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Topping:
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a deep dish pie plate or large baking dish with butter or cooking spray and set aside.
- Combine the sliced apples with the sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in a large bowl and mix until all of the apples are evenly coated. Pour into the prepared baking dish.
- In a separate medium size bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and stir until well coated and crumbly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top of the apples.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-60 minutes until fruit is soft and the topping is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before serving. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- Slice your apples evenly. I slice my apples using this slicer to speed up the process and remove the core easily. I then slice the apples one more time each with my knife so that the widest part of the slice is roughly 1/2 an inch wide. You can also chop them into big chunks if you would prefer, but just make sure that you chop your apples to a uniform size to ensure even baking in your apple crisp.
- Prevent over-browning. If your topping is starting to get too brown but your apples still need more time to cook, simply place some aluminum foil loosely over the top of your pan and continue baking.
- Optional additions: Chopped nuts like pecans or walnuts would be a delicious addition to the topping! I didn’t add any to ours because my son has a nut allergy.
- Serving: this apple crisp tastes AMAZING with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! You could also top it with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. Yum!
For the topping for the apple crisp, could you use instant oatmeal ( I have one with raisin and walnuts ) Mix it with melted butter
I haven’t tried using instant oatmeal before, so I’m not sure how it would turn out. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Very delicious. Not too sweet at all. The topping is do good I wanted to eat it by itself! We added lots more cinnamon and a little clove because we like it that way. This is a saver! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Best apple crisp recipe I’ve tried in years. Reminds me of my mom’s when I was a child. Couldn’t get enough. My family loved it!
This is so good!!!!! I added some broken pecans and it’s delicious!
Delicious! I did reduce the sugar and added a splash of bourbon to the apples 😉
I’ve been making apple crisp since I was 10 years old (now 70 yrs old) and this recipe has become my new favorite. Made it last night and it was a hit with our guests!
Very delicious!!! I used up my last bag of frozen sliced apples. I was a little worried about the frozen ice on a few of the apple slices. I let them thaw for about 15 minutes. Added 1/2 tablespoon of flour to the sugar mixture. It turned out so well! Will definitely be our favourite apple crisp recipe !!
This is the best I’ve had. I’ve made it 3 time so far. I just use cinnamon on the apples only sugar is on topping and OMG GOOD
Family favorite and so easy to make!
I made this tonight and it was great. A little too sweet so I think I’ll cut the sugar in half in the apple mixture in the future. I didn’t think I would mind the skins but decided next time I’ll peel the apples. My son wasn’t a fan on the skin on the apples either. I don’t think the topping needs doubled but I will add more oats for some extra crunch next time as well.
Tell us what the measurements are. Seriously. How can you leave that out. So stupid.
Nick, all measurements and ingredients are located in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. And there’s really no need to be so rude.
Funny, I see the measurements, clearly included.
Omg…simply delicious!! So easy to make!❤
Loved the receipe… thank you so much for sharing…. My go to for apple crisp for sure
This was a yummy recipe. I used sweet tango apples for this recipe and I would definitely suggest to add a couple tablespoons of flour to the apple mixture, so it isn’t so watery once the apples cook down.
Added some homemade caramel sauce in it before baking so hopefully it turns out good 🙂
This apple crisp recipe is the Best!! Wouldn’t change a thing.
My husband told me I need to seek this stuff. Perfectly sweet and salty. 100/10!
Really really good but I did add a little brown sugar to the apples! It is my go to with crisp tart apples like Macon.
Thank you for this recipe Ashlyn!
I’m so glad I came across this recipe. It’s perfect just as written.
I made 5 pans today for family and friends.
Use half the sugar and double the topping.
This was amazing making again for our Thanksgiving! Can you prepare this ahead of time??
Yes you can definitely do that! Wait to add the topping right before you bake it though to prevent it getting mushy.
Gave this a 4 only because a mistake on my part the first 2 times I made it, was actually better than when I made it correctly the 3rd time! I double the topping mixture because thats how my husband likes it. Well I accidentally only put half of the brown sugar that is called for and we thought it was great….so I made it again and unknowingly did the same thing! Well the 3rd time that I made this apple crisp I realized that I had been doubling all of the topping ingredients EXCEPT for the brown sugar. So I corrected my mistake and made it with the called for amount. Consequently my husband and I both noticed the difference and like it less this time than we did the previous 2 times. So from now on I will continue to half the brown sugar in the topping mixture!
Everything else is great!
A simple and delicious treat! I took the step in gently cooking the apples in the sugar, cinnamon, butter mixture before baking. This will definitely be a repeat.
I’m not a baker, but this was so easy and so satisfying! I used 4 Fuji apples (sweet already) and reduced the sugar for apples to 1/8 cup and the sugar in the topping to 1/3 cup. It was still too sweet for my preference. Baked for about 55 min.
I think next time I could throw in more apples and get away with 1 tbsp of sugar for apples. For the topping, I think next time I’ll cut sugar down to 2 tbsp. Definitely will make again – just cut down the sugar!
This was amazing! I have tried a lot of apple crisp recipes, but they never hit the mark….until this one! I doubled the apples, but otherwise kept everything the same. I think that if I didn’t double the apples it would have been too sweet.
Petty good, flavors were excellent, though i added less sugar then the recipe called for and it still was too much. I did add ground clove to the apples.