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!
It is baking in the oven as I write this comment. Apple crisp has long been one of my very favorite things. On my birthdays, rather than a cake, my grandma would bake me an apple crisp. She passed away in 2009–13 years ago….wow it can’t really have been that long ago already???–and this is my first time trying my hand at baking my own. Hopefully it turns out at least a little like grandma’s…..I’ll keep trying til I get it exactly right though. 😚
I am not a cook/baker…and I love apples..so this recipe has become a signature home treat in my house. thank you.
I reduce sugar and add oats and today
pomagranite seeds and crushed raw cashew to the topping.
I’m glad that I tried your recipe. The best apple crisp ever. I will hold on to this recipe from The Belle of the kitchen.
This is by far the best apple crisp recipe. Made this for my husband and son. We had it with salted caramel ice cream topping. OMG!!!! “The best ever!” Is what my men had to say. Thanks for the super simple and delicious recipe!!
Made this for my husband and son. We had it with salted caramel ice cream topping. OMG!!!! “The best ever!” Is what my men had to say. Thanks for the super simple and delicious recipe!!
I had a bag of old honeycrisp apples no one was eating and made a double-batch of this recipe. AMAZING. Topped it off with old fashioned vanilla double churn ice cream. Huge hit at this house. Will make often.
This was by far the best Apple Crisp recipe I have ever tried, and I’ve tried many! I brought this to a friend’s house for dessert and everyone raved about it! It was delicious with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream. Thank you! I will make this often!
I decided after reading all the wonderful reviews, to try my hand at this delicious looking dessert.
I substituted a few things, no butter but added sweeten condensed milk to make the topping.
It turned out absolutely gorgeous and it melted in our mouths.
Thank you belleofthekitchen.com and everyone who decided to make this dish.
Sweetened condensed milk makes everything taste better.
I had lots of apples rolling around in my fridge , so I used 1 Granny Smith, 2 Pink Lady and a Honeycrisp. Next time I would use a few more apples for the baking dish I used. The apples cooked down a bit. This is an excellent recipe , except for my taste it was way too sweet. I would cut back all the sugars by at least 1/3 and I added a squeeze of lemon to the apples.
I made this last night and it was delicious. I used Gala apples which worked well. Would definitely make it again! I did add about 1/4 t nutmeg.
This was best apple crisp I’ve had, the scoop of sea salt caramel ice cream took it to another level
This was super easy to put together and really delicious! I loved the subtle flavor the vanilla extract added to the apples. Will definitely be making this again.
Are you sure you do not have a typo..????
Seems like 1/3 cup of oats should be 1 1/3 cup of oats.
1/3 cup of oats is not much to get crispy especially for 5 cups apples.
I made it 1 1/3 cups…much better 🙂
Hi Bill… I totally agree and a dash of salt and a little more vanilla and it’s muah😋
I ended up quadrupling the recipe because we’re a very big household and I had a ton of apples on hand. I followed the recipe to a T except that I didn’t see the part about melting the butter. It was only softened butter. Fortunately, my error didn’t mess up the topping too bad at all.
So my rating is five stars. Very easy to make, very delicious to eat. It’s addicting. While it was cooling, my 14y/o snuck a taste… and then another and another and then she told me to put it away before she eats it all.
I totally agree with you, today would be my 1st born son “Steven” Birthday,the Lord called him home 2yrs ago on New Year’s morning so I made one of his favorite dinner and dessert and it was a toss up between apple crisp or no bake cookies so I made the apple crisp because he would do exactly what your daughter does so I double mine because just one don’t last but for a few hours…lol. Thank you belleofthekitchen.com and everyone else who leaves a comment..it warms my heart 💜.
I have made this a few times now and I always double the amount of ingredients for the topping because that’s everyone’s favorite part. It turns out absolutely delicious.
I also do that and I agree with you totally 🤗
I had some less than perfect apples that I turned into perfect apple crisp thanks to you! Such a simple and delicious recipe. My family definitely recommends this recipe!
I made this today. It is amazing! Followed the recipe as is. Everyone loved it.
I’ve made this now 3 times in a matter of 1 week! Everyone loves it, this will now be my signature dish for family gatherings & holidays.♥️ Thank you!!!
Can I tell you a story? A few months ago I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Disease. I have had to eliminate many types of foods and ingredients from my diet: gluten, sugar, dairy, and a host of other things that either are known to trigger Hashi’s or to which I personally have shown sensitivity.
Thanksgiving for our family has always included a day specifically set aside for baking pies. We make the crust from scratch. We make pumpkin pies, a pecan pie, apple pies, peach pies, and I always make my personal favorite, chocolate mousse pie. I was able to figure out some substitutions for my chocolate that worked very well, and so Thanksgiving was saved!
However… those leftovers… While everyone around me was enjoying all of the other flavors the days following, I found myself pining for a bite of that apple deliciousness! So yesterday, I searched for and came across this recipe for Apple Crisp. So simple!! I was able to use date sugar in place of granulated white, coconut palm sugar in place of the brown, gluten free flour and “wannabe” (vegan) butter. Using these subs, I followed the directions and – Glory!! – that cinnamon-y fall flavor filled the kitchen and my craving was sated! I even had some for breakfast today, topping it with a little extra-creamy oat milk!!
*sigh*
There is something to eat, after all!!
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I am now off to look at the cinnamon applesauce, and the blueberry baked oatmeal cups! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this! I’m so happy it worked out for you!
Thank you so much for the substitutes I will be using them..
I forgot to add brown sugar to the topping and kind of eyeballed the amount of butter. I ended up way overbaking the apples (almost to an apple sauce), waiting for the topping to brown – and it never did. Why not?
Otherwise, everyone liked the taste.
Because you did not follow the recipe!!
Hi, after baking for an hour. I turn the broiler on in my oven to 500F to brown the top. It only takes a few minutes. If you try this method, keep a very close eye on it because it can burn quickly. The top will be very golden and dark. Delicious.
I brought this to a small-group Bible study, warm with whipped cream on the side, and everyone rated it fantastic! I doubled everything and added about 3/4 cup walnut halves, and put in 9×13 glass pan. Awesome!
I made this for the 1st time for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it!!
Thank you for such a delicious dessert!
This was amazing. I made it yesterday for the first time and everyone raved. I’ve tried many recipes and they’re always lacking. This came out perfectly and will now be my go-to.
Hands down be best apple crisp I have EVER made! This one’s a keeper!
One of my grown up children wanted something other than apple pie for the holidays. He found your recipe which I test ran just to be sure this was what he wanted. He loved it! I am going to have to double the topping ingredients as he wouldn’t stop picking at that when it came out of the oven! thank you for such a win recipe!
Really great recipe. I have never commented on any recipe site before but I had to tell you this is one of the best apple crisp recipes I have used. Great idea to add chopped walnuts in the topping – made it so much better. Thank you for this.
I plan to try more of your recipes since this one turned out so well.
Made this crisp tonight. Used 2 cups Honey Crisp Apples, 2 cups Cranberries and one cup blueberries… it came out a perfect tart and sweet fall dessert
My brother in law made this for me while I was visiting. It was delicious. He omitted the sugar in the apples portion due to him having diabetes we used the brown sugar in the Crum topping.
I am making it tomorrow for my daughter as a thankyou for being here everyday while the re construction crew is here putting my home back together.
I made this recipe up for my son and his friend and I got more orders for it. Their complements never stopped coming. Best they’d ever had they said. Thanks 😊
I make this with maple sugar for the apples and the topping using half the stated amount and I don’t have a problem with my blood sugar. In fact my husband says he likes it better too this way.
I only started making it because it is his favorite and his Mom no longer does a lot of cooking. He is a happy man!