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Our classic Apple Crisp recipe is the best dessert of fall! It has tender cinnamon-spiced apples topped with a buttery, golden oat crumble.
The Best Apple Crisp You'll Ever Make
This apple crisp recipe could be my most treasured dessert recipe I make from September through the entire winter season–I will never get tired of it!
Mostly it's such an easy dessert that gives apple pie vibes but without the time commitment. It's definitely the biggest crowd pleaser, especially when I serve it with my homemade vanilla ice cream!
The secret to a perfect apple crisp is using a mix of apple varieties. Granny Smith apples hold their shape and add tartness, while Honeycrisp or Fuji apples add natural sweetness. If you don't have a Johnny Apple Peeler yet, buy one (it peels, cores and slices the apples for you–making this dessert come together so FAST!)!
Try more of my apple recipes, like Fresh Apple Cake, Baked Apples, Applesauce, Apple Coffee Cake, Caramel Apple Dip, and How to make Caramel Apples!
How to make Apple Crisp:
Crumble Toppings: In a medium size bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or fork until well combined. Refrigerate crumble while you prepare the apple filling.
Apple Filling: (I use a Johnny Apple Peeler to peel, core and slice the apples all at once.) In a small bowl, stir together melted butter and flour until smooth. Add lemon juice, milk and vanilla then stir. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour butter mixture over apples and toss to coat.
Bake: Pour apple mixture into an 8×8-inch baking dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the apples. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and top is set. Remove from oven and cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Serve with homemade vanilla ice cream and homemade caramel sauce, if desired.
Apple Crisp
Equipment
Ingredients
Crumble Topping:
- 2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup salted butter, , cut into small pieces
Apple filling:
- 3-4 large Granny Smith apples*, , peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter, , melted
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
For serving (optional):
- vanilla Ice Cream
- Homemade Caramel Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Crumble Toppings: In a medium size bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and baking powder. Add butter and cut in with a pastry blender or fork until well combined. Refrigerate while you prepare the apple filling.2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, ½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup salted butter
- Apple Filling: (I use a Johnny Apple Peeler to peel, core and slice the apples all at once.) In a small bowl stir together melted butter and flour until smooth. Add lemon juice, milk and vanilla and stir. Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Pour butter mixture over apples and toss to coat.3-4 large Granny Smith apples*, 3 Tablespoons salted butter, 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 3 Tablespoons milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ cup light brown sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Bake: Pour apple mixture into an 8×8-inch baking dish and spread into an even layer. Sprinkle crumble topping evenly over the apples. Bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and top is set. Remove from oven cool at least 15 minutes before serving.
- Serve with vanilla ice cream and homemade caramel sauce, if desired.vanilla Ice Cream, Homemade Caramel Sauce
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe November 2017. Updated September 2021, November 2023 and September 2026.
Holy Moly!!!! Amazing! and the Caramel Sauce????? I want to eat it with a spoon!!! My husband and I have eaten Keto for 4 years – so when we splurge – we want the best and THIS IS IT!
I would give the recipe 3.5 stars and the crisp after overnight refrigeration 4.5. I made it to serve two hours after baking, and it was a liquid mess. After refrigerating overnight it was better set and the crumble (to which I had added chopped pecans) was chewy rather than soft. It was still lacking a crunchy element. I had seen one reviewer say she made it without peeling the apples- saying they “just fade away”– they do not and were annoying. That’s on me! After the overnight chilling, the flavor was much more developed, but still wetter than I liked. I will make it again, using less “gravy”, peel the apples, refrigerate it overnight, and add another crunchy element to the crumble.
I made this the other night and added caramel sauce to the apple filling, then topped the crisp off with some homemade Bourbon Butter ice cream. It was absolutely decadent! Even my mother who doesn’t care for apples or cooked fruit was raving about i!
i dont know if this is a easy recipe
The step-by-step instructions should help and give you great results. 😊
Delicious and so easy!
are you Lisa spickel
I took this to a dinner party and dessert time was silent. Everyone was filling their mouths with this delicious apple crisp. We laughed about it after we scarfed it down, lol… I used a drizzle at the end made from brown sugar, lemon juice and a little water, cooked in the microwave for 2 minutes. Perfectly caramelized, sweet and tangy pop in each bite!!
We’ve been experimenting with different recipes for vegan, no sugar added apple pies and found your recipe for apple crisp to be a better option. We use Truvia brown sugar and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter for the sugar and butter. It’s now a favorite dessert, shared with family and friends. My topping is clumped together when we pull it out of the refrigerator and doesn’t sprinkle as yours, so we need to spread it across the top and press it down. It seems to result in a hard top crust. What are we doing wrong?
The substitution of the I can’t believe it’s not butter isn’t going to react the same way as butter does in baking since it’s made of oils instead of cream. We haven’t tested it with a vegan butter, but feel free to try a different one! Thank you for making the recipe!
Why would you say to put lemon juice in with that milkmixture, it curdled! Now what do I do? I’m not making this over again.
The lemon juice helps the apples not turn brown. If you mix the sauce together and pour right over the apples, it shouldn’t be sitting there long enough to curdle.
Instead of using lemon juice to prevent apples browning you can use salted water or ginger ale …or maybe soda water also?? I cannot attest to the soda pop method but have witnessed my sister using that method and it worked great also. I personally always use the salted water method…works perfect!!!
A tsp of salt in about 4-5 cups of water (ish) is all you need. I never measure, just eyeball it?? Of course you will need to adjust salt to water ratio accordingly to how many apples you are using.
I made this tonight, and it was very good! I didn’t have nutmeg, so substituted ginger. Also, thanks to a neighbor’s tree, I used fresh lemon juice. Delicious! A couple of questions…Has anyone used more lemon juice than the amount called for in the recipe, and how did it turn out? And, has anyone made this with no added sugar?
I never add sugar to my apples (as they are naturally sweet enough)…I just add it to the crumble. I use coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup or cane sugar (always organic) and use only 3/4 of sugar called for. (I NEVER use refined sugar for anything…that stuff will kill ya!! )
Apple crumble is one of the healthiest hardiest and easiest desserts to make so I try to keep it that way by using organic ingredients and as little sweetener as possible.
Well, aren’t you special.
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Heavens to Betsy, this was absolutely delicious!! I made it as directed except for one minor thing. After it baked for 35 minutes, I turned off the oven and let it bake another 5 – just to be sure it was cooked through. Next time I will double the batch and give to my friends. I’ve looked at a LOT of recipes for apple crisps, cobblers, strudels etc. and this seemed like the best option – no complaints in the comments of dryness, being too sweet, etc. It was perfect! Thank you.