This Easy Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe gives you every bit of warm, cinnamon-spiced apple pie flavor, minus the part where you have to make a whole pie. No pie crust to fuss over, no fancy techniques needed, just cubed apples tossed in sugar and spices, buried under a blanket of buttery oat crisp topping and baked until your whole kitchen smells like a candle. This classic fall dessert is what I make when I want maximum apple flavor with practically no effort.
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If apples are your thing this time of year, you're in good company around here. I've got a whole lineup of apple recipes that are perfect for fall, like this apple crumble cheesecake for something a little more decadent, or this apple rum glazed monkey bread for a weekend brunch. My harvest spinach salad and honey butter sausage and apple pizza both put apples to work in ways you might not expect. And if you're looking for a simple snack, my peanut butter apple dip recipe is a popular one in the early fall!
Why You'll Love This Recipe 🍎🍏
- It's the easiest apple dessert, seriously. No dough, no rolling pin, no crimping edges. This easy apple crisp recipe comes together with one bowl and practically zero effort!
- The old fashioned oat topping is the whole point. Butter, brown sugar, and oats, it's the kind of topping you'll want to eat with a spoon straight out of the bowl before it even makes it to the crisp.
- It's endlessly adaptable. This is a fruit crisp recipe you can build on all season. Swap apples for other fruits, dial the spice up or down, and it never fails.
- Feeds a crowd. One pan, simple ingredients, easy to double or triple, and it tastes like you spent much more time on it than you actually did.
- This apple crisp is perfect for potlucks, Sunday dinners, or Tuesday nights when you just need something sweet, warm, and comforting.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Apples: The star of the show, obviously. For the best apple crisp, you want apples that hold their shape once baked. Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Kanzi, Braeburn, and Gala all work well.
- Granulated Sugar & Brown Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the apple filling while brown sugar goes into the crisp topping for that deep, caramel-y flavor. You can swap the brown sugar for coconut sugar if that's what you have on hand.
- Cornstarch: This is what thickens the apple filling as it bakes so you don't end up with a watery, soupy crisp.
- Lemon Juice: Keeps the apples from browning and brightens up the flavor of the whole filling.
- Spices: The blend of classic warm spices is perfect for this apple crisp recipe. If you have pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice blends, those can be subbed in instead.
- Old Fashioned Rolled Oats: Large flake or old fashioned rolled oats give the topping texture and part of what makes this an apple crisp made with oats rather than a plain crumble. Quick oats can be used in a pinch, though the topping will be a little less chunky.
- Butter: I use melted butter instead of cold butter in this topping, which makes it easier to stir together (with no pastry cutter needed). It gives you an evenly butter-coated topping and a crisp texture once baked.
A full list of ingredients with exact quantities can be found on the recipe card below.
Ways To Customize This Recipe
- Spice It Up - Add a pinch of ground cloves or cardamom to the filling, or use pumpkin pie spice instead for a warmer, more complex flavor.
- Try a Different Fruit - Swap out a cup or two of the apples for pears, or toss in fresh or frozen cranberries for a tart twist. Some other fruit inclusions include blueberries, rhubarb, and cherries. (Note: if you are using frozen fruit, add a ½ to 1 Tablespoon extra cornstarch to account for the extra water).
- Add Some Crunch - Stir chopped pecans, walnuts or pumpkin seeds into the oat topping.
- Make it a Caramel Apple Crisp - Drizzle warm caramel sauce over the top right before serving.
- Go Dairy Free - Swap the butter in the topping for plant-based butter in a 1:1 ratio.
How To Make Apple Crisp with Oats
Step 1
Start by tossing the cubed apples with sugar, cornstarch, spices, and lemon juice.
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Step 2
Next, make the crisp topping by combining the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.
Step 3
Spread the spiced apples in the bottom of a large casserole dish and then spread the oat mixture all over the top.
Step 4
Bake until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges. Always let the apple crisp sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to let it finish setting up.
Step 5
Serve apple crisp warm with a big scoop of your favourite ice cream! If you want to make the ice cream from scratch, you have to try my coconut cashew vanilla ice cream, and take that one step further by making homemade cashew cream, too!
Expert Tips
- Cut the apples uniformly. Evenly sized apple cubes mean even cooking.
- Don't skip the cornstarch! This is the single most important ingredient to avoid a watery apple crisp, which is the most common complaint.
- Bake until it's actually bubbling. The filling needs to reach a full bubble at the edges for the cornstarch to properly activate and thicken. Pulling it early is the other reason crisps end up runny.
- Melt your butter first. Stirring melted butter into the oat mixture coats everything evenly and saves you the step of cutting in cold butter, while still giving you a crisp, golden topping.
How To Store & Reheat Leftovers
Leftover apple crisp keeps in the fridge, covered, for up to 5 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, or warm the whole dish back up in a 300°F oven for 10-15 minutes.
To freeze, let the baked crisp cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the oven.
Frequently Asked Questions
The two are close, with one difference. A crisp usually includes oats in the topping, giving it a chunkier, crunchier texture, while crumble usually relies on just flour, sugar, and butter for a finer, sandier topping.
The apples can be peeled for a smoother filling or left unpeeled for a more rustic filling. I prefer leaving the apples unpeeled.
Sweet, tart apples are my go-to. The best options are Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Kanzi, or Granny Smith.
This almost always comes down to two things: not enough cornstarch to thicken the filling, or taking the apple crisp out of the oven too soon. It needs to reach a full bubble for the cornstarch to activate properly.
Yes! You can assemble the whole thing up to a day ahead of time, cover, and refrigerate unbaked, then bake it fresh when you're ready to serve. It can also be baked ahead and reheated.
More Cozy Fall Desserts
If you're looking for more cozy fall dessert recipes like this? Try these:
If you made this Easy Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating, a 💬 comment and share it on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook!
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Easy Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe
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Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
Apple Filling
- 5 large Apples chopped
- ½ cup Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon Allspice
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Brown Sugar Oat Crisp Topping
- 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Brown Sugar firmly packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons Cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¾ cup Butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- In a large mixing bowl, toss the cubed apples with the granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and lemon juice until evenly coated. Spread the spiced apples into the bottom of a large casserole dish.
- In the same large mixing bowl (no need to wash it!), combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and stir until it is well combined. Pour in the melted butter and stir until the topping is evenly mixed and easily clumps together. Spread the prepared oat topping over top of the apples in the casserole dish, ensuring it is spread in a thick, even layer.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling at the edges. Let the crisp rest for 10-15 minutes before serving warm, ideally with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
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Notes
- Apples: The best types of apples to use are Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Braeburn, Kanzi, or Gala. They can be left unpeeled for a more rustic crisp, or peeled for a smoother texture.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch is what thickens the filling, and bringing the filling to a full boil at the edges is required to activate the cornstarch and thicken the crisp properly.
- Spices: You can swap out the individual spices for pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice blends if that's what you have on hand.
- Different Fruits: Swap the apples for blueberries, rhubarb, cherries, or strawberries for a different flavor fruit crisp.
- Cut the apple cubes into uniform sizes. Randomly sized apple cubes cook at different rates and can make your apple crisp bake unevenly.
- Store leftovers tightly wrapped with plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator and it will vary based on the ingredients that you use.
Jessica says
This recipe was designed to be super easy and quick to make! It's a rustic apple crisp, meaning there is no need to peel the apples. We hope that you love the recipe!