If you want to make the best quick apple crisp – your search is over. This easy recipe is absolutely foolproof and so scrumptious! The simple topping is made with butter, sugar, flour and oatmeal. The apple filling is spiced up with cinnamon and bakes up a delicious and bubbly sauce for that old fashioned feel.
It is absolutely no secret that I love apple desserts during fall. One of my all-time favorite desserts / breakfasts / snacks are oatmeal crisps. They are just so easy to throw together!
Luckily, my kids are crazy about them, too – some other of our favorite crisp recipes include this Holiday Fruit Crisp, this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp and this Pear Crisp. And the Apple Crisp I’m sharing here, of course!
There’s really no better homemade dessert to enjoy during fall – serve warm with vanilla ice cream for an extra treat. For more apple desserts for autumn, see my Crockpot Apple Cobbler or my Cinnamon Sugar Apple Fritters.
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
If you don’t have any brown sugar for the topping, replace it with the same amount of white sugar.
If you want to use quick cooking oats in place of old fashioned rolled ones, you may need to use a little less butter for the topping – start with half the amount the recipe calls for and increase as you go.
Adjust the amount of sugar in the filling according to how tart your apples are. Taste-test a slice first, then decide if your fruit needs a little more sweetening.
How to make an Apple Crisp
► 1 Make the apple crisp topping: I always start with the topping when I make a crisp, because then it can chill and firm up while I make the filling. Otherwise you risk a runaway topping!
Stir flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt together in a small mixing bowl.
Cut in some cold butter until crumbs form. You can use a pastry blender, but I usually just crumble it together with clean fingers! Make sure to rub in the butter long enough so no more dry flour is visible – add another ½ to 1 tablespoon of butter if necessary.
Then chill the topping in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.
► 2 Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 7×11 inch baking dish.
This is my favorite baking dish I got when it was on sale! It’s so pretty and works for all sorts of things – crisps, cobblers or even baked chicken. (This is an affiliate link and I make a commission for purchases made after clicking through.)
► 3 Make the apple crisp filling: Core and slice the apples. You can peel them first, but it’s not necessary and I’m usually too lazy!
Place them right in the prepared baking dish and toss them with sugar, flour and cinnamon – no need to dirty an extra bowl for this. It’s a good idea to taste-test one of your apple slices to adjust how much sugar you want to add to the filling.
Tip: For an extra-apple-y taste and a more bubbly, juicy filling, I like to add a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and a couple of tablespoons water to the apples!
► 4 Assemble the apple crisp: Scatter the prepared crisp topping all over the apple filling. You can also add some chopped walnuts or pecans.
► 5 Bake the apple crisp: Bake the crisp in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden-
I’ll say this now, but I can barely ever stick to it myself… Ahem. It’s best to let the crisp stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes before serving. But I absolutely get how hard this is ?
Recipe tips
- make sure to chill the topping for at least 5-10 minutes, or it could all melt into the apples instead of staying crumbly and streusel-y
- I prefer tart apples that keep their shape for making apple crisp, something like Honeycrisp is great.
- You can switch up the fruit if you like – pears, a mix of apples and pears or even peaches are delicious!
How do you cut apples for apple crisp?
If you cut your apples into tiny chunks, you’ll end up with apple sauce at the bottom of your crisp.
Not that homemade apple sauce is a bad thing – it’s something I make in huge batches every fall. (Which is probably the main reason my husband thinks I might be slightly crazy.)
But in your apple crisp you want nice slices of soft, warm fruit.
You can peel them if you want, but I usually get organic apples and don’t bother with it.
How do you know how much sugar to add to the filling?
If you have very tart apples, you probably want to add a little more sugar to the filling. And if you have overly sweet apples, you might not need to add any at all.
The important thing is to not over-sweeten.
Food tastes sweeter when it’s hot than when it’s cold. So if you’re planning to eat your apple crisp warm and topped with ice cream (which I very strongly suggest), you need less sugar than you might think.
Make ahead tips
Making the crisp ahead is especially handy if you want to make an apple crisp for breakfast. (And yes, breakfast is an option. Serve it with plain Greek yogurt and prepare to be amazed.)
You can assemble the crisp up to 24 hours before baking it:
- Follow the recipe as-is, but don’t preheat your oven.
- Once your crisp is fully assembled and the topping is scattered on top of the fruit, cover it with cling film.
- Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake it. Please note that baking time will be around 10-15 minutes longer if you bake it straight from the fridge.
More apple recipes you’ll love
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Easy Apple Crisp
Recipe details
Ingredients
For the Topping:
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch salt
- ¼ cup cold butter
For the Filling:
- 4 medium-large apples cored and sliced (about 1 ¾ pounds or 5-6 cups, sliced)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon apple pie spice OR ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Make topping: Stir the brown sugar, oats, ½ cup all-purpose flour, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter until large crumbles form. You can use a pastry cutter, but I usually do it with clean finger tips. Cover and refrigerate the topping until you’re ready to use it.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 7×11 inch baking dish.
- Make filling: Place the sliced apples in the prepared baking dish. Toss with 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and the apple pie spice OR cinnamon.
- Assemble: Scatter the prepared topping over the apples. You can also add some chopped pecans or walnuts if you like.
- Bake the crisp: Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling up and the topping is browned. If topping is not bubbly (looks dry) after 30 minutes, carefully pour 2-4 tablespoons water into the dish, tilt the dish (wear oven gloves!!) to distribute the water and return to the oven to finish baking.
- Rest: Allow to rest at room tempertaure for 10 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream.
Notes
Ingredient notes
If you don’t have any brown sugar for the topping, replace it with the same amount of white sugar. If you want to use quick cooking oats in place of old fashioned rolled ones,you may need to use a little less butter for the topping – start with half the amount the recipe calls for and increase as you go. Adjust the amount of sugar in the filling according to how tart your apples are. Taste-test a slice first, then decide if your fruit needs a little more sweetening.Recipe tips
- make sure to chill the topping for at least 5-10 minutes, or it could all melt into the apples instead of staying crumbly and streusel-y
- I prefer tart apples that keep their shape for making apple crisp, something like Honeycrisp is great.
- You can switch up the fruit if you like – pears, a mix of apples and pears or even peaches are delicious!
Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published in 2016. Updated with new photos and video on 01/27/2021.
Margo Stretch says
I’m wondering why with your rhubarb crisp you preferred quick oats, whereas this recipe your topping has large oats? Does the fruit make the difference? Getting ready to make apple crisp for Canadian Thanksgiving and loved the rhubarb crisp, but noticed this difference.
Nora says
Hey Margo! That’s such a great question, and I’m so glad you loved the rhubarb crisp! The difference between using quick oats and large oats really comes down to texture. For the apple crisp, large oats give the topping a heartier, chunkier texture that pairs beautifully with the apples.
With the rhubarb crisp, the quick oats make the topping a bit softer, which works well with the tangy, softer rhubarb filling. Both are delicious, though, so if you preferred the quick oats from the rhubarb recipe, feel free to use them for the apple crisp, too! Hope you had a very happy (and tasty) Canadian Thanksgiving! 🍎😊
Kristin Foster says
Hi, I tried this recipe tonight. Was looking for something fast, easy and that really made it all about the apples. This was great. Very tasty and satisfying. I made a few adjustment; soaked the apple slices in lemon juice prior to using because I really like a tart fruit dessert. I also Love Cinnamon, so added a little extra to the crumble and a little extra salt to balance the sweet and a tiny bit of nutmeg. The only thing I might change about this is to add a little butter to the apples or more lemon juice (I think my apples were not a very juicy variety) and definitely the topping could use more butter. The best, crispiest bits were the ones that had the most butter! Lol, no such thing as too much butter! ;). Thanks for a great fall dessert. This was such an easy to follow, straightforward recipe.
Angela says
Can I prepare my apples the same way I do for an apple pie? Or will the liquid that is released cause my topping to be mushy instead of crispy? I’m looking for the taste of an apple pie without all the time.
Nora says
Angela, how do you prepare apples for apple pie? Do you mean you cook an apple pie filling? That definitely works – I often make apple pie with a crumble topping instead of a double crust. Delicious!
Kim Q says
I add frozen cranberries to my apple mix and never peel the apples. Just rinse skins really well. For the oats I used up packets of maple and brown sugar instant oats packets. More than called for but thats because we love extra oats. Great recipe!
Nora says
Kim, such a great idea with the cranberries! Sounds so delicious. And I’m glad the recipe worked out well for you!
Linda says
It was good but mine came out dry as a bone! I think I used Gala apples. Could that have been the problem?
Nora says
Apple crisps can have this problem, yes. Usually it’s because the apples didn’t really release any juice during baking – it can happen if the apples are a little older, or with certain types.
If you have this issue, you can try adding some apple juice to the filling. About 1/4 – 1/2 cup is plenty, depending on how juicy you like your filling.
If I have apples I’m not quite sure about, I bake the filling without the topping for 15-20mins first to see if the apples release their juice or not. If not, I stir in apple juice before adding the topping. Hope this helps!
Diane says
Loved your recipe. I mixed the butter recipe in a large ziplock bag which made it easier to mash up and not so much clean up. I also used the same bag to mix the apples prior. I made it with red apples only. Turned out great but next time I would cut the sugar and brown sugar in 1/2, increase the oats by another 1/4 cup. I hope this helps balance the sweetness. Thank you for sharing.
Nora says
Thank you so much for your feedback, Diane! It’s so funny, some people say this recipe is too sweet and others say it’s not sweet enough (if you ask me, it can. definitely get away with a little less sugar). Always appreciate hearing what readers think of this one!
Chris says
I doubled the recipe and used 3 cans of apple pie filling. Cook 40 minutes and then check every 5-6 minutes until more browned overall, but not completely. Turned out delicious.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad, Chris!
Bernice Pacheco says
II need to know what I did wrong my topping didn’t crumble How long should I mixed? Replaced white sugar with Splenda
Nora Rusev says
Bernice, I think it would have been the Splenda’s fault 🙁 The topping doesn’t need to be mixed long at all, in fact, it shouldn’t be – the butter would melt and turn it into paste if you meddled with it for too long.
mary miller says
Excellent recipe and easy as pie lol to make ,its my go to for my apple crisp , thanks
Sandy says
This was the best dessert i have had in ages! It was exactly right just the way it is written. And so lovely for fall to use up apples form Apple picking
Nora says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the crisp, Patty! Thanks for your review, I appreciate your time!
Betty says
This was great! I ended up making a few modifications, didn’t have brown sugar so used all white, a d had to use quick cooking oats for the topping. Still turned out really delish.
Nora says
Betty, im glad your crisp turned out well with the modifications!
Mel says
Found on Pinterest and it was perfect. I baked for 35 mins and that was exactly right.
Nora says
I’m so glad the crisp turned out well for you, Mel!
Kathy says
Holy moly what an Apple crisp!! My extremely picky 3Yo ate half the topping off while I wasn’t looking so it really is amazing
Nora says
Haha Kathy, my 3 year old does the same! The 5 year old, too… 😀 glad the crisp went down so well!
Lola says
Really easy, I would probably add a little more sugar but maybe that’s bc my apples were very tart
Nora says
Tart apples definitely need a little extra sugar! I recommend to always taste-test the fruit when making crisps and cobblers so you can adjust the sugar amount accordingly. Glad it was good otherwise!
patty says
Made with 4 large Braeburn apples from my garden, and I think many more will follow suit. This is dangerously good!!!!!!!!!
Nora says
I love that you have an apple tree, Patty! And I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe so much!
Julia says
I’m making it right now and man! It smells so good! I was looking for easy desserts and this popped up so I figured why not give it a go? I used cassonade and sugar to make a mock brown sugar since I didn’t have any, but the topping turned out the same before baking. Thanks for the lovely recipe!
Nora says
I’m glad the apple crisp is making your house smell good, Julia! Hope it was just as delicious to eat, too 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment – made me smile!
Connie says
I just came across this recipe while searching for an easy apple crisp and this is exactly what I was looking for! Easy and the perfect amount for my family. While searching, I was finding many recipes with so many ingredients, including many that used two sticks of butter!! Yes, two! Yikes! This particular recipe is in the oven now, and is very similar to the recipe I used to have! Can’t wait to try it. Thank you for posting 🙂
Nora says
Your comment put a big smile on my face, Connie. I hope you and your family enjoyed the crisp. And I know – some have SO much butter, it’s crazy! But 2 sticks? That’s probably more than I’d put into an apple PIE for 10 people, haha! Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me about your experience with the recipe. I appreciate it so much.
Amanda says
Good flavor. Next time I’ll peel the apples, not a fan of apple skin in desserts even tho it’s extra work. Otherwise the recipe is perfect as written
Nora says
Thank you for your feedback, Amanda! I’m glad you enjoyed the crisp otherwise. Peeling or not peeling the apples is definitely personal preference. Personally, I put in the effort for Apple pie, but not crisps – I just call my crisp rustic 😉
Annie says
This crisp! Wow! i can never make it again because we ate SO MUCH!!!! Thank you for such. A wonderful dessert!
Nora says
Aww, thanks Annie!