Soft, warm, and lightly sweetened apples with a crunchy oat streusel topping served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream — sounds amazing already?
A classic Fall dessert, apple crisp may be one of the simplest pleasures you can also make all year round. Sort of like an apple pie, as delicious (if not better), but requires a lot less time and work.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- Apples are delicious and make a satisfying dessert all year round. It may be a classic Fall dessert, but apples are always available and the rest of the ingredients are mainly pantry staples.
- Quick, simple, and way easier than apple pie! A no-fuss kind of dessert that requires a small amount of work and prep time is only 15 minutes.
- Using melted butter results in a crunchier topping instead of cutting cold butter into the flour.
What you’ll need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Apples: The best apples to use are ones that keep their shape throughout baking and don’t turn mushy. Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady (or Cripps Pink), Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Cortland, and Granny Smith apples are some examples. For this recipe, I used a combination of sweet Golden Delicious and tart Empire apples.
- Sugar: I used granulated sugar on the apple filling, which you can substitute with brown sugar or honey. Add more if you like it on the sweeter side or if using tart apples like Granny Smith in the mixture. For the oat streusel topping, use either light or dark brown sugar for its flavor.
- Cinnamon: Feel free to use more cinnamon or add in other spices like nutmeg, cloves, or allspice.
- Cornstarch: You can also use flour to thicken the apple filling, but you will need twice as much.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour but you can also use white whole wheat flour or a gluten-free flour blend to make a gluten-free streusel topping. You can also process the oats into fine flour and use it as a replacement.
- Oats: Use old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats or whole oats) for a chewy, crunchy texture. You can use instant oats (or quick oats) in a pinch, but since they are precooked and are thinner, they disintegrate into the mixture. Do not use steel-cut oats.
- Butter: Melted unsalted butter is easier to work with than cutting in cold butter into the flour mixture. It also makes the topping crunchier. If using salted butter, you can omit the salt in the recipe.
- Optional ingredient: You can add more crunch to the topping by adding walnuts or pecans (the same time you add the oats).
How to make this recipe
Preheat the oven: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius).
Make the oat streusel topping: (1)Cut the butter into pieces and place it in a microwave-safe bowl. (2)Heat for about 30 seconds just until melted — watch so it doesn’t explode.
(3)Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl and mix them until combined using a fork. (4)Add the melted butter and vanilla extract. (5)Stir them together. Refrigerate while preparing the apples, the butter will solidify and form clumps that will result in a crunchier topping.
Make the apple filling: (6)Peel the apples and remove the core. (7)Cut them evenly into chunks with about ¾-inch thickness.
(8)Squeeze half of the lemon over the apples. (9)Add in the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Toss them together.
Assemble: (10)Transfer the apples to a 2-quart baking dish. (11)Take out your oat streusel topping from the fridge — the mixture should be clumpy. (12)Distribute them evenly over the apples.
Bake: (13)It goes into the oven for 50-60 minutes until the top is golden brown and juices are bubbling around the edges.
Serve: Best enjoyed warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Store and Reheat: Leftovers can be covered and kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months when wrapped properly. To reheat, pop it back in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius) for about 15 minutes. If frozen, cover with foil to avoid the top from over-browning as it may take longer to reheat. You can also warm it in the microwave, but the topping won't be as crunchy.
Frequently asked questions and tips
It’s totally up to you but leaving the skin on will give you some texture that others don’t particularly like. If you can’t decide, partially peel them next time you make it.
They are very similar in that they are both baked fresh fruits with a crispy, crumbly topping but apple crisp is usually made with oats and nuts at times.
Yes! You can put it together in advance, keep it in the fridge for up to one day, and pop it in the oven when you need it. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake! It may take longer to bake since the apple filling and topping are cold.
The key takeaway
Apple crisp is a forgiving recipe, however, picking the right apples is important. A combination of tart and sweet apples is ideal. Use fresh apples that are crisp and juicy and stay away from apples that are old and mealy.
Watch how I make it here
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📖 Recipe
Easy Apple Crisp Recipe with Crunchy Oat Topping
Equipment
- 8x8-inch or 9x9-inch baking dish with a 2 quart capacity (I used a 10.5”x8”x2” oval dish)
Ingredients
For the Oat Streusel Topping:
- ½ cup (64 grams) all-purpose flour (see note)
- 1 ¼ cups (111 grams) old-fashioned oats (see note)
- ⅓ cup (73 grams) brown sugar (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (use half for table salt)
- ½ cup (114 grams) butter (see note)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
For the Apple Filling:
- 3 pounds (1.36 kilograms) apples (see note)
- ½ lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons (38 grams) granulated or brown sugar (see note)
- 2 tablespoons (14 grams) cornstarch (see note)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (see note)
For Serving:
- Vanilla Ice Cream or Whipped Cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius).
Make the oat streusel topping:
- Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Mix them until combined using a fork.
- Add the melted butter and vanilla extract. Stir them together.
- Refrigerate while preparing the apples, the butter will solidify and form clumps that will result in a crunchier topping.
Make the apple filling:
- Peel the apples and remove the core. Cut them evenly into chunks with about ¾-inch thickness.
- Squeeze half of the lemon over the apples.
- Add in the sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Toss them together.
Assemble:
- Take out your oat streusel topping from the fridge — the mixture should be clumpy. Distribute them evenly over the apples.
Bake:
- It goes into the oven for 50-60 minutes until the top is golden brown and juices are bubbling around the edges.
Serve:
- Best enjoyed warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Store and Reheat:
- Leftovers can be covered and kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months when wrapped properly.
- To reheat, pop it back in the oven at 350° Fahrenheit (177° Celsius) for about 15 minutes. If frozen, cover with foil to avoid the top from over-browning as it may take longer to reheat.
- You can also warm it in the microwave, but the topping won't be as crunchy.
Video
Notes
- Apples: The best apples to use are ones that keep their shape throughout baking and don’t turn mushy. Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady (or Cripps Pink), Fuji, Gala, Braeburn, Cortland, Golden Delicious, Empire, and Granny Smith apples are some examples.
- Sugar: I used granulated sugar on the apple filling, which you can substitute with brown sugar or honey. Add more if you like it on the sweeter side or if using tart apples like Granny Smith in the mixture. For the oat streusel topping, use either light or dark brown sugar for its flavor.
- Cinnamon: Feel free to use more cinnamon or add in other spices like nutmeg, cloves, or allspice.
- Cornstarch: You can also use flour to thicken the apple filling, but you will need twice as much.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour but you can also use white whole wheat flour or a gluten-free flour blend to make a gluten-free streusel topping. You can also process the oats into fine flour and use it as a replacement.
- Oats: Use old-fashioned oats (also called rolled oats or whole oats) for a chewy, crunchy texture. You can use instant oats (or quick oats) in a pinch, but since they are precooked and are thinner, they disintegrate into the mixture. Do not use steel-cut oats.
- Butter: Melted unsalted butter is easier to work with than cutting in cold butter into the flour mixture. It also makes the topping crunchier. If using salted butter, you can omit the salt in the recipe.
- Optional ingredient: You can add more crunch to the topping by adding walnuts or pecans (the same time you add the oats).
Jomelyn
This oatmeal recipe is so easy to make! Tried and tested and ai never fail to make it delicious. Thank you for the recioe
Nora
Thank you so much for your feedback! Happy you liked it!
Bim
Right timing, Nora. We have a small group meeting this weekend and I have no idea what to bring for potluck. Will make this and I’m sure my friends will love it. Thank you again Nora.