Easy Apple Crisp

This Easy Apple Crisp is the ultimate no-fuss fall dessert using your favorite apples topped with a cinnamon oat streusel. Prepped in 10 minutes, it’s quick and easy to throw together for any occasion and can even be made in the slow cooker!

The moment I feel fall is in the air, the first recipe that comes to mind is this Easy Apple Crisp. And while the rest of the world is going pumpkin crazy, I’m over here dreaming of all things apple, which is the superior fall flavor, in my opinion.

With my apple crisp topping, I love to include oats to make sure it’s crumbly and so delicious. The ratio of crumbly streusel to fruit in this classic apple crisp recipe is crucial to the best bite – I’m all about a good helping of crumble on top to compliment the apples on the bottom!

My family requests this crisp multiple times during those fall months, we love to serve it warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. And you didn’t hear it from me…but it may even be delicious for breakfast the next morning! If you love a sweet apple treat, be sure to try my Glazed Apple Fritter Yeast Bread, Apple Cider Donuts, and Homemade Apple Fritters.

Reader Review: “Today I made this warm apple crisp topped with cinnamon apple ice cream, gooey caramel and pecans. This apple crisp was soooo delicious! We can’t stop eating it! I highly recommend it! Thanks for sharing this recipe with us!” – Robin

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Ideal for beginner bakers. There is no worrying about fussy crusts or decorating techniques when it comes to apple crisp, which makes it a great dessert for beginning bakers to make. Also, unlike a pie, where you run this risk of the filling not setting up, there’s no worry about a soggy bottom crust with apple crisp.

• The perfect cozy fall dessert for a crowd. When your kitchen starts to fill with the heavenly fragrance of baking apples, cinnamon, and oats filling your kitchen, everything feels just a little bit simpler and brighter. It’s so easy to transport this crisp to any occasion, and pretty mess-free when it comes to serving too.
• Use any apples you have! Whether you’ve spent the day apple picking or just need to clean out your fruit drawer, it will be delicious with any apples you have on hand.

Ingredients

Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

• Apples: I suggest using an apple that is a little bit more tart in flavor (Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady). You can even use a blend of apples if you prefer (I do!) to make the flavor even more delicious.
• Sugar: Sweetens both the filling and the topping.
• Flour: A little bit helps to thicken the filling and also bind the streusel topping.
• Oats: Adds texture to the crisp topping.
• Butter: Gives richness to every bite.
• Cinnamon: The classic warm spice we love paired with apples.
• Lemon juice: A little bit of acid helps to bring out the natural sweetness of the apples.

How to Make Easy Apple Crisp

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
2. Combine the apple filling. Add apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon to a 9×13-inch pan. Toss to coat the apples evenly.

3. Make the oat streusel topping. In a large bowl, combine the remaining flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter using a pastry cutter to cut the softened butter into the other ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apple layer.

You could also use a food processor to make the crumble topping if you have one.

4. Bake. Bake for 35-40 minutes until the apples are tender and the crisp topping is a nice golden brown. Cool slightly before serving.

Variations and substitutions

• Adding nuts: One really great option is to add chopped walnuts or pecans to your crisp topping. It adds another flavor of dimension and crunch that is wonderful with the warm, spiced apples beneath.
• Apple-cranberry (or other fruit): One of my favorite things to do is add a few handfuls of fresh or frozen cranberries in with the apple filling to change up the flavor this dessert. A mix of apples and other fruits like blackberries, raspberries, or rhubarb are also yummy. Or halve the amount of apples and replace them with sliced pears for an apple pear crisp.
• Gluten-free version: This dessert is an easy one to make gluten-free by using a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour replacement and oats that are gluten-free. Be sure to check the labels on the oats because some of them actually do have gluten in them. You could also use almond flour in place of the all-purpose flour.
• More spices: If you love the warm spices that are associated with fall, try adding small amounts (¼ to ½ teaspoons each) of ground nutmeg, ground cloves, or ground allspice.

Slow Cooker Apple Crisp

This recipe can easily be made in the slow cooker! This approach has two advantages: First, it frees up your oven in case you are making apple crisp for Thanksgiving (genius) or just don’t want to heat up the kitchen or use oven space. Second, you get to enjoy the scent of slowly baking apples all day. Which is one of the side benefits of making apple crisp.

Just follow the same directions for making the apple filling layer first and sprinkle with the crisp topping. Then place a couple of paper towels or a kitchen towel over the top of your slow cooker before putting the lid on. As the apple crisp cooks, the moisture that would otherwise condense on the lid and fall back on the crisp part of the dessert will be absorbed by the paper towels!

Cook on HIGH for 2 hours or LOW for 3-4 hours.

Storage

You can store this apple crisp in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days covered with plastic wrap or up to 1 week in the fridge.

You can freeze leftover apple crisp for up to 2 months! The crumb topping would not be as crisp after thawing and reheating, but it will still taste pretty darn delicious! Just thaw and reheat either in a warm oven, the microwave, or the air fryer (my preferred method because it will crisp up that topping much better than the other two).

It’s also a wonderful dessert to make in advance for any party or crowd since it is easy to reheat in the oven or also delicious served at room temperature.

FAQs

More Fruit Dessert Recipes

• Baked Apples
• Best Homemade Apple Pie Recipe
• Rhubarb Crisp
• German Plum Cake

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Easy Apple Crisp

5 from 30 votes

Amy Nash

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 servings

Nothing says fall like a warm Apple Crisp made with lots of apples and the best cinnamon oat streusel topping! It's quick and easy to throw together and can even be made in the slow cooker!

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

123

Filling

• ▢ 4 pounds apples peeled, cored, and cut into chunks (about 7-8 apples)
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Streusel

• ▢ 1 cup (141g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup (82g) rolled oats
• ▢ 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 3/4 cup (170g) salted butter

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375℉ (191℃).
• Add apples, sugar, flour, lemon juice, vanilla, and cinnamon to a 9×13-inch pan. Toss to coat the apples evenly.
  4 pounds apples, 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• In a large bowl, combine the remaining flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter using a pastry cutter to cut the softened butter into the other ingredients until they resemble coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over the apple layer.
  1 cup (141g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (82g) rolled oats, 1 cup (200g) brown sugar, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¾ cup (170g) salted butter
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until the apples are tender and the crisp topping is a nice golden brown.

Notes

• Storage: You can store this apple crisp in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days covered with plastic wrap or up to 1 week in the fridge.
• Freezing: You can freeze leftover apple crisp for up to 2 months! Thaw and reheat either in a warm oven, the microwave, or the air fryer (my preferred method because it will crisp up that topping much better than the other two).
• Make-Ahead: It’s also a wonderful dessert to make in advance for any party or crowd since it is easy to reheat in the oven or also delicious served room temperature.
• Our favorite way to serve apple crisp: We like to serve it still warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce drizzled on top for the best fall dessert of all time!

• Slice the apples to an even thickness so they bake evenly in the oven. If you slice some really thin and leave others chunky, you won’t have as consistent results with your apple crisp.
• Make it in an 8×8-inch baking dish. You can easily cut this recipe in half, but we always make the full thing because everybody always wants second helpings. And if I’m being honest, it’s pretty delicious for breakfast the next day.
• If you want to omit the oats, no problem. We suggest adding in chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans to add more texture to the topping, plus additional flour depending on the ratio of ingredients.

Nutrition

Calories: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 181mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 413IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @HouseOfNashEats or tag #houseofnasheats!

This post was originally published in August, 2020. The photos and content were updated in September, 2022.