Best Easy Apple Crisp

Here’s Why This Recipe Works

The best fall dessert — Apple crisp is one of the things I look forward to most about this time of year. Yes, it’s true, you can make and eat apple crisp any time whether or not you are wearing cozy sweaters and boots. Maybe I’m just a strange duck but I honest-to-goodness think some foods just taste better at different times or in different places, even if it is the exact same food — like this easy apple crisp recipe with oats and melted butter.

So super easy — This is my very favorite, best ever, super easy apple crisp recipe. You don’t have to add any liquid to the dish like some recipes will have you do, simply coat the apples in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and let them bake to tender, caramelized perfection beneath a thick layer of crumbly cinnamon and brown sugar oat topping.

Perfect company dessert — Okay I said this was good for fall, but it’s also great for unexpected (or expected) company in the fall. Nothing says welcome to my house like an ooey-gooey, just-out-of-the oven apple crisp. Top with vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce and everyone will be in fall dessert heaven.

Just like mom used to make — Nothing fancy here, just the delicious apple crisp recipe of your youth. Apples covered in cinnamon and sugar and topped with a buttery, flaky, chewy oat topping that you will want to eat again and again and again. Go ahead and make up a big batch of this easy apple crisp and turn the nostalgia up to 11.

close up of apple crisp and a spoon in a serving bowl.

Ingredients

Apples — What kind of apples do you love or have on hand? Use those. I always peel, core, and thinly slice mine first though for best results.

Brown sugar — I use dark brown sugar, that’s best for caramelizing the sauce that mixes in with the apples to make them oh so melt-in-your-mouth delicious as well as adding to the buttery, oat topping.

Sugar — Regular, refined white sugar is needed to sweeten the apples and further caramelize.

Cinnamon — You can’t have that cinnamon-sugar flavor on this dessert without one of the main apple crisp ingredients! Any brand of cinnamon is fine.

Flour — Used in the topping, white, all-purpose flour helps bind together the rest of ingredients when mixed in with the butter and baked.

Old fashioned oats — To give this old fashioned apple crisp a slightly chewy texture, add old fashioned oats.

Cold butter — Use cold butter so that it helps to keep the topping together and cooks a bit slower. If you used melted butter, the apples would become soupy.

Coarse sea salt — Totally optional, but adds a depth of flavor you never knew this old fashioned apple crisp was missing.

Vanilla ice cream — Again, optional but who doesn’t love cold vanilla ice cream over the top of a warm, easy apple crisp recipe? So very good when it starts to melt over the top!

Here’s How You Make It

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Next, get out a 10-inch round baking dish or 9×9 inch square baking dish and grease it.

In a large bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cups sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add the apples to the sugar mixture and toss to coat the apples all around in the cinnamon-sugar.

Pour the apples and any excess cinnamon-sugar mixture into the prepared dish.

Next, get out a medium-sized bowl and whisk together the flour, oats, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. Then, add small, cold butter cubes to the flour and cut them into it with your fingers or a pastry cutter until crumbly. Sprinkle the topping mixture over the apples.

Pop the apple crisp into the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the topping is browned.

When you’re ready to serve, sprinkle coarse sea salt over the top (optional) and serve hot with vanilla ice cream.

top view of apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and a spoon in a bowl.

What Is the Difference Between Apple Crisp and Apple Crumble?

An apple crisp is what I made here, apples baked in sugar and cinnamon and then topped with a “crumbly” topping made of oats and sometimes nuts.

An apple crisp skips the crunchy/crumbly ingredients and looks more like a streusel, with just flour, sugar, and butter.

What Apples Are the Best for Apple Crisp?

I truly use whatever apples I have on hand because this apple crisp is to apples what banana bread is bananas. But, it’s true, different apples can lend a slightly different flavor and texture to the easy apple crisp.

If you like an apple to stay more firm, try granny smith or honeycrisp. For a softer apple try gala or red delicious.

apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and a spoon in a bowl with more apple crisp and a serving spoon in a serving bowl.

Expert Tips & Tricks

For the ultimate experience, I highly recommend sprinkling just a little bit of coarse sea salt over the top and serving with vanilla ice cream. Spoon some of that extra sauce at the bottom of the pan over the top of ice cream and you will have one of the best fall desserts ever.

Truthfully, this old fashioned apple crisp is best right out of the oven but it reheats well the next day too. After a couple of days though, it starts to get mushy.

This apple crisp is also delicious for breakfast — warm or cold.