This recipe for Old Fashioned Apple Crisp is the absolute best! Made with sweet, soft, and tender apples and a buttery oat crisp that is spiced to perfection, this apple crisp is the ultimate fall dessert.
This Apple Crisp makes a great fall treat especially when topped with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream and served alongside Mulled Cider.
The Best Apple Crisp Recipe
This is an Old Fashioned Apple Crisp Recipe that has been in my family for generations and still remains one of my family's all-time favorite desserts.
It is a no-frills, simple recipe that comes together fast, yet it is absolutely perfect! The apple crisp is not too sweet, not too spiced, not too buttery--everything is balanced and in taste and textures.
Just like my great-grandma taught me, this recipe features an oatmeal crumble that is made with oats, butter, flour, sugar, and spices, and a simple filling made with just fresh apples.
That's right! No lemon juice, no cinnamon, no sugar, no cornstarch are added to the apple filling. The buttery crumble melts into the apples as they bake and soften, giving the apples all the flavor they need. The apple flavor really stands out and is not cloyingly sweet or overwhelmed by spices. It is perfection.
Served warm, and paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this easy Old Fashioned Apple Crisp is sure to become a favorite at your house as well!
Ingredients for Apple Crisp
- Apples--The best apples for apple crisp are Granny Smith, McIntosh, or Gala apples. But you can choose any apple that is suitable for baking.
- Oats--Use either old fashioned rolled oats or quick-cooking oats for this apple crisp. Do NOT steel cut oats!
- Brown Sugar--Brown sugar adds so much depth and richness to the apple crisp, so I much prefer using brown sugar to granulated sugar.
- Flour--All-purpose, whole wheat, white wheat all work for this recipe. Even a 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour mix works to make this gluten-free apple crisp.
- Butter--Unsalted butter is a must so that you you can control the salt.
- Spices--Cinnamon and grated whole nutmeg are the perfect pair to warm up the homemade apple crisp.
How to Make Apple Crisp
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
- Wash and dry the apples. At this point, you can peel your apples if desired, however, I opt to leave the skins on the apples for added fiber and nutrients.
- Remove the cores from the apples and thinly slice, into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Place apples in the baking dish until it is three-quarters of the way full.
- For the crumble, mix together the flour, oats, sugar, and seasonings until well combined in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut in the soft butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter, 2 forks, or your hands. I find my hands work best to really mix that crumble and that is just the way my Great-Grandma mixed the topping.
- Cover apples evenly with the oat topping.
- Cover with foil and bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes, until topping is browned and apples are cooked.
- Serve warm plain for with a scoop of vanilla Ice cream!
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover apple crisp, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Warm individual servings in heat-safe bowls in the microwave for 30-second intervals until heated through.
Recipe FAQs
Apple crisp can be assembled, baked, and then cooled in advance. Store the cooled apple crisp, covered in the refrigerator for up to 48 hours. Remove the apple crisp from the refrigerator while the oven preheats to 350 degrees F. Bake, covered with foil, for 20 minutes or until warmed through.
Simply peel the apples and prepare the recipe as directed. I leave the peels on simply for the nutrients and to speed up the preparation.
I prefer grating whole nutmeg, as the flavor is much milder. In fact, I don't really care much for ground nutmeg. If that is all you have, use half the amount.
This recipe calls for 4 cups of sliced apples. This is equivalent to about 4 medium apples.
Yes! To make Gluten-Free Apple Crisp, be sure your oats are certified gluten-free and use an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
Yes! I have made this apple crisp using dairy-free butter, such as Earth Balance, instead of traditional butter with success.
More Apple Recipes
If you enjoyed this Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Apple Crisp
Ingredients
- 4 cups sliced apples about 4 medium-small apples
- ⅔ cup cup brown sugar
- ½ cup flour
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ¾ tsp cinnamon
- ¾ tsp grated whole nutmeg
- ⅓ cup butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8x8 pan and set aside.
- Wash and dry the apples. Remove the core and if desired, peel the apples. You can also leave the peels on the apples. Thinly slice the apple into ¼-inch slices.
- Place the apples into the buttered baking dish. The baking dish should be about three-quarters of the way full.
- Combine the oats, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add in the butter, and with a pastry cutter or your hands, combine the mixture until crumbly and the butter is evenly distributed through the mixture. Sprinkle evenly over the apples.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until apples are tender and topping is golden brown.
- Serve warm with whipped cream. milk, or vanilla ice cream.
Dawn B.
I loved your recipe. I used whole wheat rolled oats and grass fed salted butter then added chopped pecans for texture. I also doubled recipe cause it goes fast.
Jessica Burgess
This was the perfect fall dessert and it was super easy too, thank you!
Lily
This apple crisp was amazing, it had so much flavor and was super easy to ake, i fell in love with this recipe, this will be a fall staple for us 😍
Kristyn
One of the most crowd-pleasing desserts!! It's quick & easy & requested all the time around the holidays!
Elizabeth
Very delicious. Very easy. I needed to cover mine with aluminum foil after the 20 mins and cook about 10 more minutes to soften the apples. I used ground nutmeg, not fresh. I used salted butter and it was delicious. I used whole wheat flour which I think gave it extra crunchiness. I will definitely make it again. Probably will double it so we'll have more for the next day!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Elizabeth and thank you for the notes on whole wheat flour 🙂
Elizabeth
Also, my 16 year old daughter said "I'm not a big fan of apple crisp but that was really good!" I think it is because this is the first apple crisp I've ever made where the topping was actually crispy. 🙂
Kristen Chidsey
I LOVE hearing that <3
Dina
This looks amazing! I will have to try this apple crisp! Thanks for sharing on Creative K Kids’ Tasty Tuesdays link up.
Kristen Chidsey
You bet. I hope you try it Dina. It is always a hit at my house!
Ashlyn @ Belle of the Kitchen
I am crazy for apple crisp, and I have been buying apples nearly every time I go to the store lately. I have to make this; old-fashioned versions are the best versions!
Denise Wright
I'm not much of a baker but I think I can handle this. Looks great! There's nothing better in Fall than a good apple crumble and yours looks delicious!
Kristen Chidsey
You can handle this, I promise--so easy!