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This easy recipe for Apple Crisp comes straight from my grandma's kitchen to yours! Made with sweet, tender apples, warming spices, and a buttery crisp topping, this old-fashioned apple crisp with oats makes the ultimate fall dessert.
My Great-Grandma was baking queen and known for her delicious, cozy recipes! After you enjoy this Homemade Apple Crisp, don't miss her recipes for hot milk cake, Texas sheet cake, lemon bread and banana cake with cream cheese frosting.
Reasons to Love Old-Fashioned Apple Crisp
When it comes to apple crisp, I grew up with my Great-Grandma's simple, yet perfect recipe. And while I have had many, many varieties of apple crisp through the years, her version is still by far my favorite recipe. Let's break down what makes this recipe a stand out:
- Incredibly easy recipe. The hardest part about making this apple crisp is peeling the apples. But let me let you in on a little secret...I rarely peel the apples. My family doesn't mind the added texture and it makes the dessert that much easier. The choice is yours!
- The crispy oat topping. If you love an oat topping on your apple crisp, this is the recipe for you. It is perfectly crumbly, oh-so buttery, and just just sweet enough.
- Cozy, fall flavors. Apples are the star! Their flavors are simply enhanced by the by the warming spices and oat topping.
5-Star Reader Review
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. --Dawn B ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes on Ingredients
My grandma made her apple crisp with a variety of apples and a simple topping made with rolled oats, brown sugar, and warming spices. Simple ingredients, perfect results.
- Apples: The star of the apple crisp! While any firm apple suitable for baking will work, I recommend using a combination of sweet and tart apples, leaning heavier on the sweet variety. I personally love a combination of Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, but Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Braeburn, Mutsu, Winesap, Pink Lady, work well. Avoid McIntosh and Red Delicious, as they tend to break down and become mushy when baked.
- Sugar: A bit of granulated sugar will help to sweeten the apple base and brown sugar will create a rich, warming crumble.
- Oats: Rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned) give the crisp topping an irresistible texture.
- Flour: Feel free to replace with the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free 1:1 gluten free flour to keep this apple crisp gluten-free (just ensure your oats are certified gluten-free as well!)
- Lemon Juice: Not much, just a touch to help brighten the flavors and help prevent the apples from browning. Fresh is best, but jarred 100% lemon juice will work in this particular recipe.
- Butter: Unsalted, cold and cubed so that the butter will slowly melt into the crisp topping, forming a crumble-like topping. A non-dairy unsalted butter works as well.
- Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg add classic warming notes. Note, that I recommend grating whole nutmeg rather than using ground nutmeg, as it is so much richer.
How to Make Apple Crisp
Now let's break down the step-by-step process and get this cozy dessert on your table. Think of this section as me (or my Great-Grandma) standing next to you in the kitchen.😊
- Prepare apples. If desired, peel the apples. Remove the core and chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss with sugar and lemon juice just to coat.
Note fRom Kristen
Growing up surrounded by apple orchards, we rarely added sugar to the diced apples. The buttery, spiced oat crumble sweetens the apples as they bake, and for orchard fresh apples that is all the sugar needed. I have found that when using store-bought or out of season apples, a bit of sugar is needed.
- Prepare Apple Crisp Topping. Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a medium mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and use a pastry cutter or your hands (my Grandma would tell you your hands are best) to mix until crumbly and combined.
- Layer. Add the apples to a buttered baking dish and then crumble the topping evenly over the apples.
- Bake. Bake covered for the first 20 minutes, to allow the apples to become tender without drying out or over-browning the topping. After 20 minutes, remove the foil and continue to bake until the apples are tender and the crisp topping is golden.
- Serve. It is best to allow the apple crisp to cool slightly before serving. You want the crisp to still be warm, yet not bubbling. Just don't forget to serve with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream or no-churn vanilla ice cream. The ice cream melts into the warm apple crisp and is a little bit of heaven!
Notes on Yield & Storage
While the recipe states it serves 8, I will be honest that we typically only get 6 servings out of one batch. It is just hard to NOT go back for another scoop! If making for more than 6 people, I would double the batch.
- To double this recipe, simple double the ingredients and bake in a 9x13 baking dish. The bake time will remain the same.
- If you happen to have leftovers, cover the cooled baking dish with plastic wrap or transfer the crisp to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Any longer than that, the apples begin to break down.
- To reheat individual servings, place in a heat-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals until warmed through.
- To reheat several portions, place the leftover crisp in an oven-safe baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes at 350℉.
There you have it--my family's favorite old-fashioned apple crisp! I truly hope you love it as much as we do! xo, Kristen
More Delicious Apple Recipes
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Old Fashioned Apple Crisp with Oats
Video
Ingredients
For the Apple Mixture
- 4 large sweet firm, apples (like Golden Delicious), peeled, cored and chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
For the Oat Crisp
- ⅔ cup brown sugar, light or dark
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup uncooked rolled oats, quick-cook or old-fashioned
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter (cold and cubed), plus more for greasing the baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ (190℃). Grease an 8x8 baking dish generously with butter and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the prepared apples with 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, tossing to coat.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine ⅔ cup brown sugar, ½ cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup uncooked rolled oats, ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and ¾ teaspoon nutmeg. Add in ⅓ cup unsalted butter (cold and cubed), and with a pastry cutter or your hands, combine the mixture until crumbly and the butter is evenly distributed through the mixture.
- Pour the apples into the prepared baking dish and evenly top with the oat topping.
- Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil, and continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the apples are tender and the topping is golden brown.
- Allow the apple crisp to cool slightly. Serve warm with whipped cream, milk, or vanilla ice cream.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2025.
The best and easiest I've ever found. Delicious!
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed our family's favorite apple crisp so much, Nilima!
I used this recipe to make rhubarb crisp. The only change I made was to use 1 - 1 1/4 cups of brown sugar instead of 2/3 cup to offset the tartness of the rhubarb. Turned out delicious.
Also some other types of apples that make really good apple crisp are Courtland and Northern Spy - these are older varieties of apples which are still grown in the Niagara Peninsula, Ontario and I am sure are available other places.
Thank you so much for sharing, Darlene! This would be delicious with rhubarb. And I appreciate the added apple varieties for consideration 🙂
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.
This was the perfect fall dessert and it was super easy too, thank you!
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 😍
One of the most crowd-pleasing desserts!! It's quick & easy & requested all the time around the holidays!