This homemade Apple Crisp recipe is a classic easy to make recipe for good reason!
Tender cinnamon apples are topped with a buttery brown sugar crisp topping and baked until tender and golden on top. Top apple crisp with ice cream or whipped cream and serve warm.
Why We Love Apple Crisp
- Apple Crisp is an easy dessert that is perfect for any time of year, especially fall!
- This dessert is budget friendly, add extra fruit or nuts.
- It can be prepared ahead of time and baked before serving making it the perfect dessert.
Apple Crisp vs. Cobbler
My mom made crisps, cobblers, or apple betty all of the time growing up. While similar, there are a few differences between these desserts which maily is in the toppings:
- COBBLER: An apple cobbler often has a biscuit or pie dough topping. There are also variations where the biscuit base is on the bottom of the fruit layer (as we do with our peach cobbler).
- BETTY: A betty uses breadcrumbs or cubes for the topping. A betty tends to be more pudding-like as the breadcrumbs absorb the fruit juice as it bakes.
- CRISP: A crisp has a topping made up of a combination of butter, sugar, spices, nuts, and oats.
Apples For Apple Crisp
We love granny smith apples for apple crisp as they tend to hold their shape well and don’t get mushy. The flavor is tart which goes well with the sweet topping.
If you prefer a sweeter crisp, you can use a sweeter apple, try Honeycrisp or Pink Lady or even combine a couple of types of apples!
Apples should be peeled for apple crisp as the skins don’t soften well.
Apple Crisp Topping
There is a generous amount of topping in this apple crisp because that’s my favorite part!
Butter is cut into oats, brown sugar, and a bit of flour to form coarse crumbs. I then stir in nuts and coconut.
The topping is pretty versatile, you can add any kind of nuts (pecans or almonds are favorites) and or use all coconut if you prefer.
How to Make Apple Crisp
While we often hear the term as easy as pie, making Apple Crisp is even quicker and easier than pie!
- Peel and slice apples. Toss with flour, sugar and cinnamon.
- Cut butter into the topping mixture until crumbs form.
- Place apples in a baking dish, top with the crumb mixture and bake.
Can you Freeze Apple Crisp?
Yes! You can freeze apple crisp either before or after baking! It will keep in a deep freezer for up to 6 months and in a top freezer for 2-3 months.
Allow the crisp to thaw first before reheating, and do so in a low temperature oven till just warm. What a great way to keep a dessert handy for busy nights or if company pops by unexpectedly.
Delicious Fruit Crisp Recipes
Homemade Apple Crisp is happiness in a pan and is sure to become a favorite in your home too!
Did you love this Apple Crisp? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Homemade Apple Crisp Recipe
Ingredients
Topping
- ¾ cup rolled oats
- ¾ cup brown sugar packed
- 6 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup pecans chopped, optional
- ¼ cup coconut optional
Apples
- 5 cups apples peeled and sliced
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- In a medium bowl combine rolled oats, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon.
- Blend butter into dry ingredients with a fork or pastry blender. Add pecans and coconut and combine well.
- In another bowl, mix the prepared apples with the sugar, cinnamon and flour.
- Add apples to baking dish, then sprinkle with the topping mixture
- Bake for 30 minutes until golden and apples are soft.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Like our recipes?
Follow us on Pinterest!
More Apple Recipes You’ll Love
- Homemade Apple Butter: Perfect for topping toast or muffins!
- The Best Apple Crumb Pie Ever: A classic apple pie with a delicious crumble topping.
- Apple Cheesecake Pie: The best of both worlds, a creamy cheesecake topped with a delicious apple pie filling.
- Baked Apple Pie Roll Ups (video): A quick and easy go to apple dessert.
- Creamy Apple Slaw Recipe: The perfect side for any bbq and the perfect topper for your favorite Pulled Pork Sandwiches!
The apple crisp just came out of the oven and smells so amazing! Can’t wait to dig in! Made mine with gluten free flour and oats and you wouldn’t even know (I have already started sampling ).
So glad you loved this Samantha, thank you for sharing your GF tips!
Looks great
Looks good
I love your recipes.
Thank you for directly answering the question about freezing! I didn’t know if the an entire homemade uneaten crisp could be frozen, I’ve only portioned out single servings (so I don’t eat the entire thing!). What is the best way to wrap my crisps to freeze? I just need to freeze for one week. Thanks!
Freeze in an airtight container, or wrap tightly in plastic wrap Miss Rochelle. Enjoy!
Just made this with apples off our friends tree! Soo delicious. Substituted the flour for a gluten free flour and it turned out perfectly.
What size baking dish for your Apple Crisp?
Hi Marie, we use an 8×8 or 2qt baking dish for this recipe.
Love your recipes
This is so good and easy! I just love your recipes! Shrimp and Grits was amazing too! Thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes!
Thanks so much Cathy! You have made my day!
I love your recipes please give me more thank you PS I Love dessert more than anything
So happy to hear that Dianne! New recipes are being added all the time. Check out our Dessert Section for more.
What size baking dish?
I use a 2qt or 8×8 dish for this crisp Sue.