This easy recipe for apple crumble is the best way to bring fresh crisp apples to the table!
Tender and sweet cinnamon-kissed apples are baked under a buttery brown sugar crumble topping.
With just a few simple steps (and ingredients you likely have on hand), this delicious dessert is ready to put into the oven.
We love apple recipes in the fall from cozy Apple Pie Bread to easy apple hand pies.
The Best Apples for Crumble
Granny Smith Apples are my personal favorite for most dessert recipes. I love their tart flavor and they hold their shape well.
Other options include Honeycrisp, Gala, Braeburn, or Pink Lady.
Other Ingredients for Apple Crumble
In addition to the apples mentioned above, you’ll need just a handful of pantry ingredients for this apple crumble recipe.
Apple Filling: A bit of all purpose flour thickens the juices while cinnamon and sugar sweeten and flavor it.
Crumble Topping: The crumble topping is made with flour, cold butter, sugar, and spices. Feel free to add some finely chopped pecans or walnuts.
How to Make Apple Crumble
Sometimes simple is best when it comes time to make dessert. I love this dessert because it reminds my of the desserts my mom used to make when I was younger.
- Prepare topping: Place toppings in a bowl and cut with a pastry cutter until it begins to stick together as you mix it. Refrigerate while preparing apples.
- Prepare apples: Toss apples with sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a greased casserole dish.
- Bake: Sprinkle topping and bake until golden brown according to the recipe below.
Tips for A Great Crumble Topping
- Use cold butter in this recipe and mix the topping until it starts to stick together and form larger pieces.
- If the topping seems powdery, it needs to be mixed longer until it forms larger crumbs.
- Refrigerate the topping while peeling the apples, this helps keep it from melting and keeps it crumbly and crisp.
- Use firm apples so they don’t lose their shape and become mushy while baking. Overbaking can cause mushy apples.
- Check the apple crumble early so the apples don’t overcook or they will turn into applesauce!
A crumble is fruit mixed with sweetened seasonings like cinnamon, allspice, cloves, sugar, and a bit of flour or cornstarch for thickening. It’s baked with a streusel-type topping.
Apple crumble (as in this recipe) is made with a simple streusel topping made of butter, flour, sugars, and spices.
Apple crisp contains oats and nuts.
Apple Cobbler is more of a cake-like or biscuit-like topping depending on the recipe.
This easy apple crumble recipe can be stored either in the fridge for 24 hours before baking. If making ahead, toss the apples with a spoonful of lemon juice so they don’t brown too much.
Once baked, it can be kept or on the counter for up to 2 days. If you plan to store it longer, I would suggest keeping it in the refrigerator.
Yes, apple crumble can be frozen either before or after baking. Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake as directed. If the crumble is still really cold, it might need a few minutes of extra baking time.
More Apple Recipes
Did your family love this Apple Crumble? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Homemade Apple Crumble
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 cups apples peeled and chopped, 1" pieces
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon or apple pie spice
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup flour
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ cup unsalted butter cold, cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Place all topping ingredients (except butter) in a medium bowl. Use a pastry cutter to cut in butter until the mixture starts to stick together, about 3 minutes. Place in the fridge while preparing the apples.
- Place apples in a 2qt baking dish and toss with sugar, flour, and cinnamon.
- Sprinkle crumble topping over top of apple mixture and bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and apples are soft.
- Serve warm with ice cream.
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.
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This recipe is amazing! Prep time is super quick and the instructions are very easy to follow. AND it tastes incredible. I’m obsessed!
Can I skip the ginger I do not have any I never ever use it
You can omit the ginger or substitute it for more cinnamon, and while it will slightly change the flavor it will still be delicious! Enjoy Christine!
Very very nice Holly. Your apple crumble was delicious!
All your other recipes were good and we did enjoy them. Happy cooking and baking!
I saw this recipe last fall. Easy to make & delicious. I have made it several times this fall. Several friends & family now have this recipe because once they have eaten it, want to make it
I’ll be so excited to try this yummy recipe. Anything this easy, I’ll definitely make. I’m getting a turkey breast soon. That would be a great time to try this. Thank you, Holly.
This is so delicious! Plan on making it for Thanksgiving.
Delicious!! Used a variety of apples and a little allspice instead of ginger. Definitely a keeper!
Can you freeze the apple mix and bake it later? Not the tipping of course. But the apple mix.
Both the apple mix and the topping freeze well before or after baking!
This was delicious and easy. We had guests over and they loved it. My only concern is the amount of sugar in the recipe. Next time I make this, I’ll try halving the sugar. Thanks for the tasty recipe.
Whenever I want a great recipe, which is always, I go to Spend With Pennies. This time was no different. Great apple crumble!
That is so sweet of you, Joyce! It makes us so happy to hear you are loving our recipes! ❤️
I LOVE this recipe! I made this for my family last 4th of July and it was rave reviews all around!
I see in earlier comments that you can make this a day ahead and just leave it at room temp. My question is, could you put it all together and then bake it the next day?
Sure you can! You’ll want to ensure you toss the apples with a bit of lemon juice (a couple teaspoons should do) so they don’t brown too much. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight.
Sometimes simple recipes are the best. When I first made this recipe, I made it as printed and was amazing. My husband loves apple stuff, and will buy pie and turnovers almost continuously. It’s the best apple thing we’ve had in ages, even though we consume a lot of them. We ate all this in under 48 hours.
Since the first time, I have doubled the apple portion (and the coating) and used a sprinkle of nutmeg instead of ginger in the topping. That’s just a personal preference, the ginger was great, too. With the apples and the coating ingredients doubled, it makes a full 9″x13″ sheet cake pan worth. The topping is still enough to cover the pan, and doesn’t need doubling unless you’re more in love with the crumble than the apple. The cook time goes up to about an hour for me with such a big pan.
PS- It is October and I’m using in-season cosmic crisp apples. They’re a sweet and tart, firm but not quite “baking apple” firm. Similar to braeburns, fuji, or honeycrisps. I chop the apples into chunks much like in the photo in your post, and don’t have problems with them becoming too mushy. Maybe it would be worth emphasizing that 1″ pieces part.
I’m so glad you both loved it Zee, thank you for sharing your tips!
Absolutely delicious and easy to make.
It was a lovely dessert and a huge hit. For some reason the granny smiths I used definitely cooked down to more of an applesauce consistency. It was still super tasty!
I’m so glad you loved it Brook!
Could I make this a day ahead? This sounds like a delicious alternative to apple pie. Thank you!
Yes it can. You can leave it at room temperature overnight. Enjoy Jenny!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes it can. You can leave it at room temperature overnight.
As I live in Australia and we have Self raising flour and plain flour a lot of your recipes just say “Flour” so which one does it refer to?
This would be all-purpose flour.
Have you tried using breadcrumbs instead of flour ? My late father made his version of Danish Apple Crumble with sugar and breadcrumbs, and maybe bit of cinnamon (? – don’t remember noticing cinnamon taste, but would make sense) stirred in a frypan then tipped over the apple, then into oven for a bit . But it was along time ago, I was but a boy and didn’t take much note of amounts and times.
I haven’t tried this with breadcrumbs but it does sound delicious.
Tried this tonight. It came out quite dry like it needed some liquid or sauce
I’m sorry to hear that Sami. I can’t say why that happened, as we have not had it turn out dry when we’ve made it. Thank you for trying it!
how many apples do you use
You will need 5-6 apples depending on the size. Enjoy June!
My son wants me to make a pineapple crumble using pineapple tidbits. Will it work with this recipe .
Hi Sherry, we have only made this recipe as written but I think it should work if you drain the pineapple tidbits. Cooking times may have to be adjusted accordingly, too. Let us know how it turns out! :)