Classic Apple Crisp Recipe

This easy apple crisp with oats recipe is a classic! Golden sprinkles rest on a juicy and warmly spiced fruit filling.

We can easily ignore cakes, cookies and brownies. But crispy? Give us a good old crunchy apple and we’ll definitely give in! The Oatmeal Apple Crisp Recipe is absolute classic, who take advantage of all that cozy nostalgia for the season. The streusel topping has the ideal texture: crispy but not crunchy, buttery but not chewy. The layer of fruit underneath gets your heart pumping: cinnamon, hints of ginger and allspice, rounded off with hints of orange and lemon zest.

The Best Apple Varieties for Apple Crisp

The best apples for an apple crisp recipe? Firm and crunchy baked apples. A sweet, tart apple gives the best flavor because the acidity brings out the flavor. (Acid is to dessert what salt is to savory dishes: we’ll get to that later!). Here are some of the varieties that shine in an easy apple crisp recipe:

• Honey crispy
• deliciously golden
• Granny Smith
• Jonathon or Jonagold
• I dared

Better yet, use a mix of apples! You can add even more nuance to the flavor by using different varieties. We like to use a mix of Golden Delicious and Jonagold, which are easy to find apple picking here in Indiana.

How to Core and Chop Apples… Fast!

When preparing the filling for this Apple Crisp recipe, you can ditch that apple corer and a slicer. (In fact, we ended up throwing ours in the trash.) Why? Use this easy method to cut apples, which is so much faster:

• Cut out each of the four sides: Hold the core of the apple and use a large chef’s knife to cut through all four sides of the apple, as close to the core as possible. Discard the core.
• To cut in pieces: Take one of the quarters and lay it flat side down. Then cut them in half and crosswise to dice them. Repeat with all four quarters!

Cut and apple that way and it’s as quick as an apple corer. (Of course if you have one of those apple corer peeler slicers use this one instead).

The keys to this apple crisp recipe

This crispy apple and oatmeal recipe is flawless: it’s exactly what you’d expect from a classic, but a little spicy. Here are some notes on what makes it so divine:

• Orange and lemon zest emphasize the sweetness. Acid in desserts is like salt in savory dishes: it makes the flavors shine! This is where the citrus zest (and a little lemon juice) finds the right balance with the sugar.
• Cinnamon, ginger and allspice provide a warm note. There’s a healthy dose of cinnamon, then hints of ginger and allspice. Remember: Ginger’s flavor increases in the fridge when storing leftovers.
• The correct ratio of butter to oats makes the crumble topping. A good apple crisp recipe should have a crumbly, crunchy filling: not crunchy, soft, or mushy. This one has just the right ratio of butter and oats for that signature texture.

Adjust the sugar to taste

This Apple Crisp recipe has a slight variation in the sugar content in the filling. Here’s what you need to know:

• Use ⅓ cup sugar for a sweet, crunchy cake. It’s also perfect if you want to serve it with vanilla ice cream.
• Use ½ cup sugar for a sweet crunch. If you like sweet desserts, go up to ½ cup sugar. It’s sweet but not too sweet.

Variations: vegan and gluten-free

Want to make a vegan apple crisp recipe or a gluten free apple crisp recipe? Here are some easy substitutions that make this recipe suitable for almost any diet:

• Replace almond flour with gluten-free. With almond flour, crispy recipes are easy to make gluten-free! It works well in a crumble topping, especially because it crisps up slightly when cooked.
• Replace vegan butter or coconut oil with gluten-free ones. Vegan substitute is not as crispy as a topping, but it works! Vegan butter is the best option. You can also use coconut oil at room temperature, although the filling will be milder. We recommend refined coconut oil, which has a more subtle coconut flavor.

Toppings for this easy apple crisp recipe

You might think of vanilla ice cream when it comes to apple chips and it’s awesome. But here are some other options to get creative:

Remaining memory information

Want to salvage leftover apple chips? Here’s what you need to know about storage:

• Refrigerate up to 3 days. The filling keeps quite well in the fridge and even better when reheated.
• Freeze up to 3 months. You can freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Heat in a 350 degree oven until bubbly and the filling is crispy.

More apple recipes and desserts

There are so many apple recipes to try once you’ve made apple crisps! Here are some other apple desserts to try: