This easy apple crisp recipe with oat topping is the perfect balance of indulgent and wholesome! It maintains that classic apple crisp flavor while a few ingredient swaps increase the nutrient density, while still remembering that this is dessert at the end of the day (so let's make it taste like one!). The perfect sweet treat for your fall or holiday table.
After a summer full of strawberry crisp and homemade peach crisp, this wholesome apple crisp is a welcome treat come fall and holiday season! It has a saucy and cinnamon-spiked filling with a nicely textured, thick layer of apple crisp topping with oats, all while using wholesome, real ingredients.
This apple crisp recipe is the perfect way to use apples in fall, or to add a wholesome yet indulgent dessert to your Thanksgiving menu. Let's make it!
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Key Ingredients & Notes
- Apples - I find that using tart or sweet-tart apple varieties that stand up well to being baked in the oven works well here. Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples are what I recommend for this recipe!
- Tapioca starch - After years of making crisps, I've loved how tapioca starch creates a thick and saucy fruit filling. See swaps below! Cornstarch, arrowroot, and regular flour can work as well.
- Apple pie spices - Using cinnamon alone is delicious, but after experimenting more with homemade pie spices, I felt like my apple crisps leveled up in flavor! I recommend a combo of cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.
- Whole rolled oats - Oats will create the primary structure in our apple crisp topping. I recommend whole rolled oats over quick oats for the best texture! Be sure to use certified gluten free oats if needed for gluten free.
- White whole wheat flour - Using this flour boosts fiber and protein without compromising on taste or density of the topping. To make gluten free, use a gluten free baking flour that can swap in 1:1. You can also use spelt flour, like I did in this almond butter apple crisp recipe (also delish!), all-purpose flour (I prefer unbleached), or whole wheat pastry flour as well.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter an 8 or 9-inch baking dish (square or round is fine). Thinly slice apples and then cut the slices in half once. This achieves those nice bite size pieces and makes the peels unnoticeable after baking, which means no need to peel. You're still welcome to peel apples if desired.
- Step 2: Add apple slices to a large bowl with lemon juice, tapioca starch, cinnamon or pie spices, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat, then transfer apples to the prepared baking dish.
- Step 3: In the same or separate bowl, add cubed butter, flour, oats, more cinnamon or pie spices, chopped nuts, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, and additional salt. Using clean hands, start to squish the ingredients together, pressing the dry ingredients into the butter until everything is mixed together and you have a bowl full of small clumps of topping.
- Step 4: Layer the crumble atop the apples in the prepared pie dish.
- Step 5: Bake crisp at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes. If you find that the top is browning too quickly, loosely place a piece of foil over the top. Once the apple crisp is done, the top should be browned and filling should be bubbling. Remove the crisp from the oven and allow it to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Step 6: Serve warm or at room temperature with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Note that the filling will set more as the crisp cools, and will be slightly runnier if served immediately. Both ways are delish!
Success Tips
- To peel or not peel? After making many apple crisps, I find that I can skip peeling by cutting apples thinly and then cutting those slices in half. Because of the small, thin pieces, the peelings get lost in the filling so you don't even notice them! That said, if you or a family member feels strongly about it, feel free to peel.
- Apple chunk size. I've tried all kinds of sizes for apple pieces in crisp, and my favorite by far is the thinly sliced and halved. If you do cubes or chunks, then you most likely need to peel the apples. If you do thin but full slices, they do get kind of floppy when eating (or need to be cut into anyway). With the thinly sliced and halved pieces, everything is perfectly bite sized and there's more surface area for flavor, plus peeling is not necessary. Win win.
- Serve a la mode. There is nothing quite like a cold vanilla ice cream with a slightly warm apple crisp. A little whipped cream is good too 🙂
Apple Crisp FAQ
For the best flavor, choose apples that are more tart or sweet-tart. For the best texture, choose apples that are crisp and can stand up well to baking without turning into complete mush. Granny Smith apples and Honeycrisps check both of these boxes, and I use them all the time in my apple crisps!
It's probably still warm from the oven! If you would prefer a sturdier apple crisp texture, allow the crisp to cool for about an hour or longer. The tapioca starch in the filling will help it gel up nicely as it cools.
A crisp and a crumble are similar enough that the terms are often used interchangeably to refer to the same dessert. The main differentiator is that crisp toppings tend to contain oats, which crisp up in the oven. A cobbler is also a baked dessert with a fruit filling, but the topping is a typically made from a biscuit dough.
This apple crisp is best enjoyed within five days. You can store it at room temperature, covered, for 1-2 days, but then transfer it to an airtight container and place in the fridge. If you prefer a warm crisp, gently reheat it in the microwave, air fryer, or oven.
You sure can! Make sure the crisp is completely cooled before transferring it to an airtight container. Place the container in the fridge for up to three months, and thaw in the fridge when ready to eat. Reheat in the oven at 350 for about 20 minutes or until warmed through!
More Dessert Recipes
Life is better with dessert. If you like apple crisp, you might also love:
Did you try this cozy apple crisp recipe? Don't forget to leave a star rating 🌟 and comment below, and tag me on Instagram and Pinterest so I can see what you made!
📖 Recipe
Crispy, Cozy Apple Crisp with a Hearty Oat Topping
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This cozy apple crisp recipe strikes the balance between wholesome and indulgent, so it's the perfect cozy and sweet addition to your fall or holiday table! The oat topping creates an incredible texture atop saucy, cinnamon-spiked apples. YUM!
Ingredients
- 800 grams of apples, thinly sliced & slices halved (~7-8 apples)
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon or apple pie spice
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter (1 stick), cut into cubes
- 1 cup whole rolled oats
- ½ cup white whole wheat flour
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup walnuts, roughly chopped
- Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat & prep. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and butter an 8 or 9-inch baking dish (round, square, or a small rectangle of similar size is fine).
- Make the filling. Slice apples thinly, and slice the slices in half. Place into a large bowl and add ¼ cup maple syrup, tapioca starch, cinnamon or pie spices, lemon juice, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Stir to get the apples nicely coated, then transfer the apples to the prepared baking dish, distributing them evenly.
- Make the topping. In the same bowl or a separate medium-large bowl, add the butter, oats, flour, brown sugar, walnuts, vanilla, remaining 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon or pie spices. Using clean hands, mix the ingredients and start to squish the pieces of butter into the oat mixture until integrated. Your bowl should look full of pebbly pieces.
- Bake. Transfer the oat topping to the baking dish in one layer atop the apples. Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes, until crisp topping is nicely browned and apple crisp filling is juicy and bubbling beneath. Allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Notes
- Storage and freezing instructions. Apple crisp can sit on the counter at room temperature, covered, for 1-2 days, but then it's best to store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to five days. To freeze, allow the crisp to cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to three months. When ready to enjoy, thaw it in the fridge, then reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until fully heated through.
- Apple recommendations. I love using Granny Smith or Honeycrisp for baking! They are both sturdy apples and bake up without turning to mush, plus they have incredibly tart or sweet-tart flavors that really pop when baked into something sweet. You can use any apple varieties that have these qualities as well!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 big scoop (⅛ recipe)
- Calories: 347
- Sugar: 27.8 g
- Sodium: 152.4 mg
- Fat: 16.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 47.5 g
- Fiber: 5.2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 30.5 mg
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