Old Fashioned Apple Crisp – Barefeet in the Kitchen

Warm slices of baked apples covered with cinnamon brown sugar streusel topping are all that’s required to make this easy apple crisp recipe.

All by itself or topped with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream, apple crisp is one of our favorite desserts year-round. If you manage to have any leftovers the next day, this makes a spectacular breakfast too.

You could even include a crisp for a big weekend brunch, coupled with a pan of breakfast enchiladas, a cheesy bacon quiche, or a jalapeno popper breakfast casserole.

You’re probably not surprised to hear that my favorite way to eat this is with my morning coffee and a scoop of ice cream. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t usually have a fresh apple crisp waiting in the kitchen in the morning.

Easy Apple Crisp Recipes

As much as I love apple crisp, I don’t always love eating the soupy dish that sometimes masquerades as an “apple crisp.” This old fashioned recipe is not at all soupy, the tender apples are covered with the perfect amount of crunchy topping to balance it well.

Want a little more evidence of my love for easy apple crisp recipes? Tart cranberries and sweet apples are baked inside a brown sugar and oat crisp for a perfect not-to-sweet cranberry apple crisp.

Tart blackberries are paired with sweet apples in this brown sugar and oat fruit crisp. Apple Crisp Ice Cream is made with the creamiest of homemade vanilla ice creams, then completely loaded with bits of cinnamon sweet baked apples, and crunchy streusel topping.

Old Fashioned Recipe for Apple Crisp

This recipe is so easy to pull together and only takes a few minutes of prep time. The most labor-intensive part is slicing your apples. To save time, I don’t peel the apples for this recipe, though you certainly can.

You can use any kind of apples you like in an apple crisp and it will turn out deliciously each and every time. Granny Smith apples yield a little bit more tartness and pair nicely with the brown sugar and cinnamon.

My favorite combination is a mix of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples.

Slicing the apples thinly and evenly is important for getting the perfect apple crisp texture. Apples that are sliced too thick will still taste good but may not end up as buttery soft.

Recipe for Apple Crisp Topping

This apple crisp with oat topping is the ultimate in forgiving dessert recipes. There’s no pressure to decorate anything or make it look super fancy, no measuring out batter or shaping of the dough.

To make this apple crisp topping recipe, you’ll combine softened butter with brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend with a spoon or your fingers until crumbly.

Sprinkle the topping over the apples in the baking dish. Pop the pan in the oven and everyone in your house will be wandering into the kitchen to find out what smells so good.

Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

I have made this apple crisp with both all-purpose flour and oat flour. Both ways come out extremely well and I don’t have a preference for one over the other. The oat flour pairs very well with the oats in the crumb topping.

If you’re cooking for someone with Celiac disease,  take care to be sure that the oats and oat flour you use are certified gluten-free. Some oats are processed on the same equipment as gluten-containing products which can be an issue for those with severe gluten allergies.

Looking for even more gluten-free dessert recipes? Check out the full collection of gluten free desserts on this website.

Easy Apple Crisp Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a small baking dish with butter.
2. Spread the apples across the greased baking pan.
3. Combine the butter with brown sugar, oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend with a spoon or your fingers until crumbly
4. Sprinkle the topping over the apples and bake for 30-32 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the apples are tender.
5. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Baking tip: If when you add the butter to the dry topping ingredients it is not soft enough to easily mix into crumbs, you can place the whole bowl (dry ingredients and butter both) in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, just long enough to soften the butter and make it easy to blend into crumbs for the topping.

Does apple crisp need to be refrigerated?

Wondering whether apple crisp needs to be refrigerated? According to the USDA, fruit fillings and pies that have been prepared with sugar can be safely left out at room temperature for up to two days. Apple crisp is in this category, so technically, it doesn’t need to be refrigerated if you’re going to eat it within that time period.

However, I always recommend refrigerating fruit crisps, simply because I think they taste fresher when stored in the fridge. Keep in mind that if you won’t finish the apple crisp within a couple of days, you should refrigerate it as soon as possible. This extends its shelf life and keeps it fresher for longer.

Last, but not least, if you live somewhere warm or humid, please refrigerate your apple crisp. Warm weather and high moisture levels can cause the apple crisp to spoil faster than it usually would.

It’s easy enough to warm apple crisp in a microwave. It only takes 20-30 seconds to reheat individual servings. To store the crisp, cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap or an airtight lid and place it in the refrigerator for up to a week.

There’s no end to the ways you can use fresh apples in desserts and baked goods. I love them in a traditional pie or homemade applesauce, of course, but apples are also fun in unexpected dishes like these crunchy apple nachos. (Your kids will LOVE those, believe me.)

For more great apple desserts, check out this German Apple Pie, the Slow Cooker Stuffed Apples, this Apple Cheddar Galette, and these Apple Cheesecake Crumb Bars are all terrific ways to use fresh apples.

And if you haven’t made apple butter before (or if it’s been a while), you NEED to go make a batch of Slow Cooker Apple Butter. It’s total apple heaven and so easy to make!

If you’re looking for more fruit crisps, this Blackberry Coconut Crisp and this Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp are both brilliant ways to enjoy summer fruits in your dessert. Can’t decide whether to make a fruit crisp or bars? These Apricot Crisp Bars are the absolute best of both worlds!

{originally published 6/2/2014 – recipe notes and photos updated 1/6/23}