- Quick and easy to make, especially if you use an apple peeler
- Family-approved – watch their eyes light up when you add vanilla ice cream.
- Make-ahead – keeps well and reheats beautifully
- Scales up or down to fit your gathering and perfect for the holidays
Apple Crisp Ingredients
Apple Crisp is all about the experience—the aroma of Fall spices, the crisp topping, and the warm, gooey filling. Here are the simple ingredients that make this incredible dessert:
- Apples – we used golden delicious apples, but any crisp apple would work well (see list of options below)
- Lemon juice – keeps the apples from browning and adds flavor and acidity to balance out the sweetness
- Sugar – adjust to taste depending on how tart your apples are
- Flour – helps to thicken the filling. You can substitute with cornstarch for a gluten-free apple crisp.
- Cinnamon – our favorite complimentary spice for apple recipes
Apple Crisp Topping Ingredients
- Flour – bonds the crumb together, feel free to use your favorite gluten-free flour
- Oats – use old-fashioned oats to make the crisp topping, make sure to buy gluten-free, if needed
- Sugar – we combine brown sugar and granulated sugar for a sweet caramel-like filling
- Cinnamon – complements the apple filling
- Salt – balances the sweetness
- Butter – use unsalted, softened butter.
Substitutions
This recipe is versatile, and here are some creative variations to consider:
- Nuts – add chopped nuts to your streusel topping
- Caramel Sauce drizzled over the top just before serving
- Cranberries – substitute 1 1/2 cups of apples for fresh or dried cranberries and add more sugar if using fresh cranberries
- Spices – add a pinch of cloves, nutmeg, or even candied ginger
Which Apples are Best for Apple Crisp?
Select firm and crisp apples to ensure they won’t become mushy in the oven. Apples vary in sweetness, so adjust the sugar accordingly. For this recipe, we used Golden Delicious apples with 3/4 cup of sugar, but if you opt for Granny Smith Apples, increase the sugar to 1 cup or adjust to taste.
You can mix different apple varieties for a unique flavor. Here are our preferred apples for baking:
