My homemade apple crisp recipe features an apple filling and buttery pecan crumbly topping… it’s so easy and delicious! Pour into a baking dish or skillet and bake until the crisp topping is golden brown and the apple filling is bubbling. One of the best apple recipes, especially when topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

The Best Apple Crisp Recipe

Homemade apple crips is a timeless dessert that’s perfect for welcoming fall! It’s like apple pie… but so much easier. In fact I always joke that apple crisp is apple pie’s laid back little sister. Because let’s be real, apple pie (even apple hand pies) can be a labor of love and can be quite the diva.

But apple crisp? She’s easy, adaptable, and forgiving! She has all the appeal the appeal of apple pie, without all the work. Here’s why I think this is the BEST apple crisp recipe on the web:

• Apple crisp delivers all the flavors and WOW of apple pie, with much less work!
• Unlike apple crisp bars, this traditional apple crisp has TONS of gooey apple filling.
• Instead of pie crust, we add crunch by topping the apple filling with pecan crumbly topping.
• The apple filling features warming spices that’ll taste amazing… and make your home smell incredible as it bakes.
• Delicious on it’s own, but divine with a drizzle of caramel sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Whipped cream is a delicious option, too!

Apple Crisp Ingredients

• Apples: You’ll need about 10 apples for the apple filling. The sliced apples will look like a ton, but will shrink a good amount once baked in the oven.
• Lemon Juice: Fresh lemon juice works best, but in a pinch you could sub fresh lime juice or even apple cider vinegar.
• All-Purpose Flour: For a gluten free baked apple crisp recipe, try using a 1-for-1 gluten free flour substitute. I don’t recommend using nut flours.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar and brown sugar add sweetness and depth of flavor.
• Spices: Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and all-spice
• Oats: Old-fashioned oats work best, but quick cook oats will technically work. They’ll make a shorter crumbly topping with less texture.
• Pecans: Chopped walnuts or almonds work great as a replacement. Or you can omit completely.
• Baking Powder: I love the rise this adds to the crumbly topping, but in a pinch, you can omit it.
• Butter: This makes our crumbly topping extra crispy and delicious! Do not use melted butter! It should be cold and cut into cubes.

How to Make Apple Crisp

1. Baking Prep: Preheat the oven 30 minutes before you plan on baking. Grease a baking dish and set aside.
2. Apple Filling: Peel the apples and cut them into 1/8-inch slices. Toss the apple slices with the lemon juice, then add the flour, sugar, and spices. Pour into your baking dish and set aside.
3. Crumbly Topping: Combine the flour, sugars, oats, pecans, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the cold butter until the mixture is a coarse meal. Sprinkle on top of the apple filling.
4. Bake: Place the baking dish in the oven and bake until the apple filling is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
5. Serve Warm: Unlike apple pie, there’s no need to cool completely! In fact, I love serving this straight from the oven when it’s hot and gooey.

Make the Crumby Topping (King of Crisp Toppings)

• Make sure you have all your dry ingredients on hand: flour, brown and white sugar, oats, pecans, baking powder, nutmeg and cinnamon.
• Start with cold butter, otherwise your crumb will melt too quickly in the oven.
• Using a pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients. In a pinch, you can also use two forks, or as the last option, your fingers.
• To ensure the crumbly topping bakes evenly, sprinkle it all over the top of the apple filling.

Please note the filling will be thicker if you use a skillet and thinner if you use a traditional 9×13-inch baking dish.

Should I Peel the Apples?

To peel or not to peel… that is the question. And the answer? Yes, you should peel your apples. 

• Unpeeled apples might be easier, and add color and texture to your apple crisp recipe. But they’ll also prevent the apple filling from melding together when baked. 
• Peeled apples will give you a delicately soft and creamy apple filling, with no tough or chewy bits.
• Some argue that removing the peel causes you to lose an apple’s nutritional value. But apple crisp isn’t a health food and why not enjoy it in its best form?

Apple Filling: Honeycrisp Apples?

• What’s the best apple to use for apple crisp? Personally, I love using honeycrisp apples because they’re crisp, sweet, and tart, and they bake up beautifully.
• To add more flavor to the apple filling, I usually use 6 Honeycrisp apples. Then, I add 3 or 4 apples of another variety. I find granny smith, jonagold, mutsu, and braeburn are all great baking apples.
• For an apple crisp recipe that’s more tart or spiced – like my chai apple crisp and cranberry apple crisp – I’ll all sweet apples.

What to Serve with Baked Apple Crisp

• Ice Cream: I can’t think of a more classic pairing than apple crisp and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
• Whipped Cream: If you don’t like vanilla ice cream, whipped cream is a great option for topping!
• Caramel Sauce: A drizzle of caramel sauce is the perfect addition to this homemade apple crisp. You can add it right on top of the baking dish, or drizzle on the bowls individually.

Cover any leftover apple crisp with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat in the microwave or oven if desired!