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Our classic Apple Crisp recipe combines orchard-fresh apples, sugar, and spices – all baked under a sweet, buttery, oatmeal crisp topping. Enjoy this decades-old recipe from the Tougas Family Farm in New England.
The Best Apple Crisp Recipe
This amazingly delicious, classic Apple Crisp recipe had been my go-to apple crisp recipe for decades. Every fall during apple-picking season, I pull this recipe out of a binder that I keep of old tried-and-true recipes I’ve collected over the years, and it never disappoints!
Slices of sweet apples are combined with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg plus a pinch of salt and a few tablespoons of flour (which help to thicken the juices from the apples into the perfect, sweet creamy sauce) and then placed in a large casserole dish. The apple mixture is then topped with a generous topping of flour, oats, brown sugar and butter that bakes into the perfect crisp.
Serve your Apple Crisp with some vanilla ice cream – and enjoy the ultimate fall dessert!
Recipe Credits
I originally clipped this recipe from The Boston Globe newspaper years ago, and it was adapted from the Tougas Family Farm Cookbook which you can view online here.
The Tougas Family Farm bakes and sells tray after tray of this delicious apple crisp every fall season at their farm store located in Northborough, Massachusetts. It’s also one of our favorite places to go apple picking as they have an amazing orchard with a large variety of apples. (We always pick way too many apples – but it’s a great excuse to bake apple crisp.)
Why You’ll Love Apple Crisp
- This delicious and easy recipe is quintessential Fall in a bowl and pure comfort food!
- It’s a very versatile recipe, and you can use a mix of apples depending on what varieties are available in your area.
- This is the perfect way to enjoy apples from the orchard after a day of apple picking!
Reader Review
“OMG! This is the best! It’s like heaven on earth! My husband and kids loved it!” – Bertha
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Apples – It’s best to use a combination of apples that stay firm when baked (such as Cortland, Honey Crisp, or Gravenstein) as well as some apples that cook down to a softer consistency when baked (such as MacIntosh). This mix of the two varieties creates a perfect balance of apple and sauce in every bite.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar is added to the apples, while brown sugar is included in the crisp topping.
- All-Purpose Flour
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
- Salt – A little salt added to any sweet recipe helps to enhance the flavors and sweetness!
- Oats – It’s best to use rolled oats for the Apple Crisp topping because it stays firm and crunchy. Quick-cook oats will cook down and yield a softer topping.
- Butter – We typically bake with unsalted butter, but in this case, if you only have salted butter on hand – it’s fine to use.
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
- Vanilla Ice Cream – For serving.
Special Tools You’ll Need
- Large Baking Dish – We used a two+ quart baking dish but a 9×13-inch casserole dish will also work.
- Vegetable Peeler
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Various Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Large Mixing Bowl
- Medium Mixing Bowl
Cooking Tips & Tricks
- For best results, slice the apples into thin (1/4-inch) slices. If you cut the apples into thicker slices, you’ll probably need to bake this dessert for longer so the apples are tender.
- It’s totally fine to load the baking dish up with a mound of sliced apples. As the Apple Crisp bakes, the apples cook down into a flat-topped dessert under the crisp topping.
How do I make Apple Crisp?
- Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Toss sliced apples, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Pour apple mixture into baking dish.
- Combine flour, brown sugar, and rolled oats in a smaller bowl. Add butter and work with your fingers to combine and create coarse crumbs for the topping.
- Sprinkle the topping over the apples in the baking dish.
- Bake until the topping is crisp and golden and you can see the apples bubbling underneath and along the edges.
- Let the apple crisp cool for at least thirty minutes once it comes out of the oven to set.
- Serve still-warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Apple Crisp ahead of time? Yes – it reheats nicely, or you can serve it at room temperature or chilled. (Although we think it tastes the best served warm.)
- How do I store leftovers? Cool completely, then cover the baking dish with plastic wrap. Store in the refrigertor for up to four days (if it lasts that long).
- How do I reheat leftovers? Warm the casserole dish in the oven, or warm individual servings on low temp in the microwave.
- Can I freeze this apple crisp? We’ve never tried but think it should work. We suggest that you try freezing already-baked apple crisp, then thaw and reheat for serving.
We originally posted this Apple Crisp recipe on A Family Feast in October 2013. We’ve updated the post and photos, but the delicious recipe remains the same.
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Apple Crisp
Our classic Apple Crisp recipe combines orchard-fresh apples, sugar, and spices – all baked under a sweet, buttery, oatmeal crisp topping. Enjoy this decades-old recipe from the Tougas Family Farm in New England.
Ingredients
For the Apples:
- 9–10 large apples, peeled, cored and sliced into thin 1/4″ slices. (*See note below for the best apple varieties to use.)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
For the Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
- 1/2 cup butter (1 stick) cut into 1-inch pieces
- Vanilla ice cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a large casserole dish or 9×13-inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the apple slices, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Toss to coat the apples and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
- To make the topping, combine the flour, brown sugar and oats in a medium bowl. Add the butter pieces, and with your fingers, rub the butter in the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle this mixture over the apples.
- Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the topping is crisp and golden and the inside is warm and bubbly.
- Let sit for about 30 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream
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Notes
*It’s best to use a combination of apples that stay firm when baked (such as Cortland, Honey Crisp or Gravenstein) as well as some apples that cook down to a soft consistency when baked (such as MacIntosh).
So easy and delicious! We love this recipe and are making 3 batches of it tonight to use up some apples from our tree.
Thanks Amy!
Any apple crisp or pie recipe has to have some orange juice.
By all means, feel free to add it if you’d like Charmaine!
How can I cut this recipe to fit an 8×8 pan. This is too large!
Thanks
Hi Carol – I’d cut the ingredients in half for that size pan. Enjoy!
So good! I made it exactly to recipe and it was to die for. The second time, I threw in about half a cup of leftover pumpkin puree and added some pp spices. Also delicious!
I love that idea Erin! I’m going to try adding the pumpkin the next time we make this recipe! Thanks for writing to us – so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
My daughter’s boyfriend loves apple crisp, and he was due to come home from college for a long weekend, so she asked me to make it for him. I was more than happy to do so and decided to use this recipe, since it seemed to be the closest to the way my late mother made it. (I don’t think Mom even had a written-down recipe. It was one of those things she just made off the top of her head.) I used several different variety of apples, which is something I usually do when making apple anything, and upped the amount of oats by just a bit. Otherwise I followed the recipe to the letter. The only thing I might do differently next time is use an 11×17 baking dish and bake it for a bit longer, just so the servings have a bit more heft to them. This is really an excellent recipe. I served it with Redi-Whip squirted on top, but both Adrienne and Carter allowed as how it would be really good with vanilla ice cream.
No, wait, 11×17 is a size of copier paper that I use at work. I meant 11×7.
Thanks Jeanne – So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Sounds really good. Eill be making this with Paula reds we picked. Just wanted to mention that it’s extra special if you drizzle Carmel topping over the icecream. Had that in a restaurant. .too die for
Sounds delicious Arleen!
Martha, Can you half this recipe? If so, is the baking time the same? Thanks!
Hi Chris – Yes – You can half the recipe. The baking time will probably be less – depending on what kind of baking dish you use, I’d start checking about 1/2 way through the baking time and then it’s done when the apples are bubbling and the top is golden brown.
Do you think I could half this and bake in a 9×9 or 8×8 pan?
Yes Christie – That should work just fine!
Can I make this in the morning and keep in fridge to bake later in the evening?
Hi Kathy – Yes you can. However, the baking time will be longer if it’s chilled so please plan for that – or, you could take it out of the refrigerator ahead of time to bring it back up to room temperature before baking.
Would adding some brown sugar up the flavor a little?
Hi Shandy – You can certainly add brown sugar if you’d like!