This old fashioned crumbly apple crisp is THE BEST homemade apple crisp recipe out there! This apple crisp recipe has the best extra crispy topping and is made with old fashioned oats, brown sugar and extra salt.
Apple crisp with oatmeal can be made gluten free when using almond flour and gluten free oats. Serve this easy salted apple crisp with oat topping a la mode!
Fall food is some of my favorite food! Salted apple crisp with oat topping is right up there with pumpkin chocolate chip bread for my favorite Fall desserts. As the weather gets colder, I want to smell the aroma of sweet cinnamon baking in my oven and enjoy a nice warm dessert with a cup of coffee.
Salted caramel apple crisp is really the epitome of Fall perfection. I am not a huge pie fan in general, I prefer cobblers and crisps more than anything, so this one is perfect.
This apple crisp from scratch is crustless, and is an easy apple recipe with the perfect crisp topping made with oats.
🍏Instructions
How to make apple crisp:
This is an easy apple crisp recipe with oats and this apple crisp feeds a crowd. The salted apple crisp with oat topping ingredients are apples, flour (if you want gluten free then you will need make your apple crisp using almond flour), cinnamon, sugar, salt, oats, brown sugar and butter.
Peel and cut 6-7 medium sized granny smith apples with your handy dandy apple peeler slicer corer and cut the apple into 4ths. If you don't have that handy kitchen tool then peel the skin off and slice the apple into small, bite size pieces.
Add the chopped apples to a large mixing bowl. Add in the sugar QUALITY CINNAMON like Saigon Cinnamon, salt, flour and water. Mix it altogether.
I highly recommend using a high quality cinnamon for this recipe. You won't regret it and you will be astounded at the difference in quality from store bought, to a better quality cinnamon.
Pour the apple mixture into a greased pans, or divide it evenly in your cast iron skillets.
Time for the Extra Crispy Apple Crisp Topping:
Using a large spoon, cut the softened butter, oatmeal, salt and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl. It will be a chunky topping and should not be smooth. There should be small, pea sized pieces of butter and small clumps of brown sugar and oatmeal.
Drop the apple crisp topping over the top of the apple filling and bake in the preheat oven for 1 hour. It should be bubbling and slightly brown on the top and edges, and the aroma of cinnamon and apples will be DIVINE in your home!!
FAQ's
What kind of oats should I use for the apple crisp topping?
I will say from experience that I have both used Old Fashioned Oats as well as 1 minute oats. Either work just fine, although I do prefer the old fashioned oats.
Can I make gluten free apple crisp?
Yes! If you want to make gluten free apple crisp, use gluten free oats and replace the all purpose flour with almond flour. There is not much flour in this recipe to begin with, so the taste really will not be altered if you make this apple crisp with almond flour.
Old Fashioned Oats Vs. 1 Minute Quick Cooking Oats for Apple Crisp:
The old fashioned oats are more hardy, and the oat pieces slightly larger than the quick cooking oats. They may be slightly crispier in texture, but when it is all said and done, I personally think either choice of oats will do just fine for crispy apple crisp.
If I have both available in my pantry, I tend to use the old fashioned oats for this apple crisp recipe.
🍽 Equipment
Should I bake apple crisp in a pan or in a cast iron skillet?
Either way is fine. I normally make apple crisp bars in a 9 x 11" pan, but it would be no problem to make apple crisp in a cast iron skillet.
If you want to get really fancy and fun, use these really fun individual cast iron skillets from Amazon!
How fun are those!! If you like to entertain, you should definitely get yourself a set or 2 of those amazing cast iron pans. You could do so much in there besides apple crisp skillets! Make your apple crisp in those cast iron skillets, serve it warm with some vanilla ice cream a la mode and you will make someone's evening!
What kind of apples are best for apple crisp?
If you are wondering what type apple to use for apple crisp, you should definitely use granny smith! Granny smith apples cook very well and the texture comes out amazing. I know some people like to use honey crisp apples for apple crisp, which is good, but I prefer granny smith apples.
Granny smith apples are naturally more sour than many other kinds of apples, but they are crispy, crunchy and you can control the sweetness level you desire in your apple crisp from scratch.
If you have a problem with watery apple crisp, I would blame it on a different kind of apple, or using a canned apple pie filling instead. The whole point of making apple crisp from scratch is to have the BEST apple crisp flavor and texture and I promise, this recipe will do that!
That brings me to another question to answer
Apple skin on or skin off for apple crisp?
I personally recommend peeling the skin off for apple crisp. Again you want to be able to have the perfect texture for your apple crisp, and one way of controlling that is by removing the skin of the apple.
Here is my secret to making easy and fast apple crisp. It's an old, handy dandy kitchen tool and my kids love to use. It's an apple peeler corer and slicer, all in one and it suctions to your work surface.
Did you like this recipe? Check out some other recipes from A Pinch Of Adventure!
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake
- Indian Butter Chicken
- Homemade Peach Cobbler
- Freekeh with Chicken
- Carrot Cake
- Lemon Berry Mascarpone Cake
- Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Frosting
- Sweet Butter Board
📖 Recipe
Salted Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 6 large apples Granny Smith
- 2 tablespoon flour almond flour for gluten free (optional)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 teas cinnamon
- ½ teas salt
- 2 tablespoon water
Apple Crisp Topping
- 2 ¼ cups old fashioned oats gluten free if desired
- 1 teas salt
- ¾ cup softened butter (1 ½ sticks)
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Peel and slice the apples into bite size pieces and put them in a large mixing bowl
- Add flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and water and stir together
- Pour the apple filling into a greased 9 x 13" pan
- Cut the softened butter together with the oats, salt and brown sugar, the topping should be chunky and not smooth, the butter should be about pea size pieces
- Evenly distribute the topping over the apple filling
- Bake uncovered for 1 hour until it is golden brown and bubbly
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream
Beth Shields
I love a good apple crisp. Warm and with a cup of tea and I am set for the day (until my second helping). I love those apple peelers. I have had one for years and they are the best for sure. Thanks for your recipe - it looks delicious.
Charlene
Apple crisp is one of my all time favorite desserts! This recipe looks fantastic!
Cindy Mailhot
This looks amazing!
Katelyn
Cannot wait to make these with my kiddos! And my house will smell amazing!
Sabrina DeWalt
Looks so yummy! The part about extra salt made my mouth water.
Emily Ackerman
Got to add a little extra salt!
Holly B
This is a great recipe! I love apples and oats, so I'm really excited to try this recipe! I pinned it for later!!
Alexis Farmer
I know what I'm making for my husband this weekend! Haha. Thanks for sharing.
heather J Jandrue
Apple crisp is one of fall traditions. I need that apple peeler and slicer in my life. How have I lived this long without it? LOL!
Emily Ackerman
I don't know! It's so easy!
Kendra
This sounds perfect! I love Granny Smith apples and Oat Crisp topping! Thanks for including a gluten free option too!
Angela
Thank you so much for the gluten-free instructions - this is an amazing Fall recipe!
Karie
Great fall dessert and easy enough to send my college son that was asking for some recipes. He could probably handle this. lol
Barbara
My family LOVES apple crisp!