Easy Apple Crisp (without Oats)

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This easy apple crisp recipe without oats is one of our favorite fall desserts. Enjoy it plain, or top with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. We also include baking tips for crispier crisp and best apple varieties.

This recipe is simple enough that my sons can make it themselves. (They still haven't completely mastered rolling out pie crust neatly.)

Easy Apple Crisp Recipe without Oats

Adapted from Favorite Recipes of America – Desserts (1968)

Ingredients

• 6 cups apples, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon plus 2/3 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, or gluten free flour blend like Namaste
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

Directions

Preheat oven to 375° F. Arrange apples in 2 quart baking or casserole dish. Sprinkle apples with 1 tablespoon of sugar, toss to coat.

Cut together flour, salt, cinnamon, remaining sugar and butter with a pastry blender or food processor. Mix until just blended.

Spread the crisp topping over apples, evenly distributing over entire dish.

Bake at 375° F until topping is golden brown and center is bubbling, about 50 minutes. Serve warm, with ice cream if desired.

If you prefer a less sweet dessert, cut the sugar to 1/2 cup, or substitute 1/4 cup of honey. (Honey will be more likely to brown faster, so you may wish to lower the temperature 5-10 degrees.)

Want a little more spice in your crisp? Double up on the cinnamon, or add a little nutmeg, cardamom or ginger. This apple crisp recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13 baking dish. I prefer glass bakeware, if available, for slow and even cooking.

Tips to Keep Apples from Browning

To keep the apples from browning, place cut apples into cool water with lemon juice. Use about 1/4 cup lemon juice per 4-6 cups of water.

If you don't have lemon, use salt or citric acid.

• 1 tablespoon salt per 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon citric acid per 4-6 cups water

I fill my 8 cup glass measuring cup about two-thirds full with lemon water to start. Then I place the apple slices in the lemon water as they are prepared. This makes it easy to see how many apples I have sliced.

Once I have enough apples, I drain them and move them to the baking dish. Then I use the measuring cup to mix the topping.

Cameo and Cortland apples naturally resist browning, and are favorites for baking.

Best Apples for Apple Crisp

You can use any apples for this apple crisp without oats, but the flavor and texture changes. We use wild apples from the tree on the fence line, or whatever we have available.

If you're buying apples, some popular varieties for crisps and pies include:

• Granny Smith
• Golden Delicious
• Honeycrisp
• Braeburn
• Cameo
• Cortland

If you have access to heirloom apples, look for:

• Northern Spy
• Caroline Red June
• Gravenstein
• Rhode Island Greening
• Cripp's Pink
• Twenty Ounce
• Yellow Bellflower
• Winesap
• Arkansas Black
• Idared

A mix of tart and sweet apples, or soft and firm apples, adds interest to the crisp. Try Pink Lady with Granny Smith, Braeburn with Golden Delicious, or Gravenstein with Greening.

Tips for a Crispier Apple Crisp

People sometimes ask, “Why didn't my apple crisp get crispy?”, especially if they have an apple crisp without oats or nuts.

For a crispier crisp, it helps to start with room temperature butter instead of cold butter. You want the butter to cling to the other ingredients and bind everything together.

You might also want to slightly adjust the amount of flour. I use a brand of flour that is quite dry, so this flour/butter ratio works for me. With a different brand, you might want to increase to 1 cup of flour.

It's best to use a wider baking dish, to spread the topping evenly over the fruit. This helps to make sure the topping is properly cooked an some liquid will steam off.

If you have some on hand, try demerara, maple sugar, or coconut sugar. Sugar with larger crystals adds a little more “crunch” and texture to your topping.

Print Friendly Recipe

Crumbly topping meets yummy apples in this delicious apple crisp without oats. Use the print friendly recipe below to print it out for later.

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More Apple Goodness

We love our local apples, and enjoy them fresh, cooked and preserved. Some of our favorite apple recipes include:

Caramel Apple Cookies

Homemade Cinnamon Apple Chips

Cranberry Apple Pie

Easy Apple Cake with Caramel Topping

Fried Apples with Maple Cinnamon Glaze

For preserving, check out:

Maple Apple Jam

Brandied Cinnamon Apple Preserves

Preserve Apples for Year Round Use 17 Easy and Creative Ways

Apple Currant Spread

Autumnberry-Apple Cider Jam

Originally published in 2016, last updated in 2021.