Easy Apple Crisp

While an apple crisp seems like it could be something time intensive, this recipe is quite the opposite. With simple ingredients and the best flavors of the season, this dessert comes together in less than thirty minutes. Bake it up and it's ready to go!

Recipe by Kaleb on October 16, 2021

Prep time: PT15M

Cook time: PT75M

Total time: PT90M

Rating

4.6 stars (35 reviews)

Keywords

apple recipe, crisp, crisp recipe

Ingredients

3 lb crisp baking apples (preferably a mixture such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, or Braeburn; 4-6 medium apples)
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp lemon zest
1 ½ tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp kosher salt
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp Calvados (apple brandy) (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup rolled oats
¾ cup pecans (toasted and chopped)
½ cup light brown sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp allspice
1 tsp kosher salt
12 tbsp (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter (cut into ½-inch cubes)

Cuisine

American

Steps

For the apple filling
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the prepared apples, lemon zest, lemon juice, cornstarch, salt, sugar, and Calvados. Stir to combine and dissolve cornstarch. Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the cinnamon.
For the streusel
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and salt. Stir to combine, then add in the pieces of butter. Coat the pieces with the dry mixture. Use thumb and forefinger to work the butter into the mixture until the pieces of butter are no bigger than the size of a pea and the consistency is like wet sand.
- Sprinkle all of the streusel over the apple filling and bake in the preheated oven until the filling is bubbling throughout and the streusel is toasted, 55-75 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let cool to just warm before serving, 30-40 minutes.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 288 kcal

Reviews

Linda Bailey on 2025-09-12 (5 stars):
Made this for my aunts today delicious
Cris on 2025-09-03 (5 stars):
Hardest part of this was adding the butter and incorporating into the oats Delicious
Lyn Veneziano Fry on 2024-09-22 (5 stars):
Love how easy as you mentioned, but mostly delicious!
Mary on 2023-10-30 (5 stars):
I’ve made this once for guests and it was delicious. Currently making this amazing Apple Crisp again to take to friend’s for their dessert tomorrow!
Marie Haynes on 2022-11-05 (5 stars):
Love all your recipes so far love love love thank you 🥰💕
Kathleen Schweiker on 2022-11-01 (5 stars):
Thank you for sharing your creativity your kindness and your hospitality. You are talented as well as warm and welcoming.
Pam on 2021-12-16 (5 stars):
Taste was delicious! I recently discovered you and love the spin you give on everthing. I'm 72 years and had 6 kids so I'm a very exlerieced cook. I like my own cooking but now not catering to everyone elses tastes Im enjoying some new things thanks to you. I had a problem but I think it was the apples. I used organic honey crisp and they rendered no juices I made one change by not adding cornstarch because I ran out. i notmally don't make changes but I've made crisps before without any. My guess it was the apples.What do you think? Two other flavor crisps you may want to try. One had walnuts and freah ginger that I had at little diner in Iowa. The other I was in Hong Kong with honey and sesame seeds. It was like a fried batter then honey coated with a few white seeds. Too sweet and I like to make a little healthier.
Quiltlover60 on 2021-11-27 (5 stars):
I have made this recipe many times, as written and it is delicious! Today, I was out of lemons, and so I used orange peel and fresh orange juice. I loved it equally as well as I did with the lemons!
Cathy Jacobson on 2021-11-06 (5 stars):
Another winner! I’ve tried several of your recipes and they have all been delicious! This crisp is wonderful! I love the addition of the lemon and the toasted pecans. I used apple cider instead of the brandy. I used a combination of Granny Smiths, Yellow Delicious & Honey Crisp. I put it all in a 7 x 11 baking dish. The crunchy topping is yummy. Just a perfect recipe. Thanks again, Kaleb.
Kirsten Faith on 2021-10-31 (5 stars):
I am pretty old--72--and I have made a lot of apple crisps, but this, to me, is the best. The back notes of lemon and Calvados, in addition to the allspice in the topping, make for a delightful crisp. My only complaint is that I can't stop eating it. Thank you for sharing your recipes! I hope Kip is doing better!!
Jan Gurgul on 2021-10-26 (5 stars):
After preparing a multitude of apple recipes this season I decided to make this apple crisp with my last remaining apples. Had I made this first this would have been the “only” apple recipe I would have baked. It’s that good!
Judy Cordice on 2021-10-23 (3 stars):
Overall the end product was good. I felt that the lemon juice or rind was over powering. The 55 minutes was not enough so, I added another 15 minutes which was to much. I would definitely make this apple crisp again next time, I will uses 1/2 lemon, less lemon zest and reduce the baking time to 65 minutes.Thank you Kaleb!
Geri Davis on 2021-10-23 (5 stars):
I have a family member that is allergic to nuts. Can you recommend another ingredients to replace the pecan in your apple crisp. Also, I love your videos. You make everything so interesting and really brighten up my day.