Easy Apple Crisp Recipe (6 Ingredients, No Mixer)

This easy apple crisp uses just 6 core ingredients and comes together in one bowl — no mixer, no pastry, no chilling. You get soft cinnamon-spiced apples under a buttery oat topping that actually stays crisp, and the whole thing bakes in about 45 minutes.

I make this every fall when the apples get cheap, and I have tested it enough times to know exactly which apples hold their shape and why most crisp toppings go soggy. Let me walk you through both.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

6 ingredients — apples, oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon. That is genuinely it.
One bowl, no mixer — you rub the butter in with your fingers
Stays crisp — the oat-to-flour ratio here is the whole trick
Freezer friendly — assemble it raw and bake straight from frozen

Want More Easy Desserts Like This?

The Ultimate Easy Dessert Vault gives you 50 easy desserts organized by craving, occasion and prep style—including bars, cakes and spoonable desserts with simple ingredients.

Get the Dessert Vault →

Ingredients

Use firm baking apples. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Braeburn all hold their shape; Red Delicious and McIntosh collapse into sauce. A mix of two varieties gives you the best texture and flavour.

For the filling:

6 cups apples, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick (about 6 medium)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the oat topping:

¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
¼ teaspoon salt

How to Make It

Heat the oven to 350°F and butter a 9×9-inch baking dish.
Toss the filling. Combine the sliced apples, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Tip into the dish and spread level. The lemon juice stops browning and keeps the apples tasting bright rather than flat and sweet.
Make the topping. In the same bowl, stir the oats, flour, ¾ cup brown sugar, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture looks like damp, clumpy sand. Stop while there are still pea-sized butter lumps — those lumps are what make it crisp.
Top and bake. Scatter the topping evenly over the apples. Do not press it down. Bake 40–45 minutes until the topping is deep golden and you can see the filling bubbling at the edges.
Rest 15 minutes before serving. The filling thickens as it cools — cut it straight from the oven and it will run.

My Kitchen-Tested Tips

Cold butter, always. Softened butter makes a paste that bakes into a flat, chewy layer. Cold butter melts in the oven and steams the topping apart into crumbs.
Do not press the topping down. Air gaps let steam escape. Packed topping traps moisture and goes soft.
Slice the apples evenly. Thick and thin slices in the same dish means some turn to mush before others soften.
Rolled oats, not instant. Instant oats are pre-cooked and cut finer — they turn to paste.

What Can Go Wrong (and How to Fix It)

Soggy topping: usually warm butter or a packed-down topping. It can also happen if your apples were very juicy — toss them with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch next time.

Watery filling: you cut it too soon, or used a soft apple variety. Rest it 15 minutes, and switch to Granny Smith or Honeycrisp.

Topping browned before the apples softened: your slices were too thick. Tent with foil for the last 15 minutes and slice thinner next time.

Storage and Freezing

Cover and refrigerate leftovers for up to 4 days. Reheat uncovered at 350°F for 12–15 minutes to bring the topping back — the microwave will make it soft.

To freeze, assemble it unbaked, wrap tightly, and freeze up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen at 350°F for 60–70 minutes. Baked crisp also freezes, though the topping softens slightly on thawing.

Ways to Change It Up

Add nuts: ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts in the topping adds crunch and about 2g protein per serving.
Make it a berry crisp: swap half the apples for berries — or try my summer berry crumble for the all-berry version.
Try stone fruit: the same topping works beautifully over peaches — see my peach crisp recipe.
Gluten-free: use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and certified GF oats.

Common Questions

Can I use quick oats? You can, but the topping will be sandier and less crunchy. Rolled oats are worth it.

Do I have to peel the apples? No. The skins soften and add fibre. Peeled is more traditional; unpeeled is faster and slightly healthier.

Crisp vs crumble? A crisp has oats in the topping; a crumble traditionally does not. Both are wonderful.

Nutrition

Per serving (recipe makes 8): 310 calories, 12g fat, 48g carbohydrate, 3g fibre, 3g protein. These are calculated estimates based on standard ingredient values, not lab-tested figures.

Allergens: contains wheat (flour) and milk (butter). Oats are frequently cross-contaminated with gluten — use certified gluten-free oats if that matters for you. Add nuts and it also contains tree nuts.

Choosing the Best Apples 🍎

The apple you pick changes the dessert more than anything else in the recipe. Baking apples need enough acidity to stay interesting under sugar, and enough structure to survive 45 minutes of heat.

Granny Smith — the most reliable. Very firm, very tart, holds its shape completely. If you use only one variety, use this.
Honeycrisp — sweeter and juicier, holds shape well. Lovely flavour but you may want a touch less sugar.
Braeburn — firm and aromatic, a good middle ground between the two above.
Pink Lady — crisp and balanced, holds up nicely.
Golden Delicious — softens more, but adds a honeyed sweetness. Good mixed with Granny Smith.
Avoid: Red Delicious, McIntosh, and Gala all break down into applesauce.

My preference is two-thirds Granny Smith to one-third Honeycrisp. The Granny Smith holds the structure and keeps it tart; the Honeycrisp fills in the sweetness so you are not just tasting sugar.

How to Serve It 🍨

Warm, with something cold, is the whole point. Vanilla ice cream is traditional because the temperature contrast does most of the work — the melting cream also loosens the filling into a sauce.

Vanilla ice cream — the classic, and hard to improve on
Lightly whipped cream — less sweet, lets the apples come through
Cold custard or creme anglaise — if you want it to feel like a proper pudding
Greek yogurt — genuinely good, and turns leftovers into a reasonable breakfast
A pinch of flaky salt on top — sounds odd, works beautifully

Making It Ahead for a Crowd 👥

This is one of the easiest desserts to scale. Double it into a 9×13-inch dish and add 10–15 minutes to the bake; the topping-to-fruit ratio stays right.

You can also prep the components separately up to 2 days ahead. Keep the rubbed topping in a sealed container in the fridge (it actually improves — the butter firms up again), and toss the apples fresh on the day so they do not weep. Assemble and bake when your guests arrive and the house smells like cinnamon by the time you serve.

For more warm-weather entertaining options, my easy summer desserts roundup has fifteen more, over half of which need no oven at all.

Why This Recipe Works ✅

Three things do the heavy lifting. The oat-to-flour ratio gives you a topping that crisps rather than turning cakey — too much flour and you get a scone lid. The cold butter rubbed to pea-sized lumps creates steam pockets in the oven, which is literally what makes it crisp. And the lemon juice in the filling does two jobs: it stops oxidation and it keeps the sweetness from going flat.

Get those right and the recipe is close to foolproof, which is why it has been a standard for a hundred years.

The Bottom Line

Cold butter, rolled oats, firm apples, and a 15-minute rest. Get those four things right and this is a genuinely reliable dessert. For more warm-weather options, browse my easy summer desserts roundup.