Best Apple Crisp
Warm cinnamon apples under a crunchy brown sugar oat topping
By RecipesQueen Kitchen • June 10, 2026
This apple crisp is the dessert that everyone requests when fall arrives — tender, cinnamon-spiced apples bubbling beneath a thick layer of crunchy, buttery oat crumble. It's warm, it's comforting, and it's absolutely irresistible with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top.
The best apple crisp uses a mix of apple varieties — Granny Smith for tartness and Honeycrisp for sweetness — tossed with cinnamon, brown sugar, and a squeeze of lemon. The topping is generous and golden, made with oats, brown sugar, flour, and cold butter that bakes into crunchy, streusel-like clusters.
This is the kind of dessert that fills your house with the most incredible aroma as it bakes. Serve it warm — always warm — and never skip the ice cream.
Ingredients
- 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
- 3 large Honeycrisp apples, peeled and sliced
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- 2
Toss sliced apples with sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch. Spread in the baking dish.
- 3
Make the topping: combine oats, flour, brown sugar, and salt. Cut in the cold butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture forms clumpy, coarse crumbles.
- 4
Scatter the topping evenly over the apples, pressing some into larger clusters for extra crunch.
- 5
Bake for 40-45 minutes until the topping is deeply golden and the apple filling is bubbling at the edges.
- 6
Cool for 10 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
