5-Ingredient Apple Crisp Recipe

Once apple season hits, everyone starts thinking about apple pie. Requiring no special equipment, crimping, or expert know-how, this 5-ingredient apple crisp delivers on flavor and texture in a fraction of the work. This apple crisp recipe is the perfect combination of baked apples, cinnamon, sugar, and a crispy oat topping. This recipe from Ksenia Prints of At the Immigrant's Table takes the bare minimum of ingredients, and transforms them into a soft, spiced apple filling topped with a crunchy oat topping.

If you are wondering what the difference is between an apple crisp, an apple crumble, or apple cobbler, they all have baked, seasoned apples under a topping. The difference is in the topping — an apple crisp has a crispy topping, usually made out of oats, while a crumble topping can be made out of ground oats and butter, or flour and butter. Meanwhile, a cobbler drops the flour and butter batter onto the apple filling in the shape of cobblestones.

This apple crisp may be easy to make, but don't be fooled — it more than delivers on flavor.

To make this easy apple crisp, you will need butter, apples, old-fashioned oats, ground cinnamon, and brown sugar.

The best apple varieties to use for this apple crisp are Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, or Golden Delicious, but you can use any apples you have on hand.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Layer a 9-x9-inch casserole baking dish with butter or oil spray.

Core, peel, and slice the apples into ½-inch thick half-moons. You can also cube the apples, but we find that half-moons cook the best, while still retaining some texture and shape. Arrange the apple slices in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish.

In a large bow, mix together the rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Microwave the butter in 20-second intervals, until it is fully melted, about 40 seconds. Stir the butter into oat mixture, and pour it over the apple slices in the baking dish.

Bake until the oat topping is golden brown, and the apple slices have softened, about 35 minutes.

Serve this 5-ingredient apple crisp warm, or let it cool completely before serving. If served warm, it's nice to pair the apple crisp with vanilla ice cream, lightly sweetened whipped cream, or even Greek yogurt with a bit of cinnamon and honey. But the truth is, this simple apple crisp tastes even better when it's had time to cool, and eaten straight out of the pan with a spoon.