Looking for the best apple crisp recipe? This is the ONE. With a sweet but not-too-sweet crisp crumble topping joined by the homemade whipped Greek yogurt, I challenge you to find a fall apple dessert that beats this one. 🙂
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This is my favorite fall dessert, hands down. Because who can go wrong with a super easy and delicious apple and cinnamon recipe in autumn? But also let's talk about the whipped Greek yogurt that takes this homemade apple crisp recipe over the top. I predict you'll never want to use regular whipped cream or ice cream after you try this one. And the oatmeal topping is soft with just a little crunch, perfectly halfway between and apple crumble and an apple crisp.
Did you know?
Yogurt is arguably one of the most well-known fermented foods, produced by a process known as lacto-fermentation. The milk sugar lactose is converted into lactic acid by way of specific bacterial strains like Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and it is this process gives yogurt products their thickness and alluringly sour flavor.
Looking for other fall recipes or holiday desserts? You'll love this perfect apple cake or these scrumptious cranberry orange muffins. Or top your apple crisp with some fresh pomegranate arils for a festive and delicious garnish.
P.S. If you love the Greek yogurt and apple crisp combo, check out these other yogurt recipes or Greek yogurt recipes for more creative ways to use fermented foods in everyday recipes.
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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
- Perfect fall recipe and apple dish
- Delicious way to use wholesome whipped yogurt
- Only 25 minutes of prep time needed
- Saves well for a make ahead dessert
- Kid-friendly and highly approved
🌿 Ingredients
The ingredients for apple crisp are all widely available in any grocery store. Look for Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp apples if you can find them (both are great baking apples), but any other varieties of apple will work too! I like to use plain whole milk Greek yogurt for the whipped yogurt but low-fat will work fine too. For butter, opt for unsalted, and feel free to use either light or dark brown sugar. Any all-purpose flour will work great in this crisp, and old-fashioned or quick oats both work fine.
See recipe card below for exact quantities.
📝 Instructions
Step 1: Heat your oven to 350°F and butter an 8" x 8" glass baking dish and set it aside. You could also use a glass pie dish; I've used both successfully.
Step 2: Next, peel and chop the apples, and place them in a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla to the apples and mix everything well to incorporate.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, gently mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together using a whisk.
Step 5: Cube the cold butter, popping it back in the fridge for 5-10 minutes if it warms up a lot while you're cutting it up. I like to do fairly small cubes, less than ½ inch if possible.
Step 6: Pour the apple filling out into an even layer in your greased baking dish.
Step 7: Sprinkle the topping mixture over the apples using your hands to even everything out if necessary. Bake for 45-50 minutes on a middle rack in the oven and remove once the topping is just browning and turning into a nice crisp.
Cool the apple crisp for at least 5 minutes once it's out of the oven and top individual servings with the whipped yogurt.
Step 8: To make the whipped yogurt, chill a mixing bowl and the whisk attachments of an electric mixer, add the yogurt, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla to the bowl and gradually increase the speed on your mixer for about 2-3 minutes or until gentle peaks form. (You can do a taste test and blend in a little extra sugar if necessary.)
📋 Substitutions
Feel free to make any of the following substitutions in this recipe:
- Apples - if you don't have Golden Delicious or Honeycrisp, feel free to use any other varieties such as Gala, Fuji, etc.
- Brown sugar - use light or dark brown sugar, or substitute coconut sugar or regular granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour - you can also use whole what or pastry flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour or almond flour to make gluten free apple crisp (make sure to use certified gluten-free oats as well)
- Old-fashioned oats - substitute quick cooking oats instead
- Unsalted butter - use salted butter, but add just a pinch of sea salt instead of the full amount
- Greek yogurt - use a plain whole milk variety if possible, or use low fat plain Greek yogurt instead
- Granulated sugar - substitute coconut sugar, honey or maple syrup for the whipped yogurt if you'd like; they all work great
📖 Variations
Here are some of my favorite variations on this apple crisp with oats recipe, which is vegetarian as written:
- Gluten-free apple crisp - use all-purpose gluten-free flour or almond flour instead of regular flour (I tested with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour Blend and it worked well); also, make sure you use certified gluten-free oats in the case of Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, to avoid cross-contamination issues
- Vegan apple crisp - use coconut oil instead of butter and skip the whipped yogurt (the crisp is still amazing on its own!)
- Apple crisp without oats - use finely chopped walnuts in place of the oats
- Apple cranberry crisp - add up to a ½ cup of fresh or frozen cranberries to the apple filling and also add an extra ¼ cup of packed brown sugar to balance the tartness of the cranberries
- Apple rhubarb crisp - chop 1-2 rhubarb stalks into bite-sized pieces and add to the apple filling with a little extra brown sugar
- Apple blueberry crisp - add up to a ½ cup of fresh or frozen blueberries to the apple filling
- Apple pear crisp - substitute one or more apples for any variety of ripe pear
🔪 Equipment
I used the following equipment to make this apple crisp:
- cutting board
- chef's knife
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoon
- whisk
- silicone spatula
- hand mixer or stand mixer
- 8" baking dish
🍱 Storage
The apple crisp will stay fresh for up to 4 days in an covered container in the fridge. The whipped yogurt will also stay fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container, but you may need to whip again just for a few seconds (or use a whisk), as there may be a little separation after a couple days.
🎉 Top tip
If you don't have time to make the whipped yogurt, no worries! This old-fashioned apple crisp easily stands on its own as a delicious, classic recipe. But if you do have time to try it, I promise you won't be disappointed. 😉
Enjoy!
💭 FAQ
Baking apples such as Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp work particularly well in apple crisp recipes, but any other apple varieties also work just fine.
An apple crisp topping normally consists of oats, flour, sugar, butter, cinnamon and a pinch of salt.
Yes; you can replace the oats in the apple crisp topping with finely chopped walnuts.
The main difference in an apple crisp vs apple crumble is the oats. A crumble normally removes the oats and any nuts, and just includes flour, sugar and butter with a little cinnamon and salt.
🍳 Recipe
Old Fashioned Apple Crisp with Whipped Greek Yogurt
Equipment
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 ½ pounds apples about 4 large or 5 medium apples, or 2 ½ pounds (see notes)
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar light or dark
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the topping
- ⅔ cup old-fashioned oats or quick cooking oats (see notes)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour or gluten-free all-purpose flour (see notes)
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar light or dark
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter cold (½ stick) or coconut oil, plus more for greasing
For the whipped Greek yogurt
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt whole milk or low fat
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prep: Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter an 8" x 8" glass baking dish and set aside (a deep glass pie dish also works well.) Peel and chop the apples into bite-sized pieces, and place in a large bowl.
- Make the filling: Add the rest of the filling ingredients to the apples and mix everything well to incorporate.
- Make the topping: In a separate medium bowl, gently mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together with a whisk. Cube and add the cold butter, and use a pastry cutter or your hands to work everything into a crumbly mixture.
- Assemble: Pour the apple filling into an even layer in the greased baking dish and then sprinkle in the topping mixture using your hands to even everything out.
- Bake: Bake for 45-50 minutes on a middle rack in the oven and remove once the topping is just browning and turning into a nice crisp.
- Make the whipped yogurt: Meanwhile, chill a clean mixing bowl and the whisk attachments from your mixer in the freezer for about 5 minutes. Remove them and add all of the whipped yogurt ingredients to the bowl, gradually increasing the speed on your mixer for about 2-3 minutes or until gentle peaks form. Do a taste test and blend in a little extra sugar if necessary.
- Enjoy: Cool the apple crisp for at least 5 minutes once it's out of the oven, serve and top with whipped Greek yogurt, and enjoy!
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