Old Fashioned Apple Crisp with Whipped Greek Yogurt

Looking for the best apple crisp recipe? This is the ONE. With a sweet but not-too-sweet crispy topping joined by the most amazing whipped Greek yogurt, I challenge you to find an apple crisp recipe that beats this one. 😉

This is my favorite fall sweet, 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.

Looking for some other fall favorites? 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.

Jump to:

• 🌿 Ingredients
• 📝 Instructions
• 📋 Substitutions
• 📖 Variations
• 🔪 Equipment
• 🍱 Storage
• 🎉 Top tip
• 💭 FAQ
• 🍳 Recipe

🌿 Ingredients

The ingredients for this 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 but low-fat will work just 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

Ready to learn how to make apple crisp? Let's dig in!

To get started, heat your oven to 350℉ 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.

Next, peel and chop the apples, and place them in a large bowl.

Add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and vanilla to the apples and mix everything well to incorporate.

Now, in a separate bowl, gently mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt together using a whisk.

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.

Finally, add the butter cubes to the rest of the topping ingredients and use a pastry cutter or your hands to work everything into a crumbly mixture.

The assembly

I love this part when everything comes together. 🙂 First, pour the apple filling out into an even layer in your greased baking dish.

Then, sprinkle the topping mixture over the apples using your hands to even everything out if necessary.

Bake your apple crisp for about 45-50 minutes on a middle rack in the oven and remove it once the topping is just browning and turning into a nice crisp.

While the apple crisp bakes

Meanwhile, chill a clean mixing bowl and the paddles from your mixer in the freezer for about 5 minutes. I like doing this extra step because it makes the blending process a little quicker and more successful.

Then, 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.)

Cool the apple crisp for at least 5 minutes once it's out of the oven and top individual servings with the whipped yogurt.

📋 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
• 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 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 oatmeal 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 guarantee you won't be disappointed. 😉

Enjoy!

💭 FAQ

🍳 Recipe