Apple Crumble

This Apple Crumble consists of warm, tender apples with cinnamon spice, topped with a crisp mixture of brown sugar and oats.

This dessert is easy to prepare, travels well, and the crumble can be prepared in advance. If you love apple desserts, try our easy Apple Dump Cake and our best ever Apple Pie!

Easy Apple Crumble Recipe

This recipe took over a year to perfect. After some adjustments this summer, it’s now the best I’ve ever had.

So what is the secret to a good apple crumble? The secret is in cubing the apples. Sliced apples can be tricky to cook evenly, but cubing them into 1/2-inch pieces makes them perfectly tender and flavorful while improving the overall crumble experience. (thanks for the tip A Beautiful Plate!) Give it a try, and you’ll be amazed!

Apple Crumble Ingredients

Topping:

1. Flour: Provides structure and texture to the crumble topping.
2. Old-fashioned oats: Adds a nice texture and a nutty flavor to the topping.
3. Brown Sugar: Sweetens and helps create a caramelized, crispy crust.
4. Cinnamon: Adds warmth and flavor.
5. Baking soda: Helps crumble rise and brown.
6. Cold unsalted butter: Holds the crumble together, makes it rich, and helps it brown.

Filling:

1. Apples: The main ingredient providing texture, flavor, and juiciness.
2. Lemon juice: Adds tartness and prevents apples from browning.
3. Sugar: Sweetens and balances the apples.
4. Cornstarch: Thickens the juices released from the apples during baking.
5. Vanilla extract: Makes it taste and smell better.

How To Make Apple Crumble

1. Prepare topping: mix together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add cubed butter and use a pastry cutter to combine. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
2. Make the apple filling: Mix chopped apples with lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, vanilla.
3. Assemble: Add apples to pan. Top with crumble. Chill 20 minutes.
4. Bake: Bake 40-50 minutes until golden at 350°F. Cool for 15 minutes then enjoy.

Apple Crumble FAQs

How to make apple crumble pie?

Make this Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie. It’s a delicious apple pie with the best crumble topping.

How long can you freeze apple crumble?

Apple crumble has a lifespan of 3-4 months in the freezer. For unbaked crumble, freeze it in an ovenproof, freezer-safe pan, and seal it with plastic or paper, then foil. For baked crumble, cool it completely, wrap it in freezer-safe material, and then freeze. To thaw, let it sit overnight in the fridge and reheat the baked crumble for 20-30 minutes.

How do you store apple crumble?

Baked crumble gets soft over time. To keep it best, store the unbaked topping and apples separately. For leftovers, cover with plastic wrap with holes and keep in the fridge. It’s best to eat it the same day, but it’s still good for up to 2 days.

How to make apple crumble ahead of time?

1. Prepare the apple filling with an extra tablespoon of lemon juice.
2. Make the crumble topping.
3. Store both in airtight containers in the fridge for up to a day.
4. To bake, top the apples with the crumble and follow the baking directions.

More Apple Recipes To Try

• Caramel Apple Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust
• Healthy Apple Muffins with yogurt
• Caramel Apple Bites made with only 3 ingredients
• Caramel Apple Bar with the best sauces and toppings
• Apple Nachos topped with caramel sauce!

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5 from 8 votes

Apple Crumble

By Chelsea Lords

This Apple Crumble features warm, cinnamon-spiced apples beneath a crisp brown sugar and oat-crumble topping.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Chilling Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Equipment

• Sheet pan
• 8 x 8-inch baking pan or 9 x 9-inch baking pan
• Pastry cutter

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

Crumble

• ▢ 1 cup flour
• ▢ 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar Or dark brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3/4 cup unsalted butter cut into small cubes and cold

Filling

• ▢ 2 to 3 Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples 2 pounds, see note 1
• ▢ 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions 

• Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicon baking mat. Lightly grease an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch baking pan.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Cube the butter and mix it into dry ingredients. Use a pastry cutter to blend, then press with your fingertips until crumbly. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
• Peel and cube apples into 1/2-inch pieces. In a large bowl, mix apples with lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch, and vanilla until evenly coated.
• Transfer the apple mixture (including juices) to the prepared pan, pressing down evenly. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top without pressing it down. Chill the dish for 20 minutes. While chilling, preheat oven to 350℉.
• After chilling, place the dish on the lined pan. Bake for 40–50 minutes, or until topping is golden, apples are tender, and filling is slightly bubbling around the edges. If topping browns too quickly, cover with foil.
• Let cool for 15–20 minutes to allow filling to thicken. Serve warm with ice cream or whipped cream!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Weigh apples before peeling to get 2 pounds. We like using half Granny Smith and half Honey-crisp for this recipe. Other varieties can work, but less firm apples may create a mushy or watery crumble. Peel apples and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. You'll get about 5-1/2 to 6 cups apples from 5–7 apples.

Storage: To maintain crispness, store unbaked topping and apples separately. For leftovers, cover with plastic wrap with holes and refrigerate. It’s best eaten the same day but good for up to 2 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 409kcal | Carbohydrates: 61.6g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 17.5g | Cholesterol: 45.8mg | Sodium: 3.3mg | Fiber: 2.5g | Sugar: 41.3g | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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