Warm Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream (The Easy 50-Minute Fall Dessert)

Name: Warm Apple Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream (The Easy 50-Minute Fall Dessert)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Apples, 7 medium Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (8 cups / 900 g); Light brown sugar, 3/4 cup (165 g), divided; Old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 cup (90 g); All-purpose flour, 3/4 cup (95 g), divided; Unsalted butter, 1/2 cup cold, cut into cubes (115 g); Ground cinnamon, 2 tsp (5 g), divided; Ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp (0.5 g); Fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp (15 ml); Pure vanilla extract, 1 tsp (5 ml); Fine sea salt, 1/2 tsp (3 g); Vanilla ice cream, for serving

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 35 min · Total: 50 min · Serves: 8

October is apple season, and this Warm Apple Crisp is exactly what those crisp fall apples were made for. Cinnamon-spiced apples bake until bubbling and jammy under a golden, buttery oat crumble that stays crunchy at the edges and soft in the middle. It takes 15 minutes to assemble with just 10 pantry ingredients, bakes in 35 minutes, and lands on the table warm — ideally with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting right over the top. No pie crust, no fuss, all cozy fall flavor. If you love fall baking, don’t miss our Salted Caramel Apple Bars and Moist Pumpkin Bread too.

What You Need

Apples, 7 medium Honeycrisp or Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (8 cups / 900 g)
Light brown sugar, 3/4 cup (165 g), divided
Old-fashioned rolled oats, 1 cup (90 g)
All-purpose flour, 3/4 cup (95 g), divided
Unsalted butter, 1/2 cup cold, cut into cubes (115 g)
Ground cinnamon, 2 tsp (5 g), divided
Ground nutmeg, 1/4 tsp (0.5 g)
Fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp (15 ml)
Pure vanilla extract, 1 tsp (5 ml)
Fine sea salt, 1/2 tsp (3 g)
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

How To Make It

Prep the oven and dish. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Lightly butter a 9×13-inch (23×33 cm) baking dish so the bubbling juices never stick.
Toss the apples. In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with half the brown sugar (1/2 cup / 110 g), 1 tsp of the cinnamon, the nutmeg, lemon juice, vanilla, 1/4 tsp of the salt, and 2 tbsp (16 g) of the flour until every slice is coated. Spread evenly in the dish.
Make the crumble. In a separate bowl, mix the oats, the remaining flour, remaining brown sugar (1/4 cup / 55 g), remaining 1 tsp cinnamon, and remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Cut in the cold butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until pea-sized crumbs form.
Top and bake. Scatter the crumble thickly over the apples — edge to edge, no gaps. Bake 35 minutes, until the topping is deep golden and the apple juices bubble up around the edges.
Rest and serve warm. Let it rest 10 minutes so the filling sets slightly. Scoop warm into bowls and top with vanilla ice cream. Leftovers keep 3 days refrigerated — reheat before serving.

Tips & Variations

Best apples: use a mix — Honeycrisp for sweetness, Granny Smith for tartness. Avoid Red Delicious; they turn mushy and bland.
Extra-crunchy top: bake 5 more minutes, or broil 1-2 minutes at the end, watching closely so the oats don’t burn.
Make-ahead: assemble the apple filling and the crumble separately up to 24 hours ahead, refrigerate, then top and bake. Add 5 minutes to the bake time. This make-ahead trick works for many of our No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake fans too.
Gluten-free swap: use a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and certified gluten-free oats — no other changes needed.
Serving upgrade: add a drizzle of caramel sauce over the ice cream for a full fall-dessert moment. Try it alongside our Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies or a slice of Classic Tiramisu for a full dessert spread.
Estimated nutrition per serving: ~380 cal | protein 3 g | carbs 58 g | fat 16 g.