Apple Crumble

Apple lovers, here’s the best Apple Crumble Recipe! Full of all the sweet and tangy flavors of fresh Autumn apples paired with the warming flavors of cinnamon and apple spice, this easy apple crumble will be your go-to comfort dessert.

What is Apple Crumble?

Apple crumble is a classic Apple dessert that almost anyone loves. It has the flavors of apple pie, minus the pie crust. Instead, apple crumble has a top crust. 

A really crispy crumbly oat, butter and nuts crust is what makes apple crumble stand out. Since no pie crust making is involved, this apple dessert is so much faster, easier and fool proof to make compared to apple pie.

It’s a fantastic recipe to make when you just want something really cozy and is a perfect fall recipe for just this reason.

How to Make Apple crumble

One of the easiest and most satisfying desserts to make. While it’s super straightforward to pull together, it punches lots and lots of flavor with just a few basic ingredients.

There are two components here, the apple crumble filling and the apple crumble topping.

Ingredients in Apple Crumble

The main ingredients you need to make apple crumble include apples, ground cinnamon or apple spice, granulated sugar (you can use brown sugar), vanilla, lemon or orange zest, lemon juice, flour, oats, and almonds (or another nut of your choice such as walnuts) and unsalted butter. These are all ingredients you can get from your local store.

Apple Crumble Filling

You first need to make the filling for this recipe. Start by peeling the apples and dicing them. It’s best to dice them on the smaller side as this will help them cook better when you put them in the oven. 

Once you have diced the apples, place them into a large bowl and add your cinnamon (or apple spice), Sugar, all purpose flour and lemon zest (or orange zest), lemon juice, and vanilla. In the bowl, combine and toss them all together so that the apples are evenly coated.

Now it’s time to start on the apple crumble topping.

Apple Crumble Topping

While an apple crumbles topping is traditionally made with just flour, a little sugar, and butter rubbed together, I like to add rolled oats and nuts (almonds are my preferred choice, but another nut like walnuts also work nicely). With the added oats and nuts, you get an extra flavor and an extra crumbly topping which is just delicious.

Add the all-purpose flour, rolled oats, nuts, and sugar into a  medium bowl and mix together evenly to make this apple crumble topping. Next,  the butter is added and mixed. 

Now it’s time to put the apple crumble topping and apple crumble filling together.

Baking the Apple Crumble

There are a few ways you can bake this recipe. You can make individual apple crumble portions by placing the filling into smaller baking dishes and then spreading the topping over the top and placing them all in the oven at once.

If you want to, you can also make one by placing all the filling into one large baking dish and using all the topping over the top of this. Depending on the size of your large baking dish, you might want to double this recipe up so that you have enough to nicely fill your baking dish. 

Once you have finished putting the recipe together, It’s now ready to bake.  Just preheat the oven at 375 and bake for 20-25 minutes cook time. You will need to bake it longer if you are baking it in one large dish.

Serving Apple Crumble

This apple crumble recipe can be served in so many ways it’s really down to preference. If you’re like me, you can serve just as it is, but like my kids, you might want to add something – their favorite is vanilla ice cream. But you can add all sorts, such as custard or fresh cream, which is also delicious when paired with this apple crumble.

You can also serve this crumble right out of the oven, piping hot as some people like, or you can leave serve warm. If you have kept the crumble in the fridge it’s a good idea to let it get to room temperature before serving.

Apple Crumble variations

Apple crumble with other ingredients

What’s great about this sweet and delicious dish is that there are so many variations you can use it to make it just right for you.

As it’s traditionally a fall dish due to harvesting apples in the fall, pears also go beautifully in this recipe as they are also harvested in the fall. You can substitute all the apples for pears, or if you wish, you can even use both pears and apples together in this crumble recipe.

Another delicious variation to this recipe is to add in any kind of berry you like, such as apples and blackberries. You can really get creative with this recipe.

Apple crumble without oats

If you want to make this recipe without oats, this is very easy to do. All you need to do to make the filling as your usually would but leave the oats out when you make the topping. You can choose to leave the nuts out also if you prefer and have a topping made with just flour, sugar, and butter.

If you still want a bit of extra flavor in the topping, you can add a little extra cinnamon or apple spice to the topping mix. This is perfect if you love the cinnamon flavors and want to add a bit more of it to this recipe.

Apple Crumble Baking Tips

• It’s important to dice your apples on the smaller side as this will help them cook better when you put them in the oven. If you dice them too large, they will still be hard when your topping is ready, and you either risk a burnt topping or uncooked and hard apples.
• With this recipe, it’s a great idea to have everything fully measured out and prepared before you start putting the recipe together. This includes grating your lemon or orange zest beforehand and having your apples peeled and chopped. When you make ahead, baking the whole recipe feels so much easier, less messy, and more organized.
• The amount of sugar in this recipe isn’t set in stone. Depending on the type of apples you are using, and how sweet you like your apple crumble, you may want to adjust the amount of sugar you are using. You might use more or less than recommended to fit in with your preference.

Apple Crumble FAQ’s

Can I use the same recipe for an apple pie?

Yes, you can absolutely make this recipe as an apple crumble pie. All you need to do is use the same filling and replace the crumble with a pie crust topping.

Can I make this apple crumble gluten-free?

Yes, this recipe can easily be made gluten-free. All you will need to do is replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour mix or another naturally gluten-free flour like ground oat flour.

How do I get my apple crumble Crunchy?

To make sure your crumble actually comes out nice and crunchy, you need to make sure you use the right butter to flour ratio. Too much butter will make your topping soggier, but the addition of nuts and oats really helps to make the topping crunchy in most cases. Adding brown sugar instead of granulated sugar will also help the topping crunch up well.

How do I know when my crumble is ready?

To make sure that your crumble is actually ready when you take it out of the oven, you want to see the topping nicely golden with some of the juices from the filling bubbling up around the

What are the best apples to use in my apple crumble? 

You can use almost any type of apple for this recipe. Traditionally people like to use granny smith apples. Granny smith apples, however, can be quite tart, and so you want to make sure you use enough sugar.

I actually like to use a good gala apple in my apple crumble, but you can also use pink lady or even a mix of all of these apples for a lot of different apple flavors. Remember to adjust the amount of sugar depending on the sweetness of the apples you are baking.

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