Apple Crisp, served with Ginger – Straightforward & Rich!

At a glance

What stands out: This recipe for apple crisp with a ginger twist is a rich and straightforward dessert that’s reliable for fall.

How long it takes: 15 minutes to prep, 1 hour, 10 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: sharp knife, mixing bowl, baking dish, oven
Servings: 6

Straightforward Apple Crisp Recipe With Ginger

This cozy apple crisp is deliciously spiced, bursting with juicy baked apples beneath a buttery oat topping, with real ginger in the filling. Yup, ginger! Our crisp is a fun riff on classic apple crisp that’s just like grandma used to make, with a spicy twist.

Warm and syrupy from-scratch apple crisp is the ultimate dessert to kickstart apple season (along with apple spice cake and apple fritters, of course). Once you’ve had a bite, you’ll want to make it all fall long. Don’t forget a scoop of melty vanilla ice cream on top!

What stands out

Real ginger. This recipe adds freshly grated ginger root to the juicy apple filling. Fresh ginger packs a flavor punch; you don’t have to use much of it to taste it.

Buttery crisp topping. The crisp topping is so simple: oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, and spices. We don’t know about you, but we like our crisps heavy on the topping. We think it’s a standby part!

Versatile. Another bonus of apple crisp? It’s reliable for dessert, and even better to have for breakfast the next day! Have you tried apple crisp with a spoonful of yogurt on top? So dreamy.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Before we get baking, we've shared some notes on the ingredients below. Don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card below the post with the full amounts, recipe instructions, and nutritional info.

• Apples – You’ll need about 6 medium-sized baking apples (see below), enough to make 6 cups when chopped.
• Ginger – Our second star ingredient next to the apples in this apple crisp! We love the fresh, bright flavors of freshly minced ginger root. You can also substitute the fresh ginger in this recipe with 1 1/2 teaspoons of ginger powder in a pinch.
• Lemon – You’ll zest and then juice a fresh lemon to bring brightness to the filling.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar helps to caramelize the filling, while brown sugar brings a rich depth of flavor to the oat topping.
• Flour and Oats – For the crisp topping. All-purpose flour works great, and make sure to use speedy or old-fashioned oats. Steel-cut oats won’t cook quickly enough.
• Cinnamon and Nutmeg – Ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg round out the classic “cozy” flavors in this apple crisp.
• Butter – Softened from the fridge before you start so that it combines easily with the topping ingredients.

What Apples Are Best for Baking?

A standby apples for apple crisp are tart, firm baking apples, like Honeycrisp (our favorite for this recipe) or Granny Smith. Other good choices are Braeburn, Jonagold, and Cortland apples. These sweet-tart varieties hold their shape when baked and won’t turn to apple sauce in the oven.

How it comes together

This old-fashioned apple crisp recipe with ginger is speedy and straightforward to mix:

Prepare the apple filling. In a bowl, toss the apples with ginger, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and zest until they’re well coated. Add your apples to a greased 10×8″ baking pan.

Make the topping. You can use the same bowl that you used to toss the apples. Combine flour with oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Then, cut the softened butter into the dry ingredients until large clumps form.

Assemble and bake. Sprinkle the oat crumble evenly over the apple filling. Bake the crisp at 350ºF for 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the apples are soft and bubbly and the top is golden.

Serve! Give your apple crisp a chance to cool a bit, then serve slices a la mode with your favorite ice cream. See below for more serving ideas.

Tips for the Best Apple Crisp

Apple crisps are some of the easiest recipes, but there are a few things that can make or break this classic fall dessert. Here are some final tips for success:

• Use the right apples. Make sure that you’re using the right variety of apples that are suitable for baking (see the ingredients section for details).
• Fix a watery apple crisp. If you’re worried that your apple crisp filling may turn out a little runny, try adding a sprinkle of cornstarch to the coating ingredients. Cornstarch helps to thicken the filling.
• Don’t let the butter get too soft. You want your butter softened enough that it cuts easily into the topping ingredients, but not softened to the point where it’s melted.
• Refrigerate the topping. If you feel that your butter is too warm while you’re mixing it into the topping, pop the topping into the fridge for a few minutes afterward. Then, sprinkle it over the apples. This ensures that your crisp comes out with a crunchy, crumbly topping.

Make This Apple Crisp Recipe Your Own

Try these straightforward variation ideas to make this crisp exactly to your liking:

• Not a fan of ginger? Substitute a teaspoon of from-scratch apple pie spice in place of fresh ginger and cinnamon in this recipe.
• Make pear apple crisp. Substitute sliced, peeled pears for half the apples.
• Add berries. Sub in two cups of blueberries or raspberries for 2 cups of the apples. Also, check out our recipe for apple blueberry crisp made in a skillet!
• Add nuts. chopped walnuts or pecans add a rich crunch to the streusel topping.

Ways to Serve Apple Crisp

If you also grew up eating and loving apple crisp, you’re going to love this homestyle recipe filled with the flavors of sweet caramelized apples and zesty ginger. This apple crisp pairs evenly with from-scratch vanilla ice cream. We also love piping on a swirl of from-scratch whipped cream.

For some extra indulgence, top your servings with a drizzle of caramel sauce (or try bourbon caramel sauce for an adult twist!).

Make-Ahead Ideas

Crisps are best served fresh and still warm. However, you can assemble your crisp ahead of time and bake it later. Cover the unbaked apple crisp tightly and refrigerate it up to 1 day ahead. Remove it from the fridge while the oven is preheated and bake as directed.

Pre-baked crisps can be stored in the freezer for up to a month. Tightly wrap the crisp and thaw in the fridge overnight before baking.

Keeping leftovers

• To Store. Apple crisp is fine to store airtight on the counter for up to 24 hours after baking. If you need to store it after that, transfer it to the fridge to keep for up to 3 days.
• Freeze. You can freeze the baked apple crisp for up to one month. Make sure to store it airtight, or tightly wrapped in a double layer of foil. Thaw the crisp in the fridge overnight before warming it in the oven.

Leftover Love

Have a few scoops of apple crisp left over? Make your own premium ice cream flavor. Mix the leftover crisp with a container of softened vanilla ice cream and refreeze.

• Yield: 6
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Total: 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

Filling:

• 6 cups chopped apples (about 6 medium sized apples)
• 2 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (zest the lemon before juicing!)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Crisp Topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (quick or old-fashioned, not steel-cut)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (use already ground if you have to)
• 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 10 by 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix ginger root, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon. Add apple chunks and mix thoroughly. Make sure the zest and ginger root are distributed equally throughout the apples. Put into baking dish.
3. In the same bowl that you used for the apple mixture, mix flour, oats, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brown sugar. Add the softened butter, and use two knives held together in your hand (or a pastry cutter or fork) to cut the butter into the dry ingredients. The mixture should hold together in large clumps.
4. Using a large spoon or your hand, sprinkle the crisp topping over the apple mixture. Put into preheated oven and bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until apples are soft and crisp is lightly browned on top. Cool slightly, and serve warm with ice cream, if desired.

Notes

To Peel or Not To Peel: we love leaving the peelings on the apples, but we realize it’s not traditional for apple crisp. Feel free to peel them before chopping if you prefer your crisp that way.

Apple Varieties: we use Honeycrisp apples. Some other apple varieties that would be reliable are Jonagold, Mutsu, Braeburn, or Granny Smith.

Nutmeg: Keep in mind that freshly ground nutmeg has a stronger flavor than the already ground, and adjust the amount according to taste.

Flavor Note: Ginger flavor slightly intensifies in leftover crisp.