Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This recipe for apple crisp with a ginger twist is a delicious and easy dessert that’s perfect 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
Easy 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! My crisp is a fun riff on classic apple crisp that’s just like grandma used to make, with a spicy twist.
Warm and syrupy homemade 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!
Why You’ll Love This Apple Crisp Recipe
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. I don’t know about you, but I like my crisps heavy on the topping. I think it’s the best part!
Versatile. Another bonus of apple crisp? It’s perfect 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, I’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! I 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 delicious depth of flavor to the oat topping.
- Flour and Oats – For the crisp topping. All-purpose flour works great, and make sure to use quick 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?
The best apples for apple crisp are tart, firm baking apples, like Honeycrisp (my 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 to Make Apple Crisp
This old-fashioned apple crisp recipe with ginger is quick and easy to make:
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 easy variation ideas to make this crisp exactly to your liking:
- Not a fan of ginger? Substitute a teaspoon of homemade 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 my recipe for apple blueberry crisp made in a skillet!
- Add nuts. chopped walnuts or pecans add a delicious 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 perfectly with homemade cinnamon ice cream, or good ol’ vanilla. We also love piping on a swirl of homemade whipped cream.
For some extra indulgence, top your servings with a drizzle of caramel sauce (or try bourbon caramel sauce for an adult twist!).
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.
- 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.
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.
More Crisps & Crumbles
Easy Apple Crisp
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
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 10 by 8 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- 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.6 cups chopped apples, 2 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger root, 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 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.1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg, 2/3 cup packed brown sugar, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 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: I love leaving the peelings on the apples, but I realize it’s not traditional for apple crisp. Feel free to peel them before chopping if you prefer your crisp that way.
- Apple Varieties: I use Honeycrisp apples. Some other apple varieties that would be perfect 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Delicious, easy to make, I LOVE how crispy the topping got, and my VERY PICKY other half ate it all! :)
So glad it was enjoyed! Thank you for leaving a a review!
Would you be able to substitute candied ginger on the top, instead of fresh? I want so badly to use up ingredients that are taking up space, and this seems like the best recipe I’ve seen yet that has ginger, not just powder!
I think that would work well!
Great recipe, just finished making it and it tastes great. The only criticism I would have is that it’s a bit intense on the sweetness so I’m going to add half as much next time. Thank you for this simple yet delicious recipe :D
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. :)
I used to make a similar recipe years ago, the basic crumb crust was 2 cups flour, one cup sugar and 1 stick ( 1/4 lb ) butter or margarine. Mix together until it forms pea sized crumbles, then you can either pat it into the bottom of the dish for a crust or crumble over the top for a Dutch apple type crust. I would split it in half and do both. For blueberries or cherries I would sub out 1 1/2 cups of flour for rolled oats. For the fruit base, a small amount of almond extract really enhances the berry and cherry flavors. For the apples, my mother swapped the apple pie spice for pumpkin, they are very similar but the pumpkin has ginger in it. We also used to add cranberries and raisins to the apple for a harvest type pie, and a small amount of fennel seed for a unique flavor.
It all sounds amazing!
great post! Thanks a lot for sharing this healthy and yummy recipe!
You’re welcome!
WOW I didn’t think that would be good but I (we) LOVED it
Thank you so much for your help
So glad to hear it! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Hi!
This sounds delicious! I was wondering, can you make it without the lemon? I’ve got a friend who’s allergic. Thanks!
You absolutely could do that! :) I hope you like it!
This crisp is so delicious! The ginger really adds a nice touch. Everyone loved it!
sounds delicious!
Thank you so much, Denise!