With a warm, cinnamon laced apple filling and a perfectly crunchy, crumbly topping, Apple Crumble is an absolute crowd pleaser! Very easy to make, this Apple Crumble recipe is a keeper that you’ll make again and again.
This is a reader favourite included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
THE Apple Crumble recipe
This is The Apple Crumble recipe I’ve been making for years and years. Ever since my sister made an Apple Crumble by a well known celebrity chef for my birthday dinner (yes I’m weird, I seriously requested Apple Crumble instead of a birthday cake) and it was terribly disappointing.
Crumbly topping to be sure, but it was awfully dry and the filling was watery.
Not her fault, it was the recipe. She was not happy. Actually, she was rather grumpy.
That was the moment when I decided I needed to create my own recipe. 🙂
Why use this Apple Crumble recipe?
There are tons and tons of Apple Crumble recipes out there. This recipe doesn’t have any ground breaking techniques or secret ingredients. But it works, tastes great and it makes an Apple Crumble that is everything it should be. Specifically:
1. The apple filling is not dry or watery. It is made ever so slightly jammy / syrupy with the addition of flour mixed with the usual sugar (plus cinnamon for fragrance). Just a bit of flour really makes a difference; and
2. The crumbly topping bakes up beautifully crisp but is not dry or doughy or overly sweet. It crumbles when you serve it – hence the name 😉 – but it doesn’t disintegrate, there are chunks that hold together. Think chunky muesli/granola – like that. But softer. 🙂
Best apples for Apple Crumble
I like to use Granny Smith apples because the sweet-tart palette appeals to me. If you prefer not to have tartness, then feel free to use sweet red apples.
This recipe will also work for pears and even stone fruits like peaches.
The smell when this is in the oven is just heavenly. The cinnamon, the apple, the buttery sweet goodness.
And that moment when you crack through the nubbly golden topping and are greeted with the sight of golden syrupy, tender apples…
It’s just a little bit of heaven, right there.
Just one rule. Don’t forget the ice cream!!! 😇 – Nagi x
Apple Crumble
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. Mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Apple Crumble
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 2 lb / 1kg Granny Smith Apples( green apples) , weight before peeling
- 1 tbsp flour , plain / all-purpose
- 1/2 cup white sugar (sub brown sugar)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (or water)
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Topping
- 1 cup rolled oats / oatmeal (quick cooking is ok)
- 1 cup flour , plain / all-purpose
- 1 cup (loosely packed) brown sugar (sub white sugar)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 125g / 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
- Pinch of salt
To Serve
- Vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F (both fan and standard).
- Apple – Peel apples, then cut into 1.5cm/ 1/2” cubes.
- Apple filling – Place apples in a bowl. Sprinkle with flour, sugar and cinnamon, then pour over lemon juice. Toss, then spread out evenly in a 1.5 litre/1.5 quart baking dish.
- Crumble topping – Place Topping ingredients in a bowl. Mix until clumps form, like wet sand (see video). Spread over the apples, crumbling with fingers if required to get that crumbly topping.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. Remove, cover loosely with foil to keep warm and let stand for 10 minutes before serving (let's the apple syrup thicken slightly).
- Serve warm with vanilla ice cream!
Recipe Notes:
Originally posted April 2016, updated with new commentary, recipe video and fresh new photos. No change to recipe!Nutrition Information:
Love apple desserts?
Me too! See?
Life of Dozer
This is why I don’t need a compost!!!
To make your crumble even easier, put you 1 1/4 sticks of butter in the freezer while you assemble the apple filling. For the crumble, put all the crumble ingredients in the bowl, except the butter. Take the butter out of the freezer and remove the paper wrapping, but leave an inch or so at one end to hold on to. Using the large grate on your box grater, grate the butter into the dry crumble ingredients. Fluff with a fork. Done!!! No messing around trying to get it perfectly blended with your fingers!
Best recipe but first try was too sweet, possibly due to not using a sour apple variety (Granny Smith are $5.99/kg, Dazzle are $1.49/kg – so I used Dazzle which are crunchy and sweet).
Note a mistake in the recipe: 1 lb is not 500 g but 425 g – so 2 lb is 850 g. Using 1 kg of apples makes the bowl too full and the filling drip out, leaving a mess in the oven.
Tips:
DON’T preheat the oven – complete waste of energy.
DON’T peel the apples – there is a lot of goodness and taste in the peel! Just quarter, decore, and dice them.
Mix the filling in the baking dish – no need for another bowl just for mixing!
For a crunchier crumble don’t use baking powder
Reduced the sugar: 50 g brown sugar in the filling, 100 g in the crumble (sub white sugar 25 g filling / 60 g crumble). Was still plenty sweet enough but more fruity.
I bake at 160 °C / 320 °F (fan) for 1 hour from cold or until golden brown (note that using brown sugar makes it a bit darker).
Will next try to add some desiccated coconut to the crumble.
Thanks for the inspiration – the humble crumble is no longer the poor cousin of the cake but has now been firmly established in the neighbourhood here (as I always share with my neighbours).
Will have to try this TODAY!
Doh! Please disregard – and my apologies for being blind as a bat! Found it at the top. I think the apples threw me off …
Why o Why do you use “cups”? Do you know that different countries have different cup sizes, ranging from 141 g to 268g? That some people use them filled straight, heaped, or pressed? PLEASE at least give both imperial (lb, cup) AND SI (Standard International) units (like you did for apples). Grams is ALWAYS precise – cup isn’t. At all.
Yummy recipe but one important thing is what temperature to cook it at!!! I guessed but surely that’s an important fact to omit
Love this recipe Nagi! Have made it a few times now. Can I make apple filling night before and leave it in the fridge?
I have made this recipe 3 times in the last two weeks. It has been a winner, everytime! Thank you Nagi 🙂
I halved the brown sugar and it works perfectly for us. Maybe our Granny Smith’s are sweeter in Cape Town.
My crumble was good but topping very dry, did not achieve full crumble so had a lot of dry dust instead of crumble with only 125 grams butter (I actually added a little more but it didn’t make a difference, seems like double would have been good). Otherwise, very nice, I cut the sugar in half.
Amazing super easy recipe. My family loved it with vanilla icecream! I did half the sugar and still thought it was sweet but I used red apples.
I completely love all your recipes they are genuinely the best. I love to cook but I can never find the right recipe, not to sound too over the top but this recipe was perfect and your recipes are always bomb.
This is so good, quick to prepare and goes really well with salted caramel ice cream. Delicious 😋
I had some tinned peaches in the cupboard so used those, drained off the juice first, simply outstanding, 5 stars. thanks Nagi and Dozer
I made this for the 1st time forna housewarming party. The highlight of this recipe is melting the butter to make the crumble & the outcome was how i liked it, crumbly not doughy. The prportion of crumble to fruit was also good ie more fruit less crumble, but the texture of the crumble was so right that in future i would try to put more. The addition of cinnamon flavoured the crumble the way i like too. I did make double the amount of crumble, to which i added almond slices, but the container could not accomodate more, so i baked it after baking the crumble. It is so tasty on top of yoghurt, bleberries! As for the apples, i added cranberries. I was lil unhappy with the watery- ness of the base. How can i correct that next time? I did add the flour, as pwr recipe.
Haven’t made apple crumble before and was happy the recipient declared it, “beautiful!” Was worried the apples might be undercooked but there were lovely, soft and jammy.
I reduced the sugar amount in the topping by about 25% or more but could’ve gone down to 50%. I added 50% extra topping but will just double it next time to coat the layer of apples. Highly recommended and can see why this made the cookbook!
I agree about the sugar! I love Nagi with all my heart and would never want to criticise, but I followed the recipe to a T and it was uncomfortably sweet 🙁 Reducing it by 50% is the way to go!
This is sooooo yummy and so easy, server with dollop cream 🤤 have made it twice and will continue to make it. Thanks for a great simple recipe!
This crumble was amazing, I took a few short cuts by using canned ink lady apple in juice from Aldi (3 tins), I also added 1/2 cup of coconut to the topping. It was the best crumble I have tasted and so easy to make, hubby said we will have this again!
Absolutely delicious! Highly recommend
This recipe was my second attempt at Apple Crumble – was looking for a new recipe as the first one I tried, although highly rated, was not what I hoped to get – apples and crumble were too separated and the juices from apples were too runny/watery. In this recipe I substituted all white sugar with brown sugar, and used Oat Flour instead of regular one. Turned out just PERFECT and DELICIOUS. This will be my definitely go-to recipe for apple crumble
This is absolutely the best! I’ve added pecans to it and it was total success. This became my favorite desert.
Amazing good!
Delicious, substituted apple for pear (they needed eating)reduced the sugar by a 1/3