With a quick 10 minute prep, this apple crisp is easy enough for weekly Sunday dinner and pretty enough for any holiday table!
Sunday dinner traditions
Sunday dinners have become something our whole household anticipates every weekend. When the girls were smaller, it was a way for us to connect and teach table manners, eat amazing, nourishing food, and enjoy slower Sunday’s together. These days, I’d say Sunday dinners are even more sacred as the girls are getting older and we are in and out of the house a lot more. We try not to schedule anything on Sunday’s, and it’s nice to have a little extra time in the kitchen to make something I normally wouldn’t have time to make on a weekday. And that includes dessert!
Dessert every week?!
Absolutely. It may not be what works in every household, but over the years I have found that it is much easier to take the “forbidden” out of desserts by including a treats in our menu plan as well as regular meals. It makes it much easier to pass by the treats you might encounter during the week, too. Ending Sunday dinner with a little dessert has become a great way for us to teach the girls a healthy relationship with all kinds of food. I try to keep it as seasonal as I can, as well as include whole foods like fruit where I can as well. Which is why this apple crisp has been a staple in our home since the girls were very young!
Up to our ears in apples!
Every September and October, our pantry floor is absolutely covered in bags of apples. Whether we are picking them up from the local farm stand on the way to school, or picking them at our favorite orchard, we count ourselves blessed to be quite literally surrounded by apple farms where we live. The kids have been picking apples in the orchards in this area since they could walk, and it’s a tradition I’m so glad we’ve been able to gift to them.
A deconstructed apple pie!
This simple apple crisp was my answer to not having the time for a fancy apple pie one weekend very long ago, and it’s become one of my staple Sunday dinner desserts since it’s so fast to prep. This is one of those little apple projects that the kids will love to help you with too! The prep time is no more than 10 minutes!
The Method :: Preparing the apples
You can peel your apples if you want, but I keep it simple and leave them on. The skins are so pretty, and the provide great fiber too! I tend to stick with thin slices, but you can cube the apples too if you want!
The Method :: Preparing the apple filling
My favorite part about this apple crisp is that you can prep it right in the baking dish. Simply toss the sliced apples with the filling ingredients right in the baking dish! You’ll use some thickening starch or flour such as tapioca or corn starch to make the apple juices into an apple pie filling like sauce. And the classic cinnamon and nutmeg pair with the maple syrup to make the tastiest fall apple pie filling!
The Method :: Preparing the apple crisp topping
I think the best part about an apple crisp compared to an apple pie, is that you get that crispy topping in every single bite! Whisk up some coconut sugar with oats, flour, and cinnamon, and then work some butter into the mixture. The butter will almost fry the ingredients, making a sweet, crispy, buttery topping to contrast the soft, cinnamon apples. You’ll sprinkle the topping on, and then bake!
Serving your apple crisp
Most weekends, we serve our apple crisp as is. If you have some cream to whip into whipped cream, or some ice cream on hand, they obviously make a fun addition too, especially if you are serving your apple crisp for a holiday gathering. If you are serving this for Thanksgiving or another holiday gathering, double the recipe up into a 9×13 inch baking dish to serve a crowd.
More Sunday Dinner & Sunday Dessert ideas!
- How to Make a Beef Roast
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Roasted Whole Chicken
- One Pan Baked Ziti
- Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Nourishing Meatloaf
- Our Favorite Vanilla Bean Pudding (In my cookbook, Nourished Beginnings)
- Skillet Meatballs & Gnocchi
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chicken Divan Casserole
- Slow Cooker Lasagna
Our Favorite Sunday Dinner Apple Crisp Dessert
Ingredients
- 8 cups thinly sliced apples see notes
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- ยผ tsp nutmeg
- ยผ cup tapioca starch GMO-free corn starch or arrowroot would work too
- ยผ cup maple syrup coconut sugar, organic cane sugar, turbinado sugar would work too
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ยพ cup rolled oats I like to use sprouted oats for best digestion
- ยฝ cup flour of choice I like the nuttiness of almond flour, but any gluten free flour or regular all purpose or whole wheat flour would work too
- ยผ cup coconut sugar more maple syrup, organic cane sugar, or turbinado sugar would work here too
- ยผ tsp sea salt
- 1/3 cup cold butter cubed
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and butter an 8×8 baking dish or similar size pie plate.
- Put the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and tapioca starch right into the buttered baking dish and toss to combine. Add the maple syrup and vanilla extract and toss.
- To make the crisp topping, whisk the oats, flour, coconut sugar, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix the cold butter into the dry mixture, pressing the butter and dry ingredients together. You will have little pieces of butter throughout.
- Sprinkle the topping over the prepared apples, and bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes.
- Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or just as it is!
Notes
- I typically use any apples we have on hand. Traditionally granny smith apples make for great pies and baking, but in this post, our local farm stand was selling honey crisp apples so that is what I used. Its a great way to eat any variety of apple that your farmer’s are selling at any point during the fall season!
