Easy Apple Crumble Recipe (with Big Crumb Topping)

This apple crumble recipe is made with fresh apples and a crispy, cinnamon whole wheat crumb topping. It’s an easy dessert that comes together in just minutes boasting big, scrumptious crumbs for a delicious and wholesome treat that will leave everyone asking for seconds.

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Because apples are available year around pretty inexpensively, we can eat them and make apple baked goods any time of the year, which is wonderful, really.

But there’s just something about autumn when apples are ripening on the trees that make this time of year just about perfect for any type of apple breakfast, bread, or desserts.

It’s easy to picture leaves of gold and red outside and the scents of apples and cinnamon baking inside. It’s so cozy and comforting, isn’t it?

And while apple pie is a classic (like my freeze-now-bake-later apple pie), and a spiced applesauce bread is great for snacks and breakfast, it’s an easy, warm apple crumble with it’s crispy, buttery topping that makes a perfect fall dessert any time -even regular weekdays.

And by easy, I mean this comes together in just minutes, especially if you have a spiral apple slicer (or help in the kitchen!) since peeling and slicing the apples takes the most time.

When I set out to create a simple apple crumble I had a couple of goals:

1. First to make it as healthy as possible. So there is no sugar added to the apples and I used whole wheat pastry flour and just two-thirds cup of brown sugar in the topping.
2. Second, to made a version of the ‘big crumb’ topping we love so much in my berry crisp recipe. Which made me wonder – what makes something a crisp and something else a crumble?

What is the difference between a crumble and a crisp?

A classic crumble topping is usually made with only three ingredients: flour, sugar, and butter. In a crisp topping you’ll find these three ingredients as well as oats and sometimes nuts.

So basically, a fruit crisp has oats included in the topping and a crumble doesn’t.

But, hey – feel free to call this whatever you’d like, just as long as you make it because it’s just so good!

Ingredients

Like I’ve mentioned, I wanted to keep this recipe easy, classic, and as healthy as possible – it is still a dessert after all.

For the filling:

• Apples – it’s great to use a mix, or at least to add a tart apple like Granny Smith to mostly sweet apples, but really use whatever you have and it will taste wonderful.
• Lemon juice – this is added for a bit of counterbalance to the sweet apples and also to keep the apples from turning brown.
• Cinnamon – this spice is a must for me (apples and cinnamon are like PB & J), but if you can’t do cinnamon for whatever reason you can try another spice.
• Cornstarch, potato starch, or flour – a sprinkling of either one of these helps to thicken the juices that are released as the apples cook.
• Water – not pictured, but drizzled over the apples before mixing to help absorb the starch/flour and provide more moisture to the filling (I tried it without this and it’s a key ingredient, believe it or not).

For the 4-ingredient topping:

• Whole wheat pastry flour – this is still 100% whole grain, just ground more finely than regular whole wheat, making it lighter and fluffier for pastries and baking like this.
• Brown sugar – adds a nice caramel flavor to the topping, with only a little more than a tablespoon of added sugar to each serving.
• Butter – this is what holds the topping together and gives it the crispy-butter crunch.
• Cinnamon – yes, more in the topping adds another layer of cinnamony goodness.

How to Make Apple Crumble

Detailed quantities and instructions are included in the full recipe box below, but here are a few extra tips to help with each step:

Step 1: Heat oven and butter a 9×9 (or 8×8) inch pan. Add the apples to the pan as you prepare them.

Step 3: Make filling. Sprinkle the apples with the lemon juice, cinnamon, thickener of choice, and water. Use your hands or two spoons to mix it with the slices right in the pan, coating the apples as evenly as you can (don’t worry too much about this).

Substitutions & Variations

Here are some changes you could if needed:

• Flour – there are a number of ways you can go here – use regular whole wheat or all-purpose, or even spelt would work. For gluten free, use a 1:1 flour.
• Sugar – you could use coconut sugar, though it would impart a different flavor. You could also use half honey, though the texture will be affected. In a pinch you could use cane sugar, but you’d lose the lovely caramel notes brown sugar has.
• Spices – you can add more in addition to the cinnamon, or replace it with ground dry ginger, apple pie spice, or allspice.
• Butter – if you need to be dairy free, coconut oil should work (I haven’t tried), though use a refined version if you don’t want the flavor to compete with the apples.

To Store

Keep covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

To Reheat: Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or use an air fryer. Transfer a small amount to a heat-proof ramekin if not reheating all the leftovers.

More Easy Apple Recipes

Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:

• Crumb Topped Apple Pie – Bake Now or Freeze for Later
• 4-Ingredient Homemade Caramel Apple Dip (+ Lower Sugar Version & Apple Tasting Tradition!)
• 25 Of The Best Apple Breakfast Recipes
• Double Apple Scones with Caramel Glaze Recipe

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