Apple Berry Crisp
Indulge in this easy Apple Berry Crisp, bursting with juicy fruit and a crisp oat topping. Perfect for cozy fall gatherings or a healthy dessert. It’s easy to make with frozen berries and has a gluten-free option. Ready in 1 hour!
I get asked a lot what my favorite dessert is, and while I always think about it for a while, the answer is always the same: anything with apples in it. Or chocolate chip cookies, but I’m a huge sucker for apple desserts. Of all the apple desserts, ones piled high with crisp or crumble topping top the list. Add in pecans or oats, and I’m in heaven. Oooh, and with caramel sauce? Always a winner.
So…while I definitely can’t make apple crisp too frequently for fear of devouring it ALL to myself, it’s the one thing I MUST make every fall. A while back, my housemate Olivia was talking about a crisp her mom made, Bumbleberry Crisp, which is apples and berries baked together with a crumble topping. It sounded amazing and is the inspiration for this recipe.
Here in Washington, berries are mostly out of season and not very affordable, so I use a bag of frozen mixed berries in this crisp. However, if you have easy access to fresh berries, that will work perfectly too. I used a mix of strawberries and blueberries, but use your favorites.
The crumble topping is buttery and crispy, and the oatmeal and pecans add just the right amount of texture. I’m a firm believer that you can never have enough crumble topping (case in point: pumpkin crumb cake). This apple berry crisp is not lacking in the “crisp” department.
Want to make apple crisp ahead of time?
- Prep The Fruit: Peel, core, and slice apples up to 1 day in advance. Toss with lemon juice to prevent browning.
- Make The Crisp Topping: Prepare crisp topping up to 3 days in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator.
- Assemble & Bake: Combine fruit, sugar, flour, and spices in baking dish. Top with chilled crisp topping. Bake just before serving. Crisp can be refrigerated unbaked for up to 2 days.
- Storage: the baked crisp will keep 4-5 days refrigerated. Reheat it before serving. You can freeze the baked crisp for up to 3 months. Thaw in refrigerator before reheating in the oven.
The crisp begs to be served warm with ice cream, and I love how homey and rustic it looks served in a cast iron skillet. Of course, a regular square pan or baking dish works just as well. This apple berry crisp more than satisfied my apple crisp craving. Enjoy!
Storage & Serving
- Serve warm or at room temperature. I personally prefer warm with vanilla ice cream!
- Ice cream and whipped cream make great toppings.
- It will last 4-5 days refrigerated in an airtight container or sealed tightly with plastic wrap.
- This crisp freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat on low heat in the oven until warm.
Apple Berry Crisp
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Indulge in this easy Apple Berry Crisp, bursting with juicy fruit and a crisp oat topping. Perfect for cozy fall gatherings or a healthy dessert. It’s easy to make with frozen berries. Ready in 1 hour.
Ingredients
- 4 apples, sliced, I used Honeycrisp & Granny Smith
- 12 oz. mixed berries, you can use fresh or frozen
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the crisp topping
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cut into 1/2″ cubes
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, replace with almond flour to make it gluten-free
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats, use GF oats if making it gluten-free
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10″ cast iron skillet or a 9×9″ square baking pan with butter.
- In a bowl, stir together apple, frozen berries, brown sugar and cinnamon, until well coated.
- Place the apple mixture in the prepared skillet. Set aside.
- In another bowl mix, together the ingredients for the topping. Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter or a spoon, until the the butter is mostly incorporated (no pieces larger than a pea) and it has started to come together into crumbles. You can use your hands to bring it together too. Sprinkle crumble topping evenly on top of the apple mixture.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until the apples are tender and bubbling. Check the crisp around 30 minutes into baking and tent with foil if the topping is beginning to get too brown. If the apples are rather juicy, you might have to drain the excess juices halfway through baking.
- Serve warm. I love to serve with vanilla ice cream!
Notes
Storage for leftovers: It will last 4-5 days refrigerated in an airtight container or sealed tightly with plastic wrap.
To freeze: This crisp freezes well in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and reheat on low heat in the oven until warm.
That looks phenomenal! I love apple crisps, but never thought about adding berries to it. Yum!
Mmm now that is my kind of apple crisp! So gooey and buttery…wish I could taste some now :)
I love the combination of apples and berries! I could eat a big bowl of this for breakfast!
The combination of apples and berries in this crisp sounds amazing! Yes – I might add some vanilla ice cream to it :)
Apples and berries sound like a fabulous combination. The perfect fall crisp!
Bumbleberry crisp? That’s possibly the cutest name I’ve ever heard! My mom and sister are obsessed with crisps. Looks like we’ll definitely be making this one this holiday season!
This is seriously so stunning! Pinned!
There’s something about a crisp in a cast iron skillet that really satisfies a fall dessert craving. This one looks awesome, and I love the name Bumbleberry!
Wow….I would love that for breakfast right now. Apples and berries, that’s pretty much breakfast right!? Pinned! Also hello fellow Washingtonian!! :)
Thanks so much, Erica! It’s definitely the perfect breakfast :)
Rachel, this crisp is crazy! I can’t stop staring at the colors in it. Love the apple + berries filling, and that topping sounds absolutely perfect! I can totally imagine eating this with a scoop of ice cream all cozied up with some blankets by the fireplace. So perfect! :)
Okay, now you have me begging for a big ol’ bowl of this topped with ice cream :) What a beauty! I love apple desserts too but sometimes forget about them in the throes of pumpkin madness. This looks fab!
Definitely agree, Rachel! This apple berry crisp is the perfect fall dessert!! Yum!
I’m a huge sucker for apple desserts too. Here in California up by Sacramento there is this amazing apple orchard called Apple Hill, and this time of year it is packed! You can go and pick your own apples, but the best part is the bakery they have there with every type of apple baked good you can think of. We’ll go and get a few to share, and drink warm apple cider. It is so fun! And I am loving this apple berry crisp Rachel! A crumb topping is my favorite topping for baked apple desserts. And this pictures are gorgeous! Love how cozy they make this pie look. Love!
Natalie, that sounds amazing!!! I want to go apple picking but none of my friends will join me, haha. Sounds so fun! Thanks for the the kind words :)
Just look at all that beautiful berry juice! I am in love with this dessert. Perfectly beautiful in that cast-iron skillet. Pinned!
Love this crisp! Crisps of any variety have got to be one of my all-time favorite desserts!
Mmmm – with your frozen berry tip, I can get my berry dessert fix in the fall! Yessssss. Serve me up a huge scoop!
It made it so easy to enjoy the berries, and they baked up perfectly! Highly recommended :) Thanks for stopping by Sarah!
I saw this on Instagram and died. Beautiful!
This looks so beautiful and delicious. Definitely going to have to make myself something similar very soon!
This crisp is gorgeous! I love the combination of apples and berries! The colors are just beautiful and is definitely the perfect fall dessert!
I love a baked crisp and yours looks great. They’re so simple and comforting and I love the mix of apples and berries. Looking forward to trying this. Thanks!
delicious and fun twist on apple crisp! looks great Rachel!
This is the dessert of dreams. This would go perfectly with some ice cream as well. Wonderful recipe. I love this
I love bumble berry pie, but I don’t think I’ve ever had bumble berry crisp. This looks amazing! Definitely need to try that!
This is whispering Fall dessert for breakfast in my ear. Also another reason to use my cast iron skillet? I’m in. Pinned!
Looks amazing! Little french vanilla ice cream for topping to go with it :)
My kind of dessert! I’m a big fan of lots of crumb topping and apples!
This looks crazy delicious! I love that you added berries in too.
I would say my favorite dessert may definitely have apple in it too :)
Crisps are one of my favorite things to make in the fall! I LOVE this with the apples and berries – I’ve never done that combo before!
Beautiful photography! This looks absolutely divine :)
This crisp looks delicious and I love the combination of apples and berries.
I love the apple-berry combo, what a pretty crisp!
Great minds, huh?! I love those photos and I love that you used pecans in the topping – yum!
Yum! This does look absolutely perfect for fall! There’s nothing that I love better than a delicious apple crisp, so with the addition of the berries, oh my goodness does it look good! Definitely need to try this!
Hi! Could you make this recipe gluten free if needed with almond flour? Anything else need to be altered? Thank you!
You can! Just make sure to use gluten-free oats as well.