Apple Crumble (2024)

Prepare to fall in love with the most amazing apple crumble you will ever try. A cozy, apple pie-like filling topped with buttery crumble topping. There is nothing more incredible than a bowl of this easy apple dessert topped with a scoop of ice cream.

Recommended apple types

Like an apple pie, I prefer to choose a variety of apples that are sweet, tart, and most importantly, can hold their shape. My favorite apples include: Granny Smith, Northern Spy, Ginger Gold, Jazz, Golden Delicious, and Pink Lady. While you can also go for sweeter apples, I find they are too sweet in a dessert like an apple crumble.

How to make

Making a crumble is so easy and only takes a few easy steps to put together.

1. If desired, peel the apples (I switch back and forth between peeling and unpeeling my apples). Core your apples, and dice them.
2. Toss the apples with sugar, salt, cinnamon, and flour. Set aside.
3. Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter together for the crumble topping until the mixture resembles large crumbs.
4. Pour the apple mixture into a large baking dish, then top with the crumbles.
5. Bake until the filling is bubbling and the crumbles are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Crisps vs Crumbles

Crisps and crumbles are very similar. Both are usually filled with a delicious pie-like filling and both have a buttery, crisp/crumbly streusel made primarily with flour and sugar cut with butter. The main difference is that crumbles usually do not have other add-ins such as oats and nuts. Both can include spice. Crisps usually have a finer mixture, whereas crumbles usually have larger clumps. You can use either type to make this apple crumble, but this recipe sticks to the more traditional topping.

Freezing tip

If you were wondering, yes, you can freeze apple crumble. They are great for freezing baked or unbaked, and can last for 3 - 4 months in the freezer if stored correctly.

For a baked crumble, place the dish in an airtight container and freeze in the coldest area of your freezer. If you use a deep freezer and your container is truly airtight, your apple crumble can last up to a year.

For an unbaked crumble, you have two options.

• You can freeze the entire apple crumble in a freezer-safe baking dish, wrapped tightly and well, so that it is airtight.
• You can freeze the apple crumble filling and topping separately in airtight freezer-safe containers.

Thawing tips

Regardless of whether or not the crumble is baked or unbaked, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight. Once thawed, you can bake/reheat the apple crumble using the about same baking information as if you were making a new crumble. You may need less time with the baked crumble, so check it at 30 minutes.

Making it gluten-free

It is pretty easy to convert this to a gluten-free apple dessert. You can simply replace the flour with a gluten-free baking mix. In the filling, you can also replace the flour with cornstarch. For the crumble, I also like swapping out a small portion of the gluten-free baking mix with almond flour.

Serving inspirations

There is no better way than to serve apple crumble with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. It is a classic pairing that cannot be resisted. You can also serve it with whipped cream. I also love having a bowl with a hot mug of tiramisu hot chocolate or even warmed homemade apple cider.

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