Crock Pot Apple Crumb from 101 Cooking for Two

Name: Easy Crock Pot Apple Crisp
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 190 min
Ingredients: 4 apples (medium ); 1/2 cup flour; 1/2 cup light brown sugar; 1/2 cup rolled oats; 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg; 4 tablespoons butter

Recipe Table of Contents

4.27 from 30 votes

Celebrate fall and apples with this easy classic dessert with juicy cinnamon apple filling with a sweet buttery and crispy oat crust. Great for the smaller households but easy to double for larger families. You need 10 minutes of prep time, a few ingredients, and your slow cooker.

close up image of apple crisp with ice cream on an orange plate

Table of Contents

Cobblers, Crumbles, vs. Crisps
Ingredients
How to Make Crock Pot Apple Crisp
How to Store Apple Crisp
📖Crisp/Crumble Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📖Recipe
💬 Comments

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

Nothing is better than warm apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This simple old-fashioned dessert is perfect for entertaining or as a family surprise. I always think of this as apple pie without all the work.

There are many variations of slow cooker apple crisp recipes, but they are not really "cooking for two" friendly. Also, way too many ingredients; some had 20 ingredients, and mine has seven.

So I combined several recipes and cut down the amount to make it friendly for the smaller crock pot. While it is not just two servings, you will want at least some leftovers.

In keeping with my keep it simple theme:

Peal and cut up the apples.
Add a simple topping and cook.

Home cooking goodness has never been so simple.

My Rating

Very nice. A high 4 or low 5.

Cobblers, Crumbles, vs. Crisps

Cobblers are easy; they have a biscuit or cake topping. I have a very nice Smaller Crock Pot Apple Cobbler.

Crumbles and crisps are commonly used interchangeably. The differentiating factor is crisps have oats in the topping and crumble do not. This seems to be not widely accepted.

I think the recipe name should tell you what you're getting, so in my world, this is crisp. But call it a crumble if you want.

Ingredients

Apples

Apples that are firmer and tarter are the best choice here. So if you are buying apples just for this recipe, then some good choices are Granny Smith, Gala, Jonathon, Ida Red, and Cortland.

Delicious Apples are probably the only common poor choice.

Adjust the sugar for the sweetness of the apples.

Soft apples may release more fluid, and the results may be runny.

Topping

The topping is simple. The feature is rolled oats. Otherwise, it is flour, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

The topping will look like there is too much. But the topping is not just a topping that sits on top of the apples but diffuses down into the apples to make a sweet apple filling.

While I suggest light brown sugar, you can use dark or even white sugar.

How to Make Crock Pot Apple Crisp

Peel and slice four medium apples
Mix topping.
Put apples in a smaller crock pot and cover with the topping.
Cook on high for 2 hours then rotate lid to vent humidity for 1 more hour.

What crock pot to use?

This recipe is for smaller crock pots in the 3 to 4-quart range. If you are using a 2-quart pot, decrease by 50%.

Double the recipe for the bigger standard crock pots of 6-8 quarts. I would not cook a double recipe in a smaller crock pot.

Why is my topping mushy, and how to prevent it?

There is a lot of moisture released with the apples cooking. To have a crisp topping, the moisture needs to be removed.

Many recipes will try to absorb that humidity with paper towels or a cloth towel over the top of the crock pot under the lid. I have some safety concerns about that, and it doesn't work well.

For me, venting the humidity near the end of cooking works better without the fussy or safety concerns.

If you don't address the moisture adequately, the topping will not be crisp.

Can I cook this in the oven?

Yes. Preheat the oven to 350°. Use an 8 by 8 or 6 by 9 baking dish for this size recipe. For a double recipe, use a 9 by 13 cake size pan. Coat the pan with butter or cooking spray.

Spread the apple slices over the dish and sprinkle the crisp topping evenly over the apples.

Bake for about 45 minutes until golden brown.

How to serve apple crisp.

While it is excellent cold, it is spectacular warm, especially when combined with vanilla ice cream.

Some will like to drizzle with caramel sauce and sprinkle with walnuts or pecans.

How to Store Apple Crisp

Refrigerate in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days. But better if consumed in the first few days.

You can also store it in a freezer and an airtight container for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Reheat apple crisp in the oven or briefly in a microwave.

📖Crisp/Crumble Recipes

Easy Apple Crisp

Easy Berry Crumble

Berry Crisp for Two

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Start with apples of your choice. You will need four medium apples, which will make four cups of apple slices—peel and slice.

Mix ½ cup each of flour, light brown sugar, and rolled oats in a medium bowl. Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, then mix well. Add four tablespoons of softened butter and cut into the topping with a fork until combined thoroughly. It will be crumbly looking.

Give a smaller 3-4 quart crock pot a heavy spray of PAM.

adding apple slices to prepared crock pot

Add 4 cups of apple slices.

Smooth out the apples, then pour the topping mixture evenly over the apples.

turn the lid of the crock pot sideways to vent

Cook for 2 hours on high covered, then rotate the lid to allow moisture to vent and cook one more hour on high for a total of 3 hours.

large spoonful of apple crisp above the crock pot

Allow to cool a little before serving so the apples will set up some. Great with ice cream.

📖Recipe

apple crisp with ice cream on an orange plate

Easy Crock Pot Apple Crisp

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Tap to leave a Rating

4.27 from 30 votes

Print Collection

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 6

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

Instructions

Start with apples of your choice. You will need four medium apples, which will make four cups of apple slices—peel and slice.
Mix ½ cup each of flour, light brown sugar and rolled oats in a medium bowl. Add ½ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, then mix well. Add four tablespoons of softened butter and cut into the topping with a fork until combined thoroughly. It will be crumbly looking.
Give a smaller 3-4 quart crock pot a heavy spray of PAM.
Add 4 cups of apple slices.
Smooth out apples, then pour the topping mixture evenly over the apples.
Cook for 2 hours on high covered, then rotate the lid to allow moisture to vent and cook one more hour on high for a total of 3 hours.
Allow to cool a little before serving so the apples will set up some. Great with ice cream.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

Use the apples of your choice. A firmer tarter apple is probably a better choice. The only apples I would not use are delicious apples.
Cut in half for 2-quart pot. Double for a larger pot. This recipe is for 3-4 quart crock pot.
I vent the crock pot top by rotating the top for the last hour of cooking. This will help the top crisp up better.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

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Originally published October 3, 2015. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.