If you prefer your apple crisp recipe without oats, here’s my take, you crazy kid . . .
An Apple Crisp Recipe Without Oats
It has come to my attention that many people prefer their apple crisp without oats. Frankly, at first, this was a little mind-boggling to me. Apple crisp with oats is delicious. The oats are chewy and they don’t even taste remotely healthy when soaked in butter and sugar. So why?!
Nevertheless, I virtuously forged ahead, striving to find a delicious crisp recipe that avoided the dreaded oats. I did some initial digging. The problem for me was that many recipes call for just sugar, spice, and flour. In my opinion, that type of crumble doesn’t have enough of a chew to it. It becomes a little mushy over time. I’ve had pies before where the crumble part transforms into a sort of sweetened sweet and buttery goo. Personally, I’m not into that.
This recipe avoids that.
I like a bit of brittle grittiness to sink my teeth into. I think the grit was the function the oats were there to serve. So I made a couple of versions of an apple crisp recipe without oats. Our family was delighted to come home to serve as taste testers.
Also, my initial preference was for oats, so yes, that is an apple crisp with oats on there, front and center, for me to use as a deliciousness baseline. ‘
And now, I am saddened to report that the no-oat apple crisp recipe we settled on has now become the official family favorite. It looks like my oat-y apple crisp days may be at an end.
How to Make Oat-Free Apple Crisp Magical
So what is the secret to a good oat-free apple crisp?
Shredded coconut, almond flour, finely chopped pecans, and all purpose flour. The nuts work with the butter to make the crumble quite rich. Between the almond flour and the finely chopped pecans, you get soft, buttery pockets of aromatic, crumbly toasted nut. The coconut works well with the nuts. It doesn’t add much flavor. Instead, the coconut gives you sweetness and a bit of a chew. The wheat flour gives you a bit of a crunchy, melty, powdery dimension. Combine the buttery pocket of nuts, the chew of the coconut, and the melty powder from the flour, and you get a very delicious apple crisp topping.
(The picture above is pre-baking).
And, as stated in my post about normal apple crisp, I do not mess with cutting the butter into the flour. I really can’t taste the difference when you do that. Just melt it and stir the flour/sugar/etc mixture into the flour with spatula.
Make your crumble, and pile it high on top of the apples and you’re set for a delicious dessert. Best served warm with whipped cream (recipe below) or vanilla ice cream!
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No-Oat Apple Crisp Recipe
An apple crisp recipe without oats. The crisp relies on shredded coconut, almond flour, pecans, and all purpose flour to make a rich and crumbly topping that is crisp with a bit of a chew to it. All on top of warm and spicy apples.
- Total Time: 85 min
Ingredients
Spiced Apple Filling
2 large or 3 small honeycrisp apples (roughly 4 cups of chopped apple; 1/2 to 1/4 inch cubes)
1 large grannysmith apple (roughly 2 cups of chopped apple; 1/2 to 1/4 inch cubes)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp orange zest
Oat-Free Crumble Topping
1/4 cup melted butter
3/8 cup all purpose flour
1/8 cup almond flour
3/8 cup brown sugar
3/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp finely chopped pecans
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
Instructions
1. Preheat Oven to 350F.
2. Prepare the apple filling.
Chop the 3-4 apples into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups of chopped apples when you are finished. Leave the peel on the apples. Here’s a picture of the weird way I cut up my apples. Maybe everyone is doing this, but it’s not how I was taught to do it growing up. It’s a lot faster than trying to cut out cores.
It’s best if there is some variation in the apple piece sizes, so that you have some softer and some firmer pieces of apple after baking. Toss the chopped apples with:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp orange zest
Then pour the apples into a baking dish. I use an 8-inch ramekin, but a 9-inch deep dish pie pan has approximately the same capacity and would also work.
3. Make the crumble topping.
Begin by melting the 1/4 cup of butter. I usually do this in the microwave by heating in 20 second bursts. Then use a spatula to mix in thoroughly until moist throughout:
- 3/8 cup all purpose flour
- 1/8 cup almond flour
- 3/8 cup brown sugar
- 3/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 tbsp finely chopped pecans
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Now you you should have a crumbly crumb texture.
Gently sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the apples. Try to hide all the apples from sight. Do not press the crumbs down into the apples. Here’s what mine looked like right before I popped it into the oven:
As you can see, I place my baking dish on top of a sheet pan to bake. It is much easier to take in and out of the oven that way. Also, it helps in the case you ever have any overflow.
Hot tip: I often double the recipe for the crumble and freeze half of it. That way, I can very quickly make a batch of apple crisp. (Sometimes it’s an apple-crisp emergency). It freezes very well. Just take the frozen bits out of the freezer maybe 30 minutes before you want to use them. Or, if you forget to take it out ahead of time, just pop the frozen crumble into a bowl and then into the microwave in 5 second bursts, until sufficiently un-frozen (ideally not warm).
4. Pop it in the oven for 70 minutes.
It’s done when it smells delicious. You can take it out closer to 60 minutes if you prefer your apples a little firmer, or closer to 80 minutes if you like them very soft.
5. Make the whipped cream.
Combine the 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Whip to combine and then keep going until you reach soft peaks (until it looks like whipped cream). You can do it by hand or use a mixer if you’re so inclined.
6. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 70 min
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
