This Apple Crisp for a Crowd is warm and packed with flavor, soft and crispy, sweet and tart. The taste and texture are almost better than an apple pie. You can serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and have a perfect comfort food. It makes enough for a big family or potluck!

But before I get to the recipe... let me tell you a little back story. Ironically,my husband isn't a huge dessert eater. In fact, he rarely asks for dessert at all, but when he does, it's often in the form of an apple pie.
Apple Crisp for a Crowd
He's been working really long hours for several weeks now and I feel like I barely see him. I've been trying to make meals a little extra special, and throw in a dessert that he loves from time to time. It's my way of showing him how much I appreciate is hard work and long hours... and it keeps a little spark in our marriage when we do special things like this for each other. Ya know?
Anyway, the problem is, his favorite apple pie is never enough with our family of eight. As our family grows, the boys are eating so much more and I'm having to adjust recipes to larger and larger quantities so that we all get full. I knew I'd have to do the same with dessert and I started thinking about an apple crisp instead of an apple pie.
I've seen several recipes floating around but all were to be baked in 8x8 or 9x9 square pans. Of course, that wouldn't be any better than a single apple pie so I set out to double or triple a recipe to satisfy our large family. I know, I know... that's a lot of apples, but it's necessary and it's how this Apple Crisp for a Crowd was born.
The dessert is warm and packed with flavor, soft and crispy, sweet and tart. The taste and texture are almost better than an apple pie (shhhh - don't tell the hubby I said so), but you can still serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and have a perfect comfort food.
Other Apple Recipes you'll love:
Please note: I bake this recipe in a huge 17.5" x 12.5" pan. If you have a smaller pan, you may need to spread it into 2 pans.
Here's the printable recipe:
PrintRecipe
Apple Crisp for a Crowd
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 20 1x
Description
This Apple Crisp for a Crowd is warm and packed with flavor, soft and crispy, sweet and tart. The taste and texture are almost better than an apple pie. You can serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and have a perfect comfort food. It makes enough for a big family or potluck!
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) salted butter, cut into cubes and softened
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
For the filling:
- 6-7 pounds apples (approximately 10 large granny smith apples), peeled, cored sliced thin
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- For the topping, mix together the flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Add in the butter and use a pastry blender or fork to cut in the butter until you have large crumbles. Stir in the oats at the end. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes while preparing the filling.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. For the filling, peel, core and slice your apples very thin, then immediately toss with lemon juice to prevent browning. Then add in the sugars, cinnamon and vanilla extract; toss until well coated.
- Spread the apples in a large baking dish (mine is 17.5"x12.5"), then cover with the chilled topping! Bake until the apples are bubbly and the topping is browned - around 1 hour. Let it cool at least 10 minutes before serving, then top with whipped cream, ice cream and.or caramel sauce if desired!
- Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Category: Dessert
Sara Syrett
this looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!
Rose Atwater
Thanks a bunch!
Jeanne Grunert
Yum! I love apple crisp. This looks like a fantastic recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it with the #HomeMattersParty
Rose Atwater
Thank you!
Minnie
Made apple crisp for the very first time using this recipe for a BBQ yesterday and have to say everyone loved it. I served it warm, with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. My only downside was I had medium size Granny Smith apples and I only used 6 so it didn't make much. This is the best recipe ever. So tasty. Will definitely make it again but next time with more apples. Thank you so much for such a delicious recipe.
Rose Atwater
Thank you so much for your kind comment. I'm thrilled that you loved it as much as we did! 🙂
Jacki
Hi, did I read the vanilla amount correctly? I am getting ready to make 3 of these so I need to make sure. It is 3 Tablespoons of vanilla am I correct? Wow. that seems like a lot.
Rose
That is the amount I used because it's such a huge pan (I think is 17"x12"), but you could certainly use less if you wanted.
Jacki
Thanks so much, I'll give it a try :^)
tammy brandt
What advice would you give if I wanted to make this ahead of time and bake it later?
Rose
I think it would do fine! I'd just make it, cover and it refrigerate it. Then you'd either want to set it out and let it come to room temp before baking or you'd need to cook it a little longer since it'll be starting from cold.
Lisa
Im going to make this for a ranch bbq but I'm feeling a but lazy. Can I use canned apple filling? If so, for the same size pan how much would you suggest? TIA.
Rose
Gosh I'm not 100% sure but probably 2-3 cans?! It's such a huge pan!
GG
I have to make enough to serve 17 but only have a 9x13 pan and a 7x11. Could i split the filling of this recipe between the 2 Pyrex casseroles?
Rose
Yes!
Diane
Do I have to use old fashion oats in this recipe ?
Rose
Not neccessarily. While I haven't made it with other types of oats, I'm pretty sure most variaties would work.
Franny
In the Apple crisp recipe, is 4 sticks of butter correct? That’s a pound of butter. Just checking.
Rose
It's 2 sticks - not 4.
Katie
I'm going to be using this recipe for a rather large group and time is at a premium. To cut down on time, do you think that it could be partially baked the day before and then finished or reheated the day of the event?
Rose
I think I'd probably cover with foil and reheat the day of.
Laura
This was excellent. Of course I couldn't manage to follow the recipe exactly, because that's just how things happen at our house. I processed the oats with the rest of the topping for just a split second, then I melted the butter and mixed it with the streusel topping. We happened to have a half tub of caramel apple dip in the fridge so we drizzled it on top of the apples before we did the streusel. And baked in one 13x9 pan and one 10" cast iron skillet. It was crispy and delicious! I think the lemon juice really adds depth to the flavor.
Roselie
I am making this for a friend who had surgery. My question is can I put completed crisp in fridge and for how long before apples get to juicing. Want her daughter to bake it at her house ( better warm))
Judy
Are the oats regular or quick cook
Rose
Quick Oats
Nida HOLMKVIST
I noticed that the salted butter content in all 3 toppings (1,2,3,) 2sticks (8ounces), 4 sticks (8ounces) ,and 6 sticks (8ounces), we don't get our butter in sticks but in pounds so i gather 2 sticks would in 2(1/4c) 4 sticks would be (1/2 cup)and 6 sticks would be (3/4 cups) would that be correct.
Rose
I realized with your comment that the multiplier does not multiply the ounces. A stick of butter is 4 ounces or 1/2 cup. Two sticks is 8 ounces, or 1 cup. Three sticks is 12 ounces, or 1.5 cups, etc. I Hope that helps
Mary Ann Pasinski
The best Apple crisp recipe, hands down! I’ve made this 2 times and doubled the recipe for our church weekly soup kitchen. A special dessert for well deserving people. I do add chopped walnuts to give it alittle crunch. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!