Apple Blueberry Crisp is an easy and rustic dessert that is delicious and served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream! This flavorful dish is filled with juicy fruit and warm spices and topped with a slightly chewy and crunchy buttery oat crisp topping. It's also quick and simple to make. This dessert can be assembled, baked, and served all within an hour!
Late summer and early fall are filled with an abundance of fruit, and this apple blueberry crumble takes full advantage, making these fruits the star. This dish is like a warm crumble pie without the pie crust, and much simpler to make! But if you do want to make it into a pie, follow my Dutch Caramel Apple Pie, adding blueberries to the apples and omitting the caramel.
For more streusel, crumble or crisp recipes, try:
- Apple Crisp Bars
- Cinnamon Apple Crumble Muffins with Oats
- Pumpkin Pie Crumble Bars
- Apple Streusel Coffee Cake
- Pumpkin Sour Cream Coffee Cake
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
Buttery crisp topping- It's hard to beat a buttery crumble or crisp topping. The oats in this recipe add a great texture and slight chew to the topping, while the butter and brown sugar give it an amazing richness. Paired with bright fruit, it's a classic combination that will have you going back for seconds.
Warm, luscious fruit - The combination of apples and blueberries is incredibly delicious. The apples are sweet and hearty, and the blueberries add a pop of acidity and dark fruit flavor. As the fruit is cooked down together with the spices and cornstarch, it creates a warm, luscious sauce for the fruit.
Quick - It doesn't get much easier than a crisp, and you can make this all in one bowl! Make the fruit mixture, then use the same bowl to mix the crisp topping. Layer it in a baking dish, and your work is done!
Ingredients
- Apples. Firm, tart baking apples like Granny Smith, Braeburn, Pink Lady or Honey Crisp are great options.
- Blueberries. Fresh or frozen blueberries can be interchanged without changes to the recipe.
- Spices. Both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg and used to give the perfect combination of warm spices to the dish.
- Cornstarch. This ingredient is used to help thicken the juices that are released from the fruit during bake time.
- Oats. Rolled oats (also known as Old Fashioned Oats) are preferred, but quick cooking oats could be used as well.
See recipe card for full ingredients list and quantities.
What Apples are Best for Fruit Crisp?
The most classic apples for baking, including fruit crisps, are Granny Smiths. This is because they hold their shape and don't get mushy when baked, and they also have a great tartness that pairs beautifully with butter and sugar. But other tart baking apples like Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Honey Crisp apples are also perfect to use.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitute blackberries for the blueberries.
- Use Bob's Red Mill 1-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour in place of all purpose flour to make the crisp gluten free.
- Use fresh or frozen blueberries. If using frozen, mix them in straight from the freezer without thawing.
- For extra crunch, add ⅓ cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds into the crisp topping.
- Swap quick cooking oats in place of the rolled (old fashioned) oats if that's what you have on hand.
- Substitute all purpose flour for the cornstarch as a good alternative to help thicken the fruit juices.
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What Type of Dish Should I Make Fruit Crisp In?
The beauty of a crisp is that it is rustic and doesn't require any special tools or equipment. Use any square or rectangular casserole dish, cast iron, or oven safe baking dish like a pie dish or Pyrex. If you want to make this into individual crisps, just add the ingredients to individual ramekins. Just keep in mind that bake time may vary depending on the size of the dish you choose.
How to Make This Recipe
One: Peel, core, and slice the apples into ¼" thick slices.
Two: Add the sliced apples and blueberries to a large mixing bowl and gently toss with the spices, vanilla, sugar, and cornstarch.
Three: Mix together all ingredients for the crisp topping using a fork until small and medium crumbles form.
Four: Grease the bottom of a baking dish and add the fruit and leftover juices and spices.
Hot tip! I love to use butter to grease the dish, as it combined with the melted sugars and creates a slightly gooey caramel sauce!
Five: Top all of the fruit with the crisp topping, then bake until golden and the juices are bubbling.
Six: Cool for 20 minutes to allow the fruit juices to set, then serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Expert Tips
- Cut the apples into the same size pieces to ensure even baking.
- When adding fresh or frozen blueberries, they have a tendency to easily break, so carefully toss them with a spoon or your hands.
- Wait at least 20 minutes after the crisp comes out of the oven before serving or else the juices will not have had time to set and will be too runny.
- Gently layer the crisp topping over the fruit, avoiding compacting it to allow steam to escape, otherwise the fruit will steam too much and become mushy.
Recipe FAQs
A crumble is typically some type of fat (often butter), sugar, and flour, resulting in an almost cookie-like topping. Crisps usually include oats or nuts, as well, resulting in a crunchier topping.
Granny Smith apples are a classic because of their tartness and their ability to hold their shape when cooked, but other tart baking apples such as Pink Lady, Braeburn, or Honey Crisp are also great apples to use.
It's not necessary to peel the apples because they will cook long enough to become tender and easy to bite through. It's ultimately personal preference, so peel your apples if you'd like.
If your crisp is runny, you may have scooped it too soon while it was still too hot and the juices had not had time to set. Allow 15-20 minutes of cooling time before diving in - as tempting as it is to eat it right when it comes out of the oven! This particular recipe has thickener to help turn those juices into a syrupy, delicious mixture once slightly cooled.
Storage
Store the crisp covered with foil at room temperature for 1-2 days. Transfer to the fridge and keep for another 2-3 days. Reheat portions in the microwave, or in a 350℉ oven for 10-15 minutes until warmed through.
This dish should not be frozen.
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📖Recipe
Apple Blueberry Crisp
Equipment
- Casserole dish
Ingredients
Fruit Filling
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 8 cups sliced apples (~6 large apples) peeled, cored, and sliced to ¼” thick
- 1 ½ cups blueberries fresh or frozen
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Crisp Topping
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cup brown sugar light or dark, packed
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ and generously butter a casserole dish (9x9”, 8x10”, 10” circle) along the bottom and sides.2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Prepare and slice the apples and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the blueberries, then sprinkle over the sugar, vanilla, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg and gently toss to coat completely.8 cups sliced apples (~6 large apples), 1 ½ cups blueberries, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ tablespoon vanilla extract, 3 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- In another bowl, combine the melted butter, brown sugar, flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, and salt and mix together with a fork until crumbles form.½ cup unsalted butter, ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup rolled oats, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- Add the fruit to the prepared pan and scrape out all excess sugar and spices onto the top of the fruit. Spread or shake the fruit to evenly distribute in the pan.
- Scatter the streusel over top of the fruit, being sure to get some around the very edges, then bake for 30-40 minutes until the juices are bubbling and the crisp topping is golden brown.
- Note: if the crisp is browning too quickly, tent the dish lightly with foil (still allowing air to circulate).
- Remove from the oven and cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. Scoop out portions and add vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
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