Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp Recipe

Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp

Don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy the easy apple crisp of sliced apples baked with yellow cake mix and melted butter all over it. I practiced that recipe gem back in my college days. However, if you think you like apple crisp, you really need to try this cast iron skillet apple crisp recipe…

This is the best apple crisp I have ever tasted! Seriously perfect, in my opinion. No mushy or bland apples, no uneven cooking, no soggy topping. The flavor is spot on. Apple crisp perfection.

My SIL is not usually a big fan of apple crisp, but she said this one is “DIVINE.”

This skillet apple crisp recipe takes it up a few notches, for sure. The ingredients are still pretty simple, but the results are definitely above average! The few extra steps are worth it.

Steps to Perfect Skillet Apple Crisp:

1. Mix up a delicious topping with flour, pecans, oats, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
2. Peel, core, slice Golden Delicious apples, then toss with cinnamon and sugar.
3. Reduce apple cider or juice in the skillet on the stovetop. (If you don’t have apple cider, use apple juice.)
4. Cook apples in skillet.
5. Bake in oven with topping sprinkled over top.
6. Serve warm apple crisp with vanilla ice cream, and maybe some caramel sauce too!

Choosing the Right Apples for Skillet Apple Crisp

Golden Delicious apples are recommended for this apple crisp because they hold their texture and shape, but other sweet, crisp apples will do (like Honeycrisp or Braeburn). Do not use Granny Smith apples!

Apple Prep Tips

To simplify the apple prep for this recipe, consider using an apple peeler tool and/or an apple slicer. I usually take advantage of the apple slicer, then cut the slices in half to get the right thickness. The peeling isn’t too bad with a nice Y blade peeler. 🙂

Oven Safe Skillets

I have experience with two T-fal skillets that are awesome – T-fal Ultimate Hard Anodized and T-fal Professional Total Nonstick. Last year, I treated myself to a new set of Greenpan pans and I am loving them! (I’m using a Greenpan skillet in these photos.) Of course, a large cast iron skillet would work very well too, if you have one.

If you do not have an oven-safe skillet, prepare the recipe right up to before you sprinkle the topping on. Transfer the filling to a 9×13 baking dish, then add the topping as directed. You may need to bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Enjoy your Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp!

If you try this skillet apple crisp recipe, let us know how it turns out!

The crisp crumble topping is my favorite part, but the reduced apple cider/apple juice is what really makes this apple crisp stand out from the rest. Definitely one of my favorite apple recipes.

This skillet apple crisp recipe yields 8 cups, or about 3 pounds of apple crisp. Serving size is 1 cup, or about 6 ounces.

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Cast Iron Skillet Apple Crisp Recipe

This is the best, most flavorful cast iron skillet apple crisp recipe out there!

5 / 5 ( 4 Reviews )

Print Rate

Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Serves: 8

Adjust Servings: 8

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Medium bowl
• Skillet

Ingredients

Topping:

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup pecans chopped fine
• ¾ cup old fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted

Filling:

• 3 pounds Golden Delicious apples about 6-8 apples
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup apple cider or apple juice
• 2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Combine flour, pecans, oats, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in melted butter until mixture is thoroughly moistened and crumbly. Set aside.
• Peel, core, and slice the apples into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Toss apples, sugar, and cinnamon together in a large bowl; set aside.
• Bring cider to a simmer in 12-inch oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Cook until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Transfer reduced cider to bowl or liquid measuring cup; stir in lemon juice and set aside.
• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in now empty skillet over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add apples and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to soften, 12-14 minutes. (Do not fully cook apples.) Remove pan from heat and gently stir in cider mixture until apples are coated.
• Sprinkle topping evenly over apples, breaking up any large chunks. Place skillet on baking sheet and bake until apples are tender and topping is a deep golden brown, 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack until warm, at least 15 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream.

Recipe Notes

If you do not have an oven-safe skillet, prepare the recipe right up to before you sprinkle the topping on. Transfer the filling to a 9x13 baking dish, then add the topping as directed. You may need to bake for an additional 5 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 22g | Sodium: 155mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 47g

Recipe Source: Cook's Illustrated