This easy apple crumble takes half the effort of pie, but it's just as good, full of warming cinnamon & cardamom as well as brown sugar, oats & nuts.
Pie is something I enjoy most when other people make it. I usually don’t have the patience to make crust, but that’s probably because I’m more of a filling person anyway. (When I was a kid, I’d always eat the pumpkin pie filling and leave the shell of the crust behind.)
So, naturally, crisps and crumbles are my fall desserts of choice. This apple crumble recipe is much easier than pie, but it still has all of apple pie’s fruity-crunchy-fall-spiced goodness.
How to Make Apple Crumble
I made this nutty, oat-y crumble topping with a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom. Cardamom has a sweet floral flavor that’s just a little bit unexpected here. I love this combination, but you can spice yours up however you like – nutmeg or allspice would work too. Once you choose your spices, the topping is easy to make: simply whisk together the dry ingredients, and then massage in butter or coconut oil until it’s incorporated but the mixture still has a crumbly texture.
Toss the crumble with chopped apples and bake until golden. (By the way, your kitchen will smell amazing). Let the crumble cool a little bit before serving and always enjoy with ice cream. (I especially love this with Nada Moo’s mmm…Maple Pecan vegan ice cream).
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If you love this apple crumble recipe…
Be sure to try this apple pie, this apple crisp, and these apple muffins before apple season slips away!
Cinnamon Apple Crumble
- 12 ounces chopped apples (about 3 small)
- Juice of ½ a small lemon
- ⅓ cup whole rolled oats
- ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup flour (whole wheat, spelt or oat flour)
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons butter, vegan butter, or hardened coconut oil
- ¼ cup dried tart cherries or cranberries
- Preheat the oven to 375° F and grease an 8x8 round pie pan, or similar sized dish.
- In a medium bowl, toss the chopped apples with a big squeeze of lemon.
- In a small bowl, mix together the oats, walnuts, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, and salt.
- Cut your butter (or hardened coconut oil) into a few small pieces and add to the crumble. Use your hands to smush it with the dry crumble topping - stop when it’s incorporated but still crumbly. (If you overmix it and it becomes mushy, add a bit more flour, if it's too dry, add a little more butter/oil.)
- Mix the apples and dried tart cherries with ½ the crumble and place into the baking dish. Sprinkle the rest of the crumble on top.
- Bake, covered, for 25 minutes, then uncover and bake 15-20 more minutes until the apples are soft and the crumble is golden brown.
- Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Serve with scoops of ice cream.
Note that spelt flour is not gluten-free.
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Wow does this look amazingly good I am not really a pie eater but I think that this would have to be exception, Look forward to trying this YUMMMMM
Yum. I’ll have this for breakfast please !
I agree with you – crumbles highlight the filling in a much more satisfying way than pie (and require so much less time). Plus, I tend to think they’re prettier than pie! I love the unexpected cardamom you added to this crumble.
This looks delicious!
So sorry you eat the filling and left the shell of the crust behind without calling me!
I´ll try the recipe this comming weekend but a on pâte brisée crust (my preferred)
Thanks for sharing and best regards.
I love, love how easy crisps are. Rarely do I ever even look at a recipe…one baking delight that you can just wing. I’m digging the sound of that cardamom flavor you’ve powered up in yours.
This is my kind of crumble- mostly topping and just a little apple. Yummmmmmm
Mmm… fall is all about apple desserts – they’re so comforting.
I love the gold-rimmed plate and spoon combo in the first photo. May I ask where you got these items?
Thanks!
Hi Alexandra, the plate is from a thrift store and the spoon is from a bunch of old silverware I bought on ebay.
Thanks, Jeanine!
Thrift stores always have the best stuff.
yes! I bought cardamom last year and only used it once. I need recipes with cardamom, this is perfect! Thanks!
Nice crumble! I love a crunchy crust contrasting with a soft sweet middle.. yum. I made one just the other day at my buddies house, he’s got a few fruit trees and we used apple & pears. Served with vanilla ice-cream. A classic combo in the UK. WISH I’d known about the ground cardamom. Nice touch.
I could never resist a good autumn crumble! Yum 🙂
im more of a crust person when it comes to pies but crumbles are always my goto as well. they work so well for both breakfast and dessert!!!
Loving these photos. The crumble looks beautiful. Cardamom is one of my favorite warm spices! I can relate to eating just the filling. I can do that with coconut cream pie!
Crumbles are my favourite autumn/winter dessert too, especially with a good scoop of vanilla 🙂
Love your cardamom twist!
Your recipes always look spot on! Thanks for sharing!
XO Kelly
Crisps and crumbles are my kind of dessert too, and I love cardamom in this one especially. Definitely will be making this soon!
Haha Jeanine, I am totally the same way- when I was a kid, I’d get yelled at for scooping out all the inside of a pie and neglecting the crust. This crumble looks perfect for that. Like a compromise between an oatmeal cookie and an apple pie 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Ha, glad it wasn’t just me 🙂
We have more apples than we know what to do with! Thanks for this lovely recipe!
Loving the looks of this! I’m especially liking the cardamon in there 🙂
I love a good crumble! Step one: go to the apple orchard 🙂 After that is completed, I will be making some version of this for sure.