Simple apple crumble recipe

Name: Simple apple crumble recipe
Cook time: 40 min
Yield: 4 servings

Bursting with juicy fruit and a buttery, crunchy, crumble topping, this perfect apple crumble is quick and easy to make.

A white ceramic dish filled with apple crumble

By Lynn Wright | Published - 13 Jan 2026

An old-fashioned simple apple crumble is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Delicious with custard, cream or ice-cream, it’s the perfect pudding to serve after a Sunday roast. But a classic apple crumble is so simple to make you can whip one up any day of the week.

Cooking Time

40 mins

Serves

Ingredients

For the apple filling:

450g of apples
2 tablespoons of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)

For the crumble:

175g plain flour
75g cold butter
75g caster sugar

Method

Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Peel and core the apples. Cut into thick slices and toss them in a bowl with the sugar, and cinnamon if using. Place them in a shallow baking dish approximately 23cm x 18cm.
To make the crumble topping, start by sifting the flour into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar.
Sprinkle the crumble mixture evenly over the apples. Make sure that all the apples are completely covered, right up to the edges of the dish. Press the crumble mixture down quite firmly and then use a fork to lightly rake the surface.
Place the crumble on the centre shelf of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, until the apples are bubbling and the topping is crisp and golden brown.
Leave it to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving with custard, cream or ice-cream.

Notes

Apple crumble variations

From school dinner staple to haute cuisine, there are lots of ways to ring the changes on the basic apple crumble recipe. Here are a few easy variations:

Add raisins

Add a handful of sultanas or raisins to the apple filling.

Mix different fruit

In place of apples, try another fruit or mix two different fruits together. Rhubarb, gooseberry, cherry, plums, peaches and blueberries are all delicious choices – or use tinned or frozen fruit if you haven’t any fresh fruit to hand.

Good pairings with apple include apple and blackberry, apple and rhubarb, apple and plum and apple and raspberry.

Add jam

Stirring a spoonful of jam through the apples in the dish can add an extra fruity flavour. Use a jam that works well with apples, such as raspberry, blackcurrant, hedgerow or blackberry. You can reduce the sugar to avoid it getting too sweet.

Use different sugar

Use golden caster sugar or soft brown sugar to add a richer, more caramel flavour to the crumble.

Replace the plain flour with wholemeal for a darker crumble topping; substitute 50g of the flour for 50g of ground almonds for a richer taste or add a tablespoon of porridge oats to the crumble mixture after it’s made for a crunchier topping.

Add an oat topping

This apple crumble recipe is a basic recipe without oats, but you can add rolled oats or sliced almonds to add extra crunch to the topping. Try this version with of apple crumble an oaty topping.

TIP

You can make the crumble mixture in a food processor. Simply place all the topping ingredients into the processor and process on pulse until you get a coarse breadcrumb mixture. Don’t over process the mixture or you’ll be left with a fine dust rather than breadcrumbs.

(Hero image credit: Getty)

Written by: Lynn Wright

Lynn has more than 25 years' experience as a magazine editor, journalist and book author. She writes for consumer magazines and websites, covering a diverse range of topics including technology, computing, personal finance, food and nutrition.

View author page

The Hairy Bikers’ corned beef hash

Mary Berry’s puy lentil and pearl barley soup

Roast hasselback potatoes

Prue Leith's Madeira cake

Bake Off judge Prue Leith shares her recipe for Madeira cake, a traditional buttery sponge cake with a mild lemon flavour.

A slice of cake on a plate, with raspberries and a fork

Almond and raspberry cake

This gluten-free raspberry cake uses ground almonds instead of flour, which helps give it a rich flavour.

Baked cod with a herb and mature Cheddar breadcrumb crust

Diana Henry’s recipe for a lovely fresh fillet of cod baked in a cheese and herb breadcrumb crust.

Golden bread and butter pudding in an oval dish

James Martin’s bread and butter pudding with cherry compote

The chef and TV presenter’s recipe for the traditional British dessert, served with a simple cherry compote.

Baked quiche in a dish, shown from above

Forget-the-pastry quiche

Try this carb-free crustless quiche created by Celebrity Masterchef Champion Liz McClarnon.

a potato cake and rashers of bacon in a frying pan

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall potato cakes

This potato cakes recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is perfect for using up leftover mash.

A square of sticky toffee pudding served on a white plate

Mary Berry’s ginger sticky toffee pudding

Few can resist this enticing combination of spicy ginger pudding with hot sticky toffee sauce.

Mother butter chicken

Mowgli Street Food founder Nisha Katona shares her recipe for mother butter chicken, Mowgli’s bestselling curry.

Rice pudding in a light blue bowl topped with a raisin sauce

The Hairy Bikers' quick rice pudding

This fast and delicious rice pudding recipe by the Hairy Bikers is cooked on the hob instead of in the oven to save time.