Apple Oat Crumble
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and Food Network Kitchen.
Chunks of mixed apples baked under a clumpy oat, brown sugar and nut topping until the fruit is tender and bubbling.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Prepare the apples. Heat the oven to 190 °C (170 °C fan) and butter the dish. Peel and core the apples, cut into 2-3 cm chunks and toss with the brown sugar, cinnamon, cornflour and lemon juice, then spread in the dish. Mixing sweet and tart varieties gives both soft and firmer pieces.
- 2
Make the crumble. Mix the flour, oats, brown sugar, nuts if using and salt, then stir in the melted butter with a fork until evenly moist. Squeeze into clumps of different sizes and scatter over the apples. Clumps give a crisp, craggy top instead of a sandy one.
- 3
Bake. Set the dish on the tray and bake 45-55 min until the topping is deep golden, the juices bubble at the edge and a knife slides easily into the apples. The tray catches any drips, and bubbling juices mean the cornflour has thickened.
- 4
Rest and serve. Cool 15 min so the juices settle, then serve warm with plain yoghurt or whipped cream. Serves 6. Keep covered in the fridge up to 3 days and reheat at 180 °C (160 °C fan) 15 min.

Common mistake
Common mistake: cutting the apples too small. Chunks of 2-3 cm keep some shape and bite.
More from the cat
- Leave the nuts out for a nut-free crumble; add 50 g more oats instead.
- Squeeze the topping into clumps for the crunchiest result.
Storage
Keep covered in the fridge up to 3 days and reheat at 180 °C (160 °C fan) about 15 min until hot. Freeze baked up to 2 months.
Equipment
- 25 cm round baking dish (about 2 litres)
- 2 mixing bowls
- baking tray
- wire rack
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 516 kcal |
| Protein | 5.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 77 g |
| of which sugars | 43.8 g |
| of which free sugars | 24.3 g |
| Fat | 22.8 g |
| of which saturates | 10.8 g |
| Fibre | 7.1 g |
| Salt | 0.27 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.1 g High Protein needs ≥ 10 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
