Easy and Delicious Apple Cranberry Crisp Recipe

This easy and delicious Apple Cranberry Crisp recipe is a great dessert for Thanksgiving. It can be made ahead of time and has all the lovely warm fall flavors.

Looking for a Pie Alternative?

I know a number of people out there are reluctant pie makers. Baking a pie crust can be tricky and frustrating. 

That’s why baking a fruit crisp is a great alternative. Overall, they are pretty fail-safe in terms of baking, they tend to be an easy recipe to make and you still get a lot of those pie-like flavors.

(Note: If you do want to try your hand at making a pie, I have a pretty easy Maple Pumpkin Pie you should try out! It would be a great addition to this apple cranberry crisp on your holiday table.)

So Many Fruit Crisps

There are a lot of variations of a fruit crisp out there. Apple, cherry, and blueberry crisp are three pretty popular ones. My husband’s family also had a pretty good rhubarb crisp (although technically a vegetable and not a fruit)!

I grew up eating old fashioned apple crisp pretty much year round. I love the combination of tart / sweet apples along with that sugary crisp topping. It also helped that you could get fresh, juicy apples for most of the year.

How About an Apple Cranberry Crisp!

Fast forward to today and thinking that a traditional apple crisp would be great to bring to the Thanksgiving table. However, with the love of cranberries around this time of year, I thought the addition of cranberries into this crisp dessert recipe would be a great option.

You have the taste of the tart cranberries that plays off the sweet apples. Then the brown sugar crisp topping brings it all together. And it’s so pretty with the golden brown color of the crisp topping!

Fresh or Frozen Cranberries?

If you are making this crisp recipe around the Thanksgiving holiday, you should be able to find fresh cranberries. The US cranberry season runs from around mid-September though the beginning of November. 

That means fresh cranberries are readily available from September through the end of the year. So, you can make this crisp recipe with fresh cranberries throughout the totality of the end of the year holiday season.

If you want to make this crisp recipe outside of the cranberry season, you can always use whole frozen cranberries. Just let them thaw before using and it still tastes delicious.

Easy to Assemble and Make

The best part about this recipe is that it is a pretty easy apple cranberry crisp to make. Just grab yourself a large bowl and a small bowl to get started.

In the large bowl you will make the fruit filling. You start with your fruit base – in this case the fresh cranberries and sliced Granny Smith apples. Now combine apples / cranberries with the thickener (all purpose flour), spices (pumpkin pie spice and salt) and sweeteners (white sugar, orange juice, orange zest).

Stir that all together and then transfer the cranberry / apple mixture into your prepared baking dish (making sure you coated with cooking spray). Now on to the crisp topping.

The crisp topping is technically an oat streusel. In the small bowl you combine oats with brown sugar, almonds and unsalted butter. It’s best if you use a pastry blender to mix.

Simply sprinkle the oat streusel / crisp topping over the fruit mixture and pop it into the oven. In a short time you will have the perfect dessert for your holiday table.

As I said, this really is an easy apple cranberry crisp to make. It’s an easy dessert that will compliment your holiday table. I know you’ll love it!

 

Tips and Tricks

• Crispy, slightly tart apples, such as Gala, Honeycrisp, or Granny Smith apples work best in this recipe.
• It’s important to peel the apples. The texture of the apple cranberry crisp won’t be quite right if they’re not peeled.
• Around Thanksgiving, we are towards the end of cranberry season, but fresh cranberries are readily available. If you’re unable to find fresh cranberries, frozen whole cranberries are a great substitute.
• If you’re making this ahead of time, you can re-warm the apple cranberry crisp in a 350 degree oven for 10 – 15 minutes before serving.
• If you’re making this on Thanksgiving, you can assemble earlier in the day and then pop it in the oven to bake while you’re enjoying your dinner.
• If you’re able to find it, this apple cranberry crisp is delicious served with a scoop of cinnamon ice cream. If it’s not available, a scoop of vanilla ice cream is also delicious.

Ingredients Needed to Make Apple Cranberry Crisp

• Granny Smith apples – If you’re unable to find Granny Smith apples, Gala, or Honeycrisp apples are great substitutions.
• Fresh or frozen whole cranberries 
• Granulated white sugar 
• All purpose flour – Regular all purpose flour is what you need for this recipe.
• Pumpkin pie spice – This is readily available in most grocery stores.
• Salt
• Orange – A large navel orange will work well. You will need both the juice and the orange zest. Navel oranges tend to be very juicy as well as seedless.
• Oatmeal – Regular plain oatmeal is what you need.
• Sliced almonds
• Brown sugar
• Unsalted butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter so the crisp doesn’t end up too salty.
• Vanilla or cinnamon ice cream for serving, optional

Instructions for Making Apple Cranberry Crisp

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Coat a 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, sugar, flour, pumpkin pie spice, salt and orange zest and juice.
• Pour into prepared baking dish.
• In a small bowl, add remaining ingredients (oatmeal, sliced almonds, brown sugar, unsalted butter). This is the crisp topping.
• With a fork or pastry blender, combine ingredients, until butter is well incorporated.
• Sprinkle crisp topping on top of fruit mixture.
• Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until bubbly and crisp topping is golden brown.
• Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or cinnamon ice cream, if desired.

More Fruit Dessert Recipes to Try

• White Chocolate Blueberry Crisp
• Easiest Ever Lemon Bars
• Apple Clafoutis
• Air Fryer Apple Pie Egg Rolls
• Creamy Cranberry Tart
• Easy Cherry Turnovers
• Strawberry Kuchen Recipe