Microwave Apple Crisp 🍎🍁 is ready in just 5 minutes and generously serves one person or can be shared by two. Top this FAST and EASY dessert with ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel sauce for the ultimate treat!
Easy Microwave Apple Crisp
- This microwave apple crisp is the best and easiest thing to make with all those apples you bought because they were on sale. You don’t need to turn on your oven and it’s ready in 5 minutes.
- I’m a big fan of crumbles, crisps, and anything with a crumbly or streusel topping. Those buttery, brown sugary nuggets with texture from oats get me every time.
- But while I like baking crumbles, usually I don’t need or want a whole pan. It’s the type of dessert that’s really best served warm, with a big dollop of whipped cream or ice cream on top, and after the first, warm juicy piece, the leftovers just don’t measure up.
- This quick apple crisp serves one generously, or two more modestly if you feel like sharing.
Ingredients in Microwave Apple Crisp
- Apple: You can use almost any apple variety you like for this single-serving apple crisp. Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, and Jonagold all work well. Fresh pears may also work, but I have only tested this recipe with apples.
- Unsalted butter, light brown sugar, old-fashioned oats, all-purpose flour, and salt: These make the buttery oatmeal crisp topping. I have only tested the recipe with old-fashioned rolled oats; quick oats are less chewy and may make the topping too dry.
- Granulated sugar, cornstarch, and spices: These coat the apple base so it cooks up sweet, warmly spiced, and slightly thickened rather than watery. Do not omit the cornstarch because the recipe will not turn out right without it. I use plenty of cinnamon and nutmeg, but you can reduce the spices to taste or add pinches of pumpkin pie spice, ginger, cloves, or allspice.
- Sugar: This is meant to be a sweet treat, and sugar adds both flavor and structure. You may be able to reduce the brown sugar slightly, but I would not reduce it much more than that.
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Microwave Apple Crisp
Making apple crisp in microwave is fast, easy, and delicious! Here are the basic steps:
- Stir together the crisp topping ingredients until the mixture resembles fine sand.
- Microwave the diced apple with butter to soften it, then stir in the sugar, spices, and cornstarch.
- Sprinkle the oat topping over the apple mixture and microwave again until the apples are juicy, bubbly, rich, and caramely.
- Enjoy warm as-is, or top with ice cream, whipped cream, or caramel sauce for an extra cozy treat.
5-Minute Microwave Apple Crisp for One
Ingredients
Crisp Topping
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (or vegan butter substitute)
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons old-fashioned whole rolled oats, use Certified Gluten Free Whole Rolled Oats if necessary
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or Certified All-Purpose Gluten-Free Baking Blend
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
Apple Base Layer
- 1 medium apple, diced in about 1/4-inch cubes (I did not peel mine, peel if you wish; I used Fuji, use any variety you like)
- ½ tablespoon unsalted butter, or vegan butter substitute
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- optionally add pinches ground ginger, pumpkin pie spice, cloves, allspice based on taste preference
Instructions
- Make the Crumble Topping
- In a small bowl, combine all crumble topping ingredients and stir together with a fork until small pebbles and sandy crumbs form; set aside.
- Make the Apple Base Layer
- In a small to medium-sized microwave-safe bowl or baking dish, add apples and top with butter. Don’t use an overly shallow dish because the apples will release juices, the butter melts, and it will rise and puff in the microwave, and it will overflow if bowl is too shallow.
- Cook for 1 minute on high power to soften apples.
- Remove bowl from micro and add the sugars, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, optional salt, optional other spices, and stir to combine and coat evenly.
- Evenly sprinkle with the crumble topping.
- Cook for about 2 minutes on high power, until juicy, bubbly, and topping is set. Due to variance in microwaves, climate, apples and their variable moisture content, cooking times could range from 1 1/2 minutes to slightly over 2 minutes. Start watching it carefully at 1 1/2 minutes and stop cooking when done; don’t overcook.
- Serve immediately. Optionally serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Apple Desserts:
Crustless Apple Pie — Sometimes called Swedish apple pie, this EASY recipe for apple pie without a traditional pie crust is a FAST, foolproof, no-mixer recipe!
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Crumble Bars — These caramel apple cheesecake bars feature a buttery crust that’s topped with cheesecake and spiced apples. After they’re done baking, the bars are drizzled with salted caramel sauce!
Apple Turnovers — These apple turnovers take just 15 minutes to prep and are filled with the most incredible cinnamon apple filling. These are the ultimate fall dessert!
Caramel Apple Crumble Foil Packs – EASY, zero cleanup, made on the grill (or oven) in record time, and tastes amazing!
Cinnamon Roll Apple Crisp – A layer of cinnamon rolls topped with apples and a crunchy oatmeal crumble makes this the ULTIMATE apple crisp!
Carrot Apple Cream Cheese Tunnel Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – If you like carrot cake, you’re going to LOVE this version that includes apples and a tunnel of cream cheese that runs through the center!
Sugar Cookie Apple Crumble Cheesecake Pie – A buttery sugar cookie crust, tangy cream cheese filling, tender juicy apples, and a crumble topping make this pie a total SHOWSTOPPER!! EASY and THE BEST apple pie!
Apple Fritter Bread — The bread tastes as decadent as the apple fritters of my childhood, no deep frying required and it’s more like cake disguised as bread.
Originally published September 12, 2013 and republished with updated text August 14, 2020.
so, YUM! I made this tonight (even though I had a mini panic attack upon finding my cupboard completely devoid of brown sugar!) and it was absolutely a little piece of heaven. Real butter, my goodness, soooo decadent. White sugar did fine in place of the brown, although not nearly as pretty after being cooked. Topped with some vanilla chip ice cream, this made my soul sing with delight. Thank you SO much!
That’s awesome your soul was singing from a relatively simple little treat and glad that the white sugar worked out okay and next time with the brown, you’ll really be loving it!
The only fruit I had was frozen bananas but I did have a can of cherry pie filling so I thought I’d give that a whirl. Nope! It definitely needs the fresh fruit juices to turn the top into a crumble. Next time I’m holding out for the real deal.
Yeah bananas and canned cherry pie pilling probably aren’t going to be a great substitution for fresh apples. Hold out til you have the right ingredients for sure.
I tried making this and it’s so delicious!! But I had trouble with the topping. Mine didn’t turn into small pebbles and sandy crumbs. It was all just kind of one butter blob. But it was still good!! Is there any way you could post a picture of what the crumble topping should look like before putting it on the apples? Thank you for this recipe!
If it was just one big blog and not crumbly, just work it a little longer until it breaks down (butter will eventually do that) and you’ll be set for next time!
Oh, this sounds like heaven! I will definitely have to try it sometime soon :D
This was heavenly! I couldn’t even wait to put whipped cream on it, straight from the microwave to the fork!
Glad you loved it, Cassie! Thanks for trying it! :)
I missed this recipe when I was out of town and am just now seeing it. I am definitely going to try this tonight!!
Hope your trip was amazing (as Im sure it was!) and enjoy this easy little number!
This looks delightful!
I agree that some dishes come out of the microwave yucky, but this looks wonderful! So quick, easy, and decadent.
I need to rethink the relationship I have with the microwave, this looks scrumptious!!
What a brilliant idea! Then you’re not stuck with a ton of leftovers that you feel porky for eating :-) Love it! Pinning now…
thanks for pinning! :)
Gurrrrrrl, you had me at 5-minute!! And then I read the rest…holy *insert 4 letter word*… I want to be your neighbor!! Come back to Chicago. hahaha
You should move to San Diego. Waaaay better weather here :)
Yummy! I am a bit addicted to apple crumble to I’ll be trying this recipe out for sure! Gosh I could get so lost looking through all your amazing recipes! Thanks
If you keep coming up with these brilliant 5-minute microwave goodies, I’m going to gain so much weight!
This is going to be deadly, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?! Oh my, I love!! Brilliant :)
Exactly :) Very deadly.
This is genius, Averie! How perfect for satisfying my sweet tooth any night of the week!
I second the voices saying this deserves a scoop of ice cream–dessert for brekkie, maybe?? I think this could totally stand in as a bowl of my usual “oatmeal”…although then the ice cream might be overkill. Thoughts/endorsements, Averie? :) YUM!
I addressed the ice cream situation in the post – wish I had some, but I was out. Next time :)