This sourdough apple crisp is the kind of easy, comforting dessert that quickly becomes a family favorite. Tender apples bake down until soft and syrupy, while the sourdough discard topping turns beautifully golden, crisp and buttery, giving you plenty of delicious texture in every spoonful.
Similar to an apple crumble, this stunningly simple sourdough dessert is perfect for fall baking when you want something warm and cozy without a lot of fuss. This sourdough apple crisp recipe requires no fancy equipment or complicated techniques and is perfect for a beginner sourdough baker.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- So Quick and Easy – With very little preparation, this recipe can be in mixed and baked in an hour (with most of that being oven time). You don’t even need to peel the apples if you don’t want to! It’s the perfect no wait sourdough recipe!
- No Added Flour – The sourdough starter in this recipe is used instead of adding all-purpose flour. Sourdough recipes that don’t use added flour are very handy if you’ve run out of flour or you just don’t want to use more when utilising your sourdough discard.
- Uses Lots of Discard – this recipe is a great way to empty your sourdough discard jar by using 200 g of discard in one recipe.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Apples – The best apples to use for this sourdough apple crisp are tart Granny Smith apples, but other apples like honey crisp or pink lady also work. I’ve peeled my apples, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to (leaving the peel on is great for a little extra fiber). For something a little extra, you could also add some raisins to the apples. Peaches and pears also work in this recipe if you want to swap the apples out, or even do a combination of both.
- Sugar – I’ve used raw granulated sugar to bring the sweetness for this dessert. Fine white sugar is ok too, but I found in testing that raw granulated sugar gave the best “crisp” texture. You can use brown sugar or coconut sugar if you want to, but I found it didn’t give the crispness I was looking for.
- Rolled Oats – Avoid using quick oats. Traditional rolled oats will give you the best texture.
- Butter – Your butter should be softened but not melted. I’ve used salted butter. If you’re using unsalted butter, I recommend adding a pinch of salt to the crisp topping.
- Sourdough Starter or sourdough discard – You can use either one. I tend to use bubbly sourdough starter because I like the flavor and texture it brings. Discard is perfectly fine, just remember that older discard will give your sourdough apple crisp a stronger, more sour flavor. I recommend using fresher discard for this recipe.
- Warm Spices – Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves
- Pecans – I find these really add to the texture and depth of flavor of the sourdough apple crisp. You can swap them out for walnuts or hazelnuts if you prefer, or leave them out altogether.
How To Make Sourdough Apple Crisp
I think the best thing about this sourdough apple crisp is that you don’t have to add anything to the apples. Unlike apple pie filling, you just toss the chopped up apples into the bottom of a baking dish. Such a fantastic way to use up a glut of apples during apple picking season (tell me it’s not just me that seems to take the kids apple picking and ends up with a year’s supply!!).
I’ve used a 11″ x 9″ dish for this recipe. It works perfectly well in a 9″ x 9″ as well.
Start by peeling and coring your apples, chopping them into small chunks and then throwing them in your baking dish. You don’t even need to grease the dish!
Next, combine the rolled oats, sugar, spices and pecans in a mixing bowl before adding the sourdough starter and softened butter. Stir all of this together into a fairly stiff mixture. If the butter isn’t quite soft enough, you might need to get your hands in there. This topping is similar to the streusel topping I use in these sourdough apple cinnamon rolls.
Now, spread the crisp topping in an even layer over the top of the apples. Use your fingers to press the mixture all over the apples, essentially sealing them into the bottom of the dish.
Bake the sourdough apple crisp for around 45 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and crispy. Serve it warm from the oven on its own, or add a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate easy apple dessert.
You might also enjoy this sourdough apple crisp bread, which shares all of the sweet apple flavor and warming spices.
Make Ahead Tip
If you’re preparing this sourdough apple crisp for a special ocassion, you can prepare it in the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil. Store in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours before baking. It can go straight from the refrigerator to the oven.
How To Store + Freeze
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days. I usually just cover the baking dish in press n seal and store it at the back of the fridge. I heat up portions in the microwave as we want them. The top isn’t as crisp doing this, but it still tastes lovely!
I don’t recommend freezing this recipe.
If you love sourdough discard recipes that use apples, then make sure you check out these sourdough apple fritters, sourdough apple cobbler, sourdough apple pie, sourdough apple cake and this sourdough apple fritter bread.
Sourdough Apple Crisp
Equipment
- Baking Dish (my dish is 11" x 9")
Ingredients
- 8 Apples, (peeled, cored and chopped into chunks – my whole apples weighed 100g each before processing).
- 200 g Sugar
- 180 g Rolled Oats
- 80 g Butter, (softened but not melted)
- 200 g Sourdough Starter, (or sourdough starter discard)
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Cloves
- 100 g Pecans, (chopped) – these are optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200ºC (400ºF).
- Peel, core and chop the apples into small chunks and place them in the base of the baking dish. I haven't greased my baking dish, but you can if you want to.
- Next, add the rolled oats, sugar and spices to a large mixing bowl and stir until well combined. Add the chopped pecans now if you're using them.
- Then add the sourdough starter and softened butter and mix through until it forms a stiff mixture.
- Spread the topping in an even layer on top of the apples, using your fingers to press the mixture down.
- Bake the sourdough apple crisp at 200ºC (400ºF) for around 45 minutes or until the topping is golden and crispy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can i use a artificial sugar such as splenda monkfruit instead of a regular sugar?
We haven’t tried, but if it’s a 1:1 sweetener, it should work.
This was a super easy and delicious recipe. I didn’t have a 9×11 pan, so I used my 9×13 pan. I didn’t have enough apples, so I added chopped peaches, plums, and apricots. It was still scrumptious! There were four of us, and we all liked it, and said we’d enjoy it another time (our way of politely saying we wouldn’t like it again, so it made the yum cut!). However, I would double the topping next time, because it was so good.
This is an amazing dessert…actually we LOVE it for breakfast too! We will certainly try it with ice cream next time. I will add a little extra sugar on the days we don’t have ice cream in the freezer…it’s a very simple & amazing dish! Thank you!
This recipe looks easy and good. My problem is that I have only Fuji apples which are crisp and on the sweet side. Can I use them since I don’t have Granny Smith apples?
The crumb was difficult to spread, but in oven it spread perfect and taste and flavor is divine. I used Discard. Thank you PM.
Do you think it would be OK to take it through step 4 and put it in the fridge for a bit, then bake the next day?
I was wondering if you ever made hot cross buns? Was not sure how the dough would react to the cinnamon.
Yes, you can find my sourdough hot cross buns recipe here 🙂
First time making an apple crisp with sourdough starter and wow it was good. Just as simple as any other crisp or crumble I’ve made in the past, but crispier and a bit elevated. Felt like a more special dessert.