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Slow Cooker Apple Crumble is warm, cozy, and filled with classic fall flavors. Tender apples cook down in cinnamon and nutmeg while a butter crumble topping forms right on top. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect finishing touch. A delicious fall dessert made in the crock pot and the most delicious way to celebrate apple season.
For more crockpot apple dessert be sure and try this Crock Pot Apple Crisp that’s made easy with canned apple pie filling and an oat topping.
Slow Cooker Apple Crumble Recipe (Crockpot Apple Cobbler)
There’s nothing better than the smell of warm apples and cinnamon filling your kitchen on a cool fall day 🍁🍂. This slow cooker apple crumble is one of my favorite fall recipes and an easy, comforting dessert that brings all those classic apple pie flavors together without the work of making a pie crust.
Tender apples are tossed with cinnamon and sugar, then topped with a buttery, golden crumble made with flour, two types of sugar, added butter. Everything cooks right in the slow cooker, making this an incredibly simple dessert for busy weeknights, family gatherings or dinners, holidays, or cozy fall gatherings.
Be sure and serve it warm with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for the ultimate easy apple dessert!
Why You’ll Love This Slow Cooker Apple Crumble
- 🍎 Easy To Make : The slow cooker does most of the work.
- 🍏 No Pie Crust : There’s no rolling, chilling, or fussing with pastry.
- 🍎 Perfect Fall Dessert : Apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and nutmeg are a classic fall combination.
- 🍏 Make-Ahead Friendly : Because this is a slow cooker dessert, the cook time is longer, so make it earlier in the day and have dessert ready when you need it.
- 🍎 Delicious With Ice Cream : Warm apple crumble and cold vanilla ice cream are a hard flavor combo to beat!
Simple Ingredients Needed
Apple Filling Ingredients
- Granny Smith Apples : Peeled, cored, and sliced. Use large apples and not the really small ones.
- Honeycrisp Apples : Peeled, cored, and sliced. Use larger sized apples.
- Granulated Sugar
- Packed Light Brown Sugar
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice : From one large lemon
- Cornstarch
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
Crumble Topping Ingredients
- All-Purpose Flour : I use unbleached all-purpose flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Packed Light Brown Sugar
- Salted Butter : Use cold butter that has been cubed small, it’s important that it’s cold!
- Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Nutmeg
How To Make Apple Crumble In The Slow Cooker (Printable Recipe Card)
Peel, core, and slice the Granny Smith apples and honey crisp apples. I peel the skin off and then I use an apple corer, slicer, and cutter that creates 8 slices of apple per apple.
Add the apple slices and all the other apple filling ingredients into your slow cooker. Mix together well until all the apples are thoroughly coated.
In a medium bowl, add all the crumble topping ingredients. Use your clean fingers or a pastry cutter, to pinch and press the mixture together until it forms pea-sized crumbs.
Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over top the apples in the slow cooker.
Place a double layer of paper towels over the top of the slow cooker and then cover with the slow cooker lid.
Cook on LOW heat for 4-5 hours. The apples should be tender and soft, and the crumble topping will be golden brown and cake-like.
Serve warm from the slow cooker with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. Enjoy!
How To Store Leftover Apple Crumble
Store leftover apple crumble in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 to 4 days. To reheat, microwave individual portions for 60 to 90 seconds or until thoroughly reheated.
Pro Tips From The Test Kitchen
- Slice The Apples Evenly : This helps them cook at the same rate so they’re all soft once the cook time is done. I highly recommend using an apple corer, slicer, and corer to do this. I have linked the one I use in the recipe card.
- Don’t Slice The Apples Too Thin : The apples will turn into mush if they are sliced too thin. Because the cook time is long (4 to 5 hours) you want to make sure the apples are in thicker slices to hold up to the longer cook time, but not too thick that won’t soften in the cook time. Which again, is why I recommend using an apple corer and slicer because it cuts each apple into 8 even-sized slices that are the perfect thickness.
- Serve Warm : Apple crumble is at its best when served warm fresh from the slow cooker. I highly suggest serving the crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! My family loves vanilla bean ice cream. The cold ice cream just melts right into the warm apple crumble and it’s literally the best dessert ever.
- Use Fresh Lemon Juice : A little lemon juice balances the sweetness and helps keep the apple flavor bright. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best for its bright flavor.
- Best Served Fresh : This dessert is best served fresh and warm from the slow cooker. Leftovers will reheat well, but for the best texture of the crumble and apples, I definitely recommend eating it fresh and warm after it is done cooking. The crumble does do well on the warm setting, so if needed, you can turn it to warm for a couple of hours while you’re serving guests.
- Cover With Paper Towels : This helps trap all the condensation before it drips back into the slow cooker and on top of the crumb – it will help prevent the crumble from becoming soggy. Use a double later of paper towels under the lid, or you can use a clean tea towel/kitchen towel if preferred. If the paper towels are becoming soaked during the cook time, quickly change them out with dry paper towels.
Recipe FAQs
How Can I Add More Texture To The Crumble?
If you want to add more texture to the crumble, you can include chopped nuts such as pecans, walnuts, or almonds. Add them into the crumble topping or you can serve the crumble with the chopped nuts and garnish the apple crumble and ice cream with them.
Why Do I Need To Put Paper Towels Under The Lid?
The reason you need to place the paper towels under the lid is to catch moisture that collects on the lid before it drips back into the slow cooker and on top of the crumble. This prevents the crumble from becoming soggy due to condensation flowing back into the pot. It also helps the apple filling thicken up as well. You could use a tea towel/clean kitchen towel instead of paper towels if preferred.
Can I Cook It For Shorter On The High Setting?
I personally don’t recommend it, but you could if you wanted to. I think low and slow is the only way to go when it comes to the trusty slow cooker. If you want to cook on HIGH then reduce the cook time to only 2 to 3 hours.
How Thin Should I Slice The Apples?
How thinly you slice the apples will affect the cooking time. The thinner they are, the faster they will cook. They need to be sliced thin, but not too thin, or else they could get mushy during the cook time. If they are too thin, the crumble topping might not cook in time before the apples are done. I use an apple corer, slicer, and cutter which slices an apple into 8 even-sized pieces. They are thin but still have some thickness to them so they’ll hold up well to the cook time and heat.
More Easy Apple Desserts
- Easy Crescent Roll Apple Dumplings
- Easy Apple Dump Cake
- Snickerdoodle Apple Cobbler
- Caramel Apple Pizza (Sugar Cookie Crust)
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars (Streusel Crisp Topping)
- Applesauce Crisp
- Cinnamon Streusel Baked Apples Recipe
- Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
- Simple Apple Crisp
- Oatmeal Cookie Apple Crumble
Slow Cooker Apple Crumble
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 4 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
- 4 Honeycrisp apples (peeled, cored, and sliced)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Crumble Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) cold salted butter (cut into small cubes)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Peel, core, and slice the Granny Smith apples and honey crisp apples. I peel the skin off and then I use an apple corer, slicer, and cutter that creates 8 slices of apple per apple.
- Add the apple slices and all the other apple filling ingredients into your slow cooker. Mix together well until all the apples are thoroughly coated.4 Granny Smith apples, 4 Honeycrisp apples, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup packed light brown sugar, 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- In a medium bowl, add all the crumble topping ingredients. Use your clean fingers or a pastry cutter, to pinch and press the mixture together until it forms pea-sized crumbs.1 cup all-purpose flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup packed light brown sugar, ½ cup (1 stick) cold salted butter, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Sprinkle the crumble topping evenly over top the apples in the slow cooker.
- Place a double layer of paper towels over the top of the slow cooker and then cover with the slow cooker lid.
- Cook on LOW heat for 4-5 hours. The apples should be tender and soft, and the crumble topping will be golden brown and cake-like.
- Serve warm from the slow cooker with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on top. Enjoy!
Notes
- Slice The Apples Evenly : This helps them cook at the same rate so they’re all soft once the cook time is done. I highly recommend using an apple corer, slicer, and corer to do this. I have linked the one I use in the recipe card.
- Don’t Slice The Apples Too Thin : The apples will turn into mush if they are sliced too thin. Because the cook time is long (4 to 5 hours) you want to make sure the apples are in thicker slices to hold up to the longer cook time, but not too thick that won’t soften in the cook time. Which again, is why I recommend using an apple corer and slicer because it cuts each apple into 8 even-sized slices that are the perfect thickness.
- Serve Warm : Apple crumble is at its best when served warm fresh from the slow cooker. I highly suggest serving the crumble with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top! My family loves vanilla bean ice cream. The cold ice cream just melts right into the warm apple crumble and it’s literally the best dessert ever.
- Use Fresh Lemon Juice : A little lemon juice balances the sweetness and helps keep the apple flavor bright. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is best for its bright flavor.
- Best Served Fresh : This dessert is best served fresh and warm from the slow cooker. Leftovers will reheat well, but for the best texture of the crumble and apples, I definitely recommend eating it fresh and warm after it is done cooking. The crumble does do well on the warm setting, so if needed, you can turn it to warm for a couple of hours while you’re serving guests.
- Cover With Paper Towels : This helps trap all the condensation before it drips back into the slow cooker and on top of the crumb – it will help prevent the crumble from becoming soggy. Use a double later of paper towels under the lid, or you can use a clean tea towel/kitchen towel if preferred. If the paper towels are becoming soaked during the cook time, quickly change them out with dry paper towels.
Nutrition
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