Mini Apple Crisp Recipe For Two – In the Oven or Air Fryer!

This mini apple crisp recipe for two with a warm spiced apple filling and a buttery brown sugar streusel topping is a delicious fall dessert. It’s easy to make from scratch, perfect if you only need two individual servings, and cooks in the air fryer or oven!

If given the choice between an apple or a pumpkin dessert, I will choose apple 9 times out of 10.

Back home in Western New York, we have some pretty amazing apples. They’re crisp, juicy, and so fresh. I remember biting into apples with the juice run down my chin, and thinking it tasted just like apple cider. They were literally as juicy as ripe peaches, and so sweet!

Here in Florida it’s a little harder to find such amazing apples. But apples will always be one of my favorite things about fall.

For those of you who love apple as much as I do, you will love this easy autumn dessert! This is an individual apple crisp recipe that makes just two servings. It’s perfect for you and your sweetie (or for just you; you’ll have dessert today and another day!). It’s a great way to satisfy a sweets craving without having to make a big batch or spend a ton of time in the kitchen.

The apple filling is sweet, warmly spiced, and full of apple flavor. We only use one apple, and it’s as easy to make as slicing it up and tossing it with sugar and spices.

But let’s not forget the crumbly streusel topping! With butter, brown sugar, and oats, it’s aromatic and rustic. And absolutely delicious.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Small batch. It makes just two individual servings so you aren’t stuck with a huge dish of apple crisp! And it’s easy to scale up to feed four people if you need to.
• Easy to customize. If apples aren’t in season or aren’t your thing, this works well with a variety of fruit. I’ve had success with peaches, pears, strawberries, and cherries.
• Make ahead. You can make and air fry the filling ahead of time. That way, when you want to serve it, you just have to add the topping and air fry for 5 minutes!

Ingredients

Apple Filling Ingredients

• Sweet/tart crisp apple – For this recipe, we only need one apple. Use a sweet/tart crisp apple, such as Granny Smith.
• Sugar – Use regular granulated white sugar here.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg – These warm spices are classic in apple pie filling.
• Salt – Just a touch of salt elevates the flavor of everything else.

Streusel Topping Ingredients

• Unsalted butter – This lends delicious rich, buttery flavor to the crumble topping.
• Flour – Use regular all-purpose flour.
• Old-fashioned rolled oats – Oats add chewy texture and nutty flavor to crumbly streusel toppings.
• Light brown sugar – The molasses in brown sugar adds notes of caramel.
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon in both the filling and topping ties the flavors together beautifully.
• Salt – A little salt makes sure the brown sugar crumble topping isn’t bland or overly sweet.

Other Ingredients

• Unsalted butter – This is optional, but highly recommended. One of the tricks that makes this dessert so good is an extra pat of butter placed on top before cooking. While baking, it combines with the sweet apple juices as it melts down into the filling, and also helps the top brown to a lovely golden color.

How to Make Mini Apple Crisp in the Air Fryer

Macerate the Apples

1. Stir together all ingredients for the apple filling in a medium bowl.
2. Let it sit until the apple starts to release its liquid, about 20 minutes. You can see the juices from the apple pooling in the bottom of the bowl once the apple has macerated. We need the juices; this is what makes the best apple crisp!

Make the Streusel Topping

1. Meanwhile, in a separate medium bowl, add all ingredients for the topping.
2. Stir together with a fork until crumbly.

Cook in the Air Fryer

1. Divide the apple filling (including the juices) between 2 (10 to 12-ounce) air fryer-safe dishes. Cover each dish with foil.
2. Preheat the air fryer to 350F. Air fry for 15 minutes, and then (wearing potholders) carefully remove the foil.
3. Divide the topping between the 2 dishes, spreading it around evenly. Place 1 pat of butter on top of each.
4. Return to the air fryer and air fry (uncovered) until the topping is golden, about 5 minutes more.

How to Make This in the Oven

1. Macerate the apples. Do this the same way you would if you were making this in the air fryer.
2. Make the oat topping. This also the same for both the air fryer and oven cooking methods.
3. Bake in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Assemble the individual apple crisps with the filling, topping, and a pat of butter on top. Bake (uncovered) until the apples are softened and the topping is golden, about 25 to 40 minutes. (If they start to get too dark on top before the apples are soft, you can tent the tops with foil.)

Make Ahead in the Air Fryer

You can make this dessert ahead of time! To do so, make it through the first round in the air fryer. After that, let it cool and refrigerate (covered) for up to 5 days.

Then when you want to serve them, the only thing you have to do is put the topping on and air fry for 5 minutes.

Storage

Once these are cooked, you can let them cool to room temperature and then store them covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can reheat apple crisp in a 350F oven or air fryer until warm throughout (about 15 to 20 minutes in the oven or 3 to 5 minutes in the air fryer).

Recipe Tips

• Don’t skip letting the apples sit with the sugar for 20 minutes. This helps them release their juices, and makes the dessert so much better.
• You can easily make this gluten free. To do so, make sure to use oats that are certified gluten free. Additionally, use your favorite gluten free flour blend (the stuff that measures 1:1 like regular flour) instead of the all-purpose flour here.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Apple Desserts to Make

• Chewy Cinnamon Apple Cookies
• Warm Spiced Apple Hand Pies
• Caramel Apple Popcorn
• Cinnamon Apple Blondies

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on October 4, 2022 and updated on October 4, 2024.