Apple blackberry crisp is a simple, and delicious way to say hello to autumn! It’s a hearty, comforting dessert for cooler weather.

Photography by Sophie MacKenzie.
Summer has faded, with fall sneaking in quickly. Who else is ready for cozy sweaters, apple picking, and comfort food? When chillier days arrive we are more than ready to turn our ovens on, getting back to simple, hearty dishes.
And when we’re craving something sweet and easy to make? Fruit crisps are the answer! They’re a great way to use up of any leftover fruit kicking around the fridge.
Blackberry apple crisp is a beautiful, gluten free dessert, and vegan-friendly to boot! A blend of late summer blackberries and early autumn apples, it’s a match made in seasonal fruit heaven.
💖Why You’ll Love This Recipe
✔️ It’s naturally gluten-free, using, almond meal for the topping.
✔️ You can adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.
✔️ It freezes wonderfully, so you can make it now with seasonal fruit to save for later.
📋Ingredients
For The Fruit Filling
For The Topping
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Coconut oil: you can use dairy or non-dairy butter rather than coconut oil if you prefer.
- Berries: make this recipe any time of year with frozen blackberries, or any other berries you like. Raspberries are especially delicious and frozen raspberries work well.
- Maple syrup: substitute the maple syrup for ¼ to ½ cup (50 to 100 g) of brown sugar, depending on how sweet you want it.
- Cornstarch: If gluten isn’t a concern you can use all-purpose flour in place of the cornstarch in the fruit filling and the almond meal in the topping.
- Cinnamon: Homemade apple pie spice or pumpkin spice are great alternatives to cinnamon.
Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
👩🍳Method
STEP 1: Prep the apples and add the maple syrup, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Mix to combine.
STEP 2: Add the apple mixture to the baking dish along with the blackberries and cornstarch.
STEP 3: Make the topping. Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix well.
STEP 4: Top the crisp in an even layer and bake until bubbling, about 40 minutes.
💡Top Tips
1. Don’t omit the lemon juice. It’s there to prevent the apples from browning, but adds a little extra flavour, too.
2. Bake until bubbling. A key thing to watch for when baking crisps is a bubbly filling around the edges. Once it bubbles, that cornstarch has done its work and thickened.
3. Don’t thaw the berries. If you’re using fresh berries, great! But from frozen, there’s no need to thaw first – the baking time won’t change.
📝Recipe Notes
- We recommend using apples that hold their structure during baking. No one wants mushy crisp! Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Cortland, and SweeTango are all great.
- You can pulse the topping a few times in a food processor if you don’t want to mix by hand.
- We wait to add the berries so as not to squish them, but as they’re being baked anyway, feel free to add them to the bowl with the apples before stirring everything together.
- This can be frozen before or after baking. Cover very well and freeze for up to three months, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed, or warm through if already baked.
❓Recipe FAQ
A crisp will always have oats in the topping, and a crumble won’t. Crumbles might contain nuts or other add-ins, but usually they’ll just use a simple butter, flour, and sugar topping.
This will keep for up to five days in the fridge, either well covered or in a sealed container. The topping won’t be as crisp after storing.
It’s best to warm in the oven to re-crisp the topping. Place the dish into a preheated 350°F (180°C) oven, uncovered, and bake for about 10 minutes.
🍎 More Autumn Apple Recipes
Recipe
Blackberry And Apple Crisp
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- 8 inch (20 cm) baking dish
- 2 Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For The Fruit
- 2 cups diced apples, peeled
- 2 cups blackberries
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For The Topping
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup large flake oats
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ cup coconut oil, solid
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180ºC) and lightly grease an 8-inch (20-cm) baking dish with coconut oil.
- Peel and slice the apples into bite-sized pieces. Add the maple syrup, cinnamon, and lemon juice to the apples in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the apple mixture to the baking dish along with the blackberries and cornstarch. Mix to combine.
- In another bowl, mix together the almond meal, brown sugar, oats, and salt. Add the solid coconut oil to the bowl.
- Use your fingertips to rub the coconut oil into the oat mixture until the mixture is coarse and sandy, and the coconut oil is well distributed.
- Sprinkle the oat topping evenly over the fruit in the dish. Bake the crisp for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling.
- Cool the crisp for 10 to 15 minutes on a wire rack before serving warm topped with ice cream, whipped cream, or plain.
Nutrition
This post first appeared in September 2014, and was last updated September 2022.
Greer says
Love your pic of the apple blackberry crumble. It looks so good. Wish to try out soon. Can’t wait !
Sini | My Blue&White Kitchen says
A bowl of comfort. Love the recipe and your gorgeous pics, especially the second one.
Ashley Colbourne says
Thanks Sini!