This homemade Instant Pot apple crisp recipe is a quick and easy dessert that brings together tender cinnamon-spiced apples and a golden, buttery oat streusel topping. My pressure cooker apple crisp recipe turns fresh apples into a perfect fall dessert for busy families. You’ll love this Instant Pot dessert if you love apple pie or apple cobbler.
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This apple crisp Instant Pot recipe is a dessert made with pressure cooker apples topped with oatmeal streusel. When I make this recipe, the aroma of apples and cinnamon fills the house and signals the arrival of sweater weather!
The sweet and tart flavors come together beautifully with every bite of this apple crisp.
I don’t pressure cook the topping, but instead, I add it to the cinnamon apples and brown it in the oven under the broiler or the Instant Pot air fryer lid.
I also use this Instant Pot apple crumble recipe as a shortcut for apple pie filling!
➡ I have plenty of other pressure cooker desserts for you to try like peach crisp, cupcakes, Instant Pot lava cakes, and Oreo cheesecake!
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Key Ingredients for Apple Crisp in Instant Pot
More details in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
💡 Ingredient and Recipe Tips for Apple Crisp
🍏 Apple Selection: Use Granny Smith for a tart base or Honeycrisp for sweeter results. Combine both for a balanced flavor.
Important: Choose apples that hold their shape during cooking – not all varieties are suitable for baking. Cut apples into 1½-2 inch cubes to prevent accidental applesauce!
⏲️ Cooking Duration: Set Instant Pot for just 1 minute. For firmer apples, use the 0-minute setting. If your model lacks a 0-minute option, cancel as soon as the display changes from On to 00:01.
🧂 Seasonings & Sweetness: Customize cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom to taste. Substitute brown sugar with granulated sugar in filling or topping. Reduce sugar quantities for a more tart result.
💧 Liquid Control: If the apples are too runny, create a slurry with 1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1 tablespoon cold water. Heat on Saute before adding topping.
🍋 Tartness: Increase lemon juice for more tart flavor. Lemon juice can be substituted with apple cider vinegar.
🥄 Topping Techniques: You have two options to crisp up the topping: Instant Pot air fryer lid (stand alone or model like Duo Crisp) or oven broiler.
🍨 Serving Suggestions: This Instant Pot apple recipe tastes amazing with vanilla ice cream and Instant Pot Dulce de Leche (made from condensed milk – I cook it 5 minutes longer than the recipe).
⚠️ Troubleshooting: If the Burn message appears (unlikely), wait one minute, then check apples. They should already be cooked. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and proceed with the topping step.
❓ FAQS
It could be the type of apples you used. Some apples disintegrate easily upon pressure cooking.
The size of the apples can also make a difference. I made this with large Granny Smith apples and small ones. The smaller apples were firmer after pressure cooking.
Also, if you leave the apples in the Instant Pot, they will continue to cook. Remove the inner pot from the base unit immediately after releasing pressure.
The apples you used may have released more juice upon pressure cooking. To resolve this issue, heat the cooked apples in Saute mode or add a cornstarch slurry to the cooked apples and heat through until thickened.
Since the pressure cooking time is so short for this recipe, the Burn message probably won’t affect the end result. Wait for a minute and open the lid to see if the apples are cooked through. If not, close the lid and let them steam for a bit longer. Transfer the apples to a clean bowl and clean out the inner pot to proceed with the recipe.
Since this recipe doesn’t call for pressure cooking the oats, you can use instant oats or quick-cooking oats.
No, I don’t recommend using steel-cut oats for this recipe. It requires a longer cooking time.
How to Make Apple Crisp in Instant Pot
⏲️ Instant Pot Method
- Make streusel topping
- Combine apple and filling ingredients
- Pressure cook and release pressure
- Spread topping on apples
- Broil
- Serve in individual bowls
- Make the streusel topping. Combine the flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, pecans, and butter until crumbly. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and allspice.
- Place apple pieces in the Instant Pot and stir in the spice mixture. Add lemon juice and water.
- Using a large spoon, stir gently to combine ingredients.
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 1 minute.
- The display will go from On to 1:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a quick release of pressure. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened. Remove the Instant Pot inner pot from the base unit to prevent the apples from overcooking.
- Spread the streusel over the apples and broil using the air fryer lid.
- Remove the lid and serve the apple streusel into individual bowls. Serve the Instant Pot apple dessert into a bowl and top with vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel sauce or dulce de leche.
✏️ TO BROIL IN THE OVEN INSTEAD OF USING THE AIR FRYER LID
- If you wish to crisp the topping in the oven instead, transfer apples to a buttered casserole dish, top with streusel topping, and broil on the middle rack of the oven for 6 to 10 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Check periodically to make sure the topping isn’t burning!
♨️ Oven Method
To make this recipe without an Instant Pot, bake it entirely in the oven.
- Combine ingredients for the apple filling and transfer to a greased, oven-safe casserole dish.
- Combine ingredients for the topping and spread evenly over the apple filling.
- Bake until apples are cooked through and the topping is golden brown.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Instant Pot Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Apple Filling
- 7 medium Granny Smith apples cut into 1½ to 2-inch cubes
- ¾ cup brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon water
Apple Crisp Topping
- ¾ cup all purpose flour
- ¾ cup brown sugar or granulated sugar
- ½ cup old fashioned oats
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup pecans chopped
- 6 tablespoon butter – ¾ stick (at room temperature)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, lemon juice, and water in the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Using a large spoon, stir gently to combine ingredients.
- Close Instant Pot and pressure cook on High Pressure for 1 minute.
- Press Cancel and do a quick release of pressure and open the Instant Pot lid. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods].
- Remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot base unit and place it on a heat-resistant surface. This will prevent the cinnamon apples from continuing to cook.
- Combine flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, pecans, and butter in a medium bowl. Mix by hand or with a pastry blender until crumbly.
- Sprinkle the streusel topping over the cooked apples. Place the inner pot back onto the Instant Pot base.
- Use an air fryer lid to broil for about 10 minutes or until the topping is golden brown, checking halfway through to make sure it's not burning.If you wish to crisp the topping in the oven instead, transfer apples to a buttered casserole dish, top with streusel topping, and broil on the middle rack of the oven for 6 to 10 minutes or until the topping is golden brown. Check periodically to make sure the topping isn't burning!
Oven Instructions
- To make the entire recipe in the oven, preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, lemon juice in a medium bowl. Omit the water.
- Transfer the apple filling into a greased casserole dish and spread out evenly.
- Combine flour, brown sugar, oats, salt, pecans, and butter in a medium bowl. Mix by hand or with a pastry blender until crumbly.
- Evenly spread crisp topping over the apple filling.
- Bake for 40 minutes until the filling is cooked and the topping is golden brown.
- Let the apple crisp cool a bit and serve topped with ice cream.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. cut fruit, etc.
- The quantity of water in the recipe is correct. The apples release liquid and that should be enough to bring the Instant Pot to pressure. If you get a Burn message, wait one minute and open the Instant Pot. The apples should be cooked through.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Katherine S says
Perfect. Thought it wouldn’t be enough liquid so I added 1/4 cup of water.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Katherine, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe.