This delicious Apple Pear Crisp recipe is bursting with cinnamon-spiced fruit. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for a delicious fall dessert! If you’re looking for an easy and delicious dessert for your Thanksgiving table, this Apple Pear Crisp is it! Tender, perfectly spiced pears and apples topped with a delicious oat and pecan crisp.

This is the perfect low-effort dessert that still feels and tastes impressive. This easy Apple Pear Crisp is made the old fashioned way and is perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The Best Apple Pear Crisp Recipe

While I do adore traditional fruit pies with flaky pie crust, crisps can be much easier and equally show-stopping. Another welcome benefit during the busy holiday season! When you’re bogged down making an entire Thanksgiving spread, easy desserts are a huge reprieve.

This Apple Pear Crisp has all the delicious flavors of an apple pie, but is much easier to assemble and just as impressive. The apples and pears in the filling are perfectly tender and their flavors really shine. The crisp is perfectly spiced with old fashioned oats and chopped pecans for texture. All these components really make this the best Apple Pear Crisp recipe ever!

If you’re looking for an easy and delicious dessert to add to your thanksgiving table, keep reading!

Cobbler vs Crisp

A cobbler is a baked fruit dessert with either a thick, biscuit-like dough or thinner cake-like batter baked with the fruit. The cake-like batter version is more often found in the South and considered more old-fashioned. Since blueberries are so delicate, they really hold up better in a cake-like batter cobbler. If you’re looking for a cobbler recipe, try my Wild Blueberry Cobbler.

A crisp is fruit baked with a crumbly topping comprised of butter, flour, and sugar (sometimes with the addition of oats, nuts, and other ingredients). I also LOVE a good crisp and if you do too, check out my other recipes for APPLE PECAN CRISP and STRAWBERRY CRISP.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

Feeds a crowd – This an easy recipe to prep for a huge crowd making it a favorite for the holidays. You can double the recipe and bake it in a 9×13 to serve a whole host of people.

Easy – This recipe only takes minutes to prep and a handful of ingredients. Even if you’re a novice baker, you’ll be able to whip this crisp up no problem! Follow my tips below to make the perfect Apple Pear crisp.

Minimal Prep – All you need are two mixing bowls and a baking dish! The whole recipe comes together in about 10 minutes. All you have to do is mix up the crisp topping and toss the fruit with sugar and spices and bake. It’s that easy!

How to Make Apple Pear Crisp

This recipe is perfect for the holidays and so easy to throw together!

Tools Needed

• 2 quart Baking Dish
• Sharp Knife
• Mixing Bowls
• Cutting Board

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Apples. I love honey crisp for this recipe, but use any firm, slightly tart and sweet apple.
• Pears. Bartlett pears are my favorite here. Make sure your pears are ripe, but not super soft.
• Oats. Old fashioned oats give the crisp topping lots of texture. You could use instant oats if that’s all you have, but don’t use steel cut.
• Pecans. I love some chopped pecans in the crisp topping. If you don’t like pecans, you can omit them or swap in another nut like walnuts, almonds, or even cashews.
• Butter. Butter gives our crisp topping great flavor. I love using salted butter to balance out the sweet, but you can use unsalted butter as well.
• Brown sugar. Light or dark, it’s up to you!
• Maple syrup. A touch of pure maple syrup really enhances the flavor. My favorite is the bourbon barrel aged maple syrup from Trader Joe’s!
• Flour. Just use all-purpose flour here. If you’re looking to make this recipe gluten-free, you can swap in oat flour.
• Spices. Cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg make the crisp topping perfectly spiced. You could swap in some pumpkin pie spice if that’s what you have.
• Corn Starch. Corn starch will thicken the filling and is gluten-free.

The Process

1. Make the topping. I always make the topping first so that I can chill it in the fridge while I work on the filling. Mix the dry ingredients together with a fork and then drizzle in the melted butter. Mix until the crisp topping is clumpy. Refrigerate while you work on the filling.
2. Peel and slice the fruit. Peel the apples and pears and slice them into thick-ish slices, somewhere between 1/4″ and 1/2″.
3. Make the filling. Toss the sliced apples and pears with the filling ingredients until the corn starch is well-mixed in. Spread the filling evenly in a greased 2 qt baking dish.
4. Top and bake. Remove the topping from the fridge and evenly distribute over the top. Spread the diced pieces of butter over the crisp topping. Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Tips for Making Apple Pear Crisp

• I tested the recipe with Bosc pears, but they lacked flavor. Instead, I prefer sweet and juicy Bartlett pears for this dish. Make sure that the pears are ripe, but not too soft so that they don’t turn to mush.
• Don’t slice the apples or pears too thin. They will break down as they bake, so you don’t want them to completely disintegrate in the oven. Some visible slices in your filling are ideal.
• Before baking, dot the top with pieces of butter. Yes, there’s butter in the crisp, but adding a little more to the top makes the topping so good with no dry parts.
• For the best apple crisp, you want to bake it uncovered. This ensures a perfectly crispy topping every time.
• Enjoy this Apple Pear Crisp warm or room temperature! Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce for an extra delicious dessert.
• To make this dessert gluten-free, swap in some oat flour for the all-purpose flour in the topping. The filling is already gluten-free thanks to the corn starch.

Best Fruits for Apple Pear Crisp

Apples

When you select apples for Apple Pear Crisp, you want to make sure that the apples have plenty of flavor and texture. Choose an apple that will still have texture after cooking, so skip the red and golden delicious. Opt for Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Fuji, Gala, or Honey-crisp depending on your preferences.

Pears

I have tested this recipe with a variety of different pears, and my favorite (by far) are fresh Bartlett pears. Look for fruit that’s ripe and sweet — but not overly ripe or too soft. The pears will break down and soften in the oven, and you don’t want them to turn to total mush. I also think Bartlett pears have the best “pear” flavor that really comes through when baked.

Storing and Reheating Apple Pear Crisp

• Make Ahead: You can make this dessert up to 2 days in advance. To do so, bake the crisp according to recipe instructions. Allow to cool completely, cover, and refrigerate. Re-warm in the oven, covered with foil at 350 F for 20 minutes, then uncover for 10 more.
• Storage: If you plan to enjoy the crisp on the same day that it is baked, then you do not need to refrigerate it before serving. If you don’t plan to serve the crisp on the same day as baking, then the dessert needs to be refrigerated overnight.
• This Apple Pear Crisp will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2-3 days.
• How to Reheat: To reheat, warm the crisp in a 350°F oven (uncovered) for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through. You can also microwave the crisp in increments, but you will sacrifice some of the crispness in the topping.

More Fall Dessert Recipes to Try Now

Salted Caramel Pumpkin Pie Bars
Apple Cider Donut Cake
Cranberry Cheesecake Bars
Salted Chocolate Pecan Pie

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