Apple and oat crumble with walnuts

By Nikola · Precision Nutrition L1 · Sources checked 5 November 2026

A crumble is the easiest fruit dessert there is: chopped fruit in a dish, a crunchy topping on top, into the oven. This one swaps the usual flour, butter and sugar topping for rolled oats, chopped walnuts, a little butter and three spoons of honey. It bakes into crisp, golden clusters over soft, cinnamon-scented apples that do most of the sweetening themselves.

Twenty minutes of work, forty in the oven, and it serves six. Leftovers make a good breakfast with a spoon of yogurt.

Difficulty: Easy · Diet: Vegetarian; gluten-free with oats labelled gluten-free

Apple and oat crumble with walnuts

Cinnamon apples under a crisp topping of oats, walnuts, a little butter and honey. 20 minutes of work, serves 6, no flour or white sugar.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Desserts

Servings 6 servings

Calories 334 kcal

Ingredients

  

Filling

• 1 kg apples after coring about 6 medium, a mix of tart and sweet, cut into 2 cm chunks; peeling is optional
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Topping

• 120 g rolled oats about 1 1/2 cups
• 60 g walnuts about 1/2 cup, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon in total 2 tsp, 5.2 g
• A pinch of salt 1 g
• 60 g unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp honey 63 g
• To serve: Greek yogurt optional

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Have ready a baking dish of about 20 x 25 cm, or 2 litres.
• Toss the apples with the lemon juice and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and spread them in the dish.
• Blitz 40 g of the oats in a blender or chopper for a few seconds to a coarse flour; it helps the topping hold together. Mix it in a bowl with the rest of the oats, the walnuts, 1/2 tsp cinnamon and the salt.
• Melt the butter with the honey in a small pan over low heat, just until liquid. Pour it over the oat mixture and stir until everything is coated and starts to clump.
• Scatter the topping over the apples, leaving some larger clumps. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the topping is deep golden, the juices bubble at the edges and a knife slides easily into the apples. If the top browns too fast, cover it loosely with foil for the last 10 minutes.
• Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving; the juices thicken as it cools. Serve warm, with Greek yogurt if you like.

Keyword apple crumble, apples, autumn, baking, cinnamon, dessert, honey, oat crumble, oats, vegetarian, walnuts, winter

Nutrition per serving

Per serving, 1/6 of the dish, calculated from USDA FoodData Central for each ingredient, without the yogurt.

Data: USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy: Apples, raw, with skin (FDC 171688); Cereals, oats, regular and quick, not fortified, dry (FDC 173904); Nuts, walnuts, english (FDC 170187); Butter, without salt (FDC 173430); Honey (FDC 169640); Spices, cinnamon, ground (FDC 171320). Apples are calculated with skin on the cored weight; peeled apples give a little less fibre. Lemon juice and the optional yogurt are not included. Most of the sugar comes from the apples themselves; the honey adds about 8.6 g per serving. Carbohydrate is USDA “by difference” and includes fibre.

Swaps and variations

• Other fruit: half pears, or a handful of blackberries mixed in with the apples. A grated quince adds a lovely perfume.
• Other nuts: hazelnuts or almonds instead of walnuts.
• Without butter: use 4 tbsp of a mild olive oil or coconut oil; the clusters are a little less crisp.
• Less sweet: 2 tbsp honey is enough with sweet apples.
• Spices: a pinch of ground cloves, cardamom or ginger with the cinnamon.

Storage and reheating

Cover and keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 180°C for about 10 minutes so the topping crisps up again; the microwave warms it but leaves the topping soft.

Related

• Recipes: Baked apples with walnuts and cinnamon · Pumpkin oat muffins · Greek yogurt and pomegranate parfait
• Encyclopedia: Apples · Oats · Walnuts · Cinnamon · Honey

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