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A rustic ironstone plate of apple crisp sits on a dark countertop next to a striped dish towel, an apple, and a vase with greenery. The crisp is served with a fork, featuring a crumbly topping and apple filling.
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Easy Caramel Pecan Apple Crisp Recipe Using Cake Mix

Enjoy fall flavors with this easy recipe for Cake Mix Apple Crisp with Pecans. Fresh apples, a sweet cake mix topping, and a drizzle of caramel sauce make this fall recipe a family favorite!
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time50 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple crisp, cake mix recipe, fall dessert
Servings: 6

Equipment

  • 8 cup mixing measuring bowl
  • Danish dough whisk
  • 9" x 13" glass baking dish 8" x 8" glass baking dish for deep dish version
  • silicone spatula
  • ironstone bone dishes for serving
  • vintage silverware

Ingredients

  • 1 box moist yellow cake mix
  • 2/3 cup quick oats
  • 2/3 cup chopped pecans
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 stick melted butter
  • 1 bottle caramel sauce optional: homemade caramel sauce
  • 6 cups peeled, sliced Honeycrisp apples

Instructions

  • Heat oven to 350* while you get the ingredients prepped.
  • Dump everything except the melted stick of butter, the caramel sauce, and the apples into the large bowl.
  • Stir the dry cake mix, oats, chopped pecans, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl until well combined using a heavy Danish whisk.
  • Pour the melted butter over the dry cake mixture and combine until crumbles form.
  • Pour the prepped apples into a 9" x 13" casserole dish in an even layer. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon if you prefer.
  • Dump the entire cake mixture over the apples and spread it over top of the apples.
  • Bake for 45-50 minutes uncovered until the apples are tender and the crumble is golden brown.
  • Add caramel drizzle over top of the whole thing or over individual servings.

Notes

    • The best apples for this apple crisp recipe in my opinion are Honeycrisp. They are juicy and extra crisp. Honeycrisp are easy to peel and chop since they are large. One large Honeycrisp apple yields approximately one cup of chopped apples.
    • Granny Smith Apples are a favorite for this cake mix apple crisp recipe too. Granny Smith apples are very tart and not as sweet as Honeycrisp.
    • I do not recommend apple pie filling for this recipe. You cannot control the sugar in canned apples or in cans of apple pie mixture. Box cake mix already has sugar and I do not recommend adding additional sugar to canned apples of any kind.
    • Try other dry cake flavors like spice cake mix, white cake mix or even lemon cake mix!
    • The brand of cake mix doesn't matter but I did choose one labeled 'moist' for this recipe.
    • Cut the apples into thin slices to reduce the baking time.
    • Use a smaller 8" x 8" casserole dish to create a deep dish version of this recipe.
    • It isn't necessary to grease the bottom of the baking dish because the butter in the crumble mixture will melt down and prevent the apples from sticking
    • Make your own caramel sauce instead of store-bought if you prefer!
    • Serve the warm apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the perfect touch!