Last Updated on December 19, 2025 by Sabrina Currie
Got apples? Individual easy apple crumble tartlets with jut 8 ingredients are a fun take on apple pie and crumble. Warm apple cinnamon filling with brown sugar and oat topping make a perfect dessert. Serve tartlets on their own or top them with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Quick, easy with premade tart shells, there's no fussing with pastry dough and you don't even need a tart pan!
Making an apple crumble recipe into individual apple crumble tartlets makes it perfect to take to parties and potlucks. They're equally perfect as a make-ahead dessert. These tartlets, with the flavors of traditional apple pie, bake up golden brown and delicious with a crispy crumble topping. Juicy apples and brown sugar create a sumptuous caramel sauce in the bottom. Serve them up with a scoop of ice cream for an extra special dessert.
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This was inspired by my popular Cinnamon Rolls With Apple Pie Filling and is a perfect fall dessert for an autumn dinner of Rocket and Pear Salad and Mushroom Lentil Stew or easy Chicken and Sundried Tomato pasta.
Love fruity desserts as much as I do? Check out Easy Homemade Cherry Fritters, Best Apple Oatmeal Cake and Easy Plum Flan too!
Quick Apple Cheat Sheet
Download and print this guide to which apples to use and keep it handy!
What Other Recipes Can I Make With Apples?
Apples are so versatile, they can really be used at any time of day in sweet or savory dishes. From apple oatmeal cake with coffee in the morning to apple grilled cheese for lunch and in my salad for dinner, here are some of my favorite apple recipes.
- Brie and Apple Grilled Cheese with Hot Honey
- Best Apple Oatmeal Cake
- Apple Walnut Salad
- French Apple Beignets Recipe
- Apple Kale Slaw
- Apple Cardamom Cake
- Crisp Apple Fennel Salad with Grainy Mustard Dressing
- Best Apple Rhubarb Muffins
Do you have a favorite apple recipe? Leave your comments below, I'd love to hear what you all are making!
Recipe Ingredients
Only 8 ingredients make up these luscious apple crumble tartlets and you probably have almost all of them on hand already!
- Fresh Apples - Organic apples are grown using best, pesticide-free practices that grow nutritious and delicious apples. These are the best choice for my family. For apple crumble tartlets, I used the organic Honeycrisp that holds it's shape well during baking. Granny Smith apples, Cripps Pink aka Pink Lady apples, Bramley apples, and Jazz are all excellent types of apples for this recipe.
- Pre Made Tartlet Shells - Using premade tartlet shells makes this recipe fast. Of course you can make your own if you have time. Simply make your favorite pie crust recipe and cut it into rounds about an inch larger than the holes in your tart pan. I've used standard 3" tartlet shells for this recipe.
- Cinnamon - I wanted this recipe to taste like classic apple crumble so ground cinnamon is a must.
- Oats - I used large steel cut oats but have made this just as successfully with quick oats too. Just use what you have in your cupboard, either work just fine.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
There are just 8 ingredients in this warm, easy apple crumble tart recipe but there are a few substitutions you can make if needed.
- Vegan - Use vegan tartlet shells and swap margarine for the butter to easily make vegan apple crumble tartlets.
- Unsalted Butter - I keep salted butter at home and use that in my recipes adjusting the salt accordingly. If you use unsalted butter, add an ⅛ teaspoon salt to the filling and ⅛ teaspoon salt to the crumble topping.
- Pre Cooked Tartlet Shells - Read the directions on your tartlet shells. This recipe uses shells that bake from frozen with the apple filling. If your shells are precooked, reduce the baking time accordingly, taking them out once the crumble topping is crisp.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Preheat oven to 375' F
Step 1. Core and chop apples into ½" pieces. I leave the peel on but you can peel the apples first if you prefer.
Step 2. Melt butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan.
Step 3. Once butter is melted, add in the apple slices and lemon juice, tossing to coat. Cook until they start to soften, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking on the bottom.
Step 4. Add in the sugar, cinnamon and plain flour (all purpose flour) mixture to cooking apples, stir and bring to a gently boil while set to medium heat.
Step 5. Let apple mixture boil over medium heat for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally until thick and syrupy.
Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Step 6. Meanwhile, make the crunchy crumble topping by melting the butter then adding remaining brown sugar in a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir to combine. Tip: I like to do this right in a measuring cup that is microwave safe. It saves me washing an extra mixing bowl and is deep enough to contain the topping ingredients.
Step 7. Add in oats and remaining flour and stir together until well combined. The crumble mix will be a crumbly texture.
Step 8. Lay tart shells evenly on a large thin baking sheet. Scoop apple filling evenly into all 24 shells (approx. 1.5 tablespoons of filling in each) and gently smooth down.
Top with a heaping teaspoon of crumble topping on each tartlet.
Bake 25-30 minutes until tarts are lightly browning and pastry shells are cooked through.
Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Apple crumble tartlets can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
Hint: Apple crumble tartlets are delicious on their own but even better served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Cook's Tip: I leave the peel on for most of my apple recipes. Leaving the peel on the apples makes prep fast and adds extra fiber and vitamins.
Variations
Want to change this up? Rhubarb works really well paired with apples!
- Apple Rhubarb Crumble Tartlets - Use 4 cups apples and 2 cups rhubarb chopped to the same size as the apple pieces. Cook the rhubarb with the apples, omitting the lemon juice and finish the recipe the same as you would for the apple tartlets.
- Pear Crumble Tartlets - Swap out the apples for pears for another delicious autumn variation.
Storage
Apple crumble tartlets will store well for 3 days, covered with plastic wrap at room temperature or cooler. Be sure that the tarts are completely cooled before covering.
You can freeze apple crumble tartlets in an airtight container up to 3 months.
FAQs
All of these desserts have a cooked fruit filling. The type of topping and whether they have a bottom makes the biggest difference. Pie generally has a top and bottom crust of classic pastry. A cobbler has a biscuit-like topping that can be solid or dolloped on like biscuits. Crumble is a topping of butter, flour and brown sugar that bakes up slightly crisp and crumbly and sometimes includes oats like I have here.
This recipe has an ideal ratio of butter and sugar to make the oats crisp. The fat in the butter helps keep the oats crisp and there is only just enough flour to bind the ingredients without creating bulk. Pre cooking the apple crumble filling also helps by reducing extra moisture before baking.
More Easy Recipes
Love and easy recipe as much as I do? Try some of these special occasions
- Non-Candy Halloween Treats And Ideas Kids Will Love
- Easy Cherry Muffins With A Quick Sugar Crunch Topping
- Easy Homemade Raspberry Ice Cream With Fresh Berries
- Mom's Quick And Easy Cinnamon Apple Rhubarb Muffins
If you have any questions or comments, you can find me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. I try to answer any recipe related questions quickly as I know you might be in the middle of making it.
Also check out my FREE PRINTABLE meal planner to make menu planning and grocery shopping a breeze and my shopping guide. And if you like this recipe, I would love it if you give it a star rating in the recipe card.
Cheers and happy cooking, Friends! Sabrina
📖 Recipe
Apple Crumble Tartlets
Ingredients
- 6 c Organic Apples (4-6 apples depending on their size)
- ½ c Salted Butter Divided
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- ¾ c Brown Sugar Divided (regular or dark brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 3 tablespoon All Purpose Flour Divided
- 1 c Rolled Oats (Old fashioned or quick oats work equally well)
- 24 Premade Tartlet Shells (3" size which are the most common tartlet size for premade pastry)
Instructions
Apple Filling
- Core and chop apples into ½" pieces. Melt 4 tablespoons (¼ c) butter over medium heat in a medium sized saucepan, add the apples and lemon juice, toss apples to coat and let cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally,
- Measure ½ cup brown sugar, cinnamon and 1 tablespoon flour in a measuring cup and stir to mix. Add to apples, stir and bring to a gently boil. Let boil over medium hear for 5 more minutes stirring occasionally until thickened and syrupy.Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Crumble Topping
- In a heat proof bowl, melt butter. Add remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and stir to combine. Add in oats and remaining 2 tablespoons of flour and stir all together until well combined. This will be a crumbly texture.
Assembly and Baking Tartlets
- Preheat oven to 375' F
- Lay tart shells evenly on a large thin baking sheet. Scoop apple filling evenly into all 24 shells (approx. 1.5 tablespoons of filling in each) and gently smooth down. Top with a heaping teaspoon of crumble topping on each.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until tarts are lightly browning and pastry shells are cooked through. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. These can be eaten warm or at room temperature. Apple crumble tartlets are delicious on their own or add a scoop of vanilla ice cream or vanilla whipped cream.
Mikki says
Where is the lemon juice suppose to go ?
Sabrina Currie says
Hi Mikki, so sorry for the oversight. The lemon juice goes into the pot with the apples and butter at the beginning. Cheers, Sabrina