I Put Parmigiano-Reggiano in My Apple Crisp, and It's a Game-Changer

Unexpected but delicious!

Published on September 6, 2025

Credit:

Carson Downing

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Warm apple crisp (my mom's in particular) is my all-time favorite dessert to make in the fall. It's got apple's bestie cinnamon and a crunchy topper that pairs with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. After a trip to Italy and a nod to the tradition of pairing cheddar and apple pie, I decided to add some grated fresh Italian Parmigiano-Reggiano into the flour-oat topper on an otherwise basic fruit crisp recipe. It’s surprising, sure, but the salty, nutty notes of the cheese and its dry, crumbly texture work beautifully with apples, warming spices, and a scoop of ice cream (naturally). Not a big fan of the strong aged cheese flavor? Scale the amount used back if you prefer a less pronounced flavor.

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Ingredients

  • 2 lb. baking apples, such as Gala or Braeburn, peeled, cored, quartered, and thinly sliced

  • 2 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

  • 2 tsp. vanilla

  • 1/8 tsp. ground allspice

  • 1 dash ground cloves

  • 3 to 4 oz. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

  • 3/4 cup sugar

  • 1/2 cup rolled oats

  • 1/2 cup cold butter, cubed

  • Vanilla ice cream (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large bowl stir together apples, 11/2 tsp. of the cinnamon, the vanilla, allspice, cloves, and 1/4 cup water. Transfer apple mixture to a 2-qt. baking dish. 

  2. In a medium bowl stir together Parmigiano-Reggiano, flour, sugar, oats and the remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over apple mixture in baking dish. 

    Test Kitchen Tip: A wedge of authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano is worth the splurge for its rich, salty-sweet flavor balance, but you can use any block of Parm in these recipes. Once opened, refrigerate in an airtight container or plastic wrap up to 1 month. We don’t recommend using pregrated or preshredded Parmesan, which usually includes additives and anticaking agents.

  3. Bake until apples are bubbly and top is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. If you like, serve apple crisp warm with vanilla ice cream.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

480 Calories
21g Fat
66g Carbs
8g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 6
Calories 479.8
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 21.5g 28%
Saturated Fat 12.8g 64%
Cholesterol 56.9mg 19%
Sodium 465.5mg 20%
Total Carbohydrate 66.1g 24%
Dietary Fiber 5.3g 19%
Total Sugars 41g
Protein 8.5g 17%
Vitamin D 0.1mcg 0%
Vitamin C 7mg 8%
Calcium 192.5mg 15%
Iron 1.4mg 8%
Potassium 249.7mg 5%
Fatty acids, total trans 0.8g
Vitamin D 4IU
Alanine 0.3g
Arginine 0.4g
Ash 2.3g
Aspartic acid 0.6g
Caffeine 0mg
Carotene, alpha 0mcg
Choline, total 15.9mg
Copper, Cu 0.1mg
Cystine 0.1g
Energy 2007.8kJ
Fluoride, F 5.5mcg
Folate, total 37.1mcg
Glutamic acid 2g
Glycine 0.2g
Histidine 0.2g
Isoleucine 0.4g
Leucine 0.7g
Lysine 0.5g
Methionine 0.2g
Magnesium, Mg 28.1mg
Manganese, Mn 0.6mg
Niacin 1.2mg
Phosphorus, P 185.2mg
Pantothenic acid 0.3mg
Phenylalanine 0.4g
Phytosterols 18.6mg
Proline 0.9g
Retinol 175.1mcg
Selenium, Se 14.1mcg
Serine 0.5g
Starch 4g
Theobromine 0mg
Threonine 0.3g
Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 0.9mg
Tryptophan 0.1g
Tyrosine 0.4g
Valine 0.5g
Vitamin A, IU 741.9IU
Vitamin A, RAE 183.6mcg
Vitamin B-12 0.3mcg
Vitamin B-6 0.1mg
Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 5.6mcg
Water 140.1g
Zinc, Zn 1.3mg

*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.