by Diana Rattray
This delicious apple brown Betty has long been an American favorite. The apple dessert was first mentioned in print in 1864. It’s similar to an apple crisp, and it’s a great way to use day-old bread crumbs. This recipe is a typical Apple Betty dessert with some orange juice for extra flavor. Or use apple juice if you’d like.
The apples are layered with the sweet spiced breadcrumbs, then a combination of orange juice and melted butter are drizzled over the top. This is a dessert everyone will love!
PrintApple Brown Betty
Our apple brown Betty is an old-fashioned American dessert that has been delighting diners for over 150 years!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Desserts, Apples
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups coarse soft bread crumbs, fresh or day-old
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar or packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon finely orange zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 large apples, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1/4 cup orange juice
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 F. Butter a shallow 1 1/2-quart baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine bread crumbs, sugar, lemon zest, and cinnamon in a bowl; set aside.
- Arrange half of the apple slices in the prepared baking dish. Top with half of the breadcrumb mixture. Repeat layers, ending with the remaining breadcrumb mixture.
- Combine the melted butter with the orange juice; drizzle evenly over the casserole.
- Bake the apple Betty for 45 to 55 minutes, until nicely browned and the apples are tender.
- Serve apple Betty with freshly whipped cream or thawed frozen whipped topping, or serve the dessert warm with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
