No Bake Breakfast Apple Crisp | Microwave Breakfast Bowl Recipe
EASY Microwave Breakfast Apple Crisp with Cranberries, Granola & Yogurt
Apple Pie Microwave Breakfast Bowl – Comforting Cooked Apples for Breakfast in 3 Minutes!
Treat yourself to a warm, comforting breakfast apple crisp to start the day—without even turning on the oven! This apple pie breakfast bowl is actually a MICROWAVE breakfast bowl recipe, and you can have it ready in under 5 minutes.Say whaaat?!
After cooking in the microwave, the apples become deliciously soft and ultra-sweet like the indulgent filling of an apple pie or an apple cobbler. But, unlike a traditional cobbler or apple crisp dessert, this breakfast apple crisp doesn’t need to be baked in the oven…
Instead of a baked crisp topping, I’m using the 5 minute breakfast version: GRANOLA! Just as satisfyingly crunchy, but WAY simpler to prepare. An awesome hot breakfast option that you can throw together quickly on busy mornings before school or work!
And, also unlike the classic desserts, this breakfast apple crisp is clean and nutritious. It’s made with NO added sugars or sweeteners—just the satisfying natural sweetness of the fruit. Best of all, you can whip up this microwave breakfast bowl with just 3 main ingredients (5 total): apples, dried cranberries, and water (plus a bit of cinnamon & a pinch of salt)!
The result is an unbelievably quick and easy breakfast that tastes like DESSERT!
Cooked Apples for Breakfast – in the Microwave??
I’ve said it many times: the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is making healthy meals doable and actually enjoying the food that you eat! And, it doesn’t need to require a ton of effort, ingredients, or even cooking expertise. Case in point: a healthy MICROWAVE breakfast bowl that you can prep in 5 minutes, with 5 simple ingredients!
I love a classic apple crisp dessert. And, since apples are a healthy ingredient and breakfast component in their own right, why not make a health-ified BREAKFAST apple crisp recipe? It’s a healthy breakfast that I’ll enjoy eating, and I can simplify things so it’s a doable meal to prep.
My doable solution: cook this breakfast apple crisp like a microwave breakfast bowl recipe, no stovetop or oven required! And, cooking the apples is a simple change to keep my healthy breakfast interesting. I get to enjoy different flavors and textures, while still nourishing my body.
Yes, cooked apples for breakfast are DELICIOUS, and you can cook them in the microwave easy-peasy. Add some simple seasonings and dried fruit, serve ‘a la mode’ with yogurt, top with granola as my ‘crisp’ topping, and I’ve got a 5 minute microwaveable dessert for breakfast!
Really, you could just eat a regular old apple paired with yogurt and granola, and you’ve got the same basic components as this microwave breakfast bowl recipe. Simple, clean, and fuel-filled. But, which would you enjoy eating more: a dessert-like apple pie breakfast bowl or a plain old apple? For me, the breakfast apple crisp is the obvious choice!
How to Make a Breakfast Apple Crisp in 5 Minutes
If you or your family members love warm apple pie, I guarantee this apple pie breakfast bowl will be a hit! I wanted a breakfast apple CRISP personally, but you can use the base recipe for this breakfast bowl in tons of different ways—crisp or no crisp.
And, since it’s a microwave breakfast bowl recipe, it’s a great option that even kids could prep for themselves in the morning! (Or, with just a little help from you in cutting the apple!)
To start, you’ll need to chop an apple of your choosing into bite-sized pieces. You can really use any type of apple that you like, red or green. And, you don’t want to dice it up super small, but big enough pieces so you can easily eat your breakfast apple crisp with a spoon or fork.
Add your chopped apple to a microwave-safe bowl, along with dried cranberries, a bit of water, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. You’re welcome to omit the dried cranberries if preferred, but they actually rehydrate in the microwave and become extra tasty! And, feel free to change up the seasonings or add additional flavorings that you enjoy.
Then, you’re ready to microwave! Pop your apple pie breakfast bowl into the microwave, uncovered, and cook on high power for 3 minutes.
(NOTE: This was the ideal cook time for my breakfast apple crisp using a 1000-watt microwave. Adjust cook time accordingly depending on the wattage of your microwave.)
After those 3 minutes are up, your breakfast apple crisp is ready to top and serve! Carefully remove your microwave breakfast bowl using oven mitts, because it will be very hot. Give it a stir, and savor that scrumptious smell of freshly cooked apples for breakfast!
Apple Pie Breakfast Bowl Topping Ideas
What’s the ultimate way to serve warm apple pie? A la mode, of course! So, for this apple pie breakfast bowl version, I went with plain yogurt as my health-ified ‘ice cream’ topping. You can use any yogurt you like—dairy based or nondairy. Coconut milk yogurt and almond milk yogurt are great nondairy options, or go with plain Greek yogurt for a boost of protein!
And, since I love a crispy crunch, I designed this as a breakfast apple CRISP recipe so I could enjoy that cobbler-like topping. But, to keep my microwave breakfast bowl as simple as possible, the ‘crisp’ is all in the toppings. As my easy, no-bake ‘crisp’ topping, I’m using granola!
My granola of choice was this delicious Organic & Gluten Free Cranberry Maple Granola from Sprouts Farmers Market. The flavors pair beautifully with this breakfast apple crisp and it has a satisfyingly flaky, crispy, crunch. And, I love that it’s gluten free and low in sugar!
But, just know that this recipe is totally customizable. Make your breakfast apple crisp with any granola that you like or that you have on-hand. You could even make this a PALEO breakfast apple crisp with a Paleo-approved grain free granola and coconut milk yogurt!
Or, if you’re not a fan of the crisp at all, make this an apple pie breakfast bowl by nixing the granola and topping with something else! Other topping options could include chopped nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes—whatever YOU enjoy.
Substitutions for this Microwave Breakfast Bowl Recipe
If you’d like to customize the base ingredients of this apple pie breakfast bowl recipe, here are some substitutions to consider:
- Instead of dried cranberries, try raisins, dried cherries, chopped dates, or even chopped prunes!
- Instead of/in addition to cinnamon, try cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice.
- Instead of regular or Greek yogurt, try coconut milk yogurt, almond/cashew milk yogurt, or soymilk yogurt for dairy free options.
- Instead of granola, try slivered almonds or chopped nuts, cacao nibs, shredded/flaked coconut, dried fruit, cereal, or toasted oats.
And, if you’re feeling really adventurous, you could change this into a microwave breakfast bowl with cooked PEARS instead of apples! (If you do try this, comment below and let me know how it turns out!)
5 MINUTE Healthy Breakfast Ideas for Back to School!
Microwave Breakfast Apple Crisp
Ingredients
Apple Pie Breakfast Bowl
- 1 apple, chopped
- 1 Tbsp dried cranberries
- 2 Tbsp water
- ⅛ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Breakfast Apple Crisp Topping
- 2 Tbsp plain unsweetened Greek or coconut yogurt
- 3 Tbsp granola of choice
Instructions
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine chopped apple, dried cranberries, water, cinnamon, and pinch of salt.
- Microwave uncovered on high power for 3 minutes.
- Top breakfast apple crisp with plain yogurt and granola, serve, and enjoy!
- Yields 1 microwave breakfast bowl.
Notes
Other Microwave Breakfast Bowl Recipes & 5 Minute Breakfast Ideas
For more microwave breakfast bowl ideas and microwaveable 5 minute breakfast ideas, check out some of these tasty options:
6 Comments on “No Bake Breakfast Apple Crisp | Microwave Breakfast Bowl Recipe”
Found this when I was looking for quick breakfast ideas and I didn’t know what to expect but man, this is so yummy! I usually just grab an apple or banana for breakfast but I love that I can make this microwave apple crisp so quick and get something warm in my stomach. It’s like eating the inside of an apple pie for breakfast but without all the sugar!
Hi Carrie, we’re so happy to hear you’re loving this no bake apple crisp! Who knew you could make a deconstructed apple pie in the microwave, am I right? That natural sweetness from the apple is all you need, plus a little cinnamon and some crunchy granola 🙂 thanks for trying out the recipe!
This was really good & so easy to make. Thank you!
Amazing, thank you Karin! We appreciate you giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback 🙂
Oh this will be trouble for me! I ll find a way to eat it for breakfast, snack, dessert an oh, maybe another snack! So delicious sounding!
🙂