Air fryer crumble topping

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On Sundays we love to hunker down with a tasty roast dinner and all the trimmings. Some nights I keep it easy, adding air fryer frozen yorkshire puddings to our dinner, and other nights I go all out.

Some Sundays I'll prepare an air fryer apple crumble, or air fryer rhubarb crumble from scratch, but other times I just want something a little faster, or easier.

It is on these nights that I make an air fryer crumble topping and sprinkle it over the top of a little bowl of berries, or even just drizzled on peanut butter covered apples.

This crumble topping is always a winner with my daughters, and is a great fun way to get them to enjoy a little more fruit after their dinner.

I make a range of different air fryer desserts for my family but this has to be one of the quickest and easiest. It's frugal too, which is always a winner with me!

Cooking a crumble topping in the air fryer is super simple and takes just minutes to prepare too.

Crumble topping can be packed full of flavour, with the addition of some nice spices, or even a little honey added at the end, you can just cook it plain to suit simple tastebuds, or just allow people to customise their own bowls.

We love a sweet treat here, with some of the current favourites in our home being banana bread, banana chocolate chip muffins, midnight cookies and rhubarb and pineapple crumble.

My recipe makes it easy to whip up a golden, crunchy crumble topping in just over 10 minutes, which is great for those busy nights.

Air fryer crumble ingredients for a crispy topping:

• 120g all purpose flour / plain flour (you can swap out 40g for 30g of rolled oats)
• 80g cold butter (cut into cubes) - I used unsalted butter
• 60g of golden brown sugar - granulated sugar can work if that's what you have
• ⅛ teaspoon of salt (skip this if using salted butter) 
• Optional: ground cinnamon or all spice

Method for making crumble topping in the air fryer:

Rub together the flour and butter in a mixing bowl until you have a breadcrumb like consistency.

Add the salt (if using) and brown sugar.

If you're using cinnamon or all spice then add ⅛ teaspoon.

This is your crumble topping mix.

You can choose to cook this crumble mix in ramekins if you want a lot of crispy, crunchy bites, or you can cook it flat in the air fryer basket, which is my preferred method.

Press it down into your ramekins, or air fryer basket, as you want it to be fairly compact, to avoid the mixture flying around in your air fryer.

Air fry at 170C (340F approx) for 4 minutes.

Shake it, or give it a gentle mix with a wooden spoon.

Air fry at 170C (340F approx) for another 4-5 minutes.

Exercise a little common sense here. If it's not as golden brown as you want it to be then give it another 1-2 minutes, and keep a close eye to avoid it burning.

I like to let this cool for a few minutes, to crisp up further, before we serve it.

Alternatively, you could cool this to room temperature and then freeze it by spreading it flat, freezing it on a baking tray and then transferring to a freezer safe bag or box.

Want to mix it up, or make your crumble topping a little more special?

Personally I've experimented with a variety of spices and flavours, such as cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. All of these work great.

If you've got a pumpkin spice blend to hand then this would be absolutely delightful too I'm sure!

Crumble mix a little floury for your liking?

If you feel like the consistency is a little too floury then I would recommend using some oats as well. I remove 40g of flour and add 30g of oats, and find this works well, but you can definitely experiment and change the ratio a little more.

Crumble topping not crunchy?

Consider trying a different type of sugar. Demerera works great, helping you get a nice crunchy crumble and bringing extra flavour too.

Honey can be a nice addition too, and I'd add that during the final few minutes of cooking.

If you're still not getting on with it then try cooking it in your oven, low and slow, that may help.

What makes a good crumble topping?

A nice mix of textures works well for me. I love to add some chopped nuts to my crumble topping, and I love to add a generous pinch of cinnamon too, as this brings a nice hit of flavour to this crumble.

For my little girls they'd go for a plain crumble topping, and just enjoy it with lots of fruit.

Want to make your crumble topping a bit more luxurious?

Chopped pecans work very well in this crumble topping, as do coconut flakes. Walnuts make a nice change too, and I love the extra crunch.

You can add 30g of oats in place of 40g plain flour if you want to make your crumble topping to have a little more texture, and I really like doing this.

Want some ideas for this crumble topping?

As well as the obvious apple crumble, rhubarb crumble, mixed berry crumble etc, you can also use this crumble mixture on the top of banana bread, on a bowl of mixed berries, or even on the top of these banana chocolate chip muffins before baking.

This crumble topping is delightful with a bowl of vanilla ice cream too. Even better with a drizzle of my chocolate sauce poured over as well. Yum!

Can you reheat crumble topping?

Yes, absolutely. I keep it in the fridge for a couple of days and just re-heat it in the air fryer for a 2-3 minutes at 180C (355F approx).

I find that it goes a little more crispy on the re-heat, which is rarely a bad thing to be honest!

Serving suggestions for crumble topping:

• Sprinkle it over the top of a bowl of berries
• Enjoy with your favourite ice cream and sauce
• Top muffins before you bake them for a delicious crunch (use the crumble mixture uncooked)
• Sprinkle this uncooked mixture on the top of a banana bread before baking
• On a classic rhubarb or apple crumble
• Top a yoghurt with this for a nice treat

Anything that is benefited from adding a nice crunch, and a bit of extra texture, would work well!

Something to note about air fryer recipes is that all air fryers have different sizes, depths and as such the cooking times can vary. All air fryer recipes on this website are intended as a guide, and not a guarantee that the timings will be perfect. Enjoy!

How to make crumble topping in the air fryer:

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

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