Our delicious Apple Pie recipe is like the red carpet of desserts – it's flavorful, classic, and always a crowd pleaser, from summer BBQ's to holidays feasts.
Do you love pie recipes as much as I do? Try my Lemon Sour Cream Pie, Triple Berry Pie, or Pumpkin Cheesecake!
Apple Pie is an American classic that's gotta be done right!
Apple Pie is an American classic that's gotta be done right!I'm so proud of this recipe and feel like it is the absolute perfect apple pie! It has the delicious flavor we love with tender cinnamon sugar apples and it also stays together when you serve it, ensuring everyone gets their share of filling and flaky crust. A truly perfect pie recipe is only as good as the crust, so be sure to start this one with our easy homemade pie crust! You wont regret making this all from scratch.
How to make Apple Pie Filling:
Prep Apples and : Peel, slice, and core each apple. (I use my johnny apple peeler, which does all three at once).
Cinnamon sugar: In a small bowl, combine cinnamon, cloves, salt, nutmeg, and sugar.
Make Filling: Melt butter in a large pan then add apple slices and lemon juice. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture on top and stir to coat. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Sprinkle cornstarch and flour over the apples and stir well. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature (optional: pour mixture onto a baking sheet to cool quicker).
Assemble Apple Pie: Prepare a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with an unbaked pie crust. Add cooled apple pie filling. Cut the top crust into strips for a lattice crust, or place the whole pie crust on top and cut slits to let the steam escape. Seal top and bottom pie dough edges together.
Bake: Make an egg wash and lightly brush it over the apple pie and add a sprinkle of sugar. Bake at 425°F for 20 minutes then reduce the temperature to 375°F, leaving the pie in the oven. Continue baking for 30-40 minutes longer, until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely, at least 2-3 hours.
Serve the best apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: You can make the pie crust dough several days in advance, or freeze for months. The apple pie filling can also be made ahead, stored in the fridge before assembling and baking.
To Store: Store at room temperature for up to several hours, or keep covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
To Freeze: The pie crust and apple pie filling can be made and frozen in separate freezer safe containers for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before assembling. Baked apple pie can also be frozen once it has cooled completely. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely in the fridge (about 1.5 days) before serving.
More Apple Recipes:
- Fresh Apple Cake
- Baked Apples
- Applesauce Muffins
- Apple Coffee Cake
- How to make Caramel Apples
- Broccoli Apple Salad
- Caramel Apple Dip
- Waldorf Salad
- Applesauce
- Apple Pecan Salad
- Apple Cobbler
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Recipe
Homemade Apple Pie
Equipment
- Johnny Apple Slicer (optional)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs apples (I use 3 large Granny Smith and 3 large Honeycrisp)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon granulated sugar , divided
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 recipe homemade pie dough (2 crusts) (My recipe makes enough for the 2 crusts needed)
- Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Peel, core, and thinly slice apples. I use a johnny apple peeler which does all three at once. Make sure the apple slices are relatively thinly.
- Apple Pie Filling: Whisk together the cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and ¾ cup sugar, and set aside. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add the apples and lemon juice. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top and gently stir to coat. Cook the apple mixture for 3-5 minutes, until the apples are slightly tender. Sprinkle the flour and cornstarch over the apples and toss until well combined.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Optional: Pour the apple pie filling out onto a baking sheet to cool faster.
- Preheat oven: Place a large baking sheet on the middle rack of oven and preheat the oven (with the pan inside) to 425 degrees F. (Cooking the pie on a hot baking sheet will help the bottom crust crisp and not get soggy.)
- Roll out pie crusts: Remove one disc of pie dough from the refrigerator and roll it out to about 12 inches in diameter. Place crust inside a 9-inch pie plate. Refrigerate while you roll out the second, top pie crust.
- Assemble: Remove the pie pan from the fridge and pour the apple pie filling into it. Cover with the second, top layer of dough. You can either place the entire circle of pie dough over the filling and cut a few slits in it to allow steam to escape, or make a simple lattice crust. Pinch the pie dough edges together to seal. Crimp pie edge.
- Brush with egg wash: Mix 1 egg with 1 Tablespoon milk or water. Lightly brush the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining Tablespoon of sugar.
- Bake: Place pie in oven on top of hot baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Leave the pie in the oven and reduce temperature to 375 degrees F. Continue to cook until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden, about 30 to 40 more minutes. If the crust is getting too browned, Tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top.
- Cool: Remove the pie from the oven and allow it to cool completely, at least 2-3 hours. This allows the filling to set up so it wont fall apart when slicing.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe September 2019. Updated November 2022 and November 2024.
Recipe adapted from NY Times.
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This pie filling recipe is amazing! Consistency was spot on and the warm spiced flavor was perfection. Thank you!
Has anyone diced the apples instead of doing the slices? How did that turn out? Did you have to make any adjustments?
Newbie at baking pies – do you need to prick the bottom of the pie crust before adding filling?
Hi Lauren! I’ve tried so many of your recipes and love them all! I’ve never commented before, but just had to tell you that I made this apple pie today for one of our residents at work turning 103 that wanted apple pie for her bday. There was a big celebration and pie competition with 12 pies entered…and I WON! Never saw that coming as a first time pie maker. Baking another “award winning” pie tomorrow for friends in town! Thank you for all the great recipes and fun inspiration.
How amazing! Thank you so much for commenting to let me know–and way to go! Thanks for the support <3
Fantastic! This pie was the best I’ve ever had. I’ve always been intimidated by pies, but this recipe was easy and delicious. Thank you!
My husband said it was the best apple pie he’s tasted.
Everyone agreed this pie was delicious!
I love this apple pie recipe! It has a lot more flavor than the one I’ve been using for years. I also love that the filling stays in place when you cut into it!
The apple pie was absolutely delicious, I made it the day before my family’s thanksgiving feast and it sat out on the counter teasing us but we resisted cutting into it but nibbled away on the crust, so good!
Awesome apple pie.
Replaced the majority of regular granulated sugar with a slightly reduced amount of Splenda for a Reduced Sugar Apple Pie variation & my family raved about the new pie recipe. Honestly, this was the best pie I’ve had in a really long time.
I think this is the best pie I ever made. I have tried so many recipes. I love baking but pies are hard for me. My 14 year old and I just made for the 4th of July. We used the lattice and it seems less soupy. The pie crust came out perfect. I put in the fridge but impatient so I put in freezer for 30 minutes. I used extra cinnamon and added cardamon instead of the other spices since its summer. And I used 1 tbs less flour when precooking the apples. I forget the apples were cooking and the apples sauce turned into a wonderful carmel. I think I am also impatient when cooking my filling so it was good to see what it should look like. I was hard to wait 2 hours but when it was pie time we ate it up! The next day, we ate the rest for breakfast. The pie filling wasn’t everywhere and stayed in place. The apples were not too firm or soft. I used a variety including green apples. This will be my go to recipe. I look forward to making the pie crust ahead of time. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.
Lauren, I have to tell u that this hands down the best apple pie recipe that I have ever found. I don’t care what any of these other people say about ur recipe not working, it must be operator error because it is perfect. I discovered ur crust recipe a year or so ago and it is awesome, especially after u get the feel down. In addition, I have made ur cherry, pumpkin and lemon meringue and they r always good. In fact, I am currently peddling pies in North Central Montana, all from ur recipes and doing well with rave reviews. I told my wife the other day that if I ever met u I would give u a huge hug and a 💋! Thanx so much for the awesome recipes.