Our classic Apple Pie Recipe with an irresistible homemade apple pie filling always gets glowing reviews from everyone who takes a bite. From the best flaky pie crust to the generous saucy center, this is the pie everyone has to make for Thanksgiving!
Homemade apple pie is easier than you think. This crust comes together fast and requires basic ingredients, and the filling is scrumptious and equally simple to make.
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We love apple recipes, from Baked Apples to Apple Turnovers, and let’s not forget Sharlotka Apple Cake. If you love apples, this easy apple pie is a must-try! Imagine saucy apples bubbling through that flaky lattice crust – irresistibly good!
Apple Pie Video Tutorial
Watch me make the best apple pie recipe, and we know you’ll crave it until you make it. This easy Apple Pie is a treasured recipe with hundreds of glowing reviews. It’s simple to make but looks just like a professional baker spent hours in the kitchen to make it, and it tastes that way too. It’s buttery, flakey, gooey, and sweet, just perfect.
Apple Pie Recipe
You’ll love the homemade flakey pie crust – we use this same crust for Blueberry Pie and Cherry Pie. It’s also perfect for savory pies like Chicken Pot Pie. It’s a keeper!
The homemade apple pie filling is adapted slightly from the famous Grandma Ople apple pie. The method for this filling is surprising, but it will win you over. It’s well worth the extra 5 minutes and you’ll never want canned apple pie filling again.
Ingredients for Apple Pie
You may be surprised to hear you only need pantry staples and some fresh apples to make this apple pie recipe.
- Pie crusts – you’ll need two disks of homemade pie crust. We love this apple pie crust just as much as the filling. Since it’s an all-butter homemade pie crust (no shortening), it’s flaky and tender. The bottom is never soggy but forms a crispness at the edges. You can use storebought, but homemade is best.
- Apples – We use Granny Smith in this pie recipe for the best flavor and texture. Avoid overripe or mushy apples. See my notes on apple substitutions below.
- Butter – use unsalted to add richness to the saucy filling.
- Flour – helps to thicken up the filling.
- Cinnamon – adds a warm, spiced flavor to the apples. You could also add a pinch of nutmeg.
- Sugar – add sugar to taste depending on the types of apples used (see apple options below).
- Egg Wash – combine egg and water gives the crust a golden brown, shiny finish.
The Best Apples for Apple Pie
Granny Smith apples are tart and crisp and the gold standard for baking, but any sweet/tart and crisp apples or even a mix of apples will do, and you can adjust the sugar accordingly. We use a full cup of sugar for tart Granny Smith and slightly less when substituting sweeter apples such as Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, fuji, Braeburn, or Pink Lady.
Our Favorite Tools to Make Pie
You don’t need fancy equipment to make an apple pie from scratch, and once you have the right recipe for pie dough, it’s as easy as pie!
- Food processor or pastry blender
- Rolling Pin
- Pizza Cutter, or a knife
- Pie Plate – 9″ wide, deep dish
- Apple Slicer – I highly recommend this time-saving tool. I even bought one for my Mom!
How to Make Apple Pie
- Prepare the pie crust recipe and chill in the refrigerator as instructed. When ready to assemble your pie, preheat the oven to 425˚F with a rack in the center of the oven.
- Make the Filling Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat then whisk in 3 Tbsp flour and continue whisking constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar (if using a sweeter apple, adjust the sugar). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and continue whisking for 3 minutes, then remove from heat. Do not overcook.
- Prepare apples – peel core and slice apples into about 1/4″ thick slices. Sprinkle with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and toss to combine, then pour on the filling mixture and stir to coat the apples.
- Roll the Crust – Over a floured surface, roll the first chilled pie disk into a 12-inch diameter disk then transfer to a 9-inch, deep pie pan. Add the apples over the crust, mounding in the center (avoid getting apple filling on the edges of the pie crust, which will make it difficult to seal).
- Lattice Top – Roll the second disk into an 11-inch diameter circle and cut into 10 strips. Arrange half of the strips over the pie and weave in the second layer of strips. See my easy tutorial on how to make a lattice crust. Finish the pie by crimping the edges. In a separate dish, beat together the egg and water and brush over the lattice crust (you will have some eggwash left over).
- Bake at 425˚F for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350˚F and continue baking for another 45 minutes until you see thick juices bubbling through the lattice crust.
How to Keep Pie From Browning Too Fast
If you find the edges of your pie are browning too quickly, you can use a pie shield or simply cut a 3″ circle out of the center of a square sheet of foil and loosely place it with the dull side down over the top of your pie.
Tips for the Best Apple Pie
- Don’t overheat the filling – Avoid overheating the sauce or cooking for too long, which can cause it to separate or get too thick. If this happens, don’t panic, you can still toss the apples together with the sauce, and it will come together in the oven.
- Chill the crust – make sure to chill the pie crust according to the instructions or the butter will melt out of the crust and it will go flat.
- Let it cool – allow the pie to cool and set for at least an hour before slicing. If you serve it hot, it will slide apart.
Make-Ahead & Storage
With all the bustle of the holidays , it’s nice to know you can check this pie off your list early. Be sure to cool completely to room temperature before covering and storing.
- Storing at Room Temperature: The pie keeps well covered on the counter for up to 2 days.
- To Refrigerate: Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezing: store in a freezer-friendly airtight container for up to 6 months
- To Reheat: thaw in the fridge or on the counter and then reheat in a 350°F oven until warm
Everything about this apple pie is good, from the flaky buttery homemade crust to the unbeatable apple pie filling. Let me know if it graces your holiday table.
More Fall Baking Recipes
Fall always puts me in the mood for baking. All of these recipes are on our regular rotation. These recipes are easy to make and are so good, they are our go-to Thanksgiving recipes!
- Pumpkin Cake
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Baklava
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Banana Bread
- Pumpkin Bread with honey butter
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Apple Crisp
The BEST Apple Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 recipe for double pie crust
- 2 1/4 lbs Granny Smith Apples, peeled, cored 6-7 apples (7 cups thinly sliced)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg , + 1 Tbsp water, for egg wash
Instructions
- Make the pie crust recipe and chill per instructions while preparing the filling. Preheat oven to 425˚F.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in 3 Tbsp flour then simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk in 1/4 cup water and 1 cup sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue simmering for 3 minutes, whisking frequently then remove from heat.
- Peel, remove cores, and thinly slice 7 cups of apples and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle the top with 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon and toss to combine. Pour the sauce over the apples and stir to coat the apple slices.
- Sprinkle your work surface with flour and roll out the bottom pie crust to a 12" diameter circle. Wrap it around your rolling pin to transfer it to the 9" pie plate. Add apple mixture, mounding slightly in the center and being careful not to get the filling on the edges which would make it difficult to seal.
- Roll the second crust into an 11" round and cut into 10 even-thickness strips using a pizza cutter. Arrange strips in a woven lattice pattern over the top (see video tutorial). Beat together 1 egg and 1 Tbsp water and brush the top with egg mixture.
- Bake at 425˚F in the center of the oven for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350˚F and continue baking for another 45 minutes or until the apples are soft and the filling is bubbling through the vents.* Rest at room temp 1 hour before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I loved this recipe!!!! Did the crust and filling with my 4 year old. Very easy and accessible. She loved the process and of course eating it. This is the 2nd recipe that I tried from you and both turned out great!. Thank you!
That’s nice to know Alicia. I’m sure it was also a great bonding experience with your 4-year old. Glad you tried this recipe!
Best apple pie recipe. The first time I made this recipe it was so good my family loved it. Thank you Natasha for sharing your recipe. Now I am making it again… 🙂
Yay so great to hear that, Susan. Thank you for sharing that with us and giving a great feedback!
“No lie, that’s the best apple pie I’ve ever had” it’s the first pie I’ve made – all credit goes to the recipe! Thank you, Natasha
5 stars! There seemed to be a glitch where it kept removing the stars on my phone
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing that!
Hi does it matter if I use a 9 and a half inch pan instead of a 9 inch pan? That’s all I got!
That should still work great Audrey!
Delicious recipe! Good job Natasha.
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Ilda!
I love this apple pie recipe! My first time to make a pie and it was a success although I have to take it out after 35 minutes only because it’s past the golden brown color and close to turning black. I was just wondering why do you need to bake it at 220c first?
Hi, the higher heat ensures that the filling will cook and reach the proper heat and then we reduce the temperature so the crust doesn’t burn. Starting on high heat also ensures the crust ends up flaky without melting the butter in it.
I have tried it. Best apple pie ever thank you💐
Super love it! Thanks for giving this recipe a try and for sharing your awesome review too.
Loved how easy this crust was! It came out great definitley a must try
Love it! Thanks for sharing that with us, Megan. I hope you love every recipe that you try.
Hi Natasha!
I really enjoy your videos.I think your so skilled!I love it when you say “Hey! It’s Natasha of Natasha’s kitchen.com” at the beginning of your videos.
So, I made this amazing apple pie and I have to confess that it was the best one I’ve ever tried.I’m not professional at cooking, but this recipe was so simple and I really did it!! The filling was incredible and It made the pie ten times tastier.My sister loved it so much.So did I.I’m gonna make it again!Thank you Natasha.
Love you.
Awww that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m all smiles!
I’m making it right now! It’s in the oven. Can’t wait!
I bet your home smells so good right now Nita! I’m so glad you enjoyed that!
One of the best apple pies I’ve made in a long time and I’ve tried and made many recipes. Definitely a keeper. Just hate all these advertisements and sometimes you can’t see part of the recipe unless you click on it. Ugh.
Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
Absolutely amazing added some carmel easy to make Thanks crowd pleaser
You’re welcome and thanks for sharing that with us!
DELICIOUS! Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Bana!
I never commented on a recipe before, but I had to for this one. It was amazing, everyone loved it!! Thank you!
That’s so awesome, Bana! I’m so glad you all enjoyed this recipe!
Have you ever frozen a pie before baking to bake later? My daughter wants pie at her wedding early summer and we might have to do it small and diy bc of everything going on and I thought we could make pie ahead of time and bake day of. What do you think?
Hi Jen, I haven’t tested freezing that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Apple pie is my favorite food and this recipe is amazing. It was super easy! I will definitely use this recipe again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Ali! Thank you for that great review!
Every is learning process a glad to have given it try came out perfect maybe just reduce the cinnamon otherwise it was lovely looking forward to more interesting recipes
I’m so happy you enjoyed that! Thank you!
Hello my pie is baking right now but the instructions says the egg wash is egg plus water but in the video instructions are egg plus sugar. I did egg plus sugar and top of my crust burned in the high temperature at the beginning. Can I cover with foil next time to ensure it doesn’t burn?
Hi Diana, that was a blooper. I meant to say water and have no idea why I said sugar. I hope it was clear in the video that I used water. It’s definitely water.
It’s my hubby’s birthday today and with all the self isolating going on there’s no way we can go out for dinner which is a tradition. He’s not a big cake eater but he loves pie so I broke down and baked him this apple pie. I may have started a new tradition – he raved about it! And he gets to have the whole thing to himself which made him very happy lol. The filling was different than any other recipe I found and it actually looked similar to the canned filling texture wise. Thanks for the recipe!!
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Happy birthday to your husband!
Do you take the pie out of the oven then let it reduce to 350degrees? My oven takes awhile to change temperature. It’s ok for the pie to be sitting on the counter while the oven reduces?
Hi, I do not take the pie out of the oven. Most ovens take some time to reduce down in temperature naturally, but if there is something unusual about yours, you may open the door for a couple of minutes to cool it down faster.
Hi Natasha! Thank you for your amazing apple pie recipe.
I just made this for my father in law.
Question, do you recommend keeping it in the fridge or at room temperature? and for the sauce filling, is it too bad that if i don’t have unsalted butter and use the regular one??
Thank you!
Hi Josefina, If making it a day ahead – I would let it cool to room temperature then cover and keep it at room temperature overnight. You can also refrigerate and put it in the oven before serving just until it is warm. There is no added salt in the pie filling so that may work.
love loved the filling and the crust recipes. first time making pie ever!!!! it all came out perfect and delicious.. exactly as pics!! amazing recipe and so easy to follow..thank you tons:)
So glad to know that your first time making this pie was a success! I’m sure you’ll get better and better at it.
Wow, this recipe is excellent! This was my first time making a pie and it turned out much better than I could have ever hoped! My boyfriend and I ate almost half of the pie right away…it was THAT tasty. Don’t worry if you’re a semi-beginner baker like me and are slightly intimidated by pies– if you follow this recipe carefully, it should turn out great.
Thanks Natasha for another awesome recipe! I’ve been using your site for years and have always gotten great results
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Dasha!
Can I make a pie crust with out prebaking the crust.? Thankyou SophieAvgoustakis