My all-time favorite Apple Pie Recipe! Imagine saucy apples bubbling through that flaky pie crust – irresistibly good! This pie always gets glowing reviews from everyone who takes a bite. This is the pie everyone has to make for Thanksgiving!
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Helpful Reader Review
“I have made a lot of different apple pies for my family over the years. This is by far the best apple pie ever! My family requests it all the time.“ – Elaine ★★★★★
Apple Pie Video Tutorial
Watch my video and see how easy this apple pie is—from the simple crust to that homemade apple pie filling. You’ll crave it until you make it!
Apple Pie Recipe
This easy Apple Pie is a treasured recipe with thousands 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, flaky, gooey, and just perfect.
You’ll love the homemade flaky pastry 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 method for this homemade apple pie 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 crust – 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 store-bought, 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 & Flour – creates a thick and saucy 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 – combining 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, but use less sugar when substituting sweeter apples such as Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Honeycrisp, Fuji, Braeburn, or Pink Lady.
How to Make Apple Pie
- Prepare the pie crust recipe and chill in the refrigerator. 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, add flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in water and sugar. Simmer 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 cinnamon and toss to combine, then stir in the filling to coat the apples.
The Best Tool for Apple Recipes
My family loves apple recipes, from Baked Apples to Apple Turnovers. If you love apple desserts, this apple slicer will save you so much prep time! It peels, slices, and cores all in one swoop. You’ll have all of your apples prepped in less than 5 minutes. Imagine saucy apples bubbling through that flaky lattice crust – irresistibly good!
- Roll the Crust – into a 12-inch diameter pie dough and transfer to a 9-inch, deep pie pan. Add the apple filling, 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 with a pizza cutter. Arrange half of the strips over the pie and weave in the second layer of strips (see how to make a lattice crust). Crimp the edges to seal and brush the crust with egg wash.
- 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 for at least 5 minutes.
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 stress, 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, for the juices to thicken up and set, otherwise it will slide apart when sliced.
Everything about this apple pie is good, from the flaky, buttery, homemade crust to the unbeatable apple pie filling. Try this served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Let me know if it graces your holiday table.
P.S. Did you know you can make an apple pie ahead (see the make-ahead tips in the notes below). With all the bustle of the holidays, it’s nice to know you can check this pie off your list early.
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, core, 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 for at least 5 minutes.* Rest at room temp 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Store at Room Temp: Cool completely to room temperature before covering and storing. The pie keeps well covered on the counter for up to 2 days.
- To Refrigerate: Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freezing Pie: store in a freezer-friendly airtight container for up to 3 months. Here’s a tutorial on how to freeze and bake a frozen pie.
- To Reheat: thaw baked pie in the fridge or on the counter and then reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
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 that 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
- Pumpkin Roll
Delicious recipe! It was very easy to make and was a real crowd pleaser.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Made this for thanksgiving and am so excited to cut into it! Though, I made an extra batch of pie filling for next month and was curious if it will last in the refrigerator or if I should freeze the filling until I’m ready to bake it?
Hi Jade! Since you are planning on going to save the filling for next month, I suggest you freeze it. When you’re ready, thaw overnight in the fridge and bake.
Hi Natasha I have a question can I prepare the pie and bake it tomorrow for thanksgiving would it work?
Hello Lydia! Yes, Tthehe pie can be assembled and frozen and then baked from frozen.
This really is the Best Apple Pie! It has become a family favorite and a regular on the Thanksgiving dinner menu!
The cake turned out super delicious, although i do not understand what i did wrong , the inside fell apart after i cut it . it was cooling down for couple hours though:( but we decided to add some ice cream on top and it saved the situation:))
Hi Yulia, do you mean the crust broke apart the the inside fell out? or? I’m wondering if the apples didn’t cook down enough?
The crust was great, just apple filling somehow wasn’t holding inside.
I suggest you let it cool completely, overnight in the fridge if you can as it will still firm up in the fridge. Also make sure that the pie is baked long enough, and let it cool completely.
Ok, the filling is awesome, however, I failed with the pie crust. It was so crumbly that I had to toss out the dough and since it was crunch time, I had to go to my backup plan which was a ready made crust. I’m not giving up though. Think I know how I messed up. Thanks for your wonderful recipes and I love your cookbook!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my recipes and cooking, Carole. It soundsl ike you already know it, but it’s likely too much flour. It helps if you measure your flour by weight, or if you do not have a food scale, fluff your flower and spoon it into your measuring cup, and then level it off. That way you’re not using too much flour. If it seems to dry, you can add a few more teaspoons of water until it comes together. I have been using 6 to 8 tablespoons of water, but it can vary based on how your ingredients are measured, the temperature of your ingredients, and the temperature of your room. It’s best to go off visual cues. Just be careful not to over mix it
A delicious apple pie and the perfect addition to our Thanksgiving meal. My entire house smells amazing when this pie is baking in the oven!
Hello Karen! That’s great to hear! I’m so glad you enjoyed this apple pie. Thanks you for your great review!
That sauce is amazing!! The best Apple Pie recipe! It was hard to keep my hubby from cutting it before it cooled. Fantastic!!
I think that is the hardest part of making an apple pie – waiting for it to cool!
Great taste; I only used 5 apples, more than enough. Everyone loved it
First time making pie! Husband and I did pretty good, smells and looks delicious. Really helped having great photos and video directions!! Will make Banana Bread next.
That’s wonderful! So glad to hear you loved the apple pie recipe and I hope the Banana Bread becomes a new favorite also! That’s in the top 5 of our most popular recipes (out of 1300+)
Absolutely delicious!!! Family loved it!!!
I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!
Made this pie over the weekend when we had some family in town for an early Thanksgiving and it was a big hit! Looked and tasted amazing!!
That’s so aweosme, Nicole! I’m so happy you loved it!
Hi, I was wondering if it’s possible to split the sugar in the sauce with it being 1/2 cup white sugar and 1/2 brown sugar?
Hi Nicole, I think it will work fine in this recipe. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try!
Hey! I ended up splitting the sugar, half brown and half white, and it was great! Just wanted to say this is an amazing recipe, and I’m about to make it a 4th time for Christmas 🙂
Thank you for that update, Nicole! I’m happy to hear that worked well.
Can this be made ahead and froze? Wanting to bake for Saturday
Hi Natalie, it can be frozen, See the Storage Tips section under notes in the recipe card.
AMAZING recipe. It was a fall favorite. The homemade pie crust is a necessity.
Completly agree, Madison! The homemade crust is a must!
I made this for my Mother in love’s birthday party and it was so delicious the family asked that I make it for Thanksgiving! Thanks for publishing such a great recipe.
You’re so welcome, Stephanie! I’m so glad you loved it.
Making this for the first time and wondering, can I use a pre made frozen pie crust? If so, will I need to defrost the pie crust before baking?
Hi Becca! For most frozen store-bought pie crusts, you should thaw them first — unless the package specifically says “bake from frozen.”
This recipe is written for a deep pie dish, premade pie crust that are already shaped and in a pie pan are too shallow. You would need to make two or reduce the filling. It will bake faster.
Could you advise on baking instructions if making two of these apple pies, simultaneously?
Hi Briana! If they are the same size you don’t need to make any changes. Just make sure they aren’t touching in the oven.
Can I make the sauce 1 day in advance, refrigerate it overnight then add the apples the next day to prevent apples from browning before?
Hi Cindy. You can add the apples directly to the sauce and refrigerate it. If the apples are coated in the syrup, it will be fine and you won’t notice any browning once it’s baked. You can also assemble the pie with the filling and refrigerate it overnight and bake the next day.
Hi Natasha. I’ve made many recipes of yours and this is the first time commenting. Making the apple pie today and just caught a slight contradiction between the video and written recipe. In the video when you are commenting on the egg wash, you mention 1 egg and Tbsp of sugar, yet the written recipe states Tbsp of water (which is normal). Just thought I’d advise. Love your Channel.
HI Rich, I misspoke in the video. It’s definitely water and not sugar. I hope you absolutely love the apple pie!