This homemade Dutch Apple Pie is a showstopping holiday-worthy dessert. It is everything you love about a classic apple pie, but the bubbly pie filling is topped with an irresistible buttery crumb topping in place of the top crust. It’s simple to make and assemble, but really wows on the dessert table!
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We love apple recipes from Classic Apple Pie, Apple Turnovers, and Baked Apples to Apple Coffee Cake (which is my idea of a perfect morning!). There is nothing like the sweet smell of homemade apple desserts, especially in the Fall when apples are ripe and in season.
Dutch Apple Pie Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this Dutch Apple Pie recipe, and be sure to listen for our quick apple-slicing tip in the video. It really does make prepping apples super fast and fun.
What is a Dutch Apple Pie?
Dutch Apple Pie is a crumb-topped apple pie or a mash-up between apple pie and apple crisp. We use a traditional homemade butter crust to line the pie plate, and then we fill it with our fan-favorite apple pie filling as you would for classic Apple Pie.
Then, instead of topping it with another woven crust, we switch it up, using a heavenly mixture of Fall spices, sugar, butter, and chopped pecans, like the streusel of an Apple Crisp, and sprinkle it over the apples. The result is so tasty and makes my house smell amazing.
Ingredients for Dutch Apple Pie
Check your pantry and fridge for everything you need to make this Dutch Apple Pie recipe. It’s the simple ingredients that make it so unforgettable!
- Pie Crust – our homemade pie crust is easy to make and worth the extra few minutes. Use one from the recipe and freeze the other. You can also use a pre-made pie crust.
- Apples – 1.25 lbs of Granny Smith apples equals about 6 apples. See our list below for apple substitutes.
- Filling – cinnamon, butter, flour, water, sugar
The Best Apples for Dutch Apple Pie
We highly recommend using Granny Smith Apples for most apple desserts because the tangy apples contrast the sweetness of the filling. While Granny Smith works best, here are some tips for substitutions:
- Crisp/tart apples that are not overly ripe work best, like Jonagold, Braeburn, Pink Lady or Honey Crisp.
- Adjust the sugar – For sweeter apples, squeeze some fresh lemon juice over your apple slices to balance the sweetness and reduce the sugar in the filling.
- Mix and mingle – For more flavor, you can mix apple varieties such as sweet Honeycrisp with tart Granny Smith.
Ingredients for the Crumb Topping
- Flour – we use all-purpose flour to give the crumb structure
- Sugar – we combine brown sugar and granulated sugar,
- Spice – cinnamon adds warmth and compliments the filling and salt balances the sweetness
- Unsalted Butter – helps the crumbs stick together and crisp up
- Chopped pecans – add nutty flavor and crunch
Pro Tip:
You can leave out the pecans if you don’t prefer nuts or have an allergy. You can also replace them with chopped walnuts, sliced or slivered almonds, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds or even some rolled oats.
How to Slice Apples for Dutch Apple Pie
You can peel, core, and slice the apples by hand with a knife, but the fastest and easiest way is to use an Apple Slicer. It does all of the prep in one step. Watch the video tutorial above to see this in action. We recommend cutting the slices 1/4″ thick for this Deep Dish Dutch Apple Pie.
How to Make Dutch Apple Crumb Pie
A Dutch apple pie sounds fancy but the process is simple and you will impress everyone with your stunning finished dessert. This recipe has a generous amount of filling so we recommend a deep-dish pie pan.
- Prep the Oven – Preheat to 375°F and place one oven rack on the bottom and one in the center.
- Make the Crust – roll a chilled pie disk and then transfer it to a pie pan. Crimp the edges.
Pro Tip:
The easiest way to transfer a pie crust is to wrap it around your rolling pin and then unroll it into your pie pan, like in the photos above.
- Prep Apples – Peel, core and slice the apples to 1/4″ thick. Toss with cinnamon.
- Make the Apple Filling – in a saucepan, melt butter, then whisk in flour. Add sugar and water. Stir sauce into sliced apples then pour apples over the bottom crust.
- Make Crumb Topping – using your hands or a pastry blender, form pea-sized crumbles from flour, brown and granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt, and butter, then add pecans. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the apples.
- Bake Uncovered at 375˚F for 55 minutes and allow to cool for 1 hour before serving. This helps the filling set and it will be easier to slice.
How to Know When Dutch Apple Pie is Done
The pie is done when you see bubbling juices at the edges coming through the topping. You can also check with an instant-read thermometer. Pectin breaks down and softens the apples at 175˚, so you want your pie filling to reach 175˚F.
How to Serve Dutch Apple Pie
Dutch apple pie will get all the attention on a Dessert Table. It’s truly delicious and smells heavenly! After baking, you’ll want to cool it for about an hour so it sets up a bit for easier slicing. I like to serve it warm, but you can also serve it at room temperature or chilled right out of the fridge.
If you want to make the pie even more decadent, serve it with:
- Vanilla Ice Cream scooped over each slice
- Caramel Sauce drizzled over the pie
- Whipped Cream lightly sweetened like in our Strawberry Shortcake Recipe
Make-Ahead
We love to make and serve the pie the same day it is made but you can pre-make portions of the pie or even bake the entire apple pie with crumb topping ahead.
- Pie Crust – The homemade pie dough can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated until ready to use. You can even mold it in the pie pan ahead, cover it, and refrigerate it a day ahead.
- Crumble Topping – you can make the topping a day ahead, cover it, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Storing the Finished Pie – the pie can be baked, cooled, and refrigerated a day ahead. Bring the pie to room temperature or slightly warm it in the oven before serving.
Everything about this Dutch Apple Pie is good, from the flaky pastry dough to the warm gooey apple filling and crisp buttery pecan topping. It’s a must-try for your next Holiday Menu!
More Holiday Desserts
If you love this Dutch Apple Pie recipe, then you won’t want to miss these holiday desserts. These are the fan favorites that are most popular for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s.
- Pumpkin Cake
- Tiramisu
- Red Velvet Cake
- Toffee
- Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Baklava
- Banana Bread
- Tres Leches Cake
- Pumpkin Cheesecake
Dutch Apple Pie Recipe (Apple Crumb Pie)
Ingredients
For the Dutch Apple Pie:
- 1 pie crust , (1/2 of our pie dough recipe)
- 2 1/4 lbs granny smith apples, 6 medium apples
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
For the Crumb Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 8 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375˚F with a rack on the bottom and a rack in the center of the oven.
- Roll out your chilled pie dough on a lightly floured surface to a 12” diameter circle. Transfer to a 9” pie pan. Tuck excess pie dough into the dish and crimp the edges.
- Peel, core, and thinly slice apples to about 1/4” thickness. You should have 7 cups of sliced apples. Place them in a mixing bowl and stir in 1 tsp cinnamon.
- 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, 1 cup sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue simmering for 3 minutes, whisking frequently then remove from heat. Pour the sauce over the apples and stir to coat the apple slices. Pour apples over bottom crust.
- To Make the Crumb Topping, stir together dry ingredients: flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Add butter and work it into the mixture with our hands until pea-size crumbs form throughout the mixture. Stir in pecans. Spread the crumb topping evenly over your apples
- Bake uncovered at 375˚F for 50-60 minutes (we found 55 minutes to be perfect), or until the center of the pie registers 175˚F. Place a sheet of foil on the bottom rack to catch any drips from the pie. If topping is browning too much, cover with a sheet of foil. Remove from oven and cool 1 hour to allow the filling to set so it’s easier to slice.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
I watch your videos all the time I’m going to try this one you make it look so easy so delicious so I’m looking forward to it
I hope you enjoy this, Jacqui!
I just made this for the 2nd time. Husband said it was the best apple pie he ever ate. The first time I made the crust. This time I cheated a bit and used a store-bought refrigerator crust. I love it too! Love your recipes. I have tried quite a few and plan to try more. Thank you!
That’s awesome! Thank you for your good feedback, Barb!
Hi Natasha, I made the Classic Apple Pie yesterday and it was a great hit!
Since I had extra green apples, I just tried making this Dutch Apple Pie, not sure how it will turn out as it’s still in the oven. I have 2 questions:
1. In your recipe, first step is to have rack at the center and bottom of the oven. Why do we need another rack at the bottom? Can we do without?
2. I couldn’t make the topping crumbly. It ends up more like a dough, is there a reason for that? I followed the recipe. Is there a way to “save” that? I spread the dough over the apple filling.
Hi, the bottom rack is for a sheet of foil but you could place the sheet directly under the pie also. It helps to catch any drips. It sounds like maybe you are overmixing the crumb topping. Watch the video to see what the texture should look like when you should stop mixing: “until pea-size crumbs form throughout the mixture.”
I had a small 9 in pie pan so I cut the filling in half & it was definitely more than enough. It worked out perfect though, delicious. I only needed half of the topping. Thanks for the great recipe!
I’m so happy that worked out, and you enjoyed this recipe, Kristen. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Hii Natasha
This is like the best ever pie I’ve literally ever tried!!! An absolute favourite in my family. My kids loved it all so very much!! thank you for another wonderful recipe.
Lots of love from London
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
This Thanksgiving I made my first ever pie using your pie crust and pumpkin pie recipes and both turned out perfect. The crust was good enough to eat by itself. For Christmas I used the second crust and made the Dutch Apple pie and again received glowing compliments from my family. I have used many of your recipes and now when I make something they all ask if it’s a recipe from Natasha. Thanks for making the pandemic bearable.
Aww, that’s the best! Thank you so much for sharing that with me. I’m all smiles
Natasha, thank you for such a great recipe! Served it for Christmas dessert and it did NOT disappoint!!!! So so good!! Yum!!!
I’m glad you loved it, Maureen!
I’ve made this pie twice now. Once for Thanksgiving and once for Christmas. It’s hands down the best apple pie I’ve ever made. I consider myself to be a very high level baker. There’s nothing I can think of that would improve this pie. My family just raved about it. I’m was not a big lover of apple pie, but this converted me. Simply delicious and easy enough for a novice baker.
Hi Peggy, that is so fantastic! I’m glad you loved this recipe, thank you so much for your awesome review!
I made this Dutch apple pie for Christmas and it was amazing! I used your pie crust recipe and I’m definitely considering using the second pie crust to make another apple pie 🙂 thank you for sharing these amazing recipes.
Hi Molly, you are most welcome. That sounds like a good plan, I hope that you will love every recipe that you try.
Made both the Dutch apple pie and strawberry cheesecake for Christmas Day this morning both look fantastic and I can’t wait 😛
That’s so awesome! I hope you love these treats!
I’m absolutely head over heels with this recipe 😋 Ty
That’s so wonderful to hear thank you.
Hi there! Any tips for making this in a 9” cake pan? I may not have time to track down a deep dish pie pan in time for Christmas!
Hi Chelsea, I haven’t tested it that way but I think it should work if the walls are fairly tall.
Hi. Natasha. I love watching your various videos. And love the Tiramisu. I will be trying the Dutch Apple Pie. Am just wondering where I can get one of the Apple Slicer equipment.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes! You can find the Apple slicer and our favorite kitchen tools in our Amazon Shop HERE.
Can this pie be frozen and baked at a late date?
Hi Natasha, thanks so much for the recipe, it became one of my favorites. I had to cut down the sugar a little bit because I only had Golden Delicious apples. I’ll try it next time with Granny Smith apples. Everyone in my family loved it!!
Sounds great! I’m glad that it was a hit with your family. Thank you so much for sharing your good feedback with us.
Hi! I have made many of your recipes and love all of them. Made this pie for Thanksgiving and it came out beautifully. Do you think it is ok to replace the apple filling with your cherry pie filling? I just love the crumble topping.
Hi Barb! I imagine that may work. If you experiment, I would love to know how it goes!
Hi Natasha! I just love your recipes! So delicious and not overly complicated. I love your peppy personality. I enjoy watching you create your dishes, and of course i enjoy cooking. I find your blog #1. Thankyou for sharing all your yummie meals❤😋
Hi Barb, thank you so much for your good comments and feedback. I appreciate your support!
Can this pie be made in advance and frozen. Thanks! Looks divine
Hi Reyna, yes, this is a make-ahead pie too. Please read the Make-Ahead Tips that I provided in the recipe. I haven’t tried freezing it like what you’ve mentioned but let us know how it goes if you try that.
Hi Natasha I made your Dutch apple pie with homemade crust for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. I want to make another for Christmas but was wondering if adding cranberries/apples would change the recipe. Would I use half the apples and add the cranberries or just add cranberries. Would this change consistency and or cooking time.
Hi Charlene, I would remove about 1/4 of the apples and replace with cranberries. That sounds delicious as a cranberry apple pie!
Love love love this apple crumble pie..and the apple pie, and the pumpkin pie, and the pot chicken pie and all your recipes!!! Wow Natasha! You never disappoint me!! Thank you thank you for all your delicious recipes! You inspire me to be a great cook!
God bless you!
Love,
Sheila from Australia
Wow looks like you are definitely a pie lover! I’m glad you enjoyed all of those recipes, Sheila.
Hi. Thanks for the recipe. It was good and very easy to make. But… I don’t know what went wrong. Weither my baking dish was not deep enough or big enough or there were too many apples or too much sauce but the sauce went bubbling over and made a huge mess in my oven.
Hi Natalia, if the recipe was followed as written, then the most likely culprit was too small of a pie pan. Also, it’s always a good idea to place a sheet of foil under the pie dish to catch any drips, especially if using a smaller pan. You could adapt this recipe to a smaller pan by using less apples.