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Perfect Apple Pie

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Updated Sep 17, 2024
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We love a good apple pie recipe, and this one takes the cake—or pie! Whether you bake one for a potluck or serve it up for a special weekend treat, this classic, cozy homemade apple pie is guaranteed to spark joy. Ooey-gooey filling with crispy, golden-brown crust. This might just be the best apple pie recipe you’ve ever tried.

This recipe is ready in just three simple steps, and it’s made even easier with the ultimate baking shortcut: Pillsbury™ Pie Crusts!

Here’s how to make apple pie that always pleases a crowd.

Homemade Apple Pie Ingredients

This is one of the best apple pie recipes to serve up when you’re short on time—it’s made simple with staple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen! Here’s what you’ll need.

Pie Crusts: The best apple pie recipes offer baking shortcuts, and this one is no exception. With the help of pre-made refrigerated Pillsbury™ Pie Crusts, you’re one step closer to a delicious homemade apple pie without any of the fuss!

Apples: The apples are the star of this tasty dessert, and this easy apple pie recipe requires about 6 cups worth of thinly sliced, peeled ones. Make sure to pick your apples carefully, and check out our tips above for the apple varieties we recommend!

Spices and Sugar: Ground nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and sugar help round out the flavor profile of your tasty apple pie filling. These classic autumn-inspired flavors are always a hit!

Lemon Juice: Adding lemon juice to your apple pie filling helps balance out the sweetness with just the right amount of tartness and acidity.

Flour: Wondering why we toss the apples in flour? The flour melds with the juices of the fresh apples to create a perfectly thickened apple pie filling while it bakes. This also helps prevent your bottom crust from getting soggy!

What Are the Best Apples for Apple Pie?

Not sure which apples are best for this apple pie recipe? You’ve got more options than one! When making your apple pie filling, you’ll want to use an apple that’s crisp and firm, with just the right balance of sweetness and tartness. Here are some of our favorite apple options for a tasty pie that perfectly hits the mark.

Granny Smith: We love using the Granny Smith apple for this classic pie because of its refreshing juiciness and tart yet subtly sweet flavor. These versatile apples hold their shape when baked, making them a popular choice for pies, tarts, and other baked goods.

Honeycrisp: Remarkably sweet, supremely juicy, and satisfyingly crisp, the Honeycrisp apple is another great choice for this homemade apple pie. The firm, crunchy texture of this fall favorite also holds up well in the oven.

Gala: The multi-purpose Gala apple is a delicious year-round favorite for apple pie filling, with a mildly sweet taste and a crisp texture that doesn’t turn mealy in the oven.

Golden Delicious: Prefer a softer apple pie with a mild, natural sweetness? Reach for the sunny yellow Golden Delicious! These apples tend to break down a bit more when cooked—try combining them with one of the firmer apple varieties on this list when making your pie filling.

The worst apple choice for making homemade apple pie? Sorry, Red Delicious fans—but this popular snacking apple is one we’d avoid completely when making apple pie. These apples are known for being sweet, but they tend to have a soft and mealy texture that breaks down and becomes mushy in the oven. Red Delicious apples also lack the tartness that best enhances a rich apple flavor.

How to Peel and Cut Apples for Apple Pie

Here’s how to prep your apples for a consistent, evenly baked homemade apple pie. After thoroughly washing the apples, peel off their outer skin using a vegetable peeler or a sharp paring knife. Wondering why we remove the skin? Peeled apples meld together nicely when baked, resulting in a perfectly soft pie with no tough surprises.

Using a sharp knife, slice one side of the apple as closely as possible to the core, then repeat with the remaining 3 sides. Next, hold each quarter of the apple cut side down, and cut thin slices (about 1/4-inch thick). Make sure your apple slices are uniform in shape and size so they bake evenly! For a quicker method, try using an apple slicer that cuts all pieces evenly in a single press.

How to Make Apple Pie

Here’s a breakdown of how to make apple pie in three simple steps. It’s easy to bake up any day of the week! Check out this quick summary, then read on for our full step-by-step recipe.

Place Crust

While your oven preheats, take the Pillsbury Pie Crusts out to thaw. When pliable, place them in the bottom of the pan and press the crust into the pie plate. Thanks to the premade crust, this step couldn’t be simpler!

Fill and Seal Crust

Next up is the tasty apple pie filling. After peeling and evenly slicing your apples, you’ll mix the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, and salt before tossing this mixture, and the lemon juice, with your apples. Once the apples are fully coated, you’ll spoon the filling into your crust-lined pie plate and cover it with the second layer of pre-made crust. Now it’s time to decorate—seal the two crusts together, flute the edges, and cut the classic slits in the top crust to finish it off!

Bake Apple Pie

Partway through—about 15 to 20 minutes into baking— you’ll cover the crust edges with foil to help precent overbrowning or burning and ensure a beautiful golden-brown color. Once it’s cooled, you’ve got a mouthwatering apple pie that’s sure to be the star of any dessert table!

Delicious Apple Pie Toppings

This homemade apple pie is yummy on its own, but why not double the decadence with tasty toppings? From sweet, airy whipped cream to crunchy nuts, these are some of our favorite toppings for apple pie.

With Ice Cream: Our favorite way to eat apple pie is à la mode, or “served with a scoop of ice cream.” Warm up a slice of pie in the microwave for a few seconds, then add a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream on top. Yum! Stick with this classic flavor combination, or try a scoop of caramel, butter pecan, cinnamon, or maple ice cream.

With Whipped Cream: The mild sweetness and light texture of whipped cream perfectly complement the tangy apple pie filling and flaky pie crust. Add a dollop or two to enhance the natural flavors of your pie!

With a Caramel: If you have any on hand, top your slice with a drizzle of caramel ice cream topping. The rich, velvety texture combines perfectly with the sweet-tart apple pie filling. Dessert simply doesn’t get better than this!

With Nuts: If you like your pie with a little crunch, we’ve got you covered. Chop or crush your favorite nut. We love pecans, but you could also try walnuts, almonds, or pistachios! Sprinkle your topping over the whole pie or just your special slice for a delightful crunch and some added nutty flavor.

More About This Recipe

  • This apple pie recipe is already perfect, but if you want it to look as perfect as it tastes, we have a few expert recommendations for you. First, refrigerated pie crusts should be baked in glass pie plates. A dark pan will cause too much browning while a shiny pan will prevent your pie from achieving the golden-brown crust that makes apple pie irresistible. Speaking of overbrowning, to prevent your crust from burning, cover the edges with strips of foil 20 minutes into the bake time. When you use refrigerated pie crust, you must allow the dough to soften before you use it. Otherwise you will have difficulty pressing the dough and getting it to adhere to the pie plate. Perfecting the crust is arguably the most important part of pie making. But the filling is the other half of the equation. Lucky for you, we have a few tricks up our sleeve for that, too. If you love apple pie, give these other apple pie recipes a try!

Frequently Asked Questions

Perfect Apple Pie

  • Prep Time 30 min
  • Total 3 hr 0 min
  • Ingredients 8
  • Servings 8
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Ingredients

Crust

Filling*

  • 6 cups thinly sliced, peeled apples (6 medium)
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Instructions

  • Step 
    1
    Heat oven to 425°F. Place 1 pie crust in ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Press firmly against side and bottom.
  • Step 
    2
    In large bowl, gently mix filling ingredients; spoon into crust-lined pie plate. Top with second crust. Wrap excess top crust under bottom crust edge, pressing edges together to seal; flute. Cut slits or shapes in several places in top crust.
  • Step 
    3
    Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until apples are tender and crust is golden brown. Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch wide strips of foil after first 15 to 20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. Cool on cooling rack at least 2 hours before serving.

Nutrition

230 Calories
6g Total Fat
1g Protein
43g Total Carbohydrate
27g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
230
Calories from Fat
60
Total Fat
6g
9%
Saturated Fat
2 1/2g
13%
Trans Fat
0g
Cholesterol
0mg
0%
Sodium
200mg
8%
Potassium
80mg
2%
Total Carbohydrate
43g
14%
Dietary Fiber
1g
5%
Sugars
27g
Protein
1g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
0%
0%
Vitamin C
4%
4%
Calcium
0%
0%
Iron
0%
0%
Exchanges:
1 Starch; 1/2 Fruit; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 1 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
3
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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