This homemade apple pie recipe is the best I’ve ever made! With a golden, flaky pie crust filled with the most delicious, perfectly spiced apple filling, your search for the perfect apple pie is over.
Watch the Video
I’m over the moon with this apple pie, and I cannot wait until you give it a try. The apples are perfect, the sauce is insanely delicious, and the crust is out of this world.
My recipe for apple pie is easy but takes some time. For a quick apple dessert, try this simple apple tart or apple cobbler.
Key Ingredients
- Pie crust: You can use homemade or store-bought pie crust. I use my favorite homemade pie crust to make this apple pie. It’s made with butter and hasn’t failed me yet.
- Apples: For the best apple pie, use a lot of apples (we use over 4 pounds) and try using two varieties to add extra flavor and texture. I love Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Jonagold, and Golden Delicious.
- Sugar: I use brown sugar and granulated sugar in this pie. If you only have one or the other, use it. The pie will still taste great.
- Spices: I love a hint of spice in this pie, so I use cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.
- Cornstarch: We need cornstarch to thicken the pie filling. Below the recipe, I have included tips for using tapioca flour as a substitute.
- Butter: A tiny bit makes the filling shiny and extra delicious.
- Egg wash: I usually use egg yolk and cream for my egg wash, but this apple pie has a longer baking time. For this pie, I whisk an egg and a splash of water. This and the longer baking time create the lovely golden brown crust in our photos.
How to Make the Best Apple Pie
I do not cook our apples before making apple pie from scratch. Instead, I toss peeled and sliced apples with sugar, salt, and spices in a large bowl. When the apples are well coated, set the bowl aside and let them sit for about an hour.
As the apples sit, the sugar and salt help them release their delicious liquid (you can see how much in our photos and the video). The apples also soften quite a bit. We use the same method when making apple bread. Here is a photo of the apples after one hour of sitting in the salt, sugar, and spice mixture:
To guarantee that our apple pie filling isn’t too runny, we toss in some cornstarch before adding the apples to our pie dish. The starch mixes with all that liquid released by the apples and will help thicken it as the pie bakes in the oven.
I’ve followed a few apple pie recipes that ask you to throw away some or all of that delicious liquid before filling the pie. There’s so much flavor there!
With our recipe, you can use all of the liquid, which turns into a thick sauce with our slightly longer bake time. I consistently get about 3/4 cup of liquid in the bottom of my bowl (a little more or a little less is okay).
I bake apple pie in a 400°F oven for about 75 minutes. You can tell it is done when the filling is bubbling out of the crust and looks thick.
One of the biggest complaints about apple pie is that the filling is too runny. This recipe for apple pie has a long baking time, guaranteeing that the liquid in the pie filling has enough time to simmer and thicken.
Storing Apple Pie
Leftover apple pie will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. Rewarm slices in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes before serving them.
To freeze baked apple pie, let it cool completely, wrap it in foil, and place it in freezer-safe bags for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, and reheat in a 350°F oven. You can freeze whole pies or individual slices.
To freeze unbaked apple pie, wrap the assembled unbaked pie in a few sheets of foil, then place it into a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw the pie overnight in the fridge, then bake according to our recipe below.
Best Apple Pie We've Ever Made
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
I love apple pie, and this easy recipe is the best I’ve made. We do not precook our apples. Instead, we let them sit with sugar, salt, and spices to soften before adding them to our pie crust and baking. You can use any pie crust for this apple pie but, for the best results, we highly recommend our flaky pie crust.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
Homemade Pie Crust, our recipe makes 2 crusts (one for the top and one for the bottom)
4 ¼ pounds (1925g) baking apples (about 8 large apples), see notes for suggestions
1/2 cup (100g) light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch
1 tablespoon (14g) butter
1 large egg
Directions
- Make Apple Filling
1Peel, quarter, and core the apples, then slice into 1/4-inch slices. Place them into a very large bowl.
2Scatter brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, allspice, and nutmeg over the apples. Toss well, then set aside on the counter for 1 hour.
- Prepare Pie Crust
1Roll out half of the pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie dish. To prevent sticking, sprinkle flour on your work surface and rolling pin. Roll from the center outwards for even thickness, lifting and rotating the dough by a quarter turn as you go. Check the size by inverting the pie dish over the dough (it should be 1 ½ to 2 inches larger).
2Carefully place the dough into the pie dish without stretching it, and trim the edges to within 1 inch of the dish.
3Roll out the second half of the dough to a similar size as before and transfer it to a large parchment-lined baking sheet.
4Keep the pie dish and second sheet of pie dough in the refrigerator until needed.
- Assemble the Pie
1Position an oven rack towards the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Set aside a baking sheet and line it with foil or parchment paper (you will bake the pie on this).
2Toss the cornstarch with the apples. Transfer most (if not all) of the apples into the prepared bottom crust, using your hands to really pack them down into the pie. Fill the pie until apples are mounded at the same height or a little higher than the edge of the pie crust, tucking in as many as you can. If you have too many apples, save them (see notes). See our video showing how high we pile the apples.
3Pour the juices accumulated at the bottom of the bowl over the apples. (If there’s more than 3/4 to 1 cup of liquid, leave some behind, see notes below.)
4Cut a tablespoon of butter into 8 or so small pieces and dot them over the pie.
5Place the second pie dough round over the filling or cut it into strips and lattice the top (see our video in the article above or read this tutorial for how to lattice a crust. If you are not adding a lattice crust and are adding the top crust in one piece, use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of the crust to allow steam to vent.
6Trim excess dough from the top crust or lattice strips, then fold the overhang underneath, forming a thick rim. Press it together or crimp it with your fingers (or use a fork).
7Whisk the egg with a tablespoon of water, and then use it as an egg wash by lightly brushing the top crust. This egg wash adds shine and helps the crust brown.
- Bake the Pie
1Place the prepared pie on the baking sheet and bake for about 75 minutes, turning a few times for even browning.
2If you notice that the pie crust is browning too quickly, mold a large piece of foil over a bowl that’s been placed upside down to make a foil dome. Place the foil dome over the pie for the remaining bake time. This will slow the browning.
3Apple pie is done when the juices are bubbling through the vents of the top crust or lattice. If you do not see bubbles, the pie needs more time. Another way to check for doneness is to use an internal thermometer. Pierce the pie in the middle, then test the temperature. The pie is done when it reads 195°F. Piercing the pie is also an excellent indication of how soft the apples are. If they feel too crunchy, the pie needs more time.
4Cool the pie without slicing it for at least 2 hours, preferably longer. Keep in mind that the pie filling does not fully thicken until it is completely cooled. Waiting to cut into the pie until cool will prevent a soggy slice.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Best apples to use: I use 2 different types of apples for the best flavor. You can choose any baking apple. I also love Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Pink Lady, and Golden Delicious.
- Cornstarch substitute: Use 4 tablespoons (30g) tapioca flour.
- Leftover apples: If you have too many apples for the filling, add them to a skillet with a splash of water and butter or coconut oil, and cook until softened. Serve over ice cream or oatmeal.
- Liquid amount: We consistently get about 3/4 cup of liquid at the bottom of the bowl. A little more or a little less is fine, but if you find that your apples released much more, consider leaving a little behind.
- The recipe has been inspired and adapted by BraveTart’s apple pie.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
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Have made this recipe a couple of times now. Love this version of Apple Pie. The apples all soften up nicely and the syrup produced by the apples almost gives it a caramel flavour. I highly recommend.
I love this pie and have made it a few times. The apple mixture is by far the best i’ve come accross. The crust is what baffles me. It’s alwasy so dark brown, and even with a pie crust cover the edges get semi burnt. I have tried covering with foil as well, and that helped a litle. But one commenter said she baked it at 375 for 50 minutes then 325 for the final 309 minutes…Is 400 to high??? Why 400?
Hi there, do you have a convection (fan) oven? If so, this might be why your crust is browning more quickly than ours does. If you do have a fan/convection oven, consider reducing the oven temp by 25°F.
Can i cook the apple pie let it cool at room temp, put in the fridge and warm up the whole pie in the oven when i want to serve?
Yep! I’d rewarm in a 350°F oven before serving.
I have never in my life even tried to bake an apple pie because I thought it would be too much work and that it wouldn’t come out right. This is the GOAT of apple pie. It is worth all of the effort and the taste is amazing. I have my family’s favorite apple pie recipe and I have you all to thank!
We are thrilled your family loves the recipe 🙂
I stuck to the recipe, overall it was great. I had about 4 lbs of apples and after thinking I can’t fit any more apples in the pie I tossed about 3/4 of an apples worth of slices out. I should of added that as the pie sunk in and the lattice crust was overing over. The egg wash, for some reason I thought it was the egg yolk and some water and the crust was dark. Not sure if it was that or the baking length but next time I’m going to monitor and use the foil as needed. Paired with a scoop of icecream it was fantastic. I might only use 2 granny smiths next time or add a bit more brown sugar.
One more note, I used my ninja blendar as a food processor. I think I could of added just a tab more water to the dough before letting it rest an hour in the fridge. The dough started to split as I rolled it out. I will be making another one very soon.
If you have a gas baking oven like I do, the temp must be lower (350), and bake for about 1 hour and 5 minutes. My pie would have burnt if I used the higher temp and longer bake time with my gas oven. But it turned out perfectly and the foil dome idea was genius!
Glad you were able to figure things out. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely phenomenal apple pie! The best I’ve ever had honestly; the addition of the cardamom and all spice is lovely. definitely saved and adding to our family cook book!
That’s wonderful, Ashley. Thank you for coming back.
This apple pie was by far the BEST tasting I have had in years. My granddaughter made it for Thanksgiving. We used Pippin California apples. An apple that isn’t found in Florida. Today I am going to make a very small pie with granny smith apples. All the spices in smaller quantity will go into this within the next half hour. My daughter uses your web site quite frequently. I will be too from now on.
Very yummy! I’ve never made a pie before and it came out great! I probably did a little less apples and I cut them to the size I like to eat them at, which is smaller than in slices. Would recommend!