This homemade apple pie is downright magical! Sweet and tangy bites of warm, spiced apples in a velvety sauce, tucked inside a buttery pie crust. We’ve made this classic American dessert super-easy to prep and bake. It tastes SO GOOD warmed up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Homemade Apple pie is everything we love in a dessert. It’s the perfect balance of sweet, buttery, tangy, and smooth. Substantial, without being over-the-top decadent.

I mean, what other dessert can be a seasonal treat in the fall, a holiday dessert in the Winter, and the star of any Summer-time picnic? No matter where you are or where you’re from, apple pie always tastes like home. It’s the ultimate comfort food.

And you can eat it anytime.

After dinner, before dinner, after lunch, late at night… Nothing can compete! A banana split at 10am? No way. Apple pie and hot chocolate at 10am? Absolutely!

The beauty of this particular recipe is that you can create this pie from start to finish, or prep the filling and freeze it to use in a quick homemade pie a couple of months from now. The apple pie filling freezes perfectly, awaiting your command.

Best of all, this iconic dessert requires just 9 ingredients, most of which you already have. #BudgetFriendly

WHAT KIND OF APPLES ARE BEST?

Apples will naturally soften when baked, so it’s important to start with apples that are fresh and firm. If your apples are soft, your apple pie filling will end up being mushy.

Before shopping for your apples, decide on the flavor profile you want for your pie – “sweet” or “tart,” or a hybrid of the two. There are more than 100 varieties sold commercially in the United States, and most grocery stores and farmer’s markets will have a few varieties in each flavor category.

Examples of Sweet apples: Golden Delicious, Northern Spy, Braeburn, Jonagold

Examples of Tart apples: Granny Smith, Cortland, Empire, Jonathan

Combining sweet and tart apples in the same pie adds a new and wonderful dimension to the desert. Almost any apple makes a delicious pie. Just steer clear of Red Delicious and Gala apples, which are better suited for applesauce because of their softer texture.

CAN YOU FREEZE AN APPLE PIE?

Yes, you can…but there’s a better way. Instead, freeze the apple pie filling and the dough for the pie crust separately. They can wrapped, sealed, and frozen much better by themselves than they can as complete frozen pie. Plus, this gives you the versatility of using your filling in other recipes (like Old Fashioned Apple Crisp). Similarly, pie crust that isn’t already filled with apple pie filling can become a pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or even a chicken pot pie.

An apple pie with a slice cut out of it on a white plate in the background with a blue and white striped towel.

HOW TO MAKE APPLE PIE

First you’ll want to make your pie crust dough. Here’s how you do that. Oh, and by the way, the full recipe with ingredients is down below in my printable recipe card.

HOW TO MAKE PIE CRUST DOUGH – Step by Step

Collage of pie crust ingredients being added to a food processor.

Place flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor.
Pulse a few times to combine.
Add cold diced butter to the machine next.
Pulse the mixture until coarse crumbs form with some pea-sized pieces. then stop mixing. Mixture should remain dry and powdery.
Add ice water and pulse just until moist clumps or small balls form.
Press a piece of dough between your finger tips and if the dough sticks together, you have added enough water. If not, add more water a teaspoon full at a time. Be careful not to add too much water or the dough will be sticky and difficult to roll out.

Transfer dough to a clean work surface, and gather dough together into a ball (it should not be smooth and DO NOT knead the dough). Divide dough in half and flatten to form 2 disks.

Cover each disk with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before rolling out. To freeze the dough, add a second wrapping of aluminum foil to each disk, then seal the disks in a freezer storage bag.

HOW TO MAKE APPLE PIE FILLING

If you didn’t make ahead and freeze your apple pie filling you’ll need to make a fresh batch of it. Here’s how to do that.

A dutch oven with apple pie filling in it.

Prep your pie crust: Roll out your pie dough crust and place it in your pie dish, pressing it snuggly against the bottom and sides. This will be your bottom crust. Refrigerate it while you’re preparing the filling.
Cut & Soak Apples: Peel, core, and cut apples into 1/4-inch-thick slices; halve crosswise, and add to bowl. Pour lemon juice on top of apples and a few cups of water (to keep them from turning brown) as you work. Then drain apples using colandar and return to bowl.
Add Spices: Add sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt to the apples; toss to combine.
Add the filling. Remove dough-lined pie plate from refrigerator. Fill with apple mixture, gently packing apples and mounding slightly in center; dot with butter.
Top crust time: Add top pie crust, pinching to seal top and bottom together.

A lattice crust looks complicated, but it’s not. If you can tie a shoelace, you can make a lattice crust!

HOW TO MAKE A LATTICE PIE CRUST

Collage of creating a lattice pie top by weaving dough together on a pie.

Although, if you’d like to keep things simple, a traditional flat top crust will be equally delicious. Add design or simply poke holes in top crust.

An unbaked apple pie with egg wash on it with apple pie filling on the side.

Brush top crust lightly with egg wash and sprinkle with a dusting of sugar for a beautiful crust. And bake it away until beautiful and bubby and golden.

HOW DO I USE FROZEN APPLE PIE FILLING IN A PIE?

Begin to thaw the frozen apple pie filling by placing the bag in the fridge 2 days before making pie. Once thawed, simply squeeze the filling out of the bag. Prep your pie pan by adding your bottom crust into the pan. Squeeze filling into pan and add top crust on top. Then bake as directed!

A slice of homemade apple pie on a white plate with apple pie in the background.

PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES

Baking tip: A silicone pie crust shield will protect the outer ring of your crust from burning. You can also use strips of aluminum foil. Remove foil or silicone ring for the last 15 minutes of baking.
Crust tip: Cutting a few small vents in your pie crust before baking keeps your pie from forming an empty air pocket between the top crust and the pie filling.
Time saver: I’m obsessed with my apple corer peeler slicer. It’s been a game-changer and a timesaver, and one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. Use it to slice up those apples so much faster.
Can I substitute light brown sugar for white sugar? Go for it! Light brown sugar is white sugar that has been flavored with a little molasses. Both sugars are equally sweet, although brown sugar adds a richer flavor that brings out the notes of cinnamon in homemade apple pie.

A whole homemade apple pie with turkey, rolls and plates in the background.

WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH APPLES?

Dip them into a 3 Ingredient Cream Cheese Apple Dip
Create these easy Campfire Apple Crisp Foil Packets
Bake a yummy Freezer-Friendly Old Fashioned Apple Crisp
Make this old-fashioned Apple Brown Betty Recipe
Make a batch of hand-dipped Caramel Apples
Make Canned Applesauce

The next time you make this apple pie, I would love to see it! Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!

About Karrie

Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...

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