This homemade apple pie filling is made with sliced Granny Smith apples, brown sugar, spices and butter, all simmered together until thickened. The best pie filling that also works great for a variety of other desserts and pastries.
Apple pie filling from scratch tastes SO much better than the canned version and can be used in dishes such as fried apple pies, cream cheese danishes and plenty of other dessert recipes.
Fall is here and there is an abundance of apples at the stores, which means it’s time to make apple pie! Or in this case, homemade apple pie filling. I’m not so good with homemade pie crusts, so typically I purchase the crust and load it full of my own apple pie filling for an amazing fall treat. This recipe is also great for tarts, cake or pour it over pumpkin pancakes, baked oatmeal, buttermilk waffles or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Apple pie is one of my favorite fall desserts. When I want fall treats, I make this filling or other fantastic fall pies like pear custard pie, pumpkin meringue pie or pecan pie cheesecake. There are so many great fall desserts to enjoy! If you love homemade apple pie filling, you’ll also love my from scratch cherry pie filling recipe.
Table of Contents
Apple Pie Filling Ingredients
This recipe contains apples, lemon juice, water, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and butter.
How Do You Make Apple Pie Filling?
Start by coating your apple slices in a little lemon juice to keep them from browning. Make the sauce by placing the sugars, water, cornstarch and spices in a pan, then bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir in the apples and cook until the apples are tender. Add a little butter, then you’ll be ready to bake your pie or other apple treats.
Tips For Perfect Results
- You can cut your apples into any size or shape that you like, just be sure to cut them uniformly so that they all cook at the same rate. If you cut your apples into small pieces they may cook quicker. Be sure to peel your apples for the best texture.
- Need ideas on how to use this filling? Check out my amazing Dutch apple pie recipe.
- Freshly grated nutmeg has so much more flavor than the pre-ground variety. Whole nutmegs keep for years when stored in a cool dry location. Buy a bottle and shave off a little nutmeg as needed for your dishes.
- I use butter in this pie filling because it makes the finished product taste a little richer. You can omit it if you prefer.
- Homemade pie filling can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can also put it in the freezer for up to 2 months
Quick Tip
If you prefer a very thick pie filling, add an extra tablespoon of cornstarch.
Recipe FAQs
For apple pie, you want apples that will hold their shape and have a nice well rounded flavor. I use Granny Smith apples for this apple pie filling because they stay firm after being cooked. They also have a tart flavor that works well with the sweetness of the brown sugar. You can use other apple varieties for this recipe, such as Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady and Braeburn apples.
I recommend making apple pie filling rather than just placing raw apples into a pie shell. When you make your own filling ahead of time, you can better control the consistency of the filling, as well as how soft the apples are. If you simply place apples and sugar in a pan, you won’t exactly know how much liquid the apples will release when cooked, or if they’ll come out tough.
This homemade apple pie filling is made with sliced Granny Smith apples, brown sugar, spices and butter, all simmered together until thickened.
Flavor Variations
While this filling is fabulous as-is, you can add other ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Fall Fruit Filling: Use half apples and half pears in the recipe. You can also substitute half of the water for apple cider.
- Cranberry Apple Filling: Add 1/2 cup of dried cranberries or fresh cranberries to the pan when you add the sliced apples. If you choose fresh cranberries, you may need to add more sugar.
- Caramel Apple Filling: Omit 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Stir 1/3 cup of caramel sauce into the filling during the last 2 minutes of the cooking time.
- Berries: Substitute one of the cups of apples with berries such as raspberries, strawberries or blackberries.
Now that I’ve had homemade pie filling, I’ll never be able to go back to the store bought kind. The flavor of this version is SO much better, so even if you have to cheat and use a pre-made pie crust like I do, you’ll still end up with an amazing pie.
More Great Apple Recipes
Apple Fries
30 mins
Slow Cooker Apple Cider
2 hrs 5 mins
Caramel Apple Dip
6 mins
Apple Pork Chops
30 mins
Apple Nachos
6 mins
Apple Pie Filling Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Apple Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 4 cups apples peeled and thinly sliced, I used Granny Smith
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground if possible
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Drizzle the lemon juice over the apple slices.
- Place the water, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large pan.
- Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until just thickened.
- Add the apples to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce. Lower the heat to medium and cook until the apples have softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the butter to the pan and stir until it has melted.
- Cool the apple filling for 10 minutes, then transfer it to containers and refrigerate or freeze until you’re ready to use it.
Notes
- You can cut your apples into any size or shape that you like, just be sure to cut them uniformly so that they all cook at the same rate.
- Need ideas on how to use this filling? Check out my amazing Dutch apple pie recipe.
- Homemade pie filling can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months
This filling was amazing!! I will never use that canned stuff again! Thanks for a great recipe!!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, thank you for reporting back!
I am making mini apples pies with your filling. How long should I bake them? What temp?
Is this muffin tin size? If so, you can bake at 425 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
This is a fantastic filling. I doubled the cinnamon and nutmeg and added ginger, clove, and all spice. I also use 5 different types of apples. I made this for Thanksgiving and it was the first pie gone.
So glad to hear everyone loved it, thanks for reporting back!
For the filling just refrigerated to keep till later, should I heat it up before I put it in the crust and bake it? Because it gets like jelly cold.
If you want to heat it up you can, but it’s not necessary because it will melt again during the time that it’s in the oven!
Use this filling in Tricia Yearwood’s skillet apple pie…It is heavenly! Thanks for this recipe! I got out of hand peeling apples so I had to triple the recipe. Two pies for family and one jar of filling for later!
So glad you enjoyed it, Happy Thanksgiving!
How long, and at what temperature do you bake your apple pies? Thanks!
I bake at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes for the pie shown in these photos!
Hisband Love this pie but do you have a diabetic version, could only have a very small piece.
You can use a sugar substitute instead of real sugar!
Can you provide instruction on using this immediately?
You would just spoon the filling into your prepared pie crust and proceed with your apple pie recipe. I used a pre-made crust, my homemade filling, and the crumble topping from this recipe: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchen/dutch-apple-pie-3364300
If you freeze or refrigerate this filling then how long does it take to bake afterwards
If you are using frozen filling you should thaw it before you add it to the pie. If the filling is refrigerated or thawed from frozen it shouldn’t affect the bake time of the pie.
This looks so amazing! My family loves apple pie!
Ohhhhhhh! This looks too yummy not to try. Never made my own apple-pie, but we have quite a few apples this fall, so…bookmarking this! Thank you.
Omg yum! This looks so good! I always love to make something festive for the holidays to take to family and friends and this looks like the perfect thing.
I wish I would have found this sooner! I feel like I have been missing out my whole life!
Wow, that is a killer recipe. Only the best pies use this filling right here!
I really hope o get a chance to make this. It looks seriously delicious!
This filling is seriously gorgeous! It is just in time for the fall gatherings!
I ‘ve never had homemade apple pie filling but I will be trying it soon, it looks so delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe
I think this looks like a delicious way to use apples. I would love to try to make and store my own pie filling.
Oh wow this filling sounds and looks so delicious. I would love to try this recipe. I would eat this out of a bowl with a spoon!
I would like to be FILLED with this filling!!!! UGH! It looks absolutely phenomenal!! <3