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
Apples are by far my favorite fall flavor! I need an apple pie in my life ASAP!
Apple pie is my all time favorite! I cannot wait to try this out!
Absolutely delicious! So much better than canned pie filling!
October 12 2020
i just made this and i am very happy with the results
the taste is fantastic
thank you so much for this recipe
What size pie shell? 9”?
Yes that’s correct!
I’ve made this about a half dozen times now and just put it on oatmeal in the morning or pancakes. Double the batch and only use 5 cups water. Delicious!!! Thanks so much for recipe.
I just started the recipe and it smells and tastes delicious but the cornstarch is clumping up and turning kind of lumpy and he lumps feel like jello
I might try sieving it
You could sieve it, that should be fine!
I got rid of the big lumps then the rest just baked in.
My whole family loved it and will DEFINITELY bake this again!
Sieve cornstarch into the sugar before adding into wet ingredients. This way, the sugar crystals will provide buffer and not allowing clumping of cornstarch
Next time, mix the cornstarch and cool water with a whisk or in a shaker cup before adding it to the pot with the other ingredients to avoid the cornstarch lumps.
Hey try using a little bit of water with the corn starch! It’ll get rid of the clumps
I made this filling and used a store bought crust and the family raved!! I am not a fan of nutmeg, so I just used cinnamon and it was delish! This recipe is a keeper.
How long do I let it cool before I can bake a pie?
About 20-30 minutes, just until it’s thickened all the way!
What temperature is the oven and bake the pie how long?
Here is the recipe! https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/dutch-apple-pie/
That was the best Apple pie I have ever made. I had a little of the liquid left and I am going to put it in my oatmeal tomorrow morning. I was afraid the pie wouldn’t set, but it did. Thank you so much for the recipe.
How long does it take to bake this in the pie shell, and at what temperature? Thank you.
Here is the pie recipe: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/dutch-apple-pie/
Thank you. If I’m not doing a Dutch style but a regular pie top crust, is it the same?
the filling is so good 🙂 I used 4 cups water to reduce the sweetness 🙂 Thank you Sara.
Great recipe!
I subbed cornstarch for tapioca and it still worked great!
O M G! DELICIOUS
Right
Can I use flour instead of cornstarch I for to cornstarch or anything else I might use.
I think it could work but I haven’t tried it myself!
This recipe looks fantastic. I normally use 6-7 cups of apples for my pie recipe. How do I adjust this recipe to accommodate for the additional apples?
I’d just add the apples and if the filling is too thick add some extra water to get to your desired consistency.
Thanks for this recipe. I made an enchilada apple pie and it was great!
Can I just mix all the ingredients ( raw ) together and put them in a pie crust and bake it without having to do it in a pan? Will it come out the same?
No that won’t work, you have to cook it in a pan!
What do you use for the crumbles on top?
It’s this recipe: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/dutch-apple-pie/
Can you make this filling and then bake it in uncooked/store bought dough? Or does the dough have to be pre-cooked? I have uncooked dough in my freezer and I’m wondering if I can bake it with this filling in it.
Thank you!
Yes just place it in your uncooked pie crust and bake it! Here is my apple pie recipe that uses this filling with an unbaked crust: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/dutch-apple-pie/
I used a lot of different apples and it was delicious!!
Great recipe! I used an “apple-peeler-corer” to have uniform slices, it works wonderful.
I made the recipe as written using freshly grounded nutmeg, it does make a difference.
Bon apetit!
Can I make the pie filling and put right in store bought pie crust and back or do I need to Refrigerate it first
You can put it right into a crust!