This Dutch apple pie recipe is a tender and flaky crust filled with sweetened apples, then finished off with a brown sugar crumb topping. Serve your apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and watch the rave reviews come in!

When apples are in season, I make the most of them by whipping up all kinds of recipes including apple crisp, baked apples, apple cobbler, charoset, snicker apple salad and this decadent and delicious pie. It’s the best apple pie I’ve ever tasted!

A slice of Dutch apple pie topped with ice cream.

Apple pie is a classic dessert recipe for good reason – that combination of sweet apples, cinnamon and pastry just can’t be beat. This Dutch apple pie is my all-time favorite pie. It also happens to be quite easy to make!

Dutch Apple Pie Ingredients

To make this recipe, you will need homemade apple pie filling, pie crust, butter, flour and brown sugar.

How Do You Make Dutch Apple Pie?

Start by preparing your apple pie filling by simmering sliced apples with two types of sugar, lemon juice, water, cornstarch, nutmeg, butter and cinnamon. After you’ve made the apple filling, it gets piled into a pie crust. You can make your own pie dough, or go for a frozen store bought crust like I did.

Now you are ready to make the streusel topping that puts the “Dutch” in Dutch apple pie. The streusel is a simple blend of butter, brown sugar and flour. The butter gets cut into the flour and sugar to make the familiar crumb topping. The topping is sprinkled over the pie, then the pie goes into the oven to bake to golden brown perfection.

Homemade apple pie filling in a skillet.

Tips For Dutch Apple Pie

  • This pie can be made up to 2 days before you plan to serve it. I recommend serving your pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.
  • When you are preparing your streusel topping, make sure the butter is cold and right out of the refrigerator. The cold butter helps create the little crumbles of streusel that make a good, even topping.
  • Bake your pie on a sheet pan or baking sheet, this will catch any drips or overflow from the pie.
  • Let the pie cool a little before you serve it. The longer the pie cools, the more the pie filling juices and topping will set up and give you nice slices of pie.

Quick Tip

Don’t have time to make your own apple pie filling? Store bought canned filling will also work.

Apple filling inside of a pie crust.

Recipe FAQs

What are the best apples for apple pie?

The best apples for an apple pie have a nice, slightly tart flavor and are firm enough to keep their shape when baked. I like to use Granny Smith apples for Dutch apple pies because they are firm and their tart flavor pairs nicely with the brown sugar streusel topping. If you prefer, you can use other firm apples such as Braeburn, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady or Honeycrisp apples.

Do you need to refrigerate apple pie?

Apple pie stays good at room temperature for about 2 days. You can keep your pie fresh longer in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. When you are ready to store your pie in the fridge, make sure to wrap it in plastic wrap, foil or place it in an airtight container. The topping in the Dutch apple pie may start to soften over time.

Can you freeze apple pie?

You can freeze apple pie and have it stay fresh for 6 months. I recommend cutting individual slices and keeping those slices separately stored in an airtight container.

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Brown sugar topping on top of an unbaked pie.

Flavor Variations

This pie is sweet, tart and delicious, but you can add other fun flavors to customize the recipe to your tastes.

  • Fruit: You can swap in one cup of fruit such as peaches, pears, blueberries or raspberries for one cup of the apples. You can also use cherry pie filling instead of apples.
  • Cran-Apple: Try adding 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries. If you add cranberries, make sure to increase the sugar in the filling by 1/4 cup.
  • Nuts: Feel free to add 1/2 cup of chopped nuts to the topping such as candied walnuts, almonds or candied pecans.
  • Caramel Apple: Add 1/2 cup caramel sauce to the filling for a caramel apple pie.
Dutch apple pie with brown sugar topping.

This apple pie has a sweet, crisp and crumbly topping that highlights the tart and wonderful flavor of the apples. This classic pie is one of my favorites that I love to make for holidays or any time I feel like a treat.

More Great Apple Recipes

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5 from 16 votes

Dutch Apple Pie

AuthorSara Welch
This Dutch apple pie is a tender and flaky crust filled with sweetened apples, then finished off with a brown sugar crumb topping. Serve your apple pie with vanilla ice cream, and watch the rave reviews come in!
Time
Prep Time35 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Serves 10

Ingredients 

  • 1 pie crust homemade or store bought
  • 1 recipe apple pie filling
  • 1/2 cup cold butter cut into cubes
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar packed

Instructions 

  • Prepare the apple pie filling according to recipe instructions. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Place a 9 inch pie plate on a sheet pan. Fit the pie crust into the pan, fluting the edges of the crust. Alternatively, you can use a frozen pie crust that's already in a pan (no need to thaw it).
  • Pour the pie filling into the crust.
  • Place the butter, flour and brown sugar in a bowl. Use two forks or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour and sugar until coarse crumbs form.
  • Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the pie.
  • Bake the pie for 45-50 minutes, or until crust and topping are deep golden brown. Cool for at least 20 minutes, then serve.

Notes

  1. This pie can be made up to 2 days before you plan to serve it. I recommend serving your pie with a scoop of ice cream on top.
  2. When you are making your streusel topping, make sure the butter is cold and right out of the refrigerator. The cold butter helps create the little crumbles of streusel that make a good, even topping.

Nutrition

Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 155mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 284IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

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