Name: Apple Pie Recipe
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup brown sugar (packed); 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger; 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 6-7 cups apples (peeled and sliced); 1 Tablespoon lemon juice; 9 inch pie crust (for double crust ); 1 Tablespoon butter; 1 large egg white

By: Jill Mills Updated: Oct 23, 2024

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With a perfectly tender filling of sweet and tart apples wrapped in a flaky, golden crust, this Easy Apple Pie Recipe is sure to become a family Holiday favorite. The best part? It’s incredibly simple to make, no fancy skills or tools required!

A slice of warm apple pie recipe topped with melting vanilla ice cream, served on a plate with a cinnamon stick and fresh apples in the background.

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This is the best apple pie I’ve ever had!

– Deb

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The Best Homemade Apple Pie

Though I’ve shared many other apple desserts, like Apple Pie Cake, Apple Pie Taquitos, Apple Pie Tacos, Apple Pie Cookies, and Apple Pie Dip, I realized I had never shared my classic Apple Pie recipe!

This is the recipe that inspired every other apple dessert on the blog – you’ll find a very similar filling in most of them – and it’s my go-to apple pie recipe. As far as pies go, it’s quick to make and it comes together easily. There’s no need to precook the apples or do any fancy tricks. And, I just use store-bought pastry pie crust. Yup – no homemade pie crust needed to achieve the perfectly flaky, golden brown crust every pie deserves.

This homemade apple pie deserves a spot on your Thanksgiving of Christmas dessert table, but don’t wait to make it! We love to enjoy it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped topping as a fun fall treat. It’s so good!

A close-up of an apple pie recipe with a slice cut out, showing the golden, flaky crust and soft apple filling inside, with whole apples in the background.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Apple Pie Recipe

Easy to make. This is a simple and classic recipe that takes minimal effort to make.
Classic dessert. One of the most well-known and well-loved American desserts is apple pie and now you can make one at home!
Perfect Fall flavors. Use in-season apples for your homemade apple pie filling.

What You’ll Need

Here is everything you need to make the apple pie filling. This recipe uses store-bought crust for convenience. Scroll down to the recipe card below to find the exact measurements.

Brown sugar: I like to use light brown sugar in the filling because it complements the apples so well. It also adds a subtle molasses flavor that works great in the pie.
Flour: This acts as a thickener for the apple pie filling. As the apples cook, they release a good amount of moisture and flour prevents the filling from being runny. You may also use cornstarch.
Spices: I use cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to add warm flavors to the pie.
Apples: Any firm apple is great for pie. I like tart Granny Smith apples to offset the sweetness but Honey Crisp or Cortland are great, too.
Lemon juice: A little bit of acidity from the lemon juice balances all of the flavors in the apple pie filling, as well as it helps prevent the apples from browning
Pie crust: I like to make this easy apple pie recipe as quick as possible, so I opted for store-bought pie crust, but of course, you can also try my homemade pie crust.
Butter: I add dots of butter to the filling before the top crust for a little fat and moisture. It may be cold so don’t worry about softening it.
Egg white: This is for the egg wash on top of the crust so it gets a golden brown color. I use only the egg white so it doesn’t become too dark.

Overhead view of the ingredients for making an apple pie recipe, including whole apples, pie crust, butter, egg, sugar, flour, and cinnamon, all arranged on a rustic wooden surface with burlap.

How to Make Apple Pie

This easy apple pie doesn’t require any extra cooking. Mix the filling, add it to the crust, and the oven will bake it to perfection! Prepare to impress your friends and family with a dessert that tastes like it took hours to make, but comes together in no time!

Prep the oven and pie pan. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk the sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a small bowl.
Add apples and lemon juice. In a separate larger bowl, toss the apple slices with the lemon juice. Then, stir in the sugar mixture until it’s all well combined.

An apple peeler in action, peeling a red and yellow apple while a bowl of freshly peeled and sliced apples sits nearby on a rustic wooden table.

Apple slices coated with cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl, ready to be mixed, with a pie crust visible in the background.

Assemble the pie. Using a rolling pin, roll out the bottom crust into the pie plate and trim the excess edges if needed. Pour in the apple filling evenly and add dots of butter. Then, top it with the second pie crust and pinch the edges closed.
Add slits and egg wash. Cut vents into the top pie crust to all steam to escape. Next, brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg whites. Sprinkle white sugar on top and cover the edges of the crust with foil.

The top view of a pie crust filled with cinnamon-coated apple slices and small pats of butter, ready to be covered with the top crust.

A hand cutting slits into the top crust of an unbaked apple pie recipe, ready for the oven, with a rolling pin and a bowl of egg wash beside it.

How Long to Bake an Apple Pie

It takes about 45 to 50 minutes to bake this apple pie recipe. The exact time will depend on how quickly the pie crust browns. For this recipe I place the pie in the oven and bake it for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake it for an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown.

While some people recommend adding a pie shield towards the end of baking, I prefer to do it in the beginning. It’s much easier to wrap the aluminum foil around the edges of the pie when it’s not hot! This helps prevent the edges from browning too quickly and burning before the filling is soft.

Allow the pie to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.

A whole, freshly baked apple pie with a golden-brown crust, garnished with sugar and cinnamon, surrounded by fresh apples and cinnamon sticks on a rustic table.

What are the Best Apples for Pie?

There are so many different varieties of apples that it can be difficult to know which to use for apple pie and other desserts. My recommendation? Use a mixture of sweet Honeycrisp and tart Granny Smith apples. The balance of flavors is just perfect!

That said, you can use pretty much any type of baking apples – aka apples that will hold their shape once baked. A few other varieties worth considering are Ginger Gold, Cameo, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Jonagold, Northern Spy, and Golden Delicious.

For the best flavor and the best apple pie recipe, I always recommend using at least two different types of apples.

Common Questions

How Many Apples Needed for Apple Pie?

This recipe calls for 7-8 cups of sliced apples. This means you will need 9 medium to large sized apples.

Why is My Filling Runny? What’s The Best Thickener for this Apple Pie Recipe?

The best thickener for apple pie is flour, and if you use just the amount listed in this recipe, it should make the filling perfectly thick so you don’t end up with a runny filling or mushy pie. Skipping the flour may not seem like a big deal since it’s a small amount but trust me, it will seem bigger when you try to slice your pie!

Another reason for runny pie filling is if there was nowhere for the steam to escape during baking. This is why it’s important to slit holes in the top of the pie crust and why many people make apple pie with a lattice top.

How To Cut Apples for Apple Pie?

We slice the apples for this recipe. However, you can also cut them into chunks. Follow the directions on our apple pie filling recipe for detailed info on cuts.

A close-up of the apple pie recipe slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, showing the gooey, cinnamon-flavored apple filling and flaky crust, with cinnamon sticks nearby.

Tips and Variations

Ready to make the best apple pie? Here are a few tips!

Reduce the Sugar. You can reduce the sugar by half in the recipe or use a sweetener substitute made for baking. Reducing the sugar may be a good idea if you are using a sweet variety of apples (vs a tart one).

Make sure to slice your apples about 1/4-inch thick. Slicing them too thin will make the filling turn mushy.

Allow the Pie Filling to sit. Be sure to prep your apple pie filling first, then prep your pie crusts. This will give the apples time to release their juices.

Sprinkle some Sugar on top. Sprinkle some coarse sugar on the top of the crust before baking for added sweetness and texture.

Add Cranberries. One of my favorite ways to make my homemade apple pie even more festive for the holidays is to stir in a cup of dried cranberries. The pop of red looks beautiful on the holiday dessert table and the cranberries add a nice, tart flavor contrast to the sweet filling.

Serving Suggestions

What’s better than a warm slice of apple pie topped with a scoop of ice cream? I can’t think of much!

While you do want the pie to cool before trying to slice it, I love digging in while it’s still a bit warm. Even if it cools completely, I’ll pop a slice in the microwave for a few seconds. Add a dollop of ice cream or whipped cream, and you will have dessert perfection!

A single slice of apple pie with a golden, flaky crust, served on a white plate, with the rest of the pie and fresh apples in the background.

How to Store Apple Pie

Leftover apple pie can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for 5 days. Either way, it should be kept covered, either in a pie storage container or wrapped in plastic wrap.

Can you Freeze Apple Pie? YES! You may freeze the pie unbaked and tightly covered with plastic wrap in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.

More Apple Pie Recipes

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