Apple Pie Filling takes less than 15 minutes to make and has a great homemade flavor.
Tender chunks (or slices) of apples are perfectly sweet-tart simmered in a simple cinnamon sauce. They take just minutes to prep and taste so much better than canned!
They can be used in pies or tarts or replace a can of apple pie filling in any recipe. Scoop it over ice cream, yogurt, or cake for an easy treat.
Homemade is Best (and SO easy!)
I looooove Apple pie filling but not just for filling pie crust! It’s great over anything from yogurt to cake to oatmeal.
- Homemade always tastes 1000x better! Delicious apple flavor with a hint of warm spices.
- The apples come out tender and not soggy.
- Making this apple pie filling is less expensive than canned (and has a homemade flavor).
- Needs just a handful of ingredients.
- Ready in about 10-15 minutes, it’s so easy to make.
The Best Apples for Pie Filling
Much like when baking apple pie, you’ll want apples that stand up well so you don’t end up with applesauce! We think granny smith apples are the best for pie filling because they have a tart flavor which means the filling isn’t overly sweet.
Try any of the following: braeburn, golden delicious, honeycrisp.
Other ingredients needed in this recipe are sugar, water, spices and cornstarch (this makes the sauce portion).
How to Make Homemade Apple Pie Filling
You’ve heard the saying as easy as Apple Pie, this recipe is exactly that!
- Peel and chop apples: apples are peeled and sliced and simply added to a pan with a bit of water, sugar and cinnamon.
- Thicken: once tender, I add a bit of cornstarch to thicken up this apple pie filling. Any of the juices released from the apples make the “saucy” part.
Replace the Can
This easy apple pie filling recipe makes the equivalent of 1 can of apple pie filling and takes just about 10 minutes.
It’s perfect to substitute for a can of apple pie filling (and tastes so much better than the store bought)!
Variations
- Chop the apples or make apple slices instead.
- Swap out white sugar for brown sugar to add a caramel flavor.
- Add a teaspoon of lemon juice.
- I use ground cinnamon but you can use apple pie spice, a pinch of nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice or your favorite warm spice mixture.
How to Freeze Apple Pie Filling
This apple pie filling is delicious and can be used right away. We mainly make it to replace cans of pie filling in recipes, if I am making an actual apple pie from scratch, I don’t pre cook the filling. If you do make this filling you can of course freeze it.
Simply cook as directed and cool. Freeze in a freezer bag. Once ready to use, defrost overnight in the fridge and use as you would from fresh!
Ideas for Apple Pie Filling
We love this on its own or served over ice cream but this easy apple pie filling works perfectly in the recipes below!
- Apple Pie Egg Rolls: If you like the OLD McDonald’s apple pies (the fried ones!) you will LOVE these!!!
- Serve over ice cream, yogurt, or oatmeal.
- Place in a bowl and top with crumble to make a quick apple crisp.
- Wrap in pie pastry (or homemade pie crust) to make apple hand pies.
- Use it to top pancakes or waffles.
- Apple Pie Tacos: Crispy Cinnamon Sugar Shells filled with Warm Apple Pie Filling!
- Apple Pie Roll Ups: Easy baked apple pie roll ups rolled in cinnamon sugar and served warm!
- Apple Pie Dumplings: 2 Ingredient Apple Pie Dumplings! This is the easiest dessert to put together!
Ingredients
- 4 medium apples
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Peel, core, and chop or slice apples*.
- Melt butter and cinnamon over medium heat. Stir in apples, sugar & water.
- Cover and cook stirring occasionally for 4-6 minutes or until very slightly softened.
- In a small dish combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water. Add to the pan while stirring and continue to cook until apples are soft (not mushy) and filling is thickened.
- Let bubble 1 minute. Cool.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dessert, Pie
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Great recipe, I’ve done this with one or two apples, also used coconut oil, used maple syrup missed with coconut sugar. Worked out really well. So happy to have found this recipe.
Those sound like great additions Jacob, so glad you loved it!
I want a really juicy cobbler do I need to add water to pie filling.
Adding water can result in a soggy cobbler. I would suggest keeping the recipe as is, then adjusting to taste the next time around!
Thank you I am in the process of making my cobbler
Will this work with only three apples
Certainly. You may need a little bit less of the other ingredients but it’s pretty forgiving!
Delicious!!
Thank you Heather!
Thank you, we make this often at our house. We roll it up in puff pastry for an easy and delicious strudel.
That’s an easy and yummy idea! Thank you for sharing!
This looks great! Can flour be used in place of corn starch?
I’ve only tried the recipe as written so I can’t say for sure. If you do try flour you will need more flour than you would cornstarch (approximately 3x) … you may have to play with the amount to get the right consistency.
I tried to look through the comments to see if anyone else posted this question but I couldn’t find it. This is exactly what I’m looking for but I want to use with other fruits, ie. blueberries, cherries, etc. Do you know what the amount of fruit would be to replace 4 med apples? I’m thinking 4 cups?! Thanks for posting this!
I’ve never tried it, but think 4 cups sounds about right. Let us know if you try it Eva!
Can this be frozen? Sounds absolutely yummy, I’ve got lots of apples to use up from apple tree and this could be a good way of using them if it can be frozen.
Yes, this can be frozen Rozz. Enjoy!
Just made some using frozen sliced apples. Came out a bit soft, but oh well. The best part is that, as good as it smelled, it tasted even better. Being made into tarts.
Yummy! Enjoy your tarts!
Amazing recipe. I never thought this would be so easy. I’m a type 2 diabetic so I try to limit the carbs and I usually use Walmart sugar-free canned apple pie filling and use actual egg roll wrappers for a great dessert. I will substitute liquid Splenda concentrate for the sugar and use Xanthan Gum as the thickener to lower the carbs quite a bit. IF you have an air fryer, try that. It only takes a spritzing of olive oil for egg roll wrappers to cook up very crispy in the air fryer.THANK YOU for sharing this! Michigan has marvelous apples and I am certain this will make a much better tasting egg roll filling!
Thank you for the tips Frank!
I haven’t made the recipe, but I’m wondering if there was a substitute for the cinnamon?
You can leave it out or add any warm type of spice such as pumpkin pie spice, a tiny bit of nutmeg or even a pinch of dried ground ginger.
This is Fantabolous! I didn’t want to use a can and was happy to find this quick recipe. You won’t be disappointed. I only had Empire Apples and they were delish!
I used this recipe with cinnabons.
Tonite we are scoping some vanilla ice cream on them.
Thx again
B
Sounds great! Glad you loved it!
This is great! I needed a 19 oz. Can of Apple Pie Filling for a Large Fridge Recipe Muffin Recipe and I usually only have lots of fresh apples in my house, tonight I made this for the recipe! Awesome, Thanks for Sharing!
It was so easy to make the apple pie filling and it tasted great! Waiting for crust to defrost and can’t wait to put it all together and see how it taste and look!
Really easy. Definitely a keeper.
This is a really great recipe! I make it often. Keeps well in ref. Also freezes well. Great to have on hand.
I add it to bread pudding. Also make quick apple turnovers. A real find!!
Was making my quickie pork chop dinner tonight (chops, stuffing, apple pie filling in a casserole dish)…45 minutes till dinnertime; Oh no! No apple pie filling in the pantry! Did a quick Google search for stove top apple pie filling and this is what popped up. Perfect! Dinner is saved! It’s delicious and as easy as…well, you know ;). May never buy the canned stuff again. This is a keeper!
So glad you loved it Lori!
This was so simple. I used a 3 -lb bag of green Yellow Delicious Apples and doubled the recipe. I do like cinnamon so I used 2 & 1/2 tsp. This tastes so much better than any canned apple pie filling I have tried.
I’m using this recipe to make Apple Pie Enchiladas.
What I didn’t use I put in a mason jar a froze. After a week I thawed it in the refrigerator, heated it and then ate it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream(Schwans).
Delicious both ways!
I am so glad you have enjoyed this recipe! I think it is perfect for ice cream too!
Just made it for breakfast! Turned out great
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Great recipe I brought to a party and it was a BIG HIT!!!!