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
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I’m making apple pie cookies and decided to try a “from scratch” recipe for the filling. I stumbled upon yours and omgosh DELISH. Going to attempt homemade salted caramel while the filling cools and will put it all together tomorrow for Thanksgiving. Absolutely fantasic!
So happy to hear that Bevy! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Very delicious and easy!
So happy to hear that Melissa!
Perfect pie filling!
Why thank you Ronda!
Just wondering if you can them. What would you think the process is? I am wanting to save them for through the winter and into next summer.
We haven’t tried canning this recipe, so I can’t say for sure. But please let us know if you try it.
Yes! Had same question! We have about 60 more pounds of apples to go! Please let me know what you find out!
cooking apple pie filling today
Have fun Donna!
Will try apple pie filling!
I hope you love it France!
I’m going to try your fantastic apple pie filling with the following:
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter (softened)
1/3 to 1/2 cup milk (to moisten)
Cheddar Dumplings: Add about 1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the dumpling mixture before you add the milk.
Cheddar Dumplings. Oh my goodness Jim. That sounds incredible!
Didn’t bother with the cinnamon or cornstarch. First time I’ve ever made an apple.pie, and it was awesome. Thanks for this.
I am so glad you enjoyed the pie Dave!
Hi Holly. Thanks for the apple filling recipe. I used it in my Apple Icebox Cake.
Mmmmm, great idea Padmasree! That sounds delicious :)
Your recipe of ingredients lists a total of 6 tablespoons (plus 1 tsp) of water. 2 for the apples, 1 tbs with 1 tsp for the cornstarch mixture but where do the last two tbs of water (on the list) go?
Hi Shirley, you will want to stir in 3 tablespoons with the apples and then 2 tablespoons with the corn starch mixture! If you end up with juicy apple that needs a bit more thickening, you can add 1 tablespoon extra of each water and corn starch, to thicken it up! Hope that helps!
This is so good! I was wondering what to do with all the apples I had. This is perfect! Thank you so much for the recipe!
So glad you liked it Nikky!
Regarding your apple pie recipe: Try using apple cider in place of the water. Got this tip from a vendor at the Farmers’ Market. Adds just a bit more apple flavor.
Thanks for the tip Judy! That sounds like a great idea!
Could you please tell me which recipe did Gerard used for blueberry cheesecake? I could not find one. Thanks. My husband loves cheesecake and blueberries.
I baked your Blueberry cheesecake on Sat 16th of March 2019 and finished it in the fridge overnight, for St Patrick’s day dessert. It went down a treat, had the last two slices today for my breakfast this morning. I have to say that your recipe for Blueberry cheesecake, is the best we ever had, everybody enjoyed it. I’m now going to try your other cheesecake recipes for Sunday’s dessert
Thank you so much for your kind words Gerard! I am so glad you liked this recipe! Please let me know what you think of my other cheesecake recipes when you try them!
great recipe, thank you for the nutritional values..you stated the recipe was for 8 servings, i’m thinking 8 servings per pie…is that how you based the values which would then include the pastry? we don’t eat pastries, just the apple filling ….
Nutritional information is for the filling recipe only. Enjoy Renee!
Do you make this in a dutch oven on the stove top or just a large sauce pan?
I used a large non-stick pan. Either would work.
How much does this recipe yield? Would you say about 2 cups?
This makes approximately 2½ cups Diann. Enjoy!
How long do you bake this, if making a pie?
Hi Thelma, you can find bake times in this Apple Pie Recipe. Enjoy!
How long does this last once made?
I store it in the fridge for 3-4 days. Any longer than that, I suggest that you freeze it. It will keep for three or more months in the freezer.
Flawless and easy recipe. I use this recipe for topping on deserts i.e. over vanilla or unflavored yogurt. hand pies, tarts and vanilla pudding. It always gets raves and put up against canned filling it can’t be beat, also saves a lot of money. Note: I some times add 1/4 tsp allspice w/ cinnamon.
So glad you love it Gery, it’s definitely great over ice cream too!