Apple Crumble Pie is a delicious and easy pie that everyone requests time and again.
A tender flaky crust filled with sweet juicy cinnamon kissed apples all topped of with a delicious crumb topping. This is the perfect apple pie to serve after any meal!
Why This Is the Best Apple Crumb Pie Ever!
“The Best” is a pretty big statement and not one I take lightly… and “The Best” fits this Apple Crumb Pie perfectly! I first served this apple pie Thanksgiving many years ago and it was a HUGE hit, it has been requested over and over again!
- Great to make ahead, bakes up perfectly every time.
- Simple to make with homemade pie crust or store bought to make it fast.
- Can be served warm, room temperature, or chilled.
- Simple ingredients you probably have on hand.
The Best Apples for Pie
The base of a perfect apple pie (or apple crumble) starts with choosing the right apples. You’ll want an apple that is crisp and slightly tart but will hold its shape while baking.
When baking apple pie, I recommend using a Granny Smith apple as I’ve used in this apple crumb pie recipe.
While you certainly can use any apple, some apples have a softer texture or are less crisp meaning your pie could become mushy or the apples won’t hold their shape. Find more info on apples for baking here.
How Many Apples are Needed for a Pie
This will vary based on the recipe you’re using and the topping, this particular recipe uses a delicious crumb topping so the apples are really piled sky-high.
For this apple crumb pie, you’ll need 8 medium Granny Smith apples which will be approximately 6-7 cups of apples. Always be sure to peel your apples for pie as the skin can become tough and chewy once baked.
How Many Cups is a Sliced Apple?
You can expect 3 medium apples (approximately 1 pound) to yield about 2 1/2 cups of sliced apples.
Cut the apples fairly thin (about 1/8″) and, in this apple crumble pie recipe, you’ll want to stack them nice and high because they will shrink down a bit as they bake!
An apple peeler/corer/slicer can make this job extra quick if you use a lot of sliced apples, it’s a great investment that will save you hours!
Crumb Topping for Apple Pie
What sets this pie apart from a classic apple pie recipe is the topping! The crumble is easy to make and this pie has a generous portion!
It’s a simple mixture of:
- butter
- brown/white sugar
- flour
- cinnamon
Tips for a Perfect Pie
- Use an apple that holds up well like Granny smith.
- Pile the apples high, they’ll shrink a bit as they bake.
- If your crumb topping is powdery, it hasn’t been mixed enough. Use your hands to really mix it together until bigger crumbs form.
- If you notice the topping starts to brown too early, place a small square of foil over the middle.
- I use a nice deep dish pie plate and always set the pie plate on a parchment lined baking pan to bake. This makes it easier to get in and out of the oven and will catch any drips or spills should your pie bubble over!
Storage/Leftovers & Reheating Apple Crumb Pie
Once the pie has cooled it can be stored at room temperature uncovered for up to 24 hours.
If you bake this apple crumb pie ahead of time, you can warm it in the oven again before serving. Reheat at 325°F for about 20 minutes (heated from room temperature).
We serve this with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped topping and caramel sauce!
You can freeze this pie either before or after baking. If frozen before baking, the pie can be baked from frozen. To bake from frozen, preheat the oven to 425°F and cover the pie loosely with foil. Place the pie in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350°F and continue baking for an additional 45-55 minutes.
More Apple Favorites
I love apple everything from Apple Pie Tacos, Apple Crumble, and Baked Apple Pie Roll Ups to Apple Pie Egg Rolls.
Did you love this Apple Crumble Pie? Be sure to leave a comment and a rating below!
Ingredients
- 1 single pie crust prepared or homemade
Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup unsalted butter chilled and cubed
Filling
- 8 granny smith apples
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
Directions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
Topping:
- Combine all topping ingredients using a fork until completely mixed and crumbly.
Filling:
- Peel, core, and slice apples into thin slices (approximately ⅛ inch). Toss apple slices with sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest (if using), cinnamon, & nutmeg.
- Layer apple slices in pie shell (it will be really full) and pour any leftover juice over the apples. Top apple slices with topping and pat it down over the apples. Place pie pan on a cookie sheet (they tend to drip over if really full, this will save your oven).
- Bake at 450°F for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350°F and bake an additional 45-55 minutes. (Poke the center of the pie to make sure the apples are soft all of the way through).
- Serve warm or room temperature.
Video
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 baked it for the 45 minutes suggested and the crumble burned. It’s a bummer because the pie would’ve been great otherwise. Also I would half the recipe if you don’t have a deep dish pie crust.
How disappointing! Did you have it on the center rack in the oven?
I hope this turns out! It was pretty high! I felt like I was making a sandcastle putting the crumble on, lol! We sampled the apples and crumble, so far so good.
This looks delicious! Have you ever made this ahead of time? Like the night before?
Thanks!
Yes, I have made this the day before serving and reheated it in the oven for a few minutes before serving.
What size pie dish does this recipe call for
I use a 9″ deep dish pie plate.
Just put this in oven,will let you know how it turned out. . A couple of people gave me apples what’s a girl to do
So I attempted this pie because it looked so delicious and mine turned out hideous. It tastes good, but all of the crumble topping melted down in the oven making it a non crumble pie. I don’t understand how you go yours so perfect. Did you not mix the crumble super well? Cuz mine was kind of doughy when I was done mixing it… any suggestions?
Did you use butter (or margarine)? What temperature was you butter when you mixed the topping (soft or melted)?
Made this pie last nite, it was fantastic. We ate half of it as soon as it cooled. Will definitely make this again.I did add chopped walnuts to the topping and I cooked the whole thing on 400 for just under an hour. No burning topping, just browned and pie was completely cooked.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this pie, I love the addition of walnuts! Sounds great!
I don’t normally leave comments but the pie is really good! reduced the sugar level because i don’t really like sweet things and thats the only alteration i made. great recipe! thank you :)
Thank you so much for your comment, I’m glad you enjoyed this pie!
Hands down the BEST pie I have ever made. The hubby thought so as well. :)
I’m so glad you and your husband loved it!
Trying this recipe for the first time and my pie is quite piled up. I had to leave some of the filling out and I couldn’t use all the topping. Am I being too careful or should I use the rest of the topping? Right now my pie looks like a hill.
Yes, mine looks like a hill before baking, the apples do shrink down somewhat. I just pile the topping on top.
My pie didn’t really sink at all! I have a very hot oven so I baked it at 425 for the first 15 minutes but then I baked it at 350 for 55 minutes and it’s just as high as it was when I put it in the oven. I made sure to keep the apple slices very thin, too. Not sure what happened. I hope it tastes good. We’ll see!
Ok I’m happy to report that it significantly went down and looks normal! And tastes absolutely delicious!!!! I made it exactly how the recipe called for & am thrilled with the turn out! Thank you for this fantastic recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it Francesca!
I am new at baking so does all of the ingredients include making the crust too? How do I make the crust?
This recipe doesn’t include the ingredients for pie crust. You can buy a premade frozen crust or make one homemade.
Here you’ll find a perfect pie crust recipe.
I made this tonight with my children and the topping was more the consistency of cookie dough! (it didn’t exactly crumble) It hasn’t finished baking so I’m unsure how it turned out, bit is this be a use of something I should have done, and didn’t??
The top is a little bit like a cookie dough (but slightly more crumbly) so it sounds like it was right. I hope you enjoyed it once it finished baking!
Holly, i made this recently and the first 15 minutes @ 450° started burning the crumble.
What i do wrong?
I had to cover it with foil to keep it from burning the remainder of the time!!!
Which rack in the oven did you have it on? It could also be that your oven runs a little bit hotter than mine. Hopefully the foil fixed the problem and your pie was still delicious.
I want to fix this today, but I’m not sure how I’m suppose to use the butter. Is it suppose to be cold, room temp., or melted?
The butter should be softened (room temperature).
Would a 9in pie pan work for this? I’m eyeing these 8 apples with suspicion and trepidation…
The apples will cook down so a 9 inch pan should be okay!
Just made this pie with my 5 and 3 yr old, can’t wait to try it!
:) Enjoy! We love this recipe!
I tried out this recipe last night! It came out great! Not to be that person that says “I made this and changed a bunch of things” (those comments make me giggle), but I did make some changes because of what I had on hand. I didn’t have any nutmeg, so I used a pinch of cloves and a dash of ginger. I also added some chopped pecans to the crust (because I am a pecan fiend). The consistency of the pie was great and the recipe was simple. I will surely follow (a probably bastardized version of) this recipe again!
Gonna try more of your recipes
Thank YOU
Yum! Can’t wait to make this pie. :)