Best Apple Crumble Pie Recipe
Meet your new favorite apple pie! Its juicy apple filling and buttery crumb topping pair perfectly, and it’s so easy to make with about 10 minutes of prep time.
I readily admit that I’m a huge sucker for anything with crumb topping. I love sneaking over to the pie pan throughout the day to pick big, fat crumbs off of this dessert. (Does anyone else do this?)
This pie is a regular in our household – right up there with my apple cupcakes. Make sure that you have whipped cream or ice cream ready to serve alongside it.
Ingredients
You’ll need a few key ingredients to make this recipe:
- Tender, flaky pie crust – Pie crust is essentially a mixture of all-purpose flour, unsalted butter, salt, and water. Some cooks insist on adding a splash of white or apple cider vinegar as well. My favorite pie crust recipe is from Stella Parks (BraveTart) with the addition of lemon zest.
- Tart apple slices – Tart apples are always better for baking. I make apple pie filling with fresh apples to produce a flavor that canned pie filling cannot compete against. I like to use a mix of red Gala and green Granny Smith apples.
- Sugar and brown sugar – Using both sugar and brown sugar gives the filling a more robust flavor than white sugar alone.
- Spices – I like to use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. As a shortcut, you could also purchase a pre-made apple pie spice blend.
- Oats (for texture in the topping) – I’ve used both old fashioned rolled oats and quick-cook rolled oats. They both work equally well.
How It’s Made
This pie comes together SO easily.
Slice the apples into 8-10 slices per apple. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to peel the apples first. It doesn’t hurt to peel them, but it isn’t necessary.
Mix with the other pie filling ingredients (sugar and spices) and add to the pie crust.
You want the apples to get nice and soft before adding the topping. Place in a 400 F oven for about 40 minutes.
While it’s baking, I prepare the topping by hand by mixing together the melted butter, sugar, oats, and flour until I have big, fat crumbs.
Sprinkle the topping over the partially baked pie, being sure to cover it completely.
At this point, the crust may have already begun to brown. So, before putting the pie back in the oven, cover the crust with foil or a pie guard [paid link] to keep it from burning.
Bake for another 20 minutes. The crumbs should be dark brown but not burnt.
Wait at least three hours for the pie to set completely before cutting and serving.
Expert Tips and FAQs
Look for tart apples that have a firm flesh. These will hold their shape and won’t break down as much during the baking process.
I like to use a 9u0022 metal pie pan. If your pan is a deep dish pan, the recipe will still work but you will need to add more apples to fill the space.
Sure! I love throwing in a touch of cardamom for a twist. Fresh lemon zest also works really well.
To kick up the spice in the pie, you can add spices to the crumb topping as well. I also like giving the topping a little crunch by adding chopped nuts or even granola.
It smells so good and I know you want to eat it right away. You can, but it will be more liquidy and won’t hold its shape. Let it cool and set up properly; good things come to those who wait!
Related Recipes
- Crumb cookies (These are cookies made entirely of crumbs!)
- Classic crumb cake and apple crumb cake
- Apple cupcakes
- Apple chips
- Apple pandowdy
Apple Crumble Pie
Ingredients
Pie Ingredients
- 2 pounds tart apples a mix of red and green, sliced into 8-10 slices per apple (no need to peel them)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 9" pie crust
Crumb Topping Ingredients
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup rolled oats you can substitute this for granola
- 4 ounces nuts any variety of nuts or candied nuts will work; optional
Instructions
Pie Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Mix all ingredients (except the crust) together in a large bowl.
- Pour apple pie filling into prepared pie crust at and bake for 40 minutes.
Crumb Topping Instructions
- While the pie is baking, mix all crumb topping ingredients in a small bowl until large crumbs form. I suggest doing this with your hands. Stop as soon as you have large crumbs. Do not overmix.
- At 40 minutes when you remove the pie from the oven, top evenly with crumbs. Cover crust with a pie guard if it is getting brown.
- Bake for another 20 minutes. Crumbs should be dark brown but not burnt.
- Cool for at least three hours before cutting into pie.
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