Freezer apple pie filling. With this recipe, you can treat your family with pies year-round.
Get a jump start on fall baking season with this apple pie filling recipe. It makes a lot of delicious filling, so it?s perfect for freezing.
How to Make Apple Pie Filling
You'll find a detailed ingredient list and step-by-step instructions in the apple pie filling recipe below, but let's go over the basics:
Apple Pie Filling Ingredients
These are the ingredients you?ll need to make this apple pie filling recipe:?
- Apples: The best apples for apple pie are firm and sweet-tart. Granny Smith apples are always a great choice. Some bakers prefer using Granny Smith apples in combination with a slightly sweeter variety, such as Honeycrisp.
- Lemon juice: Toss the sliced apples with lemon juice to keep them from browning prematurely.
- Water: The stovetop apple pie filling starts with 10 cups of water.
- Sugar: Of course, this recipe calls for white sugar! You?ll need 4 ½ cups, to be exact.
- Cornstarch: A cup of cornstarch thickens the filling.
- Salt: Salt enhances the flavors of the other ingredients, but it won?t make your apple pie taste salty.
- Spices: Ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg add flavor and warmth to the apple pie filling.
How to Make Homemade Apple Pie Filling
Here?s a brief overview of what you can expect when you can expect when you make this homemade apple pie filling:?
- Toss the apple slices with lemon juice.?
- Combine the remaining ingredients in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil.?
- Add apples, return to a boil, then simmer until the apples are tender.?
- Freeze according to the recipe.?
Best Crust for Apple Pie
A simple pastry crust is perfect for apple pie. You can buy a store-bought crust or, if you want to go the homemade route, try our top-rated Butter Flaky Pie Crust recipe.
How to Freeze Apple Pie Filling
Cool the apple pie filling completely, then ladle it into freezer-safe containers. Make sure to leave about ½-inch of room at the top to account for expansion. Freeze for up to one year. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake the apple pie according to your recipe.?
Cookdap Community Tips and Praise
?So I wanted an apple pie filling with some ooey gooey goodness and this delivered exactly that,? says Laura. ?I changed the number of servings from 40 to 10, [as] I just wanted enough for one pie to try out the recipe.?
?Beautifully put together filling,? raves Desiree Morales. ?I absolutely loved it. I used it to fill two 9-inch pie shells and used a lattice crust to top it.?
?I was looking for an apple pie filling to put on top of mini cheesecakes,? says NurseCarol1974. ?This filling was perfect!?
Ingredients
- 18 cups thinly sliced apples
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 10 cups water
- 4 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
Step 1
Place apples in a bowl. Toss apples with lemon juice in a large bowl and set aside.
Step 2
Pour water into a Dutch oven over medium heat. Combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl; add to water, stir well, and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, constantly stirring.
Step 3
Add apples and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until apples are tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Cool for 30 minutes.
Step 4
Ladle into 5 freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Cool at room temperature no longer than 1 1/2 hours.
Step 5
Seal and freeze. Can be stored for up to 12 months.
Step 6
Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Nutrition Facts | |
---|---|
Servings Per Recipe 40 | |
Calories 129 | |
% Daily Value * | |
Total Fat0g | 0% |
Sodium61mg | 3% |
Total Carbohydrate33g | 12% |
Dietary Fiber1g | 5% |
Total Sugars28g | |
Protein0g | |
Vitamin C3mg | 16% |
Calcium7mg | 1% |
Iron0mg | 1% |
Potassium63mg | 1% |
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient.If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.
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source by allrecipe
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 24 years ago
This is a wonderful recipe in the fall when apples are so plentiful. This year, I made this recipe a few times and I have a freezer full of wonderful pie filling to use all year long. Makes a great pie! And since the apples are already cooked, the crust doesn’t get overcooked waiting for the apples to cook down. I will keep this recipe forever! So great! Thanks, Terri!
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- by: TIFFANY REAGAN
- 23 years ago
I love this recipe. I have now used it twice for Thanksgiving pies, and everybody always loves them. I do think that there is too much liquid, so I reduced the amount by about 1/2 cup and then when it came to a boil I let it evaporate some. The end result was great…you could eat the filling alone it is soooo delicious!!
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- by: Karla Harden Dishun
- 22 years ago
I also reduce the water, but by almost 3 cups. I make the recipe as a double batch in a 20 QT pot, so the fresh-from-the-orchard (key point) apples always make a lot of their own juice. I have found that 1 cup of apple equates closely to 1 apple, so it makes measuring them less tedious.
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- by: I'm Nuts Too
- 21 years ago
EXCELLENT! I have finally found a use for the numerous amounts of apples that my tree produces (well another use besides all of the neighborhood kids throwing them at each other – HA). This was easy, delicious, and very universal in that it can be used for pies or just heated with ice cream on top. Thanks so much Terri!
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 19 years ago
Wow!! You saved the day, or at least dessert! I was making a fruit pizza & crust was done…everyone already psyched for apple but then found out, no canned filling! Scaled it down to 8 svgs. & this was so much better! Used lg. 1 Pink Lady & 3 med. Gala. Didn’t measure the nutmeg so prob. added extra. Easy & so good!
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- by: Pitxitxita
- 19 years ago
Easy to make – came out great! I used 2 *Tbs* cinnamon, but we like extra cinnamon. The sugar needs to be adjusted – both for personal tastes and the sweetness of the apples used. As others have said, this can be used for so much more than just making a pie – our favorite is the apple enchilades.
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- by: Erin
- 18 years ago
This is a lovely filling! Sweet and tasty, but could use a little less water, like many reviews have mentioned. I scaled it down to make enough for just one pie, since I didn’t have enough apples for the full recipe. I also added extra cinnamon for that great, “warm up the house” scent, and it wasn’t too much at all! A great, easy easy easy recipe! Thanks!
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- by: Mayelle
- 18 years ago
I really enjoyed i, though it took no time at all to make, only made two servings! Made a small mistake though, used corn flour instead of cornstarch, but couldn’t tell so it worked out! will use corn starch next time! since we have an apple tree, there will be alot of next times!
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- by: Michigan Mommy
- 18 years ago
I scaled down the recipe and added some extra cinnamon and a little vanilla. This is a great recipe but I agree with everyone else who says there is too much water. I will probably have to “drain” the apples a little before I use this as pie filling. If you want it for anything else like the apple enchiladas (which were great) or to pour over cake or pancakes use the full amount of water. EDIT: after the filling sat in the fridge for a few days I made a pie and did NOT drain off any liquid, the pie set up perfectly and was excellent! As a personal preference I would have liked a few more apples in the filling but this was perfect for my husband! It was not runny at all after being baked!
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- by: Suzy
- 18 years ago
I made and froze this in September, when we went apple-picking, but didn’t use any until yesterday. It was very nice not to have to peel apples on Thanksgiving morning! I also followed the advice of other reviewers and reduced the water to 5 cups (but didn’t reduce the cornstarch), and increased the apples to 24 cups. I prefer a sweeter apple for my pies (Cortland (doesn’t brown too quickly), Fuji, Rome Beauty) so I will reduce the sugar to 2 to 2 1/2 cups the next time I make this (I usually use streusel topping, and this also adds plenty of sugar). Also, my favorite filling includes ginger and mace, so I will be including those spices the next time I make this. I will definitely use this recipe as a starting point. Thanks, Terri! Updtate: One of my boys wanted an apple cake for his birthday, so I used one of my containers of this filling: 1/3 blended into a yellow cake mix along with a bunch of cinnamon, 1/3 to fill between the layers, and 1/3 to top the cake (sort of like a German Chocolate Cake works). Then I frosted the sides with a tub of purchased cream cheese frosting, to which I had added more cinnamon, some ground ginger, and a little nutmeg. It was beautiful, and tasted fabulous! I’ve got to upgrade my rating from 4 stars to 5.
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- by: Billiewv
- 18 years ago
This makes the best apple pie filling ever. I cut the water back to 8 cups and increased the cinnamon and added more nutmeg. I have made pies both from the fresh mixture and frozen mixtures. I always make it with an oatmeal brown sugar crumb topping (different every time, just mix brown sugar, oats, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and a little flour to help hold it together until it feels right) and have rave reviews.
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- by: Ricci Esprit
- 18 years ago
Yum-E! I made this last night with the extra granny smiths I had from the tree out back. I added an extra 1/2 cup of sugar since the apples were so tart and used only 5 cups of water. I did use 1 tblsp of cinnamon, but I still don’t think that was quite enough (I’ll be adding more when I use it in a pie). I also added 1/4 c of unsalted butter to give it a little richness. I only wish the recipe included a bake time for a pie using this filling.
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- by: Paul
- 17 years ago
I really don’t like apple pie, I’ve told myself that for years…
The other day my wife asked me to get some apples so I bought some USA Granny Smith’s which were quite sharp and put to one side… My wife began having a craving for apple pie two days ago so today I bought all the ingredients and made the apple-pie filling. It’s absolutly delicious! I surprised myself… and my wife… -
- by: Tanaquil
- 17 years ago
I was intrigued by this recipe when I saw Paul’s post. I needed to use up some apples, so I scaled this way down to use only 2 cups of apples. I made apple waffles and apple tarts (recipe from the quality cook). Thanks for the inspiration! This is really a great way to make use of apples, though I didn’t freeze any.
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- by: Melanie C
- 17 years ago
I have an apple tree in the backyard and had heard you could freeze apple pie filling but never had a recipe. When I saw this recipe it was perfect timing. I took the advice of others and reduced the water to 6 cups water to 12 cups apples. In a peach filling recipe on the website, they suggested to freeze the peaches in a foil lined pie plate with foil on top. When it froze, remove it from the plate. Cook in oven at 425 degrees on the bottom rack then lower the temperature. I tried this with this apple pie filling and it was marvelous. I look forward to another apple pie this holiday. Thanks for the recipe.
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- by: Vtmom
- 17 years ago
Yummy! I decreased both the sugar and the water after reading the reviews and produced a delicious treat! We have enjoyed it warm over vanilla ice cream as well as with peanut butter in a sandwich! I highly recommend trying both! I also added some ginger and cloves since we like them in our apple dishes!
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- by: Dee D.
- 17 years ago
WONDERFUL!!! We kept original recipe to make apple topping every year (new addition to our cupboard so we were very happy). Our biggest mistake was not beginning the 6-8 minute cooking period immediately after apples were added to sauce (we overcooked). That first attempt began our new tradition of apple topping ! YUMM-O! Next we made the filling as other reviewers (24 cup apple & 5 Cup water), and lowered sugar since we were not using Granny Smith. We began timing apple cooking IMMEDIATELY upon adding apples to sauce and only cooked 6 minutes which left apples firm – Now we have perfection! THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERUL RECIPE!
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- by: CHARLOTTE
- 17 years ago
I was given a bunch of apples and I wanted to make an apple cobbler to take to Bible study tonight. I scaled the recipe down for two pies. I did as other reviewers suggested and cut the amount of water in half. This is by far the most beautiful cobbler I have ever made and the flavor is out of this world. I will be using this recipe to do up the rest of the apples for the freezer. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
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- by: Susan H
- 17 years ago
I was looking for a good freezer recipe for the ton of apples we picked at the orchard this fall. We spent all afternoon making a couple batches of this along with another recipe on this site for applesauce (sarah’s applesauce), which both turned out really good! The only thing I would do differently on this recipe is to not overcook the apples. They were a little on the mushy side after I baked a pie. Other than that, this was a tasty and good way to use all those extra apples!! Thank you for the recipe!
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- by: Mimi B.
- 17 years ago
Delicious!!! I made this per instructions except I only added 6 cups of water which was plenty. I froze some and used the rest for filling in apple enchiladas recipe from this site and it was amazing!! This would also be great on pancakes or even topping for vanilla ice cream. I hate the taste of canned filling, ick!! This was so worth making it instead!!!
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- by: Cookdap Member
- 17 years ago
OH MY GOSH, this is great!!! I am a professional baker and am always looking for new formulas. I found this to be very easy to follow and easy to prepare. I reduced the nutmag by 1/2 and used 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 granulated. I followed the formula for the amount of apples and it didn’t look like enough, so I added 3-4 cups more apples. After the mixture cooled, I filled the pie crust and baked, the shop smelled so good.
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- by: TARIYORK
- 17 years ago
This is really good! I used Granny Smiths and ran out of cornstarch so they had to sit overnight in the fridge. But they turned out great. I used a bit of apple pie seasoning and run extract as well as brown sugar. I only put in about half the water called for and was careful not to overcook. I used my food sealer and put them all in the fridge for the holidays.
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- by: Sylvie Toroknagy Murray
- 17 years ago
i scaled this one down but ended up making multiple batches. absolutely amazing..makes a great gift jar!! made apple pie lovers out of non believers!
problem occured…..several weeks later…the jars exploded…..the whole canning idea is not very good…but this recipe is incredible!! -
- by: Kristen
- 16 years ago
This apple pie filling was SOOOOOOO yummy, I was fighting to keep my daughter and her spoon out of the saucepan that I was cooking them in! However, I used it to make apple crepes, so I didn’t need as much as this recipe called for, so I reduced the servings & scaling from 40 to 4. The only other thing I changed about the recipe is that I doubled the amount of apples (I used Golden Delicious) because it was too saucy with the amount of apples the recipe called for. Apple pie is next and I can’t wait to make one with this recipe! Thank you so much for posting it! 🙂
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- by: BECCA1011
- 16 years ago
5 Stars with only 3-4 cups of water. I read other reviews and cut the water down to 4 cups to 18 cups of apples and you could still reduce to 3 cups. Easy to make and turned out great, I used a variety of apples from many different neighbors and it tasted great in the end. I also reduced the sugar to 2 cups as I wanted something on the less sweet side. A great recipe.
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- by: Tess
- 16 years ago
This an easy pie filling when you want to make just a few batches. I scales it down to 10 servings which was exactly right for two pies. I made it a few days in advance and kept it in the fridge for my company so I can’t so how well it freezes; however, it did do very well in the fridge and made great pies!
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- by: Happymommy2
- 16 years ago
Very simple and easy to make. Time is all-lots of peeling and slicing. I used 26 apples, only 4 cups water, 1/2 brown and 1/2 white, extra cinnamon and nutmeg. Smells wonderful. Tastes the same. The kids want to just eat it out of the pot! I used a stock pot since that was all I had, worked well, just needed longer to cook. I am going to use this to make an apple pancake, also from this site. Also plan on using for topping for french toast. I won’t actually be making any pies! family does not like them. There was a bunch of extra fluid, even reducing it as much as I did. I let it continue to cook down after removing the apples, I now have a nice jar of apple syrup! Ready for those pancakes and french toast!
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- by: Tracy
- 16 years ago
After carefully looking through recipies for this, I choose this one, but used others suggestions. I only used 8 cups of water because I had orchard apples. This came out soooooo good. To save space (and containers) I storred them in heavy duty zip top bags and put all of the small bags into a larger freezer bag, so they are all in the same place. If this tastes the same after freezing as it does now, I will be using this recipe every year!!!
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- by: Teresa Bullock
- 16 years ago
I had about 9 cups of apples that were from my grandmas back yard. I had read other peoples reviews and so I cut way back on the water. I only used four cups and I also used my slow cooker. After about 3 hours my house smelled wonderful! The kids were eating right out of the slow cooker. I let my apple filling cool and then scooped it into individual ziploc baggies. I placed them in the freezer and now when I make pancakes for the kids I unthaw a bag and pour it over thier pancakes. Delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!
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- by: Dianne Joyner
- 16 years ago
I needed a can of apple pie filling last night but didn’t want to go to the store. I used this recipe and had it calculated for 4 servings. It was delicious and also saved me money. Homemade was much cheaper than store bought and also had more apples in it. Good recipe! I will definetely use this again.
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- by: Mom To Twins- Amy
- 15 years ago
This came out great, even months later, still delicious. I used apples Jonah Gold apples straight from the orchard. I cut the liquid to 6 cups (4c. apple juice) which worked great for us. It made 4 large pies for us – got rave reviews each time, I still have one left.
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- by: Carmen
- 15 years ago
nice and easy recipe, the sauce tastes lovely, next time will add less water like other reviewers suggested.Looking forward to homemade apple pies and apple crumble this winter. this one is for keeps in my recipe collection just made apple crumble with the filling the i had freezed down omigod it is the best apple pie filling i’ve eaten.
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- by: Jourdan
- 15 years ago
this recipe tastes great and was a life saver when my boyfriend brought home 2 giant crates of apples and asked if i could do something with them. i did have to reduce the water by almost half… and instead of lemons i used orange’s and about 5 table spoons of that.(boyfriend also brought about 30 oranges.)
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- by: TIGERTRAX3
- 15 years ago
I scaled this back to 8 servings to make the equivalent of a can of filling. I was impressed by how quick it was and i didn’t even boil mine for as long as it stated. i was a little heavy handed with the cinnamon, but it tasted like apple butter so i wasn’t complaining! Next time i will use flour instead of cornstarch..thats just a personal prefernce. very good recipe
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- by: Roxanne J.R.
- 15 years ago
I made this a while back because I was gifted with quite a few apples and they were starting to go bad. I froze some of it and just used the last batch. Let me tell you, this is great! It was so delicious in the many different recipes I used it in. It is not highly spiced, so it leaves room for you to add in more cinnamon if that is your preference (it was surely mine) But I will definitely use again when the need arises. Thanks for sharing.
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- by: Riri2
- 15 years ago
Very nice! I didn’t make this store…I wanted to use it immediately so I cut this down to 8 Servings. Also, I had a graham cracker crust on hand, so instead of using a regular pie crust (as with all apple pies) I used a graham cracker crust. The crust was baked for approx 10 mins. I allowed the pie filling to cool before pouring it into the crust. And then I popped it back into the oven for anoth 5-6 mins. When eaten immediately, I found that (as is obvious) the graham cracker crust doesn’t hold up really well) but after leaving it in the fridge for a while it set completely and there was no crumbling. Lovely. I didn’t have any left over crumb but otherwise sprinkling that over the pie before the final baking would make it lovelier!
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- by: Teri Beall Mercer
- 15 years ago
Since I wanted to can instead of freeze this recipe, I left the apples in larger chunks and cooked them for just 2 minutes, put up on 5 one-quart jars and did a water-bath. I have yet to open one and try it in a pie but it looks and smells wonderful. I ended up with about 2 cups extra syrup but I wouldn’t reduce liquid if I made this again because it was enough to cover the apples when I added them to the pot.
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- by: Aulait
- 15 years ago
Based on other reviews about how it made a scanty 5 pies, I increased the recipe to make 64 servings. So glad I did… it filled my 6 pie plates perfectly. I cut the water in half and for that half used 1/2 apple juice – 1/2 water. I also decreased the sugar by a cup and slightly increased the cornstarch because there is nothing I hate more than a watery pie! Everything smelled and tasted delicious. I lined 6 foil pie plates with saran wrap, then portioned out the filling. Into the freezer they go, then when frozen I’ll pop them out, wrap them up and when its time to bake I can place the pre-formed filling in the crust and bake. The foil plates are slightly smaller than a traditional pie plate, so the fit is perfect.
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- by: Asma
- 15 years ago
I made pie for the very first time, and your filling recipe made it a success! The aroma & taste were perfect. (I give this 4 stars though because of the excess water, I cut down the water in half – thanks to other reviewers, but I found that it was still a lot, perhaps next time I’ll put 1/4th the amount given here) Anyway, this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
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- by: Lovetocook
- 15 years ago
This was so wonderful! It tasted great and the cinammon was just the right amount. The sugar is adjustable depending on the sweetness of the apples you’re using. I think this was just the right dessert for a Christmas dinner. I read some of the other people’s comments, and they said the sauce was too liquidy. I think they used the sauce either freshly made, or after 30 mins of cooling. I skipped the cooling and simply put it in the freezer for 45-50 minutes. The result was outstanding. I definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone. Thank you so much for this recipe! I have to pass it on through the next generations of my family.
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