A true classic recipe, this Apple Crumb Pie has a buttery, flaky crust filled to the brim with cinnamon-laced apples and baked under a crisp oat crumb topping.
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As far as pies go, it's hard to get more comforting than an Apple Crumb Pie. I set out to do justice to what makes this pie a classic: a buttery crumb topping, a glossy spiced apple filling, and a crisp, flaky homemade crust holding it all together.
Just like my Ultimate Apple Pie, this recipe includes a few deliberate steps to ensure it's the best possible pie. The filling uses a mix of baking apples that hold their shape and balance sweet and tart. The apples are macerated first, then layered into the crust by hand, a step many recipes skip, so the filling retains its height rather than sinking under the topping. The crust itself is a simple, buttery homemade dough made by hand, though any of the other pie crust recipes on my site can easily be swapped in. Finally, the crumb topping uses melted butter instead of cold butter, which makes it quicker to assemble and results in a crispier crumb.
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Best Apples to Choose
For a pie, you want an apple that holds its shape during baking and has a nuanced flavor with a slight tartness to balance the sweetness of the sugar. A combination of apples is helpful because it introduces a variety of flavors and textures. My two favorite apples for any recipe are Gala and Granny Smith. They're universally available, inexpensive, and check all those boxes just mentioned. Check out this guide to baking apples if you are looking for further information on choosing the right type of apple for you.
How to Make This Apple Crumb Pie
This recipe calls for one batch of pie dough for a 9-inch pie, and homemade is best! New to making pie crust? Take a look at my Ultimate Guide for All Butter Pie Crust, or any of the other resources on my site for making pie crust by hand, in a stand mixer, or with a food processor. The recipe below is for a straightforward all-butter pie crust made by hand.
The most common problem with apple pie is that the filling sinks as it cools, leaving a gap under the topping. To prevent that, this recipe macerates the apples to draw out some of their moisture before they go into the pie. Then the apples are layered in closely within the pie dough, leaving little room for the filling to settle. The result is a pie that slices cleanly and holds its shape!
Step 1: Make the pie crust and rest it for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
Step 2: Roll out the pie dough, place it into the pie plate, and crimp the edges.
Step 3: Add all the ingredients for the apple filling to a bowl and macerate for about 20 minutes.
Step 4: Layer the macerated apples into the pie crust, shingling the slices as you go.
Step 5: Keep shifting the slices as they are layered to remove as many gaps between them as possible.
Step 6: Melt the butter and make the streusel (if melting it on the stovetop, you can use the pot to combine the remaining ingredients in lieu of a bowl).
Step 7: Sprinkle the streusel over the top of the apple pie filling.
Step 8: Bake! If your streusel is browning too quickly, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
How to Tell When the Pie is Done
Some pie recipes call for a prebaked crust or a precooked filling, but this one goes into the oven with every component raw: the crust, the filling, and the crumb topping. That makes the bake especially important. The pie needs enough time in the oven to cook the bottom crust and the topping through and, most importantly, to heat the filling enough to activate the thickener (cornstarch) and fully cook the apples.
There are a few ways to tell when your apple pie is done:
- Look for the crumble to be golden and the pie to be puffed up nearly all the way through. It puffs up because the fruit has reached the temperature at which it "boils". As it cools, it will slightly deflate.
- Ordinarily, I would suggest looking for the pie to be bubbling in the middle as a sign it is done, but that is difficult to see with the crumble topping. You will likely see some bubbling on the edges of the pie, though.
- And finally, the most foolproof way to make sure your pie is baked properly is to use an instant-read thermometer. I always use one to check the temperature of every pie I bake. You want the internal temperature of an apple pie to be above 200ºF.
How to Serve and Store It
Let the pie cool for about 4 hours before serving. If you cut into it while it's hot, the filling will be soupy, and the slices won't hold their shape. (You won't catch me saying "don't do it," though, because that's still delicious, just messy!)
Serve this pie slightly warm or at room temperature. It can be served as-is, with whipped cream, or a la mode with vanilla ice cream!
A baked apple pie can be stored covered at room temperature for 1 day. Cover it and place it in a refrigerator if you are storing it longer. It can always be reheated later to take off the chill and to crisp up the pastry.
More Apple Recipes
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Full Recipe
Apple Crumb Pie
This Apple Crumb Pie is all about a tall, sliceable filling tucked under a buttery oat crumble. The recipe calls for weighing the apples whole before prepping them, then cutting them into thin, flat slices so they layer together without gaps. Macerating the slices in sugar and spices draws out their juices before baking, which softens them and keeps the filling from sinking away from the topping. The crumb topping is made just a bit simpler by using melted butter instead of cutting it in cold, which helps it bake into a crisper crumb that holds up against all the juicy apple filling.
- Total Time01:40
- Yield1 9-inch pie
Ingredients
For Pastry:
- 1-½ cups (180 grams) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) coarse kosher salt (see note)
- 8 tablespoons (110 grams) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 1" pieces
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup (60 grams) ice water, more as needed
For Apple Filling:
- 3-½ pounds baking apples (about 6-8), weighed whole, then peeled, cored, and cut into flat slices no thicker than ½ inch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (about half a lemon)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (or 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour)
- ⅓ cup (70 grams) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon (2 grams) coarse kosher salt
- 1-½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Crumble Topping:
- 8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (120 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (80 grams) old-fashioned rolled oats
- ¼ cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55 grams) packed brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
Prepare the Pie Crust:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Toss in the butter and coat it with the flour. Using your fingers, work the butter into the flour. Continue until most of the butter looks shaggy. Some larger pieces can remain, up to the size of a marble.
- Add the vinegar to the ice water, then drip ¾ of it into the flour mixture and toss with your fingers. When the dough is hydrated enough, it should easily squeeze together with your hands. Drip in more water if needed. Add only enough water to bring the dough together.
- Using your hands, gently press the shaggy dough together into a ball and then flatten it into a disk shape. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. Using a rolling pin, roll the wrapped dough out until it stretches to the edges of the plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
- Roll out the pie dough to an 11-inch circle. Fit the pastry into a standard 9-inch pie plate, making sure to press the pastry into the sides and the bottom. Crimp the edges as desired. Chill the pie crust in the refrigerator until ready to fill.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF and place an oven rack in the lower part of the oven.
Prepare and Bake the Pie:
- In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples and lemon juice. Add the cornstarch, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla and mix together. Let sit until the apples have released some of their juices and shrunken in size, at least 20 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a medium bowl in the microwave or in a medium pot on the stovetop, then turn off the heat. To the bowl or pot, add the flour, oats, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and mix until well combined.
- Layer the macerated apples tightly into the pie crust, leaving as little space between the slices as possible. Lightly pack them down to close any remaining gaps. Pour any juices left in the bowl over the apples, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top, packing down as needed.
- Bake the pie on a rimmed baking sheet on the lowest rack for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 400ºF and bake for an additional 45-55 minutes, or until the pie filling is bubbling and it reaches an internal temperature above 200ºF. If the crust or streusel is browning too quickly, loosely cover with aluminum foil.
- Remove the pie from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let the pie cool for at least 4 hours, or preferably overnight. Serve at room temperature.
Notes
Use a mix of baking apples, such as Gala and Granny Smith.
Weighing your flour is the most accurate way to measure. If you aren't going to weigh it, make sure to spoon it into the measuring cup and then level it off. If you scoop the flour out with the measuring cup and then level, it could change the outcome of the final product.
This recipe was tested using Diamond Crystal coarse kosher salt. If you use Morton's kosher salt or fine salt, decrease by half for volume, or use the same amount by weight.
A baked Apple Crumb Pie can be stored, covered, at room temperature for up to 1 day. For longer than 1 day, store in the refrigerator and reheat as necessary.
Want to make this apple pie without the crumble? Make the recipe as-is, then top it with another pie crust to make it a double-crust or lattice-crust pie.
See the FAQs about this pie below this recipe for additional information.
This recipe was originally published in 2019. Over the years, this recipe has been regularly retested and periodically updated to ensure it continues to deliver great results for readers. The ingredients and method largely remain the same, with some minor adjustments.
FAQs
This recipe was originally published in 2019. Over the years since, it has been regularly retested and periodically updated to ensure it continues to deliver great results for readers. Because this is a legacy recipe, I can compile some of the most frequently asked questions I get from readers about it!
You can. I'll be honest that I haven’t had much success with store-bought pie dough. I personally would reach for store-bought puff pastry, but if you have a brand that you've had success with before, go for it!
Yes. Old-fashioned rolled oats give the topping the most texture, but quick-cooking oats will also work.
Yes, replace it with the same amount of water.
Weigh the apples first, then prepare them. If you prep them before weighing, you'll end up with too many apple slices. Without a scale, 6-8 apples is a good estimate, but you'll need to judge the amount by eye. Once weighed, peel, core, and cut the apples into thin, flat slices. This is crucial for fitting them together in the pie with no gaps. Wedge-shaped slices leave gaps that flat slices don't.
It will look like a lot of apples at first, but they shrink quite a bit as they macerate. The sugar draws out their juices, and the slices soften, becoming more pliable and smaller. The apples also need to be layered in tightly rather than poured in. Shingling them in like a puzzle and lightly packing them down reduces the gap between the filling and the crust as it bakes, and helps the filling stay tall. If you've done both of these steps and still have extra apples, set them aside for another use, such as cooking them down on the stovetop.
Yes. Refrigerate the pie dough for up to 2 days or freeze it for up to 3 months. The shaped crust, the macerated filling, and the fully assembled unbaked pie can each be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 day. To freeze the assembled, unbaked pie, freeze it on a sheet pan until solid, at least 12 hours. Then wrap it twice in plastic wrap and once in foil. Bake within 3 months, either thawed overnight in the refrigerator or straight from frozen.
Make sure the oven is fully preheated and bake the pie on the lowest rack. If the bottom still isn't baking through, place a pizza stone on the bottom of the oven, or bake the pie a little longer. But more importantly, cook it longer!
Yes. If the pies are on separate racks, switch their positions halfway through baking.
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Ana
I made this pie for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! I used a combination of Honeycrisp and Granny Smith apples. I was surprised how the apple volume decreased so much after maceration, which helped everything fit perfectly into my pie plate. Thank you for the recipe!
Xara
Help! I bought quick cooking oats by mistake! Would they work in the this topping?
Kelli Avila
It should be fine! Hope you enjoy!
Victoria E DeHart
OK, I made this yesterday and it was just OK.
The good: the crust was really good. I thought the crumble was pretty good.
The not so good:
Recipe calls for dotting with butter before adding the crumble, but no instructions given for the amount of this butter! I figured 2 Tablespoons would probably do, and it did, but this needs to be added to the recipe!
I followed instructions to the letter and the crust was a little small. As in not enough dough. I would personally increase the recipe by at least 25% to get enough crust to easily cover your pie pan.
The crumble burned almost immediately! I smelled it and moved the oven rack up a notch, picked off the burned pieces and covered it with foil. I honestly would suggest covering it first and remove the foil the last 10 or so minutes for browning.
Needs more brown sugar, if you're using Granny Smith apples (I used half GS and half Gayla)
Took about 70 minutes to temp at 185 in the middle of the pie.
Conclusion, I will probably try another recipe to get a bit more flavor! My husband has a sweet tooth!
Gal
I made this with like 2lbs of apples and it fit a pretty big pie tin so I'm not sure how many people are eating this 9 apples one. I even used the same measurements as written above for the 2lb amount of apples and it looks great. But overall, the measurements seem proportionate to the taste and it smells amazing in the oven right now.
If you're like me and you always end up with excess crumble, you can easily half the crumble topping recipe and have the perfect amount for a nice layer.
AJ
I had the same issue! I prepared 4 pounds worth of apples and then only used half 🙁 No idea how others are using 4 lbs.
Kelli Avila
Did you use 4 pounds of apples and then cut and prepare, or did you use 4 pounds of cut and prepared apples?
AJ
Hi Kelli- I started with 4 pounds of apples, then peeled, cored, and cut them, and then let them macerate for almost 40 minutes. Are you using a deep dish pie pan? It wasnt mentioned so I assumed a standard 9” aluminum pie pan would work. Perhaps thats the issue?
Amy
Amazing pie. I prepared days ahead of time for Thanksgiving, froze, then baked the day before. Worked out great and flavor is the best!
Liza
I am going to make this pie for Thanksgiving. Just want to know if the apple mixture can stay in the refrigerator for a day before using.
Kelli Avila
Yes!
Candace
Love this pie! It’s been requested for this thanksgiving. Any tips if I’m baking two? Can I bake them at the same time or should I do them separately?
Kelli Avila
Hi Candace! You can definitely bake them at the same time. If you are baking them on separate racks, make sure to switch them halfway through! Enjoy <3 Kelli
Candace
I have been explicitly asked to make this pie several times by family members and a neighbor. Someone even offered to pay! It's super simple and absolutely delicious. It's now my go-to apple pie recipe.
Brooks
Best apple pie I have ever had! It is so easy to make and taste incredible. I highly recommend this recipe.
Ifesinachi Nwatarali
Thank you so much your recipe. I made it my own and used corn flakes as the crumble. I added whipped cream on the top and it was delicious.
Thanks girl
Kelli Avila
Wow, that sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing! -Kelli
Kelli Avila
Hi Natalie! The 2 tablespoons butter chunks go on top of the apple pie filling. And then the crumble topping uses 8 tablespoons of melted butter! I'm going to look into the instructions to see if I can make sure it's very clear! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! -Kelli
Kay
Hi, We prefer a double crust. Are there any difference in baking instructions?
Kelli Avila
Check out this post: How to Bake a Double Crust Pie
Samantha
I combed through many other recipes before finding this one and it was absolutely perfect. The pie came out so well - thank you for a fantastic recipe!
Kelli Avila
Samantha, I'm so happy to hear! Thanks for sharing! -Kelli
Andre
Is there a replace for apple cider vinegar?
Kelli Avila
Hi Andre, you can just replace it with water if you don't have apple cider vinegar.
Ann
Could you please clarify step 5? I get a little confused here. Thanks in advance!
Kelli Avila
Sure! In step 5 you are forming the dough into "pie disks". Once they are formed and wrapped into the disk, I instruct to roll them out while in the plastic wrap, as this stretches the dough into the corners of the plastic wrap. This is done for two reasons, the first is that it helps the dough come together better without touching it with your hands. The second is that is makes it an airtight seal which helps it stay fresher longer. Please reach out if you have any other questions.
KD
Thank you for your excellent instructions. The pie was delicious. However, is there something I can do next time to keep the pie crust on the bottom of the pan from coming out soggy? I followed all of the instructions, yet did have to substitute Country Crock Butter Sticks for the butter due to an allergy. I let the apples rest overnight just I did the dough The following morning I reduced the liquid from the apples to a very thick sauce with which I coated the apples before adding them to the uncooked refrigerated crust, placed the crumble on top and baked as described. Thank you for your guidance!
Kelli Avila
Hi KD. I'm not sure if the butter substitute you are using made a difference. But my best advice for getting the bottom crust to cook is to make sure the oven is preheated to the correct temperature, bake it on the lowest rack..and if you are still having trouble, put a pizza stone in the bottom of the oven. Or cook it longer!
Huda Batterjee
I love this pie recipe! Thank you for sharing it. Is there any way to make it a few days ahead and still have it taste fresh? How long in advance can one make it? Would cooking the filling make that possible.
Kelli Avila
You can bake it and freeze it if you want! Or it can be made up to two days ahead and refreshed in the oven before serving!
LK
Excellent pie! Subbed Country Crock Butter sticks (to make dairy-free). Turned out spectacular.
Kelli Avila
I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by and sharing!
Marie-jo
Hi, can we bake the filling for this pie before making it or is the result better if the Apple are not cooked?
Kelli Avila
Yes you can cook the filling before making it! I have similar instructions for the Mile High Apple Pie if you need the guidance. Let me know how it goes.
Kim
Fabulous recipe! Super easy to make. I did use the basic butter crust instead of the one with cream cheese. Highly recommend !
Kelli Avila
I'm so glad you liked it! Here's to many more apple pies!
Natalie
Such a gorgeous apple pie! Looks so delicious and perfect for the season ♥
Rosie
This is such a perfect looking pie! Looks so delicious!
Kelli Avila
Thanks so much, Rosie!
Nina
This sounds so good! I’ve had trouble with my apple pies that I stopped making them. You’ve given me some great tips I never knew. I’m gonna give it a try after at least 4 yrs of not making them. Thanks for the awesome tips!
Kelli Avila
I'm so glad you found this useful! Happy baking!