This super easy stove top Homemade Apple Pie Filling recipe will become a family favorite! Canned pie filling is fine, but if you want to try your own hand at making homemade pie filling, this recipe is perfect for you!
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Apple Pie Filling can be used for so many different desserts! Of course you can used store bought canned pie fillings but if you want to learn how to make your own pie filling at home, take a look at this easy recipe!
You can use this filling for my Caramel Apple Crisp, Caramel Apple Back to School Cupcakes, and this Apple Streusel Cobbler.
What you’ll need to Homemade Apple Pie Filling:
- butter
- flour
- apples
- water
- brown sugar
- cinnamon
- nutmeg
- vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
Making Stove Top Apple Pie Filling:
This is super easy but you’ll want to keep an eye on it. This apple pie filling is only going to take about 10 or 15 minutes on the stove.
To start, Place butter into a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Once butter has melted, whisk in flour until completely combined with the butter. Whisk flour and butter mixture together for 2-3 minutes. In this apple pie filling recipe, I’m using butter and flour to thick the pie filling instead of cornstarch.
Add apples, water, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the sauce pan. Stir.
Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring often. Let apple mixture boil for about 2 minutes.
Turn heat to medium low and cook, stirring often, about 10-15 minutes, or until apples are as soft as you’d like them. I like the apples in my filling to be soft but not super mushy since they’re going to get baked again in whatever dessert I’m making. Make sure to stir this while it cooks so that the apples and filling don’t stick and burn. It doesn’t have to be constantly stirred the entire time but stir it a but while it cooks. If it seems to be getting too hot, just reduce the heat.
Once the apples are tender, just remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
Mixture will thicken as it cools, however if you think it’s too thick before you remove it from the stove top you can add a bit more water and stir it in.
My mom says that this is almost exactly how her grandma use to make fried apples and apple pie filling for her fried apples pies. I love that and I can see handmade fried apple pies happening in the future.
So far I’ve only really made apple crisps and apple cobblers with this pie filling. I have made a few pie filled cupcakes as well but I haven’t ventured out much farther than that.
I may have to do a little more kitchen experimenting this fall with this homemade pie filling. Any ideas for me? One of those magic cakes might be neat to make, you know the ones where you dump pie filling and cake mix and something else like butter or something into a cake dish and it just bakes up into a cake. I don’t know much about those haha but I’ll try them out.
Homemade Apple Pie Filling FAQ
1. What kind of apples do you use for homemade apple pie filling?I Fuji apples or honey crisp apples for pie filling but granny smith and golden delicious work nicely too.
2. Can this be made in the crockpot? This recipe probably can be made in the crockpot but I haven’t tried it out yet.
3. Is it just me or does apple pie filling seem to be the same thing as fried apples? Almost! Apple Pie filling and fried cinnamon apples are super similar but fried apples normally have less “gooeyness” with them. (only slightly haha) This apple pie filling does remind me of the fried cinnamon apples that you can order from Cracker Barrel or any “Meat and Three” country type restaurant. For some odd reason cinnamon apples are always listed under the “vegetable” section at these restaurant, right beside the mac & cheese. haha
4. How small should I chop the apples? When I’m making this filling, I try to chop the apples into bite sized chunks. This makes the filling cook faster and it’s easier to eat a small ooy gooy piece of apple in one bite then a giant slice.
4. I don’t have cinnamon or nutmeg, what else can I use for spice? If you don’t have cinnamon or nutmeg, you can substituteallspice, however, you’ll want to reduce the amount by half since allspice is normally a bit strong and can be overpowering if used to heavily.
Recipes to use this Homemade Apple Pie Filling:
Homemade Apple Pie Filling
This super easy stove top Homemade Apple Pie Filling recipe will become a family favorite! Canned apple pie filling is fine, but if you want to try your own hand at making apple pie filling, this recipe is perfect for you! If mixture seems to be getting to thick for your liking, just add a little bit more water while on the stove. I Fuji apples or honey crisp apples for pie filling but granny smith and golden delicious work nicely too. 
Homemade Apple Pie Filling
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
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Would like to find a honey recipe or one using sugar substitute
Would also like to preserve some in jars. In thie recipe, could you cook it about halfway, & then put it in jars & process them
Hi Jackie,
I don’t know much about canning. I’m so sorry.
I don’t know a lot about canning , but I did read that you can’t thicken with flour or cornstarch when canning . That’s because it breaks down during the canning process . Only thing we can use to thicken with is called ClearGel . It’s reprocessed cornstarch for canning . I hope that helps you .
Hi I was wondering do you have to give this apple pie filling a water bath?
No . It’s done on the stovetop in a kettle pot . But you can probably freeze it in freezer bags . That’s what I’m going to do . I hope that helps you .