Make an apple pie with graham cracker crust and crumb topping with this simple recipe. Packed with warm flavors and crisp apples, this recipe is almost too good to share.
Apple pie season is always a great time of year, but apple pies are a perfect dessert any time of the year. Make your holidays and gatherings more special with this apple pie recipe with graham cracker crust.
This pie is very well spiced and warm, perfectly inviting for some caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. Yum!
If you love apple pie recipes, make sure to check out my Easy Butterscotch Apple Pie, Apple Pie Bites, and Applesauce Custard Pie.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's simple. Made with an easy DIY graham cracker crust (or storebought) this pie is pretty simple and easy to throw together.
- Basic ingredients. We don't need anything fancy, and we don't need any eggs either. This recipe is great for using up pantry staple ingredients and some fresh fruit.
- You can make the filling in the Instant Pot! This stovetop filling is actually a variation of my Instant Pot Apple Pie Filling, so if you wanted to, you can simply whip up the filling in the pressure cooker and add it to the crust for even less effort.
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🥘 Ingredients
For the Graham Cracker Crust, you will need:
Graham crackers- You will need some graham cracker crumbs to make the crust of this pie. Buy them as prepackaged crumbs from the store's baking aisle, or crush them yourself.
Sugar- Adding a little sugar to the crust helps to hold it together when baked and adds a nice sweetness.
Butter- Use melted butter to moisten the crumbs and add a rich flavor.
For the Apple Pie Filling, you will need:
Apples- You will need some fresh baking apples for this recipe. I like to use pink lady, granny smith, or a variety of apples for different flavors and textures.
Lemon juice- This will help to keep the filling tasting fresh.
Butter- For added richness.
Sugars- Use both granulated sugar and brown sugar for sweetness, caramelization, and depth of flavor.
Spices- For a nice warm spice flavor you will want to use ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cloves.
Salt- This is a natural flavor enhancer and will help the pie to taste even better.
Water- This will help to soften the apples as they cook and will become the binding gel to hold the filling together.
Cornstarch- We use cornstarch as a thickener so that our pie filling isn't too runny.
For the Crumble Topping, you will need:
Flour- All-purpose flour will be the base of this crumble recipe.
Cinnamon- For added warmth and spice.
Butter- Cold butter will hold everything together and help to create a crumbly texture.
Brown sugar- This adds sweetness and depth of flavor.
Salt- A natural flavor enhancer.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make Apple Pie with Graham Cracker Crust with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Add your graham crackers to a food processor.
Blend until fine crumbs.
Add in the melted butter and sugar.
Pulse again until combined.
Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate.
Press out into a crust. Make sure to cover the bottom and sides well so that there are no gaps.
Carefully place the pie crust into the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
While the crust is baking, peel your apples. *This is optional
Slice your apples into larger sized pieces, about 8-12 pieces per apple. Remove the core and seeds.
Add the apple slices, lemon juice, butter, sugars, spices, and 1 ¾ cups water to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
Add the crumble topping ingredients to a bowl.
Stir together the crumble ingredients until the size of coarse crumbs or peas. Set aside in the fridge until needed.
Add the remaining ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of cornstarch to a small bowl or liquid measuring cup.
Stir together to create a slurry. Set aside.
After the apples have simmered, remove the lid and give them a good stir.
Add in the cornstarch slurry and stir again to combine.
Continue to cook and stir until the apple filling has thickened. Then remove the skillet from the heat and turn off the stove burner.
Pour the pie filling into the baked crust. Be careful not to disturb the sides, or the crumbs may fall. I like to use a slotted spoon to scoop the apple pieces and fill the crust before adding enough liquid to fill the gaps in the pie. This way, it's a better apples to filling ratio.
Spread the prepared crumble topping over an apple filled pie. There will be crumble mix leftover.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour before placing in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Let the apple pie cool before slicing and serving. The filling will thicken as it cools.
🧾 Substitutions
Spices: You can swap out the apple pie filling spices for apple pie spice instead. Use 3 teaspoons of apple pie spice in place of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
Butter. For a dairy free version, swap out the requested butter with a good plant based option.
🍴 Recipe Tips
Cooking the filling for this recipe is very important for getting the best results. Cooking the filling on the stovetop before adding it to the cust helps it to set properly and keeps the crust from malfunctioning while baking.
I learned this trick (the hard way) in my lemon bars with graham cracker crust recipe. Graham cracker crusts don't like to get too wet or else they fall apart or rise when baking.
The most important thing to note about this easy apple pie filling is that the size of your apple slices matter. The thinner you slice them, the more "applesauce-like" they'll become.
For actual apple texture, cut them larger. I recommend cutting a single apple into no more than 8 slices for perfectly sized apples, which do end up thick when cooked, but they'll be fork-tender too. Peeling the apples is optional and completely up to you.
I LOVE granny smith apples in my apple pies because I like a nice tart apple pie. That said, using a sweeter baking apple variety or a blend of apples can give you a much nicer depth of flavor and would help to sweeten the pie. Using a variety of baking apples is ideal for the best flavor profile.
⏲️ Make Ahead Instructions
You should make this pie at least 4 hours ahead of whenever you want to present it. This will give the pie plenty of time to cool down and thicken. If chilled completely, the filling holds together very well when sliced. If sliced too early, the filling will run.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Keep any uneaten apple pie covered and stored in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
While I have not tried to freeze this pie, I can't see it turning out well because once the pie thaws, the added moisture might cause the crust to turn out too soggy.
💭 FAQs
A baking variety of apples include Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Braeburn, and more. These apples hold up well to the baking without becoming grainy, and all have their own level of sweet and tart flavors that can make your pie unique.
Since the filling and the crust are both technically cooked before being assembled you don't really NEED to bake the pie. I do however recommend it for the best results as the added bake time will help to thicken the filling some more and help it to adhere to the crust well so they don't separate when served.
I like to serve apple pie with a nice dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Adding caramel syrup is also great for adding more flavor to every slice.
More great pie recipes to check out soon
- No Bake Smores Ice Cream Pie
- Homemade Peach Pie Filling
- No Bake Lemon Icebox Pie
- No Bake Cool Whip Cheesecake
📖 Recipe
Apple Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups Graham crackers (1 sleeve) ($1.26)
- 2 Tablespoons Granulated sugar ($0.02)
- 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted ($0.56)
Apple Pie Filling
- 6-8 cups Apples, sliced ¼ inch thick (about 6 apples) ($5.34)
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon juice ($0.48)
- 2 Tablespoons Butter ($0.16)
- ½ cup Brown sugar ($0.19)
- ½ cup Granulated sugar ($0.11)
- 2 teaspoons Ground cinnamon ($0.20)
- ½ teaspoon Ground nutmeg ($0.05)
- 1 pinch Ground cloves ($0.01)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt ($0.02)
- 2 cups Water, divided ($0.00)
- ¼ cup Cornstarch ($0.08)
Crumble Topping (makes enough for 2 pies):
- 1 cup All-purpose flour ($0.08)
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon ($0.10)
- ⅓ cup Cold butter ($0.56)
- ½ cup Brown sugar ($0.19)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt ($0.01)
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add your graham crackers to a food processor and blend until fine crumbs.
- Add in the melted butter and sugar and pulse again until combined.
- Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate and press out into a crust. Make sure to cover the bottom and sides well so that there are no gaps.
- Carefully place the pie crust into the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Apple Pie Filling
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling.
- Slice your apples into larger sized pieces, about 8-12 pieces per apple. Remove core and seeds. Peeling is optional.
- Add the apple slices, lemon juice, butter, sugars, spices, and 1 ¾ cups water to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Add the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the cornstarch slurry by whisking together ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of cornstarch in a small bowl until well mixed.
- After the 10 minutes are up, remove the lid and add in the slurry.
- Continue to cook and stir until the apple filling has thickened. Then remove the skillet from the heat and turn off the stove burner.
- Pour the pie filling into the baked crust. Be careful not to disturb the sides, or the crumbs may fall. I like to use a slotted spoon to scoop the apple pieces and fill the crust before adding enough liquid to fill the gaps in the pie. This way its a better apples to filling ratio.
Crumb Topping
- Stir together the crumble ingredients until the size of coarse crumbs or peas.
- Spread over an apple filled pie. There will be crumble mix leftover.
- Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour before placing in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
- Let the apple pie cool before slicing and serving. The filling will thicken as it cools.
Notes
Substitutions
- Spices: You can swap out the apple pie filling spices for apple pie spice instead. Use 3 teaspoons of apple pie spice in place of the cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.
- Butter. For a dairy free version, swap out the requested butter with a good plant based option.
Recipe Tips
- Cooking the filling for this recipe is very important for getting the best results. Cooking the filling on the stovetop before adding it to the cust helps it to set properly and keeps the crust from malfunctioning while baking.
- I learned this trick (the hard way) in my lemon bars with graham cracker crust recipe. Graham cracker crusts don't like to get too wet or else they fall apart or rise when baking.
- The most important thing to note about this easy apple pie filling is that the size of your apple slices matter. The thinner you slice them, the more "applesauce-like" they'll become.
- For actual apple texture, cut them larger. I recommend cutting a single apple into no more than 8 slices for perfectly sized apples, which do end up thick when cooked, but they'll be fork-tender too. Peeling the apples is optional and completely up to you.
- I LOVE granny smith apples in my apple pies because I like a nice tart apple pie. That said, using a sweeter baking apple variety or a blend of apples can give you a much nicer depth of flavor and would help to sweeten the pie. Using a variety of baking apples is ideal for the best flavor profile.
Make Ahead Instructions
- You should make this pie at least 4 hours ahead of whenever you want to present it. This will give the pie plenty of time to cool down and thicken. If chilled completely, the filling holds together very well when sliced. If sliced too early, the filling will run.
Storage
- Keep any uneaten apple pie covered and stored in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
- While I have not tried to freeze this pie, I can't see it turning out well because once the pie thaws, the added moisture might cause the crust to turn out too soggy.
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