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.
Recipe: $7.16 | Per Serving: $0.90 | Servings: 8
Apple pie season is always great, 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! Pair it with some Spiced Orange Ginger Ale Mocktail for a seasonal combination perfect for fall weather.
If you love apple pie recipes, make sure to check out my Apple Pie Bites, and Applesauce Custard Pie.
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🍯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. We took our No Bake Graham Cracker Crust and baked it.
- 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.
🥘 Ingredients
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.
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. If you still have apples left over you should try this Vegan Apple Upside Down Cake!
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.
Water- This will help to soften the apples as they cook and will become the binding gel to hold the filling together.
Crumble topping- Using flour, cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, and salt, we create a Dutch crumble topping for our apple pie. We use a similar crumb topping in our Cinnamon Streusel Dessert Pizza.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🧾 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.
🔪 Instructions for Apple Pie with Graham Cracker Crust
Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2: Add your graham crackers to a food processor (Image 1).
Step 3: Blend until fine crumbs. (Image 2)
Step 4: Add in the melted butter and sugar (Image 3).
Step 5: Pulse again until combined (Image 4).
Step 6: Pour the mixture into a 9-inch pie plate (Image 5).
Step 7: Press out into a crust. Make sure to cover the bottom and sides well so that there are no gaps (Image 6).
Step 8: Carefully place the pie crust into the oven and cook for 10 minutes.
Step 9: While the crust is baking, peel your apples (Image 7). *This is optional
Step 10: Slice your apples into larger sized pieces, about 8-12 pieces per apple (Image 8). Remove the core and seeds.
Step 11: Add the apple slices, lemon juice, butter, sugars, spices, and 1 ¾ cups water to a large skillet over medium-high heat (Image 9).
Step 12: Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the lid and reduce the heat to a simmer (Image 10). Cook for 10 minutes.
Step 13: Add the crumble topping ingredients to a bowl (Image 11).
Step 14: Stir together the crumble ingredients until the size of coarse crumbs or peas (Image 12). Set aside in the fridge until needed.
Step 15: Add the remaining ¼ cup of water and ¼ cup of cornstarch to a small bowl or liquid measuring cup (Image 13).
Step 16: Stir together to create a slurry (Image 14). Set aside.
Step 17 After the apples have simmered, remove the lid and give them a good stir.
Step 18: Add in the cornstarch slurry (Image 15) and stir again to combine (Image 16).
Step 19: Continue to cook and stir until the apple filling has thickened (Image 17). Then remove the skillet from the heat and turn off the stove burner.
Step 20: Pour the pie filling into the baked crust (Image 18). 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.
Step 21: Spread the prepared crumble topping over an apple filled pie (Image 19). There will be crumble mix leftover.
Step 22: Bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes (Image 20).
Step 23: 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.
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Cooking the filling before adding it to the crust is crucial for optimal results. Stovetop cooking helps it set properly and prevents crust issues during baking.
- In my lemon bars with graham cracker crust mishap, I discovered that graham cracker crusts dislike excessive moisture, leading to crumbling or rising during baking.
- The size of your apple slices is key in this easy apple pie filling. Thinner slices yield a more "applesauce-like" texture, while larger slices retain more apple texture. I recommend cutting a single apple into no more than 8 slices for perfectly sized, fork-tender apples. Peeling is optional.
- I prefer tart Granny Smith apples for my pies, but sweeter baking apples or a blend offer a richer flavor. Using a variety of baking apples ensures the best flavor profile.
⏲️ Make Ahead Instructions
Preparation Time: Prepare this pie at least 4 hours ahead of when you plan to serve it.
Cooling and Thickening: Allow the pie plenty of time to cool down and thicken. If chilled completely, the filling holds together very well when sliced.
Note: Slicing too early may cause the filling to run, so ensure adequate cooling time before slicing.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
Refrigeration: Keep any uneaten apple pie covered and stored in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
Freezing Caution: 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.
💭 Recipe FAQs
A baking variety of apples includes 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. The baking is more for the topping at this point. I do however recommend baking 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 Delicious Pie Recipes
If you tried this apple pie with graham cracker crust, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Apple Pie With Graham Cracker Crust
Equipment
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 ½ cups graham crackers (1 sleeve) ($0.74)
- 6 Tablespoons butter, melted ($0.74)
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar ($0.05)
Apple Pie Filling
- 6-8 cups apples, sliced ¼ inch thick (about 6 apples) ($4.94)
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice ($0.12)
- 2 Tablespoons butter ($0.25)
- ½ cup brown sugar ($0.22)
- ½ cup granulated sugar ($0.18)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ($0.16)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ($0.04)
- 1 pinch ground cloves ($0.01)
- ¼ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- 2 cups water, divided ($0.00)
- ¼ cup cornstarch ($0.16)
Crumble Topping (makes enough for 2 pies):
- 1 cup all purpose flour ($0.13)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ($0.08)
- ⅓ cup cold butter ($0.62)
- ½ cup brown sugar ($0.22)
- ¼ teaspoon salt ($0.02)
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
- Use 3 teaspoons of apple pie spice instead of individual spices.
- Opt for plant-based butter for a dairy-free version.
- Cook filling to prevent crust rising; slice apples thinly for applesauce-like or larger for fork-tender texture.
- Peeling apples is optional.
- Prepare the pie at least 4 hours in advance for cooling and thickening.
- Keep leftover pie in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Avoid freezing to prevent a soggy crust upon thawing.
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