This Dutch apple pie is the best with a homemade apple pie filling in a flaky crust topped with a buttery crumb topping. With plenty of apple pie spice, this fall dessert is a favorite!
Serve this classic dessert with other delicious apple desserts like French apple tart, apple cheesecake pie and apple cake recipe.
Table of Contents
The Best Dutch Apple Pie Recipe
Baking apples scented with cinnamon fills your kitchen with the best fall dessert aromas! I’m not just saying it when I declare that this is one of the best Dutch apple pie recipes I’ve tasted. It’s apple crumble meets apple crisp and apple pie in the best way!
The apple filling is also super simple to make and cooks right in the shell. If you’d prefer to cook your filling first, you can make my homemade apple pie filling and swap it out for the uncooked apples in this recipe.
Ingredient Notes
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Crust: You can keep it simple by using a store-bought pie dough or make your own using my easy pie crust recipe or my all-butter pie crust recipe.
- Apple pie filling: Apples, sugar, apple pie spice and flour.
- Crumb topping: Butter, flour, white or brown sugar, and apple pie spice. You can also add oats to make it a streusel topping. If you’d like to make it even crunchier, add some chopped walnuts or pecans.
Apple Pie Filling
I prefer to use a variety of sweet and tart apples like Honeycrisp, McIntosh, Fuji, Braeburn, Golden Delicious, or Granny Smith apples because they don’t turn to mush when they are baked.
- Wash, peel, and core the apples before chopping them into bite-sized pieces about ¼” thick.
- Add apples to a medium bowl and toss them with the butter, flour, sugar, and apple pie spice (or use cinnamon sugar) and let the apples sit for 5 minutes. The apples will release some juice into the bowl.
How to Make Dutch Apple Pie
- Roll out the Crust. If you’re using a frozen store-bought crust, allow it to come to room temperature in the fridge before rolling. Using a rolling pin, roll out your store-bought or homemade crust into a circle a bit larger than your pie plate (about 12” round).
- Transfer to a pie pan. Carefully transfer the crust to the pie plate. Fold the dough in half and then in half again and transfer it to the dish. Flute the edges of the crust for a decorative look and place it into the refrigerator until the apples are ready.
- Fill crust. Pour the apples into the prepared crust in even layers and leave some of the juice in the bowl. Press the apples flat if you need to so that you have an even layer.
- Sprinkle crumb topping. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the apples and refrigerate for 10 minutes to let the butter firm up a bit so the crumb will bake up crunchy.
- Bake. Put the pie dish on a baking sheet and cover the pie with a piece of foil. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes then turn the temperature to 375°F and bake for another 30 minutes without the foil. Keep an eye on the crust and if it looks like it’s getting too brown, cover it with foil or a pie shield.
- Now here comes the hard part. I recommend letting the pie cool completely for 2 – 3 hours on a wire rack before digging in. The apple filling will thicken as it cools which will give you nice slices. Believe me, it’s worth the wait!
Tips for the Best Dutch Apple Pie
- Use a glass dish. Glass dishes are great because they let you see the bottom of your crust as it bakes so you can see if it’s browning nicely. If you don’t have a glass dish, that’s ok. Use what you have and follow the timing in the recipe for the best results.
- Make the crumb topping first. You want the butter in the topping to be cold when it goes into the oven. This will ensure that it is crunchy after it bakes. Make the topping before you start anything else and pop it into the fridge until you need it.
- Slice apples evenly. Slice the apples into even-sized pieces so that they all cook evenly.
- Add a bit of lemon juice. For a bit of extra tart apple filling, a squeeze of citrus is just the thing.
- Prevent a soggy crust. Letting the apples sit in the flour, sugar, and spice for a few minutes helps to draw out some of the juices from the apples, so don’t skip this step! Discard most of the juice before adding the apples to the crust.
- Test apples for doneness. Use a small paring knife to pierce the apples to see if they are baked. They should be soft, and the knife should go through them easily.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve each slice as is or dress it up with a little extra sweetness! It’s the perfect ending to your Thanksgiving menu along with pumpkin pie or this sweet potato pie recipe.
- A scoop of vanilla ice cream or your favorite ice cream.
- A drizzle of caramel sauce over top.
- A dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream.
- Serve with a warm glass of homemade apple cider.
Love apple dessert recipes? Try my homemade apple fritters, apple dump cake or caramel apple pie bars next!
More Fall Dessert Recipes
Browse all
HUNGRY FOR MORE? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all the newest recipes!
Dutch Apple Pie
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 store-bought or homemade pie crust
Filling
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (32 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons apple pie spice (see notes)
- 6 apples , peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 600 grams cut)
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour
- 4 Tablespoons (57 grams) salted butter , melted
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon apple pie spice
For serving: Vanilla ice cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place a baking sheet on the middle rack.
Crust
- Roll out crust. Roll out pie crust on a floured surface to about 12 inches round. Fold in half and then into a quarter and transfer to your pie dish. Flute edges, if desired. Place in the refrigerator until ready to fill.
Filling
- Make apple filling. In a large bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup flour, and 2 teaspoons apple pie spice. Add 6 sliced apples and toss lightly with the spice mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Crumb Topping
- Combine crumb topping. In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 cup flour, 4 Tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon apple spice with fingers or a fork until crumbly (do not overmix).
- Assemble pie. Add the apples in even layers into the pie crust, leaving some of the juice in the bowl. Turn apples and press flat, if needed. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the apples. Refrigerate for 10 minutes to allow the butter to firm up a bit.
- Bake pie. Place the pie dish on top of the baking sheet in the oven. Lightly place a piece of foil over the top. Bake for 25 minutes and turn the temperature down to 375°F. Remove the foil. Cook an additional 30 to 35 minutes, or until the apples are fork tender and the topping is golden brown. Cover the crust with foil or a pie shield if the crust is browning too fast before the apples are done.
- Cool. Remove pie from oven and let cool completely on a cooling rack to thicken (about 2 to 3 hours). Serve the pie with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
Unlike American pies which have a traditional lattice pie crust, Dutch apple pie recipes have a regular crust on the bottom and a sweet crumble topping.
It is a little bit easier to make this type of topping rather than a lattice top and the added sweet crunch goes so well with the baked apples. Take a classic apple pie to the next level with this delicious Dutch apple pie recipe!
You can prepare some of the pieces in advance so they are ready to use when you are planning to bake. Make the pastry crust ahead of time as well as the crumb topping and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to layer the pie together.
Dutch apple pie can be stored at room temperature after baking for 24 to 48 hours before you serve it. Make sure you wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to keep it fresh. If you want to store it for longer, keep it tightly wrapped in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven to retain a crisp crust.
Yes! Flash freeze Dutch apple crumb pie on a baking sheet until solid. Once it is, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and a layer of foil. This helps to avoid freezer burn. Store it in a freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months.
Categorized as: American, Christmas, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Fruit Desserts, Nut-Free, Pies + Tarts, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I love how the flaky crust embraces sweet apple slices, and the crumb topping is irresistible. Perfect!
This is my favorite pie! So easy and delicious!
It’s such a pretty & delicious pie! We love apple desserts, so this doesn’t last long at our house!
For my first time to make apple pie, I was surprised at how easy this recipe was to make…and by how great it turned out! Can’t wait to wow everyone with this pie come Thanksgiving. :)
Great job!! It’s the perfect pie for Thanksgiving dinner :)
It’s such a beautiful pie with the layers of apples & tastes so delicious!! It wouldn’t be complete without that crumb topping. It’s my favorite!
Glad to hear it’s a favorite at your house, Kristyn! :)