Looking for a dessert that everyone will absolutely love? This apple pie recipe with crumb topping is a guaranteed hit. Filled with sweet, juicy apples, it bakes to perfection in under an hour. It's truly ready to become your next dessert obsession!
Jump to:
- 🍎 Why This Is the Best Apple Crumb Pie Recipe
- 🤔 What Is a Dutch Apple Crumb Pie?
- 🥘Simple Ingredients
- 🔪How to Make This Apple Pie Recipe With Crumb Topping
- 🍎🍏What Are The Best Apples For An Apple Crumb Pie?
- 📖Simple Recipe Variations
- 🍽Basic Equipment Needed
- 🍶Storing Your Pie & Keeping It Fresh
- ✅Top Tip For This Dutch Apple Pie Recipe
- ❓Apple Pie Recipe With Crumb Topping FAQ
- 🥄More Dessert Recipes
- 🍴Easy Slow Cooker Meals To Enjoy Before The Pie
- 📋Recipe With Step-By-Step Instructions
- 💬 Comments
🍎 Why This Is the Best Apple Crumb Pie Recipe
If you need a reliable, crowd-pleasing dessert, this apple pie recipe with crumb topping is it. First, there's no top crust to roll out or weave. You simply use a defrosted frozen pie crust and an easy homemade crumb topper. Goodbye, rolling pin!
This easy pie recipe uses very basic pantry staples. You probably already have most of them in your kitchen right now! As a result, you get amazingly delicious flavor without a special trip to the grocery store.
Most of the work for this recipe is peeling, coring and slicing the apples for the filling (just like for Baked Apple Crisp and Apple Peanut Crunch), and let's be honest, that really isn't much of a bother when you get a delicious dessert in return!
🤔 What Is a Dutch Apple Crumb Pie?
You might be wondering about the name. Basically, a Dutch apple crumb pie (or apple pie recipe with crumb topping 😁) features a sweet streusel topping instead of pastry. In fact, this sweet treat, along with Funny Cake, is incredibly popular in Mennonite and Pennsylvania Dutch baking! Their traditional recipes often feature a rich, buttery crumb topping just like this one instead of a classic pastry crust.
Traditional apple pies use a top layer of dough. The buttery, brown sugar crumb topping here adds an incredible crunchy texture. It perfectly balances the warm cinnamon and soft apples!
🥘Simple Ingredients
You only need a few things to make this incredible dessert.
- Frozen deep dish pie crust: Buying frozen saves so much prep time. A deep dish is essential to hold all that gooey goodness inside.
- Apples: I prefer Honeycrisp apples for baking because they're crisp and on the sweeter side. Feel free to use your favorite variety and see info below about apple choices for pies.
- Sugar, flour, cinnamon, & nutmeg: These create a beautifully spiced syrup for the filling.
- Flour, butter, & brown sugar: These three ingredients combine to make the perfect sweet crumb topping.
🔪How to Make This Apple Pie Recipe With Crumb Topping
- Step 1: Combine the sugar, flour, and spices; add apple slices and toss to coat.
- Step 2: Carefully spoon this sugary apple mixture into your thawed pie shell.
- Step 3: Use a small bowl to mix the remaining flour and brown sugar. Cut in the cold butter and mix it until it looks crumbly.
- Step 4: Sprinkle this sweet topping generously over the apples; bake.
Hint: Before filling the thawed pie crust, place it on a baking sheet lined with foil. The pie is much easier to take in and out of the oven this way.
Don't forget to use an aluminum foil pie crust shield so your pie crust doesn't burn and stays golden!
🍎🍏What Are The Best Apples For An Apple Crumb Pie?
I highly recommend using firm, crisp apples like tart Granny Smith or sweet Honeycrisp for your baking. Both of these specific varieties hold their shape perfectly in the hot oven instead of turning to mush. Simply choose the apple that best matches your personal flavor preference for a perfectly balanced dessert!
📖Simple Recipe Variations
- Caramel Apple Crumb Pie: Do you love sweet caramel apples? Prepare your fruit filling as usual, then drizzle some thick caramel sauce over the spiced apples before adding the streusel.
- Pecan Crunch Apple Pie: You can easily add some extra crunch to your delicious dessert! Just mix a half cup of chopped pecans right into your buttery brown sugar topping.
- Cranberry Apple Crumb Pie: Give your sweet filling a perfectly tart twist for the holidays by tossing a handful of fresh or dried cranberries directly in with your sliced apples. You can also include some easy sugared cranberries for a glitzy garnish.
For more delicious apple desserts, see Apple Kuchen, Apple Crisp, Apple Cheesecake, Apple Upside-Down Cake, and Apple Crunch!
🍽Basic Equipment Needed
- pairing knife
- fruit/vegetable peeler - I use this swivel peeler (affiliate link) and it works great!
- cutting board
- large mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- mixing spoon
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- baking sheet, lined with foil
- pastry cutter (optional, but helpful for the topping)
🍶Storing Your Pie & Keeping It Fresh
Cover your apple pie recipe with crumb topping with foil and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Enjoy leftovers right out of the fridge, or cover loosely with aluminum foil and reheat at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.
✅Top Tip For This Dutch Apple Pie Recipe
When slicing the apples, keep the thickness uniform so that they bake evenly in the pie. Aim for thin slices (¼ inch thickness or less) so the pie filling is fork-tender after it bakes.
❓Apple Pie Recipe With Crumb Topping FAQ
Dutch apple pies have a crumb topping, while traditional pies have a pastry lattice topping.
The secret is baking the pie on a hot, foil-lined baking sheet. The extra heat on the bottom helps the crust bake up beautifully crisp.
Yes, you can easily prepare this pie a day in advance. Store it loosely covered in the refrigerator and warm the slices before serving.
Absolutely! You can freeze the fully baked and cooled pie tightly wrapped for up to three months. Simply thaw it overnight in the fridge before serving.
If your topping feels soft, your butter was likely too warm. Only use slightly softened butter when mixing your streusel for the absolute best crunch.
🥄More Dessert Recipes
Looking for other from-scratch dessert recipes like this? Try these:
🍴Easy Slow Cooker Meals To Enjoy Before The Pie
These are my favorite slow cooker meals to serve with Dutch Apple Crumb Pie:
📋Recipe With Step-By-Step Instructions
Easy Apple Pie With Crumb Topping
Equipment
- mixing bowls
- baking sheet (lined with foil)
- pastry cutter (handy tool for cutting butter into crumb topping)
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Ingredients
- 1 frozen deep dish pie crust thawed
- 4 cups peeled, cored and sliced apples about 4-5 medium/large apples
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter use it cold/slightly softened to prevent spillage in the oven
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 ℉.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, 2 T. flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well.
- Add apple slices and mix until apples are evenly coated.
- Spoon mixture into thawed pie shell (already resting on baking sheet); set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the remaining ½ c. flour and brown sugar; cut in cold/slightly softened butter until crumbly. Sprinkle topping over apples.
- Bake pie for 35-40 minutes, or until crumb topping is slightly browned and filling is bubbling from the edges.
- Allow pie to cool for 1 hour before serving.
Susan R. says
I have always made the "traditional" type of apple pie and you're right...this way is so much easier. The topping is delicious and we loved this pie with vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee.
Kitchen Ready Betty says
I agree, and I think that apple crumb pies have more flavor because of that easy topping!