This Gluten Free Apple Pie has a flaky, buttery crust and is jam PACKED with juicy cinnamon-y apples. It's the quintessential American dessert!
The BEST Gluten Free Apple Pie was originally posted in November 2020 and has been updated with new pictures, step-by-step photos, more tips and tricks, and a new video.
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"As American as apple pie." You know the saying. What pops into your mind when you think of an American dessert? My mind automatically goes to one of my favorite desserts ever, apple pie. Layers upon layers of cinnamon-scented apples baked in a flaky crust. My mom was always famous for her apple pies. She made them many a time while I was growing up, and when I found out I had celiac I thought I'd never have the pleasure of sinking my teeth into a piece again.
This pie is based on my mom's gluten version, which she's been making as far back as I can remember. I've changed a few things to make it gluten free, but the original recipe isn't far off. This pie is packed with juicy, soft apples (there's NO place in this pie for crunchy apples). But the crust--lemme tell ya--this crust is HEAVEN!!! Without a good crust, a pie just isn't a pie. I'm so happy I've perfected my gluten free pie crust to make this the best apple pie EVER!!!!
What Are the best Apples for Apple Pies?
Everyone has their theory on what apples make the best pie. In our house, we like an apple pie with a soft filling that doesn't crunch when you bite into it. I'm sorry, but Granny Smith apples are just NOT an option if you want a soft apple (despite what every.single.chef tells you)! My mom (and her mom before her) always used Rome apples and that's what I use.
Rome apples have a short season and you can't always find them in stores, so when they're in season I order an entire case from honeycrisp.com. I make all the pies I possibly can, and then I prep the rest of the apples and freeze them (more on that below!). Sometimes I'll find cute little tote bags filled with Rome apples at various stores, like the one below that I saw at my local Walmart. If you can't find Rome, Jonathan, Ginger Gold, Jonagold, or even Golden Delicious will also work in a pinch.
ingredients for Gluten Free apple pie
- Gluten Free Pie Crust - obviously, you can't make a pie without a pie crust. Use my easy gluten-free pie crust for all your pie crust needs.
- Apples - also obvs, you can't make an apple pie without apples. If you can get your hands on Rome apples, you HAVE to try them. They're the best apple pie apple, hands down!
- Brown sugar - this is one of the spots where I deviated a little from my mom's apple pie. Using brown sugar adds just a little bit of a caramelized flavor to the pie.
- Tapioca starch/flour - this is my preferred pie thickener. It leaves no cloudiness to the filling and thickens like a champ.
how to make the BEST apple pie
- Step 1: Melt butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large Dutch oven or saucepan until bubbling.
- Step 2: Add peeled and sliced apples and stir occasionally until apples are mostly tender. Turn off heat and stir in tapioca starch. Let cool completely.
- Step 3: Make pie crust according to recipe instructions and roll out one disk until a few inches larger in diameter than your pie plate.
- Step 4: Line pie pan with bottom crust and trim edges to the sides of the pie plate.
- Step 5: Add the cooled apple pie filling, mounding in the center.
- Step 6: Roll out second disk of pie dough into a round a few inches larger than the pie plate.
- Step 7: Unroll top crust onto pie filling.
- Step 8: Trim excess pie crust from the top crust.
- Step 9: Crimp top crust as desired.
- Step 10: Brush top with heavy cream.
- Step 11: Cut slits in top crust to vent.
- Step 12: Sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes and then at 350 F for 45 minutes to an hour.
Freezer Trick to Get Ahead
A while ago I saw a trick I had to try--peeling and cutting the apples and then freezing them. It totally works like a charm so I do this every time Rome apples are in season. I buy way more than I need, share some with my mom, and put the rest in the freezer.
There are two ways I tackle this and both work great. I just happen to prefer the second method. Peel and cut the apples (as many as will fit in my standard deep-dish pie recipe or whichever pie recipe you're using). Place the peeled and cut apples in a ziploc bag. Or, if you have a Food Saver, I'd highly recommend using that with the machine's bag so you can remove as much air as possible before freezing.
The second method (my preference) is to make the filling, including cooking the apples until tender, letting it cool, and then placing them in a Food Saver bag (or ziploc).
Either option allows you to save TONS of time when you're ready for that apple pie months from now. Just let the apples (plain or as a filling) thaw before using. If using the filling method, you'll just need to snip the top and pour the filling into the pie shell!
more gluten free Fruit pies to try
- best ever gluten free sweet cherry pie
- gluten free strawberry rhubarb pie
- gluten free peach crumble pie
- fresh strawberry pie recipe
- gluten free fruit tarts
- gluten free blueberry pie
- gluten free apple crumb pie
- perfect gluten free peach pie
If you make no other pies, let this be the ONE pie you do make. You won't believe the crust is really gluten free, and that filling will convince you that Rome apples truly are the BEST apple pie apples 🙂
Gluten Free Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 recipe Best Gluten Free Pie Crust
For the filling
- 5 lbs Rome apples, peeled and sliced into ½-inch thick slices (Golden Delicious, Jonathan, or Jonagold may be substituted)
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 2 teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅓ cup (40g) tapioca starch (cornstarch may be substituted)
- 4 tbsp (56g) butter, plus 1 tablespoon for dotting the apples before baking
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk for brushing over the crust
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, turbinado sugar, or sanding sugar, optional
Instructions
For the crust:
- Follow directions for the Best Gluten Free Pie Crust for double-crust pie (the food processor method is my favorite).
For the filling:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare the crust as above. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil to catch drippings and set aside.
- *In a large Dutch oven, melt the 4 tablespoon butter and add in the sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt over medium heat. When the mixture begins to bubble, add the apples and toss with the sugar mixture. Continuously toss the apples for about 5 minutes, until they begin to release their juices and reduce by at least half.
- Remove the apples from the heat. Stir the tapioca starch (or cornstarch) into the apples. To cool them quickly, spread them out onto a baking sheet. Allow to cool completely before filling the pie crust.
- Prepare the bottom crust according to the recipe directions. Pile apples high in the bottom crust. Place top crust on top of apples (carefully wrap around rolling pin and unroll on top of apples). Remove excess crust overhanging on sides (my favorite tool for this is kitchen shears). Tuck the top crust over the bottom crust around the edges. Crimp as desired.
- Brush the top crust with heavy cream or milk and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. Cut slits into the top crust to vent. Use scraps for decorations, if desired. (Scraps can also be wrapped well and stored in the fridge or freezer, to be used for one single-crust pie OR made into pie crust pastries--see below).
- Place on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment (to prevent spills in your oven) and bake at 400° F for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 350° and continue to bake for 1 hour, shielding the edges with a pie crust shield or aluminum foil as necessary. If a knife inserted into the center gives no resistance, the pie is done. If there is resistance, continue baking at 10-minute intervals, checking after each, until apples are soft.
- Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool for about an hour before serving. Enjoy plain, with vanilla ice cream or freshly whipped cream (or even a slice of cheddar cheese)!.
- Store on the counter for 3-4 days (can also be stored in the fridge for the same time).
Kaitie says
This is the best apple pie, even gluten eaters in my family think it’s fantastic!
We have 2 big apple trees and o wanted to see if I could make filling and freeze it now to enjoy later! Do you have any tips or can I make it exactly as the recipe calls and straight to the freezer? Thank you!
Kim says
OMG, Kaitie! I JUST did this yesterday (great minds think alike!). I ordered a half bushel of apples from an online apple orchard and had so many, I had to freeze a lot of them. I made the filling in a large stockpot (doubled the recipe) and cooked it on the stove like the recipe states. I have a food saver so when the filling was cool I placed it two of the food saver bags and into the freezer flat (you could also use gallon-sized ziploc bags). Thaw before adding to your pie crust to bake 🙂
Coua says
Although the dough turned out wonderfully, waaay way too sweet on the filling that the sugar took over the apples. I love to use honey crisp and it's just mildly sweet as an apple. I highly recommend doing a half cup brown sugar for the apple filling
Kim says
If you're using honeycrisp apples, which we here find are very sweet, you're going to obviously have different results. The apples I use (Rome or Jonathan/Jonagold) are not very sweet (more tart) and the sugar content is just fine.
Mary says
Perfect for the fall season. Love apple pie. Trying to find a gluten free crust I like.
Pamela Price says
You are absolutely right about pre cooking the apples. It sounded funny at first, but it worked. There was no gap between crust and apples.
Another success for me with your recipes🏆
I thought I had asked you somewhere in my many posts about any thoughts about brown rice flour. I have 2 bags just sitting in my pantry that I want to use before they go bad.
I haven’t seen any of your recipes using BRF.
Since I’m not going to follow anyone else now that I thought you might have some ideas.
All your recipes work for me.
Thanks
Kim says
Thank you so much, Pamela! I'm thrilled you're having such wonderful success with my recipes 😊😊😊
Yes, I think you asked about the brown rice flour on my you tube channel. I think I responded about using it in a sourdough starter. I also am working on making a wholegrain gf bread, which will use some brown rice flour, but it's not quite perfect yet. When I have it worked out, I will definitely be posting it 😍
an you o says
Can you please give me the breakdown of calories, carbs, etc - thanks - we have a diabetic in the house!
Kim says
I'm so sorry. To add the nutrition calculator to my website is so much extra money that I can't afford it. But there are free nutrition calculators on Google that you can put the info into and it will give you all that you need 🙂
Lu says
Hi Kim, can I use this same recipe for baking cherry pie?
Kim says
I haven't tried it, but I bet it would work just fine 🙂
Paolina says
The best pie crust and apple pie recipe I have tried among GF and non-GF pies. I reduced sugar to 1 1/2 cup, could probably even more for my family tastes. Great!
Jordan Miller says
What size of a pie plate is this recipe for? It’s hard to make when you don’t know how much pie you need to fill???
Kim says
A standard size works great--8-9 inch. I have all different sizes of pie plates (from 8 to 10 inch and regular as well as deep dish) and I've used all of them to make this pie at one time or another. They all work great. Some might take longer (or shorter) to bake than others. It really is versatile for whatever size pie plate you happen to have. The apples can be piled high no matter the pie plate size.
Michelle says
Hands down the best gluten free pie crust ever. It is so flakey and tender. It literally shatters as you cut into it. I am the only gluten free eater in my house and for the last ten years I have been making two sets of pies because I have never found a good gluten free crust. This year I will make and serve this pie and crust to everyone. Followed the recipe exactly except I baked the apple pie in a brown bag. A trick I saw on food network. Thank you!
Kim says
Thanks so much, Michelle!!! I've heard of the brown bag trick and should try that one day. I'm actually updating my apple pie recipe tomorrow with a video and new pics, and a new trick for reducing the gap between filling and crust 🙂
Courtney Dollar says
Can't wait to try this! Along with a lot of your recipes. Can you freeze this pie? Thank you!
Kim says
Yes, you can! I would suggest freezing before baking so the crust won't lose any of its crispness. Wrap the whole pie in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to three months. Bake as per instructions, adding a few more minutes to baking time and covering top crust as needed to prevent over browning. 🙂
suzy says
O delight to have met someone else who likes Apple pies to be soft not crunchy. AMEN sista. Also i thought it was just my mom who used up pie crust scraps like that, baking them with sugar and cinnamon. I guess technically you are her age so 😉
Kim says
Haha! Yes, I'm from a different generation. And I can't stand crunchy cooked apples, lol 🙂
Helen says
You are an angel... my poor son hasn’t had a descent anything flour related in 20 yrs. And now I can’t keep Up with all your beautiful baking. My biggest problem is deciding what to make next, haha. I’m having as much fun baking as he is eating!! Thank you for sharing all your knowledge it’s been a lifesaver.
Helen
Kim says
Awe, thanks so much Helen!! I really appreciate the kind words 🙂
Linda Howson says
Wow! What a beautiful pie this recipe makes! I have always struggled with GF pie crust but this one worked out perfectly. I did use Cup 4 Cup flour. I also baked the scraps with cinnamon and monk fruit sugar and could have made a meal of it - soooo good! Thanks for sharing this and all your recipes. I have yet to have something less than amazing.
Kim says
Awe, yay! I'm so glad you liked it and thank you so much for the wonderful comment!! It brings me great joy to be able to share my recipes with everyone else because I know how it is to not be able to have all those things we've missed for so long.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and bake (and eat) lots of yummy pies 🙂