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Caramel Apple Pie is easier than a traditional pie thanks to the crumb topping, and is packed with tender, spiced caramel-coated apples nestled inside a flaky all-butter crust. This show stopping pie absolutely deserves a place on your Thanksgiving table!
This recipe was originally published in Nov of 2018, but I just updated it in Nov of 2022 with new photos, more tips and tricks, and increased the amount of apple filling by 1/3 (while slightly reducing the caramel) for even more apple goodness in the pie!
Why you’ll love this Caramel Apple Pie:
- Tender, Spiced Apples – Apple spices are flavored with cozy fall spices and baked to tender perfection in this pie.
- Salted Caramel Sauce – My salted caramel sauce adds a whole extra layer of flavor to this pie!
- Flaky Crust – My all butter crust is tender, flavorful, and so flaky!
- Crumble Topping – The crumble topping is easier than fussing with a top crust, and is always a crowd pleaser.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Apples – Don’t use soft apples like McIntosh as they’ll become soggy in the pie. Use any good baking apple like Honeycrisp, pink lady, golden delicious, or granny smith apples. I used a combination of Honeycrisp and granny smith. The tart apples help balance the sweetness of the Honeycrisp apples and caramel.
- Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.
- All-purpose flour – All-purpose flour is best for the crust.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Dairy-free – I haven’t made pie crust with dairy-free butter sticks, but it should theoretically work. You can also use that in the caramel sauce, and I’ve been told that coconut milk works as a sub for the heavy cream.
- Gluten-free – If you’re looking for a gluten-free alternative, there are some great gluten-free blogs but I am not an expert in gluten-free pies by any means!
- Caramel – Feel free to omit the caramel if desired. No other adjustments to the filling are necessary, but you can taste it before baking and add a tablespoon or two of extra sugar if it seems tart. You can also choose to just serve the caramel on top of the pie rather than in it and on top.
- Top Crust – If you prefer more of a classic apple pie, you can use a top crust or a lattice crust instead of the dutch crumble topping. The bake time should be similar, but keep an eye on it.
How to Make Caramel Apple Pie Step-by-Step:
Step 1: Make the Pie Dough. Make your dough by following my recipe in my Perfect Pie Crust post. It has TONS of troubleshooting advice, tips, and step-by-step photos.
Step 2: Make the Salted Caramel Sauce. Make the 10-Minute Salted Caramel Sauce according to my recipe.
Step 3: Make the Apple Filling. In a large bowl, stir together your peeled, sliced apples with brown sugar, granulated sugar, a bit of flour, a splash of lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cozy fall spices. It’s the BEST apple pie filling!
Step 4: Make the Crumble Topping. Cut cold butter into a mixture of flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.
Step 5: Assemble & Bake the Pie. Prepare your crust through step 7 in my Perfect Pie Crust post. Spoon in the filling & sprinkle on the topping – it will seem like a lot, but use it all!
Brush the edges of the crust with egg wash and bake as directed in the recipe card below.
Serve this Caramel Apple Pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and extra salted caramel sauce. It is the most incredible apple pie you will ever taste!
Serving + Storing:
Let your pie cool at least 3 hours before serving. You can also let it cool completely before serving, or let it cool, store covered in the fridge overnight, and serve cold or warmed in the oven the next day.
Make my Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie or my No-Bake Peanut Butter Pie to round out your holiday table!
Expert Success Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your ingredients are at the proper weight, since amounts will vary based on how you measure, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
- Working with Pie Dough – If you haven’t made pie dough before, be sure to read through my post on Perfect Pie Dough before beginning – it will hopefully save you from making some common pie mistakes before you even begin!
- Check the Apples for Doneness – Use a fork to prick through the topping and into the apples to make sure they’re tender.
- Don’t Under Bake – I see SO many pies with crust that looks as pasty as I do during a Wisconsin winter. Your crust should have a deep, golden tan! Don’t be afraid to bake it until it has some color.
FAQs:
Yes! The pie can be made a day ahead, cooled at room temperature, and stored in the fridge until ready to eat. Let it come back to room temperature or warm in the oven (loosely covered with aluminum foil) before enjoying.
I recommend a metal or ceramic pie plate (preferably metal) as opposed to a glass pan as they conduct heat better and will be more likely to give you a crisp crust. Most professional pie bakers (if not all) agree on this!
Special Tools:
- Rolling Pin – Obviously an essential tool! I recommend a simple wooden one with handles.
- Pastry Cutter – This makes cutting the butter into the flour a complete breeze! I never make pie without this tool. If you only use one tool in your pie making, let this be it.
- Pastry Brush – This is how you’ll brush on your egg wash, which is how you achieve that nice, deep, golden brown crust!
More Pie Recipes to Love:
- Salted Caramel Apple Galette
- Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie
- Brûléed Maple Pie
- French Silk Pie (No Raw Eggs!)
- Strawberry Blueberry Pie
- Bourbon Cherry Crumble Pie
- Cranberry Apple Slab Pie
Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment & star rating!
Click the little stars in the header of the recipe card below to leave a comment & star rating, letting me know how you liked the recipe. I take all feedback seriously, & leaving a rating helps my small business immensely!
Dutch Caramel Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 195 grams
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 9 tbsp cold, salted butter, cubed, 127 grams
- 4-6 tbsp ice cold water
For the Caramel Sauce:
- 1 cup granulated sugar , 210 grams
- 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed, 85 grams
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream, 135 grams
- pinch of flaky sea salt
For the Filling
- 8 cups apples, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick, about 5-6 large apples -846 grams of slices – see note below for types
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 70 grams
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed, 73 grams
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp allspice
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 43 grams
- 1/3 cup salted caramel sauce , recipe linked below
For the Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, 130 grams
- 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats, 100 grams
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed, 146 grams
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup cold, salted butter, 113 grams
Finishing Touches
- 1 egg , for egg wash
- coarse sugar, for topping
Instructions
- Make the Pie Dough: Follow the recipe and directions in my post on How to Make Perfect Pie Crust. Allow pie dough to chill in fridge, tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, for at least two hours (or overnight) or in the freezer for 30 minutes.1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled or weighed out , 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar , 9 tbsp cold, salted butter, cubed, 4-6 tbsp ice cold water
- Make the Caramel: Follow my Homemade Caramel Sauce recipe. You'll use 1/3 cup of caramel in the apple filling – reserve the rest for topping pie slices when serving.1 cup granulated sugar , 6 tbsp salted butter, cubed, 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp heavy cream, pinch of flaky sea salt
- Roll Pie Dough Out + Transfer to Pan: Follow the steps in my "Perfect Pie Crust" post through Step 7. You'll freeze the pie crust (without the filling or crumble topping or egg wash) for 15 minutes before filling and baking. (It's ok if it's in the freezer longer than 15 – you can let it go up to 30 minutes, or transfer to the fridge after 15.)
- Make the Filling: While the dough is in the freezer, make the filling and preheat oven to 400°. Rinse your apples, peel, core, and slice into 1/4" thick slices. In a large mixing bowl, stir together all filling ingredients as listed above except for the caramel. Let filling sit for 10 minutes (make the topping during this time) to get the apple juices going, then stir in the caramel. Set aside.8 cups apples, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1/3 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1/3 cup salted caramel sauce
- Make the Dutch Crumble Topping: Whisk together all topping ingredients except for the butter. Then, cut the cold butter into cubes and cut it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter, until you have a crumbly mixture, and all the butter pieces are coated in flour.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup old-fashioned whole rolled oats, 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, pinch of salt, 1/2 cup cold, salted butter
- Assemble Pie: Beat the egg in a small bowl. Remove pie from freezer and brush egg wash over the edges of the crust and sprinkle raw sugar over the edges. Spoon the apple mixture into the crust, leaving the excess liquid behind (if some liquid makes it in, that's ok). Sprinkle the crumb topping over the apple filling. Place a baking sheet on a lower rack of your oven to catch any drips from your pie.1 egg , coarse sugar
- Bake: Bake for 45-55 minutes, checking the pie at 25-30 minutes to make sure the crust isn't browning too quickly. If it is, use a pie shield or a place a piece of foil over the top of the pie and continue baking.Pie is done when the filling is bubbly, the topping and crust are golden brown, and the apples are tender (poke through the crumb topping with a fork if you're not sure if it's done – if it slides through the apple smoothly and easily, it's done! Add a few more minutes at a time if the apples don't feel tender enough.
- Serve + Store: Allow pie to cool at room temp for 2-3 hours before slicing and serving. Serve with more caramel sauce!Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Make Ahead Tips: Pie crust can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 3 days, or in the freezer for 2 months. If making the pie a day or two ahead, bake, let it cool completely, cover with foil, and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. You can re-warm it in the oven the day you plan to serve it, if desired, at 350°, covered loosely with foil, for 12-20 minutes, until warmed through (stick an instant read thermometer into the center to check that it's warm all the way through).
Notes
- Granny Smith
- HoneyCrisp
- Golden Delicious
- Jonathan
- Cortland
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made this pie for Thanksgiving this year and I will be making it again for Christmas and New Years. I took your suggestion of using a metal pie pan (had to go buy one) and wow, what an amazing different in the crust texture. So flakey and not soggy on the bottom. I used your pie crust recipe and the homemade caramel sauce as well. I was super crunched for time so I decided to take the risk of making it the week before and freezing it unbaked. The pie came out absolutely perfect. It has moved to the top of the list as a family favorite for every special occasion.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Karla! Glad to hear it worked well being baked from frozen, too!
This is now my go to apple pie recipe. The homemade crust, caramel, apples and topping is incredible, such a great flavor. This will be my go to recipe for my homemade caramel as well. I am a huge caramel person. Nice deep dish apple pie. I love to weigh my ingredients and this was super helpful when it came to the apples. For those who thought the topping was dry, I find working the topping ingredients with your hands is the key. Keep working the butter with your hands and it won’t be dry. The only thing different I did was add an extra tsp of cinnamon and some pure vanilla extract. Thank you for the delicious recipe.
Thanks so much, Holly!
Made one for Turkey Day this year – turned out delicious, even with store-bought frozen dough! I used a food processor with a 6mm blade attachment to cut the apples so I didn’t spend half an hour doing it by hand. (I’m a sloppy cutter as it is.) You could also use a mandolin and get the same results, but with a little bit more time; food processor took 2.5 minutes to go through all the apples [one at a time]. Also, make sure you have a Big Bowl to toss with!! I had to use my stand mixer bowl because my largest bowl was holding other food. (^_^;)
I’d recommend making a full batch of the caramel recipe, and if you’ve never made caramel before, taking it low and slow. I did half the recipe so I didn’t have too much… I kinda burnt the first attempt, did perfect on the second attempt, and wished I had more for drizzling over the leftovers!
My only criticism (and it’s very slight) is that there’s a liiiittle too much clove. That’s it. This pie is *exactly* what I want out of an apple pie and my Mom liked it so much she had it for second breakfast the next day.
Thanks so much, Jackie! I appreciate the detailed review and am so glad you enjoyed this pie!
Hi,
Can I use a store-bought pie crust and omit the topping?
If I lattice the top of the pie, will I still follow the same baking time?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Lisa! Yes that should be fine. I haven’t tried a lattice on the top of the pie, but I think the bake time would be similar – I would start with about 15-20 minutes less and then just keep an eye on it from there, adding time as needed. Let me know how you like this recipe!
I made this pie for Christmas and it got rave reviews. I made a different crust, and next time I’ll reduce the nutmeg as I found 1 tsp made the taste of nutmeg stand out too much, I also found the crumble on top a tad bit dry, luckily the caramel on top brings that together. I think next time I’ll work in the flour and butter together more to have a more solid crust as opposed to pouring on the sandy like texture. Overall I think it’s a great recipe and really easy to tweak to your personal taste!
Glad you enjoyed this pie, Mel!
Loved this pie. Not happybwoth the topping. I followed the directions to a “T” and it’s dry.
Should I add more butter? I’m thinking of adding more butter to make it moist.
Hi Maria! That is so odd, I’ve never had the topping come out dry in all the years I made it. What method did you use to measure your flour? I suppose adding 1-2 tbsp of butter wouldn’t do any harm. Glad you enjoyed the pie regardless and thanks for your feedback!
Excellent recipe!
I did use my own pie crust recipe, which is fairly similar to the one recommended here. And I totally cheated by using a good store-bought salted caramel sauce instead of making one.
My husband ate two HUGE slices when we cut into it—which is not like him, but he looooves this pie.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this pie, Kelly!
Can the pie be assembled and frozen prior to baking?
Hi Natalie! I have not personally done that with this recipe, and I’m seeing some mixed opinions from other bakers online. My gut says that apples wouldn’t freeze well, compared to something like cherries or strawberries. I fear the texture of the apples would be compromised. I personally wouldn’t recommend this with an apple pie – sorry!
I dont see why you couldn’t freeze it, I would using a firmer apple so they don’t get mushy from freezing
hi!! will this work if i use my own all butter pie crust recipe?
Yes, absolutely! Please let me know how you enjoy this recipe.
I made this pie and it turned out absolutely amazing. I had to substitute applauded fir the nutmeg because I was at my sons and he didn’t have any. I used a glass pan as well and it worked out fine. Just in case people are concerned about it if that’s all they have. I’d like to make this for my daughter but she likes the apples soft. Should I cook the apples first in that case?? Thanks for the amazing recipe. P.s. best caramel sauce ever!!
Glad to hear that, Shelly! Were your apples not soft? They should be tender with perhaps a bit of crispness left. You can bake the pie longer to get them softer – it’s okay for the crust to be deeply golden brown. Otherwise, you could cook your apple slices like I do in my apple crumb cake recipe but use the filling ingredients from this pie. Happy baking!