This Dutch Apple Pie is a delicious twist on our favorite classic Apple Pie Recipe. It has the best juicy apple filling, spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg. The crumble topping is sweet, rich and buttery. This pie is perfect for the holidays, but it’s so good you’ll want to make it year-round!

Slice of Dutch apple pie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Baking a pie from scratch is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon. A homemade pie is such a wonderful way to highlight ripe, fresh fruits. In the summer, a fresh Blueberry Pie or juicy Cherry Crumble Pie are simply irresistible, but as the season shifts to fall I start craving apple and Pumpkin Pie.

This Dutch apple pie is dessert perfection. Instead of a traditional top pie crust, this Dutch apple pie is topped with a sweet crumble topping made from flour, sugar and butter. I’ve added a touch of cinnamon to both the topping and the filling because I love the way that cinnamon enhances the apple flavor.

Whole uncut Dutch apple pie.

The filling for this Dutch apple pie is the same as the apple pie filling that I make for my classic apple pie. It’s my absolute favorite apple pie filling, and the numerous five star reviews on that recipe show that you agree. It thickens up perfectly thanks to some all-purpose flour and has the perfect amount of sweetness plus a touch of warm spice from cinnamon and nutmeg. You are going to love it!

Why You’ll Love this Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

  • Crumb Topping: I can’t resist the crumb topping on this pie, and I bet you’ll feel the same way! Buttery and sweet, it’s the perfect complement for the fresh apple pie filling.
  • Perfect EASY Pie Crust: The pie crust is so easy to make and doesn’t require any dough chilling before you roll it out.
  • Anytime Favorite: Fall is apple season and you’ll definitely want this pie on your fall baking list. It’s the perfect pie to serve on Thanksgiving! But don’t limit this deliciousness to the fall season. Since apples are typically available year-round, this Dutch apple pie is one you can make any time of year.

Ingredients You’ll Need

The ingredients for this pie recipe are simple and, besides the apples, you likely keep everything that you’ll need on hand in your kitchen.

Ingredients for Dutch apple pie recipe.

Dutch Apple Pie Topping

You’ll need 6 ingredients to make the crumble topping: all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter. I use more brown sugar than white sugar because its lovely caramel flavor brings flavor complexity to the topping. The butter binds the crumbs together and helps the topping to turn a rich golden brown in the oven. A bit of salt makes all of the flavors pop.

Flaky Pie Crust

For the bottom pie crust, I used my favorite all-butter Pie Crust Recipe. If you’ve been intimidated by making homemade pie crust, don’t be! This recipe is truly so easy and comes out perfect every time. You can make the pie crust in a food processor or by hand, using just 4 ingredients plus ice-cold water. As I mentioned before, you don’t have to chill this pie dough before rolling it out.

The secret to making the best pie crust is to keep the ingredients cold. Use cold butter and ice-cold water and put the pie crust in the refrigerator while you make the apple pie filling and streusel topping.

Overhead photo of slice of pie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Best Apples to Use

When baking with apples, it’s best to use apples with a firm texture so that they will hold their shape as they bake in the hot oven. I like to use a combination of sweet and tart apples. This will give your apple pie the best flavor. My favorite is a mix of Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples. The Granny Smiths add tartness, and the Honeycrisps are on the sweeter side, so you get the perfect balance of sweet and tart flavors.

Here are a few varieties of tart apples and sweet apples that are good for baking:

  • Tart apples: Granny Smith, Northern Spy and Cripps Pink.
  • Sweet apples: Honeycrisp, Jonagold, Golden Delicious, Braeburn, Pink Lady, Crispin (Mutsu), Jazz and Fuji.

Learn more about apple types.

How to Make Dutch Apple Pie

  1. Make the pie crust, roll it out and fit it into a deep dish pie pan. Put the pie crust in the refrigerator while you prep the pie filling.
  2. To make the apple filling, stir together the sliced apples with the vanilla, flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Sliced apples, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and salt in mixing bowl.
  3. Next, make the topping. First whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt). Then add the cold butter cubes and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour and sugar mixture until the topping starts to clump together. Two side by side photos showing how to make crumb topping.
  4. Pour the apple filling into the chilled pie crust and arrange the apples in an even layer. Apple pie filling in pie crust.
  5. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples. Pie with crumble topping before baking.
  6. Bake the pie at 400° F for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and bake for 45-50 minutes more, until the filling is bubbly.

Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.

Recipe Tips

  • You can use a store-bought pie crust if you prefer. I do encourage you to try my easy homemade pie crust recipe, though! You can make the pie crust dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 4 days or freeze it for up to 3 months.
  • Thinly slice the apples so that they soften up in the oven. You want them between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick.
  • Adjust the amount of sugar in the apple pie filling to your tastes. If you’re using only tart apples, such as Granny Smiths, or you like your pie on the sweeter side, you may want to use a bit more sugar.
  • When you put the apple filling in the pie crust and sprinkle on the topping, try to arrange the apples and topping to be in a somewhat even layer. High points will brown more in the oven.
  • Check on the pie partway through the bake time and cover it loosely with foil as needed so that the topping doesn’t brown too much. I usually cover the pie about 10-15 minutes after reducing the oven temperature.
  • Let the baked pie cool for at least 2 hours at room temperature before slicing and serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up.

Slice of pie on a small plate with bite of pie on a fork.

More Favorite Pie Recipes

If you love Dutch apple pie, you might also enjoy this Apple Crisp recipe. Or, try one of these homemade pie recipes next:

This Dutch apple pie, with its homemade apple filling and buttery crumb topping is what dessert dreams are made of. Serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a spoonful of whipped cream and enjoy!

Slice of Dutch apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream.
5 from 1 rating

Dutch Apple Pie

Servings: 8 servings
Prep Time: 50 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Cooling Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 55 minutes
If you love apple pie, this Dutch Apple Pie is a must-make! The juicy apple filling is spiced with cinnamon and the crumble topping is sweet, rich and buttery. This pie is perfect for the holidays, but it's so good you'll want to make it year-round!

Ingredients

For the Pie Crust

  • 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
  • 3 tablespoons ice-cold water

For the Apple Filling

  • 8 cups peeled apples, sliced ⅛ to ¼-inch thick, 6-8 apples, 3.5 pounds
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup to ½ cup granulated sugar, amount depending on how sweet you want your pie, see note
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For the Topping

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes

Instructions
 

Make the Pie Crust

  • Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. (Alternatively, the pie crust dough can be made by hand in a large bowl using a pastry cutter or your fingers to cut in the butter.)
  • Pulse to combine the dry ingredients. Add the cold butter cubes and pulse 6-8 times, until the largest butter pieces are the size of small peas.
  • Add the ice-cold water and pulse just until the dough starts to come together, adding 1-2 more teaspoons of ice water if the dough seems too dry. The dough should still look crumbly, but should hold together if you press it with your fingers.
  • Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and form it into a ball. Then roll it out into a 12-inch round and transfer it to a deep-dish pie pan. (This is easily done by wrapping the dough round around your rolling pin to help move it.)
  • Trim the edges so that only ½-inch hangs over the edge of the pie dish. Fold the edges under and flute/crimp the edges.
  • Place the pie crust in the refrigerator while you make the apple filling and streusel topping.

Make the Apple Filling

  • Place the peeled, sliced apples in a large bowl.
  • Add the vanilla, ¼ cup flour, granulated sugar and ¼ cup brown sugar to the bowl with the apples. Sprinkle the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt over the apples. Stir to combine. Set aside while you make the topping.

Make the Topping

  • In a medium bowl, combine the 1 cup flour, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and ¼ teaspoon salt. Whisk to mix.
  • Add the cold butter cubes to the bowl and use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until it just starts to clump together and all of the butter pieces are worked into the flour and sugar mixture.
  • By this time, the apples should have released some of their juices. Stir the apple mixture to make sure everything is well combined and then pour the apples and their juices into the chilled pie crust. Arrange the apples into an even layer in the pie crust as best as possible.
  • Evenly sprinkle the topping over the apples.
  • Preheat oven to 400° F with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Refrigerate the pie while the oven preheats.
  • Bake the pie at 400° for 20 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350° F. Continue baking the pie for 45-50 minutes more, until the filling is bubbly. Check on the pie partway through the baking time and loosely cover it with foil as needed to prevent the crust and topping from over-browning. (I usually cover with foil about 10-15 minutes after reducing the oven temperature.)
  • Let the pie cool at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving to allow the filling to thicken.
  • Store pie at room temperature for up to one day, or in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.

Notes

  • Depending on the sweetness of your apples and how sweet you like your pie, you can adjust the amount of sugar.
  • This recipe makes enough filling for a deep dish apple pie. If your pie dish is small, consider reducing the number of apples.
  • Make Ahead & Freezer Instructions: The pie crust dough can be made ahead of time, wrapped airtight, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let frozen pie dough thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling it out. The apple pie filling can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator before using it. The baked pie can be frozen for up to 3 months. Let it cool completely and then wrap it tightly before freezing. Thaw for 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Serving: 1/8 pie, Calories: 470kcal, Carbohydrates: 62g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 226mg, Potassium: 187mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 28g, Vitamin A: 777IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 30mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
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