If you've been following along with my baking adventures, you know that I have a soft spot for classic desserts that bring comfort and warmth to the table. Today, I'm excited to share a delightful creation that holds a special place in my heart – Dutch Apple Pie. This timeless dessert transports you back to cozy family gatherings and the aroma of freshly baked pies wafting through the air.
Dutch Apple Pie is a true celebration of simplicity and tradition. It starts with a flaky, gluten free pie crust that cradles a luscious filling of tender, cinnamon-kissed apples. But what sets this pie apart is its iconic streusel topping, a crumbly and slightly sweet layer that adds a delightful crunch to every bite. Together, the buttery crust, spiced apple filling, and crumbly topping create a symphony of textures and flavors that will have you coming back for seconds (and maybe even thirds - no judgement!).
I'm on a mission to try every combination of apple pie, if you want to join me then you should check out my recipes for apple blueberry pie, apple cherry pie or apple strawberry pie.
Jump to:
- Why you will love this dutch apple pie recipe
- Ingredients
- Substitutions & Variations
- How many apples are needed for this pie?
- How to Make the Crumble Topping
- How to Make Apple Pie Filling from Scratch
- How to assemble your GF Dutch apple pie
- How to Reheat Dutch Apple Pie
- Recipe FAQS
- More gluten free pies to consider:
- Recipe
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Why you will love this dutch apple pie recipe
- The filling is simple to make.
- It's loaded with fresh apples.
- You can use homemade pie crust or frozen.
- It's gluten free and dairy free, plus easily made vegan without the egg wash on the crust.
Ingredients
Dutch apple pie filling requires only a few simple ingredients to make:
- Single Pie Shell - You can use my perfect flaky gluten free pie crust for this recipe or buy a frozen pie shell at the store. For gluten free frozen crust, I like Wholly Gluten Free brand. If you're not gluten free, just use a regular pie crust.
- Apples - I like to use a variety of apples in my apple pie filling to enhance the flavors and textures. Here, I've used Granny Smith, Gala and Golden Delicious apples.
- Lemon Juice - A little acidity helps keep the apples from turning brown.
- Light Brown Sugar - Provides some sweetness to offset the tart apples. I like light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar could be used as well for a richer flavor. If you prefer, you could also substitute coconut sugar.
- Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend - Any brand of 1-to-1 flour will work here. There is very little flour used here to thicken the pie filling. If you're not gluten free, just use regular all purpose flour.
- Cinnamon, Cardamom, Allspice, & Nutmeg - All of the spices compliment the apple flavors so well.
- Salt - Desserts need a little salt to balance the sweetness and enhance the flavor. Don't be tempted to skip the salt.
- Vanilla - To add a little complexity to the sweet flavor of the pie.
For the crumble topping, you will need: Gluten Free Oats, Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, Light Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Salt, Vegan Butter, and Pecans.
See the recipe card for complete list with measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Not gluten free - Use a regular frozen pie crust and all purpose flour in place of the gluten free ingredients.
- Not dairy free - Use dairy butter in place of vegan butter in the same measure.
- No light brown sugar - replace it with dark brown sugar or coconut sugar in the same measure.
- No pecans - Replace pecans with chopped walnuts or leave the nuts out if you prefer.
How many apples are needed for this pie?
The key to a great apple pie is a lot more apple filling than you expect. Because apples cook down a good bit when baked, you will really want to have a heaping apple pie (several inches higher than the pie plate) before cooking. For a standard sized pie plate, I use 4-5 grocery store apples. For a deep dish 6-7 apples. If you’re using farm apples, which tend to be smaller add at least one more apple to each of those quantities.
How to Make the Crumble Topping
- Combine the gluten free oats, light brown sugar, gluten free 1-to-1 flour blend, salt and cinnamon in a medium sized bowl.
- Then add the butter. Work the butter in with your hands or a fork.
- Once the dry ingredients are well combined with the butter, add in the roughly chopped pecans (you can use another nut if you prefer).
- Mix it all together and place it into the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the apples.
How to Make Apple Pie Filling from Scratch
No matter whether you’re making a standard or deep dish pie, you do not need to adjust any of the ingredient quantities from this recipe other than the apples.
- Start by cutting and coring your apples. I leave the skin on mine, but if you prefer it without then you can peel them first.
- Slice the apples fairly thin, about ¼” thickness. Throw all the apple slices into a large bowl.
- Add the lemon juice and stir it around to coat the apples. The lemon juice will help to prevent the apples from turning brown.
- Then add the light brown sugar, gluten free 1:1 flour blend, salt, spices and vanilla.
- Stir all the ingredients well until the apples are coated.
How to assemble your GF Dutch apple pie
Now that you have your apples ready to go, you want to remove your pie crust from the freezer. To get all of these apples into the pie you will need to place them one by one, making sure to fill in every crevice with apples. Just keep squeezing them in until you use all the apples.
Once all your apples are in, brush the edge of the crust with egg wash. The egg wash will make a nice shiny golden color on the final bake. This is optional and can be omitted if you are making a vegan apple crumble pie. Finally, remove the topping from the refrigerator and crumble it over the pie. It’s okay to leave chunks here, it will bake nicely.
Put your pie on a baking sheet and place on the bottom rack of an oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake for 60 minutes. I suggest checking halfway through to make sure the top hasn’t gotten too brown. If so, simply place a piece of foil on top (you can just lay it on top, you don’t need to fold around the sides) to prevent further browning.
Cool before slicing and store leftovers covered in foil in the refrigerator.
How to Reheat Dutch Apple Pie
Place individual slices of pie on a microwave plate and heat until warm inside.
To reheat a partial or complete pie, place in an oven preheated to 350 degrees and heat until center is warm, about 20-30 minutes depending on the size of the remaining pie.
Recipe FAQS
If you are making the pie ahead of time, once completely cooled to room temperature wrap the pie with plastic wrap. Make sure the entire pie and pie plate is covered with at least 2-3 layers of plastic wrap and place the whole pie into the freezer. You can freeze it up to 3 months.
When you’re ready to serve, thaw the pie overnight in the refrigerator. Then cover with aluminum foil and reheat in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. No one will know it was made ahead of time!
Yes, there are several brands of gluten free pie filling available in cans. I have personally tried the Lucky Leaf brand of apple pie filling and found it to be very good.
The answer is yes! If you don’t have the time or don’t feel confident making your own dough after reading the instructions above, you can definitely buy a gluten free pie crust. I have tried the Wholly Gluten Free brand in the past and enjoyed it. It’s made in a dedicated facility, so it’s celiac safe and doesn’t contain dairy, nuts, eggs or soy. I have found it at Whole Foods in the freezer section.
Another option is using the filling and topping recipe listed here but in a crustless dessert. Simply prepare the pie filling as instructed above, but bake it in a small casserole dish or deep dish pie pan. Scoop with a spoon and serve with ice cream or whipped cream. Yum!
I personally only par-bake for custard or non baked pies. If you are baking your pie on the lowest oven rack and cooking it for long enough, the pie crust should be done and not soggy.
All three have pros and cons.
If you’re inexperienced at baking pies, then I highly recommend a glass pie plate. Having the clear bottom will allow you to see that your pie crust is definitely cooked on the bottom.
Metal pie pans heat up quickly and provide a nice crisp crust.
Ceramic heats up slower but holds the heat longer.
No matter what kind of pan you have, you can make a delicious pie. If I’m working ahead, I use the disposable tins from the store so my pie pans are not all tied up in the freezer.
More gluten free pies to consider:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Dutch Apple Pie
Ingredients
For the crust
- 1 Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend
- 1 Tablespoon Arrowroot Powder substitute with cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 9 Tablespoon Vegan Butter frozen (regular or dairy free)
- ⅓ Cup Water cold, may need up to ½ cup
- 1 Egg for egg wash (optional)
For the topping
- ¾ Cup Gluten Free Oats
- ⅓ Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend
- ⅓ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 6 Tablespoon Vegan Butter regular or dairy free
- 1 Cup Pecans roughly chopped
For the filling
- 7 Apples mixed varieties
- 2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoon Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon Allspice
- ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla
Instructions
For the crust
- Place the butter and the water in the freezer to keep cold while mixing the remaining ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine the gluten free flour, arrowroot powder (or cornstarch), salt and sugar. Stir together until well mixed.1 Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, 1 Tablespoon Arrowroot Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- Cut the cold butter into ½" cubes. Add to the dry ingredients. Working quickly to keep things cold, press the butter between your fingers to flatten the pieces into discs about the size of a quarter. Work the butter into the flour. The pieces will vary in size, but it should begin to look very crumbly.9 Tablespoon Vegan Butter
- Add the cold water. Work the dough together into a ball. Don't knead the dough as it will become tough. Just press it together until it just sticks, and all the liquid is absorbed.⅓ Cup Water
- Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form into a disc. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Place your chilled pie dough between two sheets of plastic wrap. Roll out into a rough circle about one inch larger than your pie pan. Place rolled dough onto a baking sheet and back into refrigerator for 1 hour.
- After chilling your dough sheet, remove one piece of plastic wrap and turn dough into pie pan. Gently work the dough into shape being careful not to tear wholes at the bottom. Trim dough around edges leaving about 1⁄2” overhang, fold under and crimp in design of your choice. Place prepared pie shell into the freezer while you prepare the filling.
- Preheat the oven to 400F degrees.
For the topping
- In a small bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients and work together with a fork. Place in the refrigerator to chill while you prepare the rest of the pie.¾ Cup Gluten Free Oats, ⅓ Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, ⅓ Cup Light Brown Sugar, ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Salt, 6 Tablespoon Vegan Butter, 1 Cup Pecans
For the filling
- Core and slice your apples, making very thin slices (about ¼").7 Apples
- In a large bowl, combine apples, lemon juice, sugar, flour, spices, salt and vanilla. Stir well until apples are completely coated.2 teaspoon Lemon Juice, ½ Cup Light Brown Sugar, 2 Tablespoon Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, ½ teaspoon Cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon Cardamom, ¼ teaspoon Allspice, ¼ teaspoon Nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon Salt, 2 teaspoon Vanilla
- Remove pie shell from freezer. Working with one slice at a time, place apples into the shell. You want to wedge apples into every crevice and keep mounding them up. Your apples will end up being 2-3 inches taller than your pie shell, but it's okay because they will cook down in the oven.
- Sprinkle the top with streusel topping.
- Brush the crust edges with the egg wash. Omit this step for vegan pie.1 Egg
- Place pie on a baking sheet. Bake ion the lowest rack of preheated oven for 60 minutes. The filling should be bubbling, and the crust should be a nice golden-brown color. If the top begins to brown too much during baking, lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top. You do not need to fold it around the sides of the pie dish.
- Remove and cool completely before slicing.
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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