You will love this updated version of a classic: salted caramel apple pie. It has all of the flavor you love from caramel apples, with the added bonus of a buttery, flaky pie crust. It’s always one of the top-rated Thanksgiving pies on my website, but you don’t need to wait for a special holiday to make it. Top each slice with vanilla ice cream for a dessert that dreams are made of!
This is one of the first pie recipes I originally published on my website, back in 2013. And it’s still one of my absolute favorites! I make it every Thanksgiving, along with pumpkin pie.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Cinnamon-spiced apples
- Extra extra apple filling (pile it high!)
- Buttery, flaky golden pie crust
- Sweet, salty, gooey salted caramel (need I say more?)
- Tastes amazing with vanilla ice cream
There are 3 parts to this pie. It’s pretty similar to my regular apple pie, but with salted caramel inside and on top. (The most flavorful addition!) First, we have the buttery, flaky pie crust, then the cinnamon-spiced apples, and finally the salted caramel. Let’s start with the crust. Have you ever made pie dough from scratch before?
Start With Quality Pie Dough
Pie crust can be tricky, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s made with a few simple ingredients. Flour, salt, cold water, and fat. You can make pie crust with shortening or with butter. Why shortening? Shortening aids in creating flakiness. Flaky, tender, melt-in-your mouth crust. Why butter? Butter imparts unparalleled, impeccable flavor. Nothing beats butter when it comes to flavor!
My favorite pie crust recipe uses both, for the best of both worlds. Flaky, tender, buttery pie crust made from shortening AND butter. And if you’re looking for an all-butter pie dough, here is my favorite recipe for all-butter pie crust.
Each of these pie dough recipe posts includes a helpful video tutorial, step-by-step photos, and lots of troubleshooting tips.
#1 Pie Crust Success Tip
Keep the pie dough cold whenever you aren’t working with it. Leave the pie dough in the refrigerator while you make the apple filling.
Best Filling Ingredients to Use & Why
- Apples: You need about 8 large apples. Just like when we make apple cake, I recommend using half tart and half sweet. I love tart Granny Smith apples paired with a sweet variety such as Pink Lady, Honeycrisp, Jazz, or Fuji. You get more complex flavor in each bite when you use a combo.
- Sugar: Use granulated sugar to sweeten the apple pie filling. You don’t need too much, because you will also be adding the sweetness of the salted caramel.
- Lemon: A squeeze of lemon is crucial in apple pies. Not enough to taste the lemon, but just enough to prevent the apples from browning and to keep the flavor bright. (Apple pies can taste a little flat without it.) For these reasons, I also use lemon in my apple cinnamon babka recipe.
- Flour: Flour thickens the pie filling, turning the juices into a gooey filling that sets up, for a perfectly sliceable pie. I don’t use cornstarch here, flour is my top choice. I prefer cornstarch for berry pies, like this blueberry pie.
- Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg add unparalleled flavor. For added warmth, add some allspice or cloves. You can really use either; they’re like a cozy hug for your tastebuds. 😉
- Salted Caramel: You can use store-bought caramel sauce or you can make this popular homemade salted caramel sauce. I recommend homemade; my recipe is salty, sweet, and irresistibly buttery. You make it on the stove with only 4 simple ingredients, and 2 of those ingredients are also used in the filling and the crust (sugar and butter). No candy thermometer required, and you can make the caramel in advance, or while your pie dough is chilling.
By the way, here is a complete list of the best apples for baking.
These Step-by-Step Photos Will Help
My pie crust recipe makes enough dough for a double-crusted pie. Start by rolling out your bottom pie crust (about 12 inches in diameter) and fitting it into a 9-inch pie dish.
Next, add the apple filling to the crust. You may think, “There is way too much filling, it won’t fit!” But it will, I promise. Pile it high.
Now pour about 1/2 cup of salted caramel over the apples.
Take the remaining chilled pie dough out of the refrigerator. Roll it out into a 12- to 14-inch-diameter circle. I like to make a lattice pie crust for the top. I used 18 strips of pie dough to lattice and they were about 1/2—3/4 inch thick… 9 strips going each way. Crimp the pie crust edges with a fork, to seal in all that caramel-apple goodness.
Before baking, brush the top with an egg wash, for that golden sheen, then sprinkle with coarse sugar, for a little sparkle and crunch. This is exactly how I finish off blueberry pie, too!
Other Topping Options
Of course, you can use thicker strips like I used for this peach pie, or a combination of thick and thin strips like I used on this cherry pie. You could also try something extra decorative by learning How to Braid Pie Crust or following my Pie Crust Designs Tutorial.
Or… feel free to skip the top crust entirely (save the other half of the pie dough for a pumpkin pie!) and use the oat streusel topping from this blueberry crumble pie or the crumb topping from this apple crumble pie. I often like to mix this recipe with that topping!
Once the pie filling is bubbling, and the crust is golden brown, the pie is done. Wait for the pie to cool completely, and then you can slice and serve. As always, you can serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and since you’ll have some leftover, add a drizzle of salted caramel on top. These are the *chef’s kiss* perfect finishing touches to your salted caramel apple pie.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Success Tips
- Uniform Apple Slices: Do your best to cut the apple slices to be all the same thickness. Why? You don’t want some thick solid apples and some thin mushy apples. You want them all to bake into a deliciously soft-yet-crisp texture. Aim for about 1/4-inch-thick slices.
- Cold Pie Dough: Keep all of the pie dough you aren’t directly working with in the refrigerator. Warm or room-temperature pie dough is impossible to roll and handle.
- Make-Ahead Salted Caramel: You can make the salted caramel in advance, and refrigerate for up to 1 month or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature, then heat it up before using. After refrigerating, the caramel will be cold and solid, so you’ll need to warm it up to bring it back to a liquid consistency you can pour over the pie.
Recommended Tools
Be sure to check out my top 10 best pie baking tools, but here are a few specific tools I recommend for making this salted caramel apple pie:
- Vegetable Peeler or Johnny Apple Peeler
- Rolling Pin
- 9-inch Pie Dish
- Kitchen Shears
- Pastry Wheel or Pizza Cutter
- Pastry Brush
- Pie Crust Shield… or make your own—here’s how: Cut a 14-inch square of aluminum foil. Fold in half. Cut out a 5-inch semi-circle on the folded edge. Unfold. Carefully fit the aluminum foil over the pie crust edges, securing down on the sides as best you can (careful, the pie dish is hot!), leaving the center of the pie exposed.
- An Instant Read Thermometer is optional but helpful for using the internal temperature to determine when the pie is done baking. The internal temperature should be around 200°F (93°C) when done.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Prep Time: 3 hours (includes pie crust)
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Gooey cinnamon-spiced and salted caramel-infused apples join my buttery flaky pie crust to make this absolutely incredible apple pie variation. I love this salted caramel apple pie with a classic lattice top, but you can try the oat streusel from this blueberry crumble pie or the crumb topping from my apple crumble pie. Bake and cool the pie completely, and then top with even more salted caramel sauce.
Ingredients
- Homemade Pie Crust or All Butter Pie Crust (both recipes make 2 crusts, 1 for bottom and 1 for top)
- 1 cup (240ml) salted caramel sauce, divided (I recommend my Homemade Salted Caramel)
- 10 cups (1250g) 1/4-inch-thick apple slices (about 8 large peeled and cored apples)*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice OR ground cloves (either are fine)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- optional: coarse sugar for sprinkling on crust
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare either pie crust recipe through step 5.
- If you are not using store-bought salted caramel sauce, make the homemade version. You’ll want to make it now so it can cool as the pie dough chills in the refrigerator.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, stir the apple slices, sugar, lemon juice, flour, cinnamon, allspice/cloves, and nutmeg together until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (keep the other one in the refrigerator). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish that’s 1.5 to 2 inches deep. Tuck the dough in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth.
- Spoon the filling into the crust. It will seem like a lot of apples; that’s ok. Pile them high, and tightly together. Drizzle evenly with 1/2 cup (120ml) of the caramel sauce. It’s ok if the caramel sauce is still a little warm. (If homemade salted caramel has solidified, warm it on the stove or in the microwave until it’s pourable.)
- Finish assembling: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 to 14 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut strips of dough; in the pictured pie, I cut 18 1/2-inch to 3/4-inch wide strips. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. (Here’s a lattice pie crust tutorial if you need visuals.) Use a small paring knife or kitchen shears to trim off excess dough. Fold the overhang back towards the center of the pie, and pinch the edges to adhere the top and bottom crusts together. Crimp or flute the pie crust edges to seal.
- Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top with coarse sugar, if using.
- Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Then, keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the oven temperature down to 375°F (190°C). Place a pie crust shield (see Note for homemade shield) on the edges to prevent them from over-browning. Continue baking the pie until the caramel apple filling is bubbling around the edges, 35–40 more minutes. This sounds like a long time, but under-baking the pie means an unfinished filling with firm apples with paste-like flour. If you want to be precise, the internal temperature of the filling taken with an instant read thermometer should be around 200°F (93°C) when done. Tip: If needed towards the end of bake time, remove the pie crust shield and tent an entire piece of foil on top of the pie if the top looks like it’s getting too brown.
- Remove pie from the oven, place on a cooling rack, and cool for at least 3 hours before slicing and serving. Filling will be too juicy if the pie is warm when you slice it. Drizzle the entire pie or each slice with remaining salted caramel.
- Cover and store leftover pie at room temperature for up to 1 day or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead / Freezing Instructions: A couple ways to make ahead of time! Make 1 day in advance: After it cools, cover tightly and keep at room temperature. The pie crust dough can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Baked pie also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling (without caramel) can also be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Rolling Pin | Kitchen Shears | 9-inch Pie Dish | Baking Sheet | Pastry Wheel or Pizza Cutter | Pastry Brush | Pie Crust Shield | Coarse Sugar | Instant Read Thermometer
- Best Apples to Use: Firmer apples are ideal for baking. Avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of tart and sweet apples such as tart Granny Smith (in my opinion, this is the best overall apple for baking) and a sweet variety like Honeycrisp, Jazz, Fuji, or Pink Lady.
- Aluminum Foil Pie Crust Shield: You can purchase a pie crust shield or make one from aluminum foil. Cut a 14-inch square of aluminum foil. Fold in half. Cut out a 5-inch semi-circle on the folded edge. Unfold. Carefully fit the aluminum foil over the pie crust edges, securing down on the sides as best you can (careful, the pie is hot!), leaving the center of the pie exposed.
- Hand Pies: If you want to make smaller individual apple pies, try my apple hand pies recipe. You may also like these caramel apple turnovers.
I literally just ate three slices in one sitting. My goodness this pie is delicious
Absolute novice baker… I LOVE this website. I always get comments about how great I am at making muffins, pies and truffles. Your tips and explanations make it so easy to bake like a pro. My wife is impressed because I make my own crust and Carmel and it comes out sooo good!
So happy to hear this, Shane! Thank you so much for making our recipes.
Hi Sally! Would the pie turn out the same if I left out the caramel sauce?
Hi Rachel, feel free to omit the caramel sauce or try this deep dish apple pie instead. Enjoy!
I love you recipes! I’ve made your deep dish apple pie as well as a few others. I plan to make this for Christmas as apple is a family favorite but every time I make the apple my filling comes out dry – I scoop the apples in as recommended – maybe I need to add more of the liquid? I even considered cooking the compote on the stove top to ensure a thick filling and par baking the crust – have you ever tried this? Your help is appreciated!
Hi Katelyn, try using the liquid, too. I’ve done that more and more recently. Also, if you can use extra juicy apples (like honeycrisp), that helps too.
Hi Sally! I’m planning on making this for Christmas and I was just wondering what happens if I don’t let the pie cool for 4 hours after baking it? Thanks
Hi Elly, allowing the pie to cool for 4 hours lets the filling set up as it cools. It will be runny and the pieces won’t hold their shape if served right away.
I’ve been making this for years. No need to look elsewhere, this is my favorite. I reduce the cinnamon to half a teaspoon because my dad is highly sensitive to cinnamon, among other things.
I’d like to try baking this recipe in some 5-inch disposable aluminum pie tins to make small apple pies. Should I make any adjustments to the filling ingredients, temperature, or bake time? Thanks in advance!
Hi Jessica, the bake time will be different (we’re unsure of the exact time), but temperature and filling ingredients (although less in each pie) will be the same!
Do you blind bake the crust for this recipe?
There isn’t a need to because the pie bakes for so long.
Thank you for asking this question! I was just perusing the comments to see if I needed to do that 🙂
Hello I just wanted to make sure that I can make the pie completely then freeze it to serve it at a later date. Like 2 weeks later?
Hi Emma, Absolutely! See the recipe notes for make ahead and freezing instructions.
Great looking recipe! Anyone have a guess as to how long it should bake if I made this as individual canning jar lid pies?
Pastry lattice was great, filling tasted amazing but literally soup when I cut it open ♀️ Followed the recipe to the letter and discarded the liquid that appeared after prepping the filling. Still had to take a cup of liquid out of pie dish once it was cooked and bottom was obviously super soft. I cooked it for closer to 60 mins. I only used Honey Crisp apples. Any ideas on how to prevent this soup next time? ♀️
Hi Jade, thank you for trying this recipe. Extend the bake time if you try this recipe again, about another 10-15 minutes. Tent the pie with aluminum foil if the top is browning quickly. It sounds like the pie simply needed longer to cook through.
Hi, is it possible to prep the apples and the crust 3 days before asambling the pie and baking it? Won’t the apple oxide and be all brown?
Hi Katherine, we don’t recommend making the filling ahead of time, but see recipe notes for make ahead options for the pie crust.
Hi sally! I have sort of a difficult set of questions??
I really want to make a rose apple tart, (I have looked at many recipes, but can’t find one I like) because I like the design. And I want to put your salted caramel as a base, before lining up the apples, can I do that??
And should I use shortcrust pastry or pie crust for this tart? (I know traditionally shortcrust is used in tarts, but maybe a pie crust so it can support the caramel layer??)
And whatever pastry I choose, how long should I blind bake it? Should I use weights, or can I just perforate with a fork?
Big thank you in advance!
Hi Amanda, we haven’t tried this, but it sounds amazing! If you want to use a traditional pie crust, follow these directions on how to blind bake a pie crust. If you want to make a shortbread tart crust, you could try this one or this one. Please let us know how it turns out!
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to bake this pie. I am doing it for a special occasion… my question is this… can I make this a deep dish pie? My pie plate is 2 3/4″. How would I adjust the recipe? Please help!
Hi Tiffany, You might want to try our deep dish apple pie recipe. We hope you enjoy it!
I had some issues with my lattice sticking to the caramel as I was laying it down, I put a layer of apples over the caramel now! Great pie Sally:)
I’ve never made a good apple pie before now. My son loves apple pie and for his birthday we ordered a caramel apple pie from a fancy pie shop in town. He wanted apple pie for Thanksgiving, but I know that short notice holiday ordering from the same shop was out of the question. I tried this and it was AMAZING! Can’t wait to make it again. Store was out of Granny Smith, so I used a mix of Honey Crisp and Pink Lady.
Hi Sally,
I love your website and recipes! Well done!
How do I prevent the bottom crust from being soggy?
Thank you,
Leanne
Hi Leanne! Sometimes a soggy crust means the pie simply needed to be baked for longer. And make sure to discard extra juices from the apple mixture. Hope these tips help!
Hi Sally, can I make this with your crumb topping recipe?
Absolutely! The crumble topping from this apple crumble pie will work nicely, as well as the oat topping from this blueberry crumble pie.
Hi there! Our family loves warm pie – is it ok to heat it up in the oven a bit after it cools? THANK YOU!
Yes, definitely!
Have been making lattice crust for the last 50 years. Easy, peasy, until I watched a Great British Baking show and the test was to bake a lattice pie. Only 1 person in the 11/12 people made it correctly. You can’t imagine what they did. Make one on a plastic sheet with dough laid on top of each other with no weaving and tried sliding it on. Well, that really didn’t work. I have always taken it for granted but apparently only in the US is it standard.
Is it possible to prep the entire pie the day before (filling inside the crust and lattice completed entirely) and refrigerate until the next day to serve? Or will get soggy overnight? Thank you!
Hi Staci, For the best crust we recommend baking this pie after it’s assembled. You can certainly prep the filling the day before (since you have to prep the pie crust in advance anyway) and just assemble the day of baking (if doing this, discard any excess juices that accumulate in the bottom of the bowl of apple filling).
I made this and it was absolutely fantastic.
Now , I have to ask you something : Have you ever made Tarte Tatin ?
Because I think of you as my baking teacher, everything I’ve made from your website is great. But I cannot make a good tarte tatin, so I need you to help me. ( either you are laughing or thinking ” geez , will these people just be happy with what I already do …. ) But I just want to know. Thx Sally.
Hi Surati, we don’t have a tried and true Tarte Tatin recipe, but our Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake is a similar concept – let us know if you give it a try!
Mine looked great when I first pulled it out, but now it sunk bad in the middle. Why is this?
Hi Jerry, Did your crust deflate, or did your filling just shrink? For the top crust, if you are doing a solid top instead of lattice, be sure that there are plenty of vents for the steam to escape as you bake. If the filling shrunk too much, take a look at the types of apples you are using and how they are cut. We like to use a variety of firm/crisp apples (not softer apples like Macintosh) and try to make uniform slices. Aim for about 1/4 inch thick slices. If the apple slices are too thin, they’ll just pack themselves down when cooked. I hope this helps!
We used a Bobs Mills gluten free pie crust mix and it apparently doesn’t brown as much. Cooked 30 min at 400 and then 45 min at 325, apples seemed to be uniformly softened but no juice coming up through vents even with the 1/2C salted Carmel. Should I have baked it longer ?
Hi Donna, we usually look for juices and caramel bubbling up to ensure the liquid has thickened, but your pie may be OK if the apples are softened through!
Amazing!!!! Perfect delicious and beautiful!!!
I made this for my husband’s birthday. It was delicious and so beautiful! I used a different pie crust recipe because I didn’t want to buy shortening. I also left off the egg white and sugar crystals, and the top crust still looked amazing.
Hi, Sally. I’m so excited to try your recipes. I prepared the apple filling for the salted caramel apple pie earlier. When I was ready to assemble, there’s pretty much liquid in the bowl. Should I leave the liquid out or pour it into the pie crust with the apples?
Thank you so much.
Hi Jewel, it’s typically best to spoon the apple filling into the pie crust and discard the leftover juices so that the pie crust does not become too soggy.
Can I used Sugar in the Raw for the optional decorative touch on top?
Definitely!
Delicious pie! Mine turned out great.
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it.
I just have a question.. If I cook my pie for longer than the 40-50 minutes, is there chance the caramel sauce will burn?
I usually cook my pies for a lot longer to get the bottom crust hardened.. Thank you so much! Really excited to make this for Easter dinner. 🙂
Hi Lisa, It’s unlikely that the caramel will burn inside the filling of this pie. Feel free to add more bake time to produce the texture you’re looking for!
Hi Sally! Really excited to make this! Would this pie turn out alright if I use a pie dish that’s 1.5 inches deep?
Hoping for quick response , thank you.
Hi Anusha! A 2 inch deep pie dish is best, you may have a little extra filling with your slightly more shallow dish, just be careful not to overfill. Enjoy!