This is my apple cranberry crumble pie. Underneath a delicious brown sugar and oat crumble topping you’ll find layers of sweet spiced apples and juicy tart cranberries… all atop a perfectly buttery and flaky pie crust. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries in this pie recipe.
One reader, Angela, commented: “This pie is incredible! I don’t think I’ve eaten (or made) a more delicious apple pie! The cranberries aren’t overpowering at all. ★★★★★”
Another reader, KH, commented: “Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Perfect combo of sweet and tart. I made it the day before and let it sit for 24 hours, and the flavors and texture were amazing. Thanks, Sally and team! ★★★★★“
Not only is apple pie my favorite dessert to eat, it’s my favorite dessert to bake.
Making the dough from scratch, creating beautiful decorations for the crust, and playing around with filling flavors is the best. I love finding new ways to put a fresh spin on this classic recipe, whether it’s salted caramel apple pie, apple pie with chai spices, or individual apple hand pies.
Why You’ll Love This Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie
- Classic recipe, without any complicated ingredients
- Like a cross between apple cranberry pie and apple crisp
- Golden flaky pie crust provides a crisp contrast to the soft and juicy filling
- Deliciously sweet, cinnamon-spiced filling with tart, juicy bursts of cranberries
- Comforting, nostalgia-filled flavor
- No par-baking the bottom crust, and no tricky latticing steps for the top
- Total pie perfection with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top
Begin With Quality Pie Crust
To get started on the apple cranberry crumble pie, you need homemade pie crust. For the sake of time and to prevent my fingers from falling off, I won’t repeat why this homemade buttery flaky pie crust is my favorite. You could use my all-butter pie crust, too. I love both equally!
You need just HALF of either pie crust recipe; both make 2 crusts. Save the other crust for another single-crust pie like my pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or ultra-creamy banana cream pie.
I always make the dough the night before to save time the next day. Or, better yet, make the pie crust today, freeze it, then put it in the refrigerator the night before making the pie. Save even more time later!
Ingredients for Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie
- Apples: It’s best to use a variety of apples in apple pie. Just like when we make apple cake or apple cobbler, I recommend using half tart and half sweet. Here is a complete list of the best apples for baking.
- Cranberries: You can use fresh or frozen cranberries here. If using frozen, do not thaw.
- Spices: Apple pie isn’t apple pie without warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. I like to add allspice to the filling for a little something extra. I use the same spice blend in baked apple cider French toast. You’ll need cinnamon for the oat crumble topping, too.
- Orange Zest: A touch of citrus is crucial to keep the flavor bright. (Flavor is a bit flat without it, so do not skip this!)
- Brown Sugar: I usually use white granulated sugar in apple pie, but opt for brown sugar here. I love brown sugar, orange, and cranberries together, and the trio works wonderfully with sweet apples. This mega-flavorful filling is unbelievable. You’ll use brown sugar in the topping, too.
- Flour: Flour thickens the pie filling. You also need flour for the topping.
- Butter: Besides using butter for your pie dough, you’ll also need it for the crumb topping. Make sure it’s very cold.
- Oats: The oat crumble topping reminds me of this extraordinary apple crisp, and you’ll love it on top of this juicy filling and flaky pie crust. For a topping without oats, try the topping from my apple crumble pie.
You also need an egg wash (egg + milk) for brushing on the crust edges.
Crumble Topping
Making the crumbly streusel topping is simple. You’re going to want to keep things cold, so it doesn’t completely melt and seep into the pie filling. Use cold and cubed butter, cut it into the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon using a pastry cutter or 2 forks, then stir in the oats.
Make the oat crumble topping first and place in the refrigerator or freezer while you roll out the pie dough and prepare the pie filling. Again, the colder the topping, the more likely it will hold shape in the oven.
Apple Cranberry Pie Filling
The filling is easy and made from fresh (or frozen) cranberries, apples, brown sugar, flour, and spices. You know what pairs well with cranberries? Orange. Add a little orange zest to the pie, just like I do with another Thanksgiving classic—cranberry sauce.
When selecting apples for today’s pie, remember that firmer apples are ideal for baking. Avoid soft, mealy, and mushy apples. And for a more complex, interesting flavor, I suggest using a variety of apples. I always use a sweeter apple like Fuji, Pink Lady, or Honeycrisp, and a tart variety like Granny Smith.
Here is a complete list of the best apples for baking.
Tip for Success
Make sure your apple slices are around the same thickness. You don’t want some super thick apples (that won’t really cook) and some super thin apples (that will become mushy). Aim for around 1/4-inch thickness.
Let’s Bake the Pie
Before filling the pie, be sure to crimp or flute the pie crust. Brush the edges with egg wash, and then add the apple cranberry filling and top with the cold crumble topping.
Bake until the filling is bubbling around the edges. About halfway through baking, check on your pie and use a pie crust shield if you notice the edges are browning quite quickly. You can also make a pie crust shield out of aluminum foil, and here’s how: Take a piece of aluminum foil and fold it in half. Cut out a half circle. When you open it back up, you’ll have a square of foil with a circle cut out of the center.
Here’s a photo, and this is my regular apple pie:
Don’t forget the scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, a pie non-negotiable. You’ll love how it tastes melting down into the tart cranberries and gooey-sweet apples.
This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!
If you’re looking for more pie inspiration, here are all of our favorite Thanksgiving pies.
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Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie
- Prep Time: 3 hours (includes pie crust)
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 7 hours (includes cooling)
- Yield: serves 8-10
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my apple cranberry crumble pie. Underneath a delicious brown sugar and oat crumble topping you’ll find layers of sweet spiced apples and juicy tart cranberries… all atop a perfectly buttery and flaky pie crust. No need to pre-bake the crust. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries in this pie recipe.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 unbaked Flaky Pie Crust (what I used) or All-Butter Pie Crust*
- egg wash for pie crust: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk
Crumble Topping
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (46g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup (40g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
Filling
- 6 cups (750–800g) 1/4-inch-thick apple slices (about 5 large peeled and cored apples)*
- 1 and 1/4 cups (130g) fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare my pie crust through step 5.
- Make the crumble topping: Whisk the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or forks until the mixture is crumbly. Stir in the oats. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- After the pie dough chills, preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Place a baking sheet on the bottom oven rack, to catch any juices that may spill over the sides of the pie.
- Roll out the chilled pie dough onto a lightly floured surface. Remember, when rolling out the pie dough, always use gentle force with your rolling pin. Start from the center and work your way out in all directions, rotating the dough with your hands as you go. Roll it out into a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough in a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it’s smooth. For a beautiful edge, fold the overhanging dough back over the edge and use your hands to mold the edge into a nice thick rim around the pie. Crimp the edges with a fork or use your fingers to flute the edges. For visuals and a video of this, see how to crimp and flute pie crust. Brush the edges with egg wash. Refrigerate for at least 10 minutes as you prepare the pie filling.
- Make the filling and assemble: In a large bowl, stir the apple slices, cranberries, brown sugar, flour, orange zest, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg together until thoroughly combined. Spoon the filling into the chilled crust. Sprinkle the cold crumble topping all over the filling.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Then, keeping the pie in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C). Place a pie crust shield (see Notes for homemade shield) on the edges to prevent them from over-browning. Continue baking the pie until the filling is bubbling around the edges, 35–40 more minutes. 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. Serve with vanilla ice cream, if desired.
- 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 the pie 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. Note that the topping will taste a bit mushy after freezing/thawing. Prepared filling can also be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Apple Peeler | Glass Mixing Bowl | Silicone Spatula | Rolling Pin | Pie Dish | Pastry Brush | Pastry Cutter | Large Baking Sheet | Pie Crust Shield | Cooling Rack | Instant Read Thermometer
- Pie Crust: Both linked pie crust recipes make 2 crusts. You only need 1 crust for this pie, so freeze the 2nd half for another use or another one-crust pie like pumpkin pie, pecan pie, or ultra creamy banana cream pie.
- No Oats in Topping: If you want to skip the oats in the topping, use the same topping from my apple crumble pie.
- Apples: See blog post above for the best apples to use. For this pie, I usually use 2 Granny Smith and 3 Honeycrisp or Pink Lady apples.
- 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
I feel like you used to have a recipe for a very similar dessert to this one, but it was a cranberry apple slab pie instead. It had a second crust on the top so it was like a big pop tart and it was my favorite thing to make for the holidays! What happened to that recipe? Was it replaced with this?
Hi Caitlin! We were no longer satisfied with that recipe, so we removed it from the website. We still have it! Email us and we will send it over. Sorry for any trouble! sally(at)sallysbakingaddiction.com
That Apple Cranberry Slab Pie is also one of my favorite Sally recipes. It is delicious!
Dear Sally, I am enjoying your beautiful new cook book.
I would like to make your Apple Crumble Pie but I do not want to use nuts. Will the topping for the Sour Cherry Crumb Pie work and can I double the crumb topping.
I would like to make the apple pie this weekend so I would greatly appreciate your reply as soon as possible.
Thank you.
Hi Mary Jane! The crumble topping on this Apple Cranberry Crumble Pie doesn’t include nuts. You could add this crumble topping to our Apple Crumble Pie.
I am really struggling with the juices in the middle I baked and the base pie was still possibly raw or soft? But very “juicy” like a soup. I didn’t add any of the extra liquid from the fillings. Any tips? Followed the recipe except I used a lattice pie crust instead of the crumble top.
Hi Elaine, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. Are you using fresh or frozen cranberries by chance? If using frozen, that could be contributing to the extra liquid in the filling. It could also be that the pie simply needs some extra time in the oven to fully bake through. Is the pie cooling for at least 3 hours, too? That time is key for helping the pie to thicken and set. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot further!
The word “perfection” is not enough. Texture is excellent. Just enough dryness of topping to make it crisp on top, just enough rich moisture in the filling that it oozes through fork tines without turning the base crust layer to mush. This recipe is absolute magic.
I’ve had trouble with crumble toppings in the past, but I made it more slowly this time. I let the butter melt slightly to help it pick up all of the brown sugar/flour powder mixture. Once the powder ingredients were completely incorporated into the butter, I was left with a mixture that had the texture of unbaked shortbread dough. I stuck it in the freezer for about half an hour to resolidify it, broke it back up into small pieces, and kept it in the fridge until ready to use. That definitely did the trick! And the oats add such a magical final touch.
Beautiful, perfect mouth feel, such a treasure of a recipe that I’m very excited to add to my repertoire. You’ve done it once again, Sally, you absolute kitchen wizard!
Thank you for another amazing recipe!
I made It a crisp by skipping the pie crust, and everyone loved it!
Love the crumb topping! Another great pie recipe.
Made this for Christmas Eve dinner and was a huge hit. Absolutely delicious! I used only honeycrisp apples to contrast the tartness of the fresh cranberries and found it to be perfect for my tastes (I usually don’t like pies too sweet). I made the all butter pie crust a day ahead and egg washed the bottom of the pie before adding the filling. No soggy bottom! The crumble was excellent and we served with vanilla ice cream. Thank you for this one…I don’t think I’ll be going back to making a plain apple pie again.
Can I make the filling the night before I plan to bake the pie?
Hi Noelle! We don’t recommend it because the apples may release too much liquid.
Hello!
Quick question, I dont have cranberries, can i use frozen strawberries instead?
Hi Sahar, strawberries contain more liquid and wouldn’t be a 1:1 substitute here.
I’ve found that I prefer to cook down my apples prior to baking. I doubled the amount of apples, added a 1/2c granulated sugar, and increased the flour to 1/3c. Cooked all except the cranberries over medium heat until the apples reach desired texture. They create a natural pectin so they won’t cook any more in the oven, no need to take it into consideration. Cool the mixture completely, add cranberries, and bake as directed. The control over the apple texture is a huge help!
Hello, I made your apple cranberry pie with crumble topping and it was delicious. Do you know if it would work to freeze the pie unbaked? Then bake from frozen. I was thinking of giving frozen pies to friends as gifts for Christmas.
Hi Colleen! We don’t recommend it, unfortunately. The pie could get too soggy.
I tried this in addition to our usual pumpkin and pecan pies. This was the favorite of the 3. It was so easy and delicious!! I love every recipe I have tried.
Best friend, who doesn’t like pies, loved this one! It was delicious. When I make again, I’m going to reduce the amount of Granny Smiths since the cranberries offer tartness and try to better balance the sweet and tart in the filling.
Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Perfect combo of sweet and tart. I made it the day before and let it set for 24 hours and the flavor and texture and everything was amazing. Thanks Sally and team!
Hi, quick question, I don’t have allspice, would I be able to use Pumpkin Pie Spice instead?
Hi Alicia! If you don’t have allspice, you can just leave it out.
Hi Sally! I was going to make this pie tomorrow for Thanksgiving. I thought I had everything, but after rereading the recipe..I don’t have an orange for the zest. Can I use lemon zest?
Hi Teresa! You can, we would use a little less.
I made this and it’s a perfect combination of Fall and Christmas! A great transitional pie! It still has the Fall flavor of apple but adds in those orange spice flavors with the cranberry. This is a more tart pie and I would serve with ice cream. I really enjoy cranberries and like tart things. The pie was better the second day for us. My husband and I both felt the flavors mingled better after sitting in the fridge overnight and had a more robust flavor the next day!
I made this pie today and the crust turned out cooked on the sides but doughy on the bottom. And the pie was tart and not real sweet. Other than that it turned out great. Was very ascetically pleasing to look at and after cooling it cut super easy and there wasn’t any extra juices to make it soggy. I think I would add some white sugar to the mix and bake the crust a little before adding the filling. Thank you for the great pie!
This recipe got all the thumbs up from my apple-pie-loving husband! Question about the filling for future use: On your regular apple pie recipe you talk about pre-cooking the filling a bit on the stove to soften the apples and deepen the flavors. I’m thinking this would be a good thing to do with the apple-cranberry filling as well. Any thoughts on that?
Hi Leah, yes, you can do that with the apples, and then just add the cranberries in right as you are transferring the apple filling to the crust. I wouldn’t recommend cooking the cranberries with the apples, as they will get too juicy and potentially burst, and will change the structure of the pie filling.
Loved this recipe and so did my co-workers! Will make it again for Thanksgiving!
This pie is incredible! I don’t think I’ve eaten (or made) a more delicious apple pie! The cranberries aren’t overpowering at all.
Do you think I could substitute blueberries for the cranberries?
Absolutely.
This is a delicious pie! The tartness of the cranberries compliments the sweetness from the apples and sugar. Probably cooked it 10 minutes longer than recipe. But so good and of course I use the crust recipe with butter and shortening, my go to for all pies, sweet and savory.
Excellent recipe. I made it as a crisp instead of a pie and it was delicious! Stayed together nicely on the plate with a perfect mix of flavours.
Can a Pillsbury pie crust be used ?
Definitely.
I can’t buy fresh or frozen cranberries in Australia. Can I reconstitute dried cranberries for this recipe?
Hi Pam, that should be just fine. I would reduce the amount to 1 cup (about 140g).
I am going to use Sally’s graham cracker pie crust. It’s my husband doesn’t like normal pie crust. Do I need to bake the graham cracker crust? Do I need to pre-cook the filling? I understand this isn’t the way Sally made it, but I have to make the adjustment for my husband to eat it.
Hi Valorie, while I have not tested this, I’m sure you can use the graham cracker crust here. I would prebake it at 350°F (177°C) for 10 minutes. No need to pre-cook the filling. I would also bake the pie at 350°F (177°C), too. The bake time is likely to be around 1 hour.
I would like to try this recipe. But my crowd does not like cranberries. Can I omit them. Will it change the recipe too much?
Hi Lois! Here’s our apple crumble pie recipe.
Your recipes and information are fantastic. Do you have any recipes for dry mixes, such as for a crumble? I don’t have much time to cook and II have had success with making my own dry mixes ahead of time. Thanks
Wishing you would create an apple cranberry crisp? Please
Hi Debbie! You can use this exact recipe and skip the pie crust. Follow the same baking instructions as this peach crisp. Be sure to grease the dish.