This caramel apple cheesecake pie has so many layers to love: it starts with a crisp and buttery graham cracker crust, followed by a creamy brown sugar cheesecake filling, sweet cinnamon-spiced apples, homemade salted caramel, and finished with a streusel topping. It’s like apple crisp meets cheesecake, and you’ll be very glad that they did!
I always love a good dessert mash-up, especially when it involves cheesecake. Have you seen this pecan pie cheesecake or these coconut cheesecake brownies before?
Today we’re talking all things apple. This recipe is as if I started making an apple crisp or salted caramel apple pie, then threw in a cheesecake. It’s very layered, textured, rich, and undoubtedly tasty. During testing and photography, my team and I made about 8 of these pies… and neighbors were literally leaving notes on our doors to bring them more. (Yes, that really happened!)
Why You’ll Love This Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
- A “people pleaser” dessert—satisfies the cheesecake lovers and apple pie lovers
- No water bath or pastry pie crust needed
- A magnificent use of dessert’s favorite condiment, homemade salted caramel
- Tons of texture in every bite
- It’s a lot of steps and layers, but each is quite simple to make
- A great make-ahead recipe because it needs time to chill
4 Layers to Love
This is a texture lover’s pie, for sure. Crispy, crumbly, creamy… oh my!
- Graham Cracker Crust: A classic crumb crust gets extra crispy from a longer bake time, just like in this s’mores brownie pie.
- Cheesecake Filling: Smooth, velvety, creamy, and lightly tangy cheesecake pie filling provides a perfect contrast to the textures in the layers above and below.
- Caramel Apples: Tart apples get the sweet treatment here. Tossed in cinnamon & brown sugar, then drizzled with salted caramel… is there a better way to get your apple a day? They bake long enough to soften but still maintain their texture, much like an apple pie.
- Streusel Topping: This crumbly topping is a scaled-down version of what we use on these salted caramel apple pie bars. I reduced the quantity down because, in testing, I found that too much streusel topping created a mushy layer on this pie.
Pie Testing (& Retesting)
My team and I tested many different versions to figure out the very BEST way to make caramel apple cheesecake pie. Some tests:
- We tried pre-cooking the apples before adding them to the pie, but not only was it an extra step (and an extra pan to wash), it made the apple layer a bit too soft and wet.
- Then we tried layering the caramel and apples directly on top of the crust, but the caramel adhered to the crust, making it nearly impossible to cut.
- We tried it without the streusel topping. Silly mistake. Our strategically selected panel of taste testers (i.e., neighbors who happened to be home—LOL) overwhelmingly preferred the versions with the streusel topping to the versions without.
All this recipe testing led to today’s truly delicious dessert—are you ready for it?
Start With a Graham Cracker Crust:
The recipe begins with this graham cracker crust. It’s just 3 simple ingredients: graham crackers, granulated sugar, and melted butter. If you’ve had trouble with graham cracker crust in the past, or if it’s not easy to get graham crackers where you are, read this How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust post for guidance and substitution suggestions.
Bake the crust by itself for 10 minutes, so it can set its shape before filling the pie. It’s ideal if the crust is still a tad warm when you add the filling (so it adheres nicely to the base).
Grab These Ingredients for Filling & Topping:
- Cream Cheese: Use 12 ounces (339g) of full-fat brick cream cheese. Make sure you’re buying the bricks of cream cheese and not the tubs of cream cheese spread.
- Brown Sugar: We’re using brown sugar in the cheesecake filling, like we do in this pecan pie cheesecake. Brown sugar also goes in the caramel apple and streusel layers.
- Sour Cream: Makes for a smooth and velvety texture, and gives it that lightly tangy flavor we all love in cheesecakes.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor, especially homemade vanilla extract!
- Egg: The egg provides structure in this baked cheesecake pie.
- Apples: I like to use a mix of tart & sweet apples in baking, like 1 Granny Smith and 1 Honeycrisp or other sweet variety. Peel and slice them really thin, then chop the slices into bite-size pieces. If your apples are too thick, they won’t soften enough when the pie bakes.
- Lemon Juice: I usually include lemon juice in a cheesecake filling, but in this pie, let’s add it to the apples. Tossing the chopped apples in lemon juice helps prevent browning, but we also want to give them a head start on softening before we layer them in the pie.
- Cinnamon: Apple’s favorite spice!
- Homemade Salted Caramel: Have you ever made this liquid gold before? This recipe for salted caramel is surprisingly simple. Use some in the filling and then as much as you want when serving the finished pie. If you want regular caramel (and not salted), reduce the salt in the caramel recipe down to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Oats: Use old-fashioned whole rolled oats. If you don’t want oats in the streusel topping, try halving the crumble topping used on this apple crumble pie and use that instead.
- Flour: Just a little bit in the streusel topping, for structure.
- Butter: Cut cold, cubed butter into the dry streusel ingredients, until you have a crumbly topping. You also use butter in the crust. (And in the homemade caramel!)
Again, there are a lot of layers. Go slow, and read through the recipe and watch the video tutorial before you begin. I categorize this as an intermediate baking recipe.
Let’s Assemble the Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
In the printable recipe below, I encourage you to start with the crust, then move on to the toppings before you make the cheesecake filling. Make the streusel first, and then chill it in the refrigerator or freezer as you work on the other layers. The colder the streusel, the better it will hold shape in the oven. A pastry cutter makes this step easy, or you can try cutting in the butter using 2 forks:
After your streusel is in the refrigerator, peel, slice, and chop the apples. Mix them with a little brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon. You can see the apples when I layer them onto the filling below.
The cheesecake filling is a snap. It’s a slightly reduced version of this cheesecake pie filling. I reduced the amounts because we’re topping it with so many layers.
Spread the filling into the slightly warm pre-baked crust, and then top with the apple layer, a couple Tablespoons of salted caramel, and then the cold streusel topping.
Here is the pie before & after baking:
The caramel apple cheesecake pie needs about 45 minutes in the oven. Around the 30 or 35-minute mark, I loosely tent it with aluminum foil to prevent the top and crust from over-browning. The pie filling may seem a little wobbly when it’s done, but it will finish setting up as it cools and chills.
Cooling, Chilling, & Serving
Cool the pie at room temperature for about an hour, and then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
Since you used only a few Tablespoons of the caramel sauce in the pie, you’ll have plenty leftover for serving. Besides this pie, the salted caramel is fantastic on ice cream, pancakes, oatmeal, and so much more—find 50 ways to eat salted caramel here. I love gifting jars of it around the holidays!
Totally worth all of the prepwork!
Even More Apple Desserts
- Homemade Caramel Apples
- Apple Cake
- Apple Cinnamon Muffins
- Gluten Free Apple Crisp
- Apple Cinnamon Babka
See Your Caramel Apple Cheesecake Pies!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintCaramel Apple Cheesecake Pie
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes (includes crust pre-bake)
- Total Time: 4 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: one 9-inch pie
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This recipe uses prepared homemade salted caramel in the filling, and for garnish on the finished pie. You can make the caramel ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. I encourage you to make the crust first, and then prepare the toppings before you make the filling. So many layers to love in this caramel apple cheesecake pie!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 and 1/2 cups (180g) graham cracker crumbs (about 12 full sheet graham crackers)
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, melted
Streusel Topping
- 1/3 cup (28g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats*
- 3 Tablespoons (24g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3 Tablespoons (40g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Apple Layer
- 2 cups (250g) peeled, thinly sliced, and chopped apples*
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2–3 Tablespoons salted caramel (plus more for topping)*
Cheesecake Filling
- 12 ounces (339g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 3 Tablespoons (45g) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Have your ingredients ready and salted caramel prepared.
- Make the crust: If you’re starting out with full graham crackers, use a food processor or blender to grind them into fine crumbs. Stir the graham cracker crumbs and granulated sugar together in a medium bowl, and then stir in the melted butter. The mixture will be thick, coarse, and sandy. Try to smash/break up any large chunks. Pour the mixture into an ungreased 9-inch pie dish. With medium pressure using your hand, pat the crumbs down into the bottom and up the sides to make a compact crust. Do not pack down with heavy force because that makes the crust too hard. Simply pat down until the mixture is no longer crumby/crumbly. Tips: You can use a small flat-bottomed measuring cup to help press down the bottom crust and smooth out the surface, but do not pack down too hard. And run a spoon around the bottom “corner” where the edge and bottom meet to help make a rounded crust—this helps prevent the crust from falling apart. For more shaping technique tips, see the graham cracker crust recipe page.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes. Continue with the next steps as the crust bakes.
- Make the streusel topping: Whisk the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour together in a medium bowl. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry cutter or 2 forks (or even with your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place the bowl of streusel in the refrigerator to chill while you continue with the next step.
- Prepare the apples: Mix the thinly sliced & chopped apples, brown sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Set aside. (The caramel will be layered on top of them when you assemble the pie.)
- Make the filling: Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and brown sugar together on medium-high speed in a large bowl until the mixture is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract, and then beat until fully combined and very smooth. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed to combine—you don’t want any large lumps. Add the egg and beat on medium speed just until combined. If you still see some lumps at this point, switch to a whisk and whisk by hand just until you break up the large lumps. Some small lumps are OK.
- Assemble the layers: Spread the cheesecake filling into the crust. The crust can still be warm at this point. A small offset spatula makes spreading easy. Spoon apples in an even layer on top of the cheesecake filling. Drizzle salted caramel over the apples. Sprinkle cold streusel evenly on top.
- Lower the oven temperature to 325°F (163°C) and bake the pie for 45 minutes, or until the center is almost set (it will still be a bit wobbly in the center—that’s OK). To prevent burning the crust edges, tent the entire pie with aluminum foil or use a pie crust shield for the last 10–15 minutes of baking.
- Set the pie on a wire rack and cool for 1 hour at room temperature. Then place it in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days before serving. The pie will continue to set up as it cools and chills. (Cover if chilling it for longer than a few hours.) The topping softens the longer it sits.
- To serve, drizzle chilled pie with more salted caramel. Salted caramel solidifies as it cools, so warm it back up to drizzle it. For neat slices, use a clean sharp knife, and wipe the knife clean between each slice. Tip: The first slice is never pretty! Much easier to slice after that first piece is out.
- Cover and store leftover pie in the refrigerator or freezer for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: This caramel apple cheesecake pie can be made up to 2 days in advance. Store covered in the refrigerator until ready to serve. It’s best if the crust is still a bit warm when you pour in the filling, so I don’t recommend pre-baking the crust in advance. You can freeze the baked, cooled, and chilled pie. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving. Note that the streusel topping becomes very soft after freezing and thawing.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Apple Peeler | Food Processor | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Pastry Cutter | Pie Dish | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Small Offset Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Oats: Whole oats are best, but you can use quick oats if needed. The crumble topping will just be a little more powdery. Use a 1:1 swap from whole oats to quick oats. For an oat-less topping, try halving the crumble recipe used on this apple crumble pie.
- Apples: For depth of flavor, it’s best to bake with a mix of sweet and tart apples. I usually use 1 small Honeycrisp apple and 1 small Granny Smith apple.
- Salted Caramel: If you prefer regular caramel and not salted, reduce salt in the caramel recipe down to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature before beginning. Room temperature ingredients combine quickly and evenly, so you won’t risk over-mixing. Also, beating cold ingredients together will result in a chunky cheesecake filling, hardly the way you want to begin!
- Non-US Readers: If graham crackers are not available where you live, use 200g ground digestive biscuit crumbs (about 2 cups; 13–14 biscuits), 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar, and 6 Tablespoons (85g) melted butter. Pre-bake the crust for a bit longer, about 12–14 minutes. And from what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make this pie. I have no experience with it, but this is what I’ve heard from other non-US readers. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
Keywords: caramel apple cheesecake pie
This cheesecake was just too good! Every bite was filled with so much flavor and couldn’t get enough!
I’m definitely going to make this again! Highly recommended fall treat.
★★★★★
I would love to make this pie gluten free. I figure I can make the crust using gluten free gram crackers. What can i use in streusel topping instead of all purpose flour? Would gluten free flour work?
We haven’t tested that but can’t see why not!
This cheesecake is amazing. I slightly reduced the amount of sugar. I really love the combination. The world is a better place with salted caramel in it.
★★★★★
Absolutely amazing!
At first, as a novice baker, I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of steps involved. I ultimately enjoyed the process, did not find it hard or confusing and thoroughly enjoyed the result. Another amazing dessert, Sally! You and your team have done it again.
★★★★★
I was a little nervous due to all the different steps to this recipe but it ended up being much easier than I thought and tasted INCREDIBLE! Even my two year old son helped me with some of the steps 🙂 I made this for a family dinner and I didn’t have any leftovers to take home!
★★★★★
Hi Sally. I’d like to make this pie ahead of time, freeze it, and then thaw it for Thanksgiving. Can I bake and freeze it without the streusel topping, then bake the streusel separately and add it to the pie after thawing? (Hoping to avoid having mushy streusel)
Hi Leah! You can bake without the streusel topping. I fear baking the streusel topping by itself will just result in a melty pool of brown sugar/oats. You can absolutely try it though, or try a granola as the topping instead.
This was amazing! I’m at a loss for words on how good it is! It’s very rich, so a little goes a long way.
★★★★★
If I use already made ghraham cracker crust , do I need to still bake it for 10 min?
No need to par-bake a pre-made crust before adding the filling. Enjoy!
Lots of steps, but turned out great!
★★★★★
Delicious and easy to put together in a few hours. My husband claims to hate cheesecake — and yet this disappeared in about 3 days!
★★★★★
Very rich and indulgent! If not for the apples, it’d be like a candy bar! I had to use a couple extra tblsps of butter in the crust to make it more pliable. Sliced and served firm after spending the night in the fridge.
★★★★
I just made 2 of them in case they were good then I would have another one to share it with my in laws omg!! Boy was I right. The cheesecake pies were delicious totally love it. Definitely baking them for Thanksgiving per request of my family. Thank u sally for another great recipe.
★★★★★
Hi Sally and Team,
I’ve just finished baking this so haven’t had a chance to taste it – it smells amazing. I did have a few problems and I’ve never experienced that with any of the recipes here.
I do measure everything by weight, so I think things were accurate in that sense. I also double checked I had a 9 inch pie plate. Anyways, the crust (made with store bought graham crumbs) was very buttery/greasy rather than crumbly and therefore sunk down the sides and bubbled up in the middle – the butter was pooling there as well. I reshaped it and put it back in for a few minutes to try to get it to set up. I also didn’t really have a crust and there was a lot more filling so it overflowed from the edges slightly.
I’ll try it again in a slightly larger pie dish and add in additional crumbs if the butter ratio seems off again. Any insights as to what might have been the issue?
Hi Meghan, thank you so much for trying the recipe. Graham crackers frustratingly vary in texture. I know some store brands aren’t quite as crispy as the Nabisco brand and that means that they just stay soft, instead of absorbing a lot of liquid. So I wonder if that was the issue? And then because it stayed so soft and puffed up, it probably led to the filling overflowing. Do you have Nabisco graham crackers by chance? Those are my favorites for a graham crust. Also, a larger pie dish would absolutely help.
Thanks so much for responding. It still tasted absolutely amazing. I’ll try again with a different brand (Nabisco isn’t available, at least not where I am in Canada) and use a food processor rather than the pre-bought crumbs. And a larger dish! Definitely worth trying again so it looks as good as it tastes.
★★★★★
I forgot the rating!!! Would give 10/5 stars if I could! Delish!
★★★★★
This recipe was a hit with my kids and in laws! The homemade caramel was seriously the best I’ve ever had! This is a really yummy twist on traditional cheesecake.
★★★★
My whole family loved this recipe! I don’t know how you created this so beautifully, Sally. I always appreciate your recipes so much!
Cheesecake plus apple pie equals a match made in heaven! I absolutely love how rich and creamy the cheesecake is and how the apple pie was perfectly spiced. And that homemade salted caramel…to die for! Thanks for another superb recipe, Sally!
★★★★★
This was an amazing recipe! Perfect for the fall weather. This was the best cheesecake I’ve ever made!
Yum! The flavors of cinnamon, apple and salted caramel paired with tangy cheesecake is incredible. I have made many cheesecakes that were dry and not creamy, but this cheesecake was amazingly rich and creamy. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
★★★★★
This recipe is FANTASTIC. I was a little intimated at first by all the steps and layers but it was fun and easier than I thought it would be. My mother-in-law said this was the best pie she’d ever had! Another winner from Sally
★★★★★
Everyone loved it, even my cheesecake -haters. It did take about an extra 10 minutes in the oven to firm up, however. Also, it overflowed during baking, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
★★★★★
How much time would this need to cook for if I made it into a full cheesecake with the spring form pan?
Hi Miriam, while you could make this recipe in a springform pan, it would be a thin cheesecake. This cheesecake pie is thinner than a tall cheesecake. We’re unsure of the exact bake time. If you want a tall cheesecake, use the brown sugar cheesecake base from this pecan pie cheesecake.
Thank you. I will use that base recipe. With the apple crumble topping, would it still need the regular 70 mins or do you think it would need more time?
What a great challenge. Not too difficult but an amazing end result. I’m at 7000’ elevation and I baked it for 5 extra minutes. Perfect! I brought it to work and everyone loved it.
This is yummy and the caramel sauce is dangerous!!! I made this for the November challenge. It was fun to make. My crust came out too dry for my taste. I may add more butter next time.
Absolutely the “ best” pie I have ever made. It is moderately difficult because of all the steps but well worth it. I am going to have to make it agin as it was all gone in 1 day! Loved it
★★★★★
It was easier than it looks like on the first sight.
★★★★★
Is this firm enough to work as bars? Maybe in an 8 in or 9 in Sq pan?
This shouldn’t be a problem in a 9-inch pan. Probably the same bake time, too.
Great recipe! I ate two pieces in one sitting! Definitely one I will be sharing with family Thanksgiving Day!
I love this recipe. I did a couple of swaps for the crust and topping but I think the result was pretty close. The combination of apples, cheesecake, and salted caramel was amazing. Sally’s salted caramel recipe was so good too!
★★★★★
I made this recently for a family dinner and it was delicious! The cheesecake and apple topping taste great together and I found the instructions and photos helpful.
★★★★★
Sally – I baked this as directed to test for Thanksgiving, but the cheesecake was a little on the loose side. Is that the intent or should it be a firmer cheesecake filling, I feel I needed 10 more minutes or so. Otherwise, great flavor – it will be a showstopper. Thanks!
★★★★
Hi Sarah, it should firm up pretty well after it’s been refrigerated. If that didn’t happen for you, you may need to add a few more minutes to the baking time, like you said. Hope it turns out well for Thanksgiving!
This was such a fun challenge to make! Initially, I was intimidated seeing the steps but it all came together so easily! The combo of cream cheese & brown sugar is sooooo good! Everyone I have shared it with so far LOVES it! So so good!
★★★★★
This was my first baking challenge and I’m so glad it was this one!!! This recipe was so much fun to make, and included all of my favorite things… apples, cheesecake, and streusel!! YUM! Planning on baking this for Thanksgiving this year because it was gone in a few quick days in my house!