Made with a shortbread crust, spiced apple filling, streusel topping, and homemade salted caramel, these apple pie bars have all the flavors of classic apple pie in an easy-to-serve bar dessert.
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since updated it with new photos and additional success tips. Based on reader feedback, I also increased the flour in the crust to help it hold its shape, extended the baking time, and adjusted the instructions so you make and refrigerate the streusel first, which helps it maintain its crumbly texture as it bakes.
Without a doubt, apple pie is my favorite dessert. I love the combination of sweet-tart spiced apples and buttery, flaky pie crust. But when I’m craving those classic flavors without making an entire pie, I turn to today’s dessert.
These salted caramel apple pie bars are an easier, more approachable version of salted caramel apple pie. There’s no traditional pie crust to prepare, but you still get plenty of tender spiced apples, buttery crust, and irresistible salted caramel in every bite.
That’s why I’ve created bar versions of several popular pies on my site, including pumpkin pie bars, cherry pie bars, and blueberry pie bars. You get all the familiar flavors of a homemade pie in an easier-to-make (and easier-to-serve) dessert.
3 Layers to Love
These apple pie bars have a buttery shortbread crust, tender cinnamon-spiced apples, and a crisp brown sugar oat streusel with a drizzle of salty-sweet caramel. They taste like apple pie, but with a softer, more crumbly bar-cookie texture.
- Shortbread Crust: The buttery shortbread crust is much easier to make than a traditional pie crust. It’s simply perfect as the base layer for all your favorite bar desserts. I actually use the same shortbread crust in my recipe for raspberry streusel bars and double the recipe for my lemon bars. It comes together quickly—no waiting for pie dough to chill.
- Apple Pie Filling: No canned filling here. You only need 5 ingredients to make your own apple pie filling, and it tastes incredible!
- Streusel Topping: Instead of a top layer of pie crust like you see on traditional apple pies, we’re topping these apple pie bars with streusel. It’s a scaled-up version of the topping on our caramel apple cheesecake pie.
Here is everything you’ll need:
Overview: How to Make Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars
There are just a few steps before you have a delicious fall dessert on your hands!
Make the streusel topping first. I like to make the streusel topping first so it can chill in the refrigerator while I prepare the crust and filling. Keeping the butter cold helps the streusel hold its shape in the oven instead of melting into the bars. I do the same when making chocolate marble pumpkin bread.
The mixture will be crumbly and coarse:
Make the shortbread crust. Melted butter makes the crust especially easy to prepare and press into the pan. I also find that it produces a wonderfully soft yet sturdy base, which is ideal to support all those heavy apples!
An 8-inch square baking pan works best for these bars. Be sure to line it with parchment paper so you can easily lift the entire batch from the pan before slicing. If you need a recommendation, I use and love this baking pan and this baking pan (pictured).
As the crust pre-bakes, prep the apple pie filling. No need to pre-cook the filling on the stove; you can layer it right on top of the warm crust.
Peel the apples and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Toss with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg:
What Are the Best Apples for Apple Pie Bars?
Use a firm apple that holds its shape when cooked. Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or a combination all work well. If you’re interested in learning more, see my guide to the best apples for baking.
Layer the apple pie filling evenly on top of the crust. It will look like there are too many apple slices, so layer them tightly and press them down to fit. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly over the apples, and then bake.
Chilling is important: Allow the bars to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then transfer the bars to the refrigerator. For the cleanest slices, refrigerate the bars for at least 2 hours.
Cut into bars and drizzle with salted caramel sauce. I like to add a little sprinkle of sea salt flakes on top, too, but that’s completely optional.
Salted Caramel Topping
A generous drizzle of salted caramel takes these incredible apple pie bars to a whole new level. Have you ever made salted caramel before? You must. Besides topping these apple pie bars, it’s delicious over ice cream or pancakes, served with apple slices, and so much more. Find 50 ways to eat salted caramel here.
Absolutely. Homemade salted caramel is fantastic, but your favorite store-bought caramel sauce works well here, too. Add the caramel right before or after cutting into bars.
Yes! The recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Pre-bake the crust for 18 minutes, then extend the bake time to 45–55 minutes.
You can freeze the bars for up to 3 months. See freezing instructions in the recipe Notes section below.
One bite of these sweet and slightly salty apple pie bars and you’ll wonder why you haven’t made them sooner. They are a forever favorite!
Here is the salted caramel sauce recipe.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 20 minutes
- Yield: 12-16 bars
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Made with a shortbread crust, spiced apple filling, streusel topping, and homemade salted caramel, these apple pie bars have all the flavors of classic apple pie in an easy-to-serve bar dessert.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1/2 cup (43g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
Shortbread Crust
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup + 1 Tablespoon (133g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Apple Filling
- 2 large apples, peeled and thinly sliced (about 2.5 cups or 315g; 1/4-inch-thick slices)
- 2 Tablespoons (16g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Garnish
- homemade salted caramel or store-bought caramel sauce
- optional: flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F (149°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on all sides. Set aside.
- Make the streusel first: In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Cut in the chilled butter with a pastry blender or two forks (or even with your hands) until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Place in the refrigerator until step 6.
- Make the crust: In a medium bowl, stir together the melted butter, granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add the flour and mix until everything is combined. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges. While the crust bakes, prepare the filling.
- Make the apple filling: In a large bowl, combine the sliced apples, flour, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg, stirring until all of the apples are evenly coated. Set aside.
- After you remove the crust from the oven, increase the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C).
- Pour the apple filling on top of the warm crust and spread/press into an even layer. It will look like there are too many apple slices, so layer them tightly and press them down to fit. Sprinkle the cold streusel evenly on top.
- Bake for 30–35 minutes or until the streusel is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool for at least 20 minutes at room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.
- Lift the bars out of the pan by gripping the parchment paper overhang; transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares. Drizzle caramel sauce on top and sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.
- These apple pie bars can be enjoyed warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: You can freeze the bars (without the caramel sauce drizzle) for up to 3 months. Layer them in an airtight freezer-safe container or bag with parchment paper between the layers. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then warm them up to your liking and drizzle with salted caramel sauce to serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Apple Peeler | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Pastry Blender
- Apples: I like to use two different kinds of apples for the best texture and depth of flavor. I typically use one tart apple variety such as Granny Smith, and one sweet apple variety such as Pink Lady or Honeycrisp.
- Larger Batch: Recipe can easily be doubled and baked in a 9×13-inch pan. Pre-bake the crust for 18 minutes (step 3), then extend the bake time to 45–55 minutes.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Wow, Sally!!! Another winner! I already had a jar of the salted caramel sauce in the fridge, so this was easy to whip up. YUM!!!! I did the double batch and it turned out great. The only thing I did a little different was to drizzle the caramel sauce on before I cut the bars. I also didn’t line the pan because I was in a hurry and just buttered it. They came out very easily. Thank you again for another keeper!
Pam
I made these for our monthly birthday celebrations for work (co-worker wanted something with apples and caramel). They were a huge hit! Fairly easy to make and so was the to-die-for caramel sauce. Thank you!
I absolutely love these apple pie bars with caramel sauce. And so does my husband!
This will be the 3rd time I am making them and bringing them to a 4th of July party!
hi can i use apple filling instead of real apoles. i have a lots of filling available. thank you!
Hi Rhea! You can certainly try. I suggest leaving out the flour, sugar, and spices in the homemade filling too. Just use your filling. (Assuming it is sweetened and has spices!)
Hi Sally, is there a reduced sugar recipe for this? My friends are pretty health conscious about desserts sold commercially which are too sweet for them and hence I thought a homemade version would be less sweet, more organic. Please advise if reduced sugar version will still be as great as this current recipe. Thanks!
You can certainly try to reduce the sugar – just keep in mind that sugar is not just for taste, it’s also for the proper structure and texture of the crust. If you are going to try it I suggest reducing in the filling and a bit in the streusel. Let me know if you try it!
We are making this for my husbands birthday! Thank you for this delicous recipie. We had all the ingredients and it was very convenient. My daughter really loves your books and makes all the recipies. The strusel was supposed to be crumbly before baking, but ours was firm and moldable. That’s fine though, it turned out great. We will defiently remake this dessert again, 10/10 reccomend 🙂
I doubled the recipe and made these in a 9 x 13 pan and they were delicious. I baked the base for about 20 minutes as it was still very pale after 15 minutes, used six apples and spread some Dulce de Leche on top of the base before putting the apples on. This meant I skipped the salted caramel as I thought it would be too sweet otherwise. Received lots of compliments and lots of people asked for second helpings. Thank you for another great recipe!
Hey, Sally! I just made these today. Wow! I really love the short bread. It’s the first time I have ever made a caramel sauce. You made it easy for me! My apples were old so I used applesauce instead, probably around half a cup, just enough to cover the short bread. I think they turned out great! I enjoyed this more than a pie. Thanks so much for sharing!
You say they can be served warm, but it says to cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours. How do you serve warm? Are they good served cold out of the fridge?
Hi Shannon! You can reheat the slices in the oven or microwave if desired. They’re wonderful cold from the fridge, too!
Hi! Is 3-4 cups sliced apples the amount for the 8×8 size? Thank you!!!
Yep!
Would this survive a day of travel unrefrigerated? Maybe about 8 hours?
Yes, absolutely. They’ll be fine.
I want to double this and bake in a 9 1/4×11 3/4 pan – would that be big enough?
Hi Tess! That size pan wouldn’t be large enough– you’d need at least a 9×13 inch baking pan for doubling the apple pie bar recipe.
Have you tried using pie crust as the base?
Sure have! Works wonderfully. Let me know if you try it.
Hi.
Could this be doubled and baked as a pie? I love the taste and ease of this crust, and my 11 year old really wants to make the pie on her own. Has anyone tried? Thank you and happy Thanksgiving.
Hi Sandra! You can press this crust into a 9-inch pie dish. No need to double the crust or filling recipe. Careful slicing; the pie slices will be a little fragile.
Thank you so much for the quick reply! I assume that I still refrigerate it just as I do for the bars? These are one of my favorite recipes of yours. They are always delicious and easy for children to make on their own.
Yes, refrigerate it so the “pie” sets. So glad you love the recipe too!
These are perfect! The shortbread crust works really well here. All the goodness of apple pie, without the hassle! Aside from adding a little lime juice in the apples, and baking mine for longer (I think it’s my oven – it just wasn’t browning the way it should), I followed the recipe for the bars to a T, and it is absolutely delicious! So good in fact, that I was forbidden from letting any leave the house …lol. My poor co-workers will just have to wait for the next batch! Which, I already made a promise to myself to double the batch whenever making these 🙂
For the salted caramel, you can make it vegan if you like. I ended up using Sally’s recipe for the base, except my grocery store ran out of whipping cream, so I had to improvise. I melted a half a cup of white sugar, added a spoon of butter (coconut oil, if vegan), then the can of coconut milk, but because this has a higher water content, I had to cook it for about 25 minutes instead. But it is totally worth it!
Thanks for two more great recipes, Sally!
I made a few batches of these for a bake sale at school today. They were a hit! So delicious, and sold out very quickly. We raised a lot of money for transgender rights! Thank you!
Can you use steel cut oats?
Yes, definitely!
These where way to sweet. I have a sweet tooth but we could not eat them because they where so sweet. The salted caramel sauce was the bomb I could eat that right out of the jar. Will not make these again but have big plans for the sauce. Sorry. Smelt good looked good just to sweet.
Hi Emma! These apple pie bars are so moist– they wouldn’t dry out with a little reheating. Keep them in the baking pan and reheat at 300F for about 10 minutes.
Hi Stacey! I haven’t made the apple pie bars with vegan butter, but you can certainly try!
Hi Julie, I haven’t tested the recipe this way but you can try simply using an all purpose GF flour and certified gluten free oats.