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
I made these and they were delicious! I enjoyed watching my six year old grandson comment on every bite how good they were.
Hi! Looking forward to making these for a friend’s birthday!!
I was wondering if you guys have any recommendation on reheating once the caramel sauce has been added. I was thinking maybe a low temp in the oven?
Please let me know 🙂
Hi Jess, you can either reheat them in the oven or simply pop them in the microwave until reheated to your liking. Hope they’re a hit!
Can I use frozen apples from my freezer?
Hi Claire, We haven’t tested this with frozen apples. Fresh fruit is best, but for best results with frozen, thaw the fruit first. Blot dry as much as you can before using in the filling. Let us know if you give it a try!
This is my favorite autumn recipe to carry into work to spoil my colleagues. One of them bursts into tears at the site of it, she loves it so much. I stumbled across an AMAZING caramel tweak this morning. I made the bars last night and only made the caramel for the topping this morning. The heavy cream I thought was in my fridge turned out to be imaginary, so I ended up using flavored coffee creamer. I figured if it came out badly, I would just bring the treats in without the caramel topping. I used International Delight Vanilla Canoli Creme Latte flavored creamer and OMG!!! It turned out so delicious, I cannot wait to try making other flavored caramels with other creamer flavors! I don’t make caramel often enough to find out whether it affected the consistency badly. I bet pumpkin pie spice creamer would be spectacular with this recipe.
These were sooooo good. Added pecans in with the apple mixture, then added a few pecans in the streusel mixture. We ate the bars within 20 minutes of taking them out of the oven….there was no way that my kids were going to wait. We just drizzled store-bought caramel sauce on top and served with vanilla ice cream.
These are even better than apple pie!!
Husband, coworker and friend approved.
Thanks for a perfect recipe!
Oh my goodness, these are incredible!!
Can I add salt to a store bought bottle of Gharedelli (sp) sauce & warm it in a sauce pan?
Hi Patsy, we haven’t tested a store bought caramel in these bars so can’t offer any advice. Let us know if you try it!
Hi I know that this might be the lazy way to do it but do you know if apple pie filling works as well in this recipe? I have everything else on hand aside from the apples so was hoping that would be a similar consistency! Thank you
Hi Adele, we haven’t tested this recipe with canned apple pie filling, but it should work. It may end up being quite sweet.
This is a major winner!!! Just made these over the weekend for a family gathering and took a risk on a new recipe. So glad I did! I made the 9X13 according to the recipe using granny smith and honeycrisp apples. I was concerned the par baking of the crust wasn’t enough (it looked very oily still), but I had faith and it yields a really solid and delicious bottom crust for the exquisitely delicious top layers. I was also worried it would be a little too sweet with the caramel too (also a FAB recipe on it’s own!), but it was perfect. I did two little additions to the apple filling part using some of my recent King Arthur purchases – added a TBSP of the Instant ClearGel to help set the apple layer and subbed on TBSP of the sugar for Boiled Cider to intensify the apple flavor. Delicous!!!
These are delicious and fairly easy to make. My only issue was the crust did not look done after 15 min in a 300 degree oven. They were still soft and doughy even after baking the bars for 35 min. I made 3 pans of these bars and the last two pans, I just baked the crust at 350 vs 300 for 15 min and had a much better product. Very tasy!
Another great recipe 🙂 I made this with some modifications – since I used Gala apples as filling, I slightly reduced the sugar as they are a sweeter variety. And I’m not a huge fan of the streusel topping, to be honest, so I sprinkled the bars with demerara sugar and chopped roasted hazelnuts, and it was delicious (even without caramel…. which I was just too lazy to make, haha). They were great even after freezing and thawing too. A perfect fall recipe!
These apple pie bars were fantastic. Quick question. I assume you take the shortbread crust out of the oven after 15 minutes. However after the step bout making the streusel, the instructions say “remove the crust from the oven”. Was I supposed to leave the crust in the oven past the 15 minutes (I didn’t). I’m confused
Hi, I’m excited to try this recipe. My question is I have caramel chips, can I incorporate these in one of the layers? My thought was placing in between the apples and streusel.
Hi Lily, you can definitely give it a try. Keep in mind that baking chips contain stabilizers that often prevent them from melting fully, so they may not melt into a layer of caramel. But, they’d still be a delicious addition nonetheless!
HI Sally,
I made the doubled version in a 9″ x 13″ pan and at 18 minutes, the shortbread crust still looked very wet and undercooked. I put it back in the oven 2-3 more times, for 2-3 minutes each time. When I saw a tiny bit of browning along the edge, I removed it and continued with the recipe. I haven’t tasted them yet so am not sure. Just wondering if that very undercooked stage of shortbread is what was wanted or did I do the correct thing in putting it back for an additional 7-8 minutes until I saw browning? BTW, my oven is at correct temperature according to thermostat and oven thermometer.
Hi Geoffrey, how was the crust after the complete baking time? It’s okay if it looks slightly undercooked after that pre-bake time, since it will go back in with the apple and streusel topping and bake for quite a while longer. However, if you like a crispier crust, adding a few additional minutes is perfectly fine. Hope you enjoyed these!
Due to the caramel, do these need to be refrigerated? They look delicious, btw!
Hi Julie, The bars will stay fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 days.
Could this recipe work if you made it single serves in a muffin pan rather than bars?
Hi Kimberly! You should be able to bake them individually in a muffin pan with cupcake liners. Let us know how it goes!
Outstanding recipe. Made a batch today and they were delicious. This is now my go to recipe for apple bars. Didn’t change a thing in the recipe. YUMMY.
I am making these for my brother in law who loves apple pies but he like the apples quite soft. Will the baking time accomplish that texture or do I need to saute the apples a bit before baking?
Hi Shari, The apples will be soft but will still have some texture. If you want them to be extra soft you can slice them a bit thinner and/or slightly pre-cook them first.
These are AMAZING. I don’t think I need to ever make an apple pie again. They freeze beautifully so I can make an extra batch, cut up into squares, wrap individually, and then pop one out when I need a treat. So yummy!
I love the crust and the topping, which I made extra. 🙂 I just wish I had used more apples. This is the first recipe I used with my first home grown apples. They are great raw, but must lose some flavor in the baking.
These are one of the best deserts that I make. I make a big pan 9 x 13. Cut into
bars and freeze. Always have on hand. Just leave out and defrost a few hours before
serving with caramel and vanilla ice cream. Amazing! Thank you Sally.
First time making them bringing them to a barbecue at a friends house will let y know thank y
Absolute perfection! I’ve never made bars or even shortbread but I so loved making this recipe. They turned out amazing!
You must hate this type of question BUT I made your blueberry lemon tart and was gorgeous! Can I make this in a tart pan?
Hi Carol! We haven’t tested that with this recipe, but it should work great!
A keeper!
I subbed EVCO for the butter for my flatmate who is vegan, used GF flour and skipped the oats for myself and left out a container of butterscotch caramel I had leftover from another recipe for people to drizzle on their bars and it came out amazing. I loved mixing the two kinds of apples. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I look forward to making it again with real butter for the buttery flavour which I personally miss and prefer.
Delicious! Easy and much quicker way to get my apple pie fix without making the whole pie. Keeping this recipe for sure!
Thank you! I will give it a try soon.
This was SUCH a great recipe! I was able to make it vegan by using vegan butter and organic sugar. I also added pecans to the streusel topping. I even made a vegan caramel sauce but actually think it’s not necessary and I think in the future I’ll make the bars without the sauce at all… the topping is so rich and delicious on its own, it doesn’t need anything additional. Thanks for this terrific dessert!
Hi Sally, I was wondering if I can add Pecans ? I love walnuts in apple pie / cakes
Hi Irina! We haven’t tested it but chopped pecans in place of the oats in the crumble topping should work! Let us know if you try anything
I make this recipe all the time! I use whatever fruit is in season and it’s always a hit. Friends are constantly asking me when I’m making more!! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Absolutely fantastic!