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Home » Blog » Recipes

Not Another Mushy Apple Pie Recipe (Apple Pie with Crisp Apples)

Published: Nov 21, 2016 · Updated: Oct 18, 2021 by Kara · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads

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This is definitely not a mushy apple pie. If you want a crisp apple pie, then you’ve got to try this one. It’s the perfect fall dessert. Bring this one to a holiday event and you’ll be a hero.

This apple pie recipe uses a combination of two types of apples, one for their tart crispiness and one for their sweetness. The apples are sauteed with sugar and spices before baking in a crust, which surprisingly prevents them from turning mushy when baked.

What you get is a sweet apple pie with bits of tart and slightly crisp apples with no more mushy bits. It’s one of the best, traditional apple pies I’ve eaten.

Slice of apple pie on a white plate
Jump to Recipe -

This post was updated on 10/19/21

Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!

I’m not a huge fan of the mushy, mealy apple pies. Everyone has their own preferences, but for me, I prefer my pies to have a little crispness to them.

I decided I needed to do some research on apples and different methods for pie baking, so I could make an apple pie that came out with crisp apples…not mushy apples.

Without getting too scientific on you, I decided to go with something a little different than the normal Granny Smith apples.

Basically, I found this Deep Dish Apple Pie recipe from Emeril Lagasse. I ended up changing it quite a bit. For one, I don’t like the idea of adding cheese to an apple pie, and two, I found that sauteing the apples a bit longer made a big difference.

apple pie recipe pin graphic

Hey there! Before you scroll, there’s lot’s of important stuff in the post!…including the FAQ section, which may answer any questions you might have about this recipe. Enjoy!

Jump to:
  • Ingredient Notes:
  • Method Notes:
  • Decorating the pie:
  • Tips & FAQs:
  • Supplies Used:
  • Recipe:
  • Other posts you might like:

My first thought was that pre-cooking the apples a bit, might actually make the apples even mushier, but in fact, it has the opposite effect. It’s something super scientific, but I won’t bore you with those specifics.

Ingredient Notes:

Let’s talk a little about just some of the ingredients in this pie. (The entire ingredient list will be down in the recipe card below.)

Braeburn apples & Golden Delicious apples: After doing a little research on apples (yeah I’m a nerd), I decided to go with Braeburn apples for their crispness and Golden Delicious for their sweet flavor.

I used two pounds of Braeburn apples and two pounds of Golden Delicious. I just weighed them before I sliced them. You don’t have to get too specific. I also did not add any lemon juice. You don’t need it because the Braeburn apples will have some tartness to them.

Granulated sugar and Brown sugar: You’ll use both types int his recipe. For the brown sugar, I used light brown, but either light or dark will work.

Pie crust: I did not go into how to make pie crust in this recipe, because that is not my specialty. I generally use pre-made pie crusts, because I just really don’t like making them. If you love making pie crusts though, then certainly go ahead and do that. I’ve heard good things about this piecrust recipe.

Method Notes:

Let’s go through some tips on the method I used. (The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.)

Slice up the apples. I sliced mine a little thin as you can see below and they still ended up being crispy and didn’t come out mushy.

Chopped apples for the apple pie

After slicing the apples, you’ll melt half a stick (¼ of a cup) of butter in a large skillet.

Melting butter for the apple pie

You’ll add the apples to the melted butter and saute them for about three minutes.

Next you’ll add the flour, sugar and spices.

Adding spices to the apple pie mixture

Saute the apple mixture for five more minutes.

Sauteed apples for the apple pie

After you’ve sauteed your apples, they need to cool down. You can either set them in the fridge for a couple of hours, or you can leave them there overnight and finish the pie the next day.

That’s what’s so awesome about this recipe…you don’t have to spend hours out of your day.

Once the apples have cooled, fill a deep-dish pie plate with your pie crust.

I personally hate making my own pie crust, so I use Pillsbury. The way I see it, there are things I enjoy doing and that I like taking the time to do, but making pie crust is not one of those things.

Do what you feel good about, whether that’s using a pre-made pie crust or making your own.

Bottom crust of the apple pie

Next, fill your pie plate with the cooled sauteed apples.

Filling the pie crust of the apple pie

You can then just cover the pie with more pie crust, crimp the edges, make some slashes in the top, and bake.

Remember you can get all the details in the recipe card below.

Decorating the pie:

Here’s where I got a little fancy. You absolutely don’t have to do this. You can just add the top pie crust and bake, but if you want to add a fun twist, you definitely can.

So, if you’re going to embellish it this way, then you’ll need an extra pie crust. So if you made the crust homemade, then you’ll need to make extra, or you can just use another package of pre-made pie crust.

I had some apple and small leaf cookie cutters and used them to cut out shapes I could add to my top crust. You can use any shapes you want. Here’s an option: Mini fall cutters

cutting out the apple shapes from pie crust
cutting out the leaf shapes from pie crust

Before adding these cut-outs, you’ll want to add your top crust. Don’t forget to add a couple of slits on the top of it and crimp the edges.

Adding the top crust to the apple pie

Brush a little egg wash (beaten egg with a little water) over the top and attach your cut-out pieces. Brush those with egg wash as well.

Adding the cut out pie crust shapes to the apple pie

Once baked, everything will brown up nicely.

Apple Pie top view

What you get is a sweet, yet slightly tart apple pie with no mushy bits of apple in it. The apples still have a crispness to them that I find refreshing and a little out of the norm for your average apple pie. It’s SO good.

You can top it with whipped cream, or my personal favorite, vanilla ice cream.

Close up view of apple pie on a white plate

Tips & FAQs:

What kind of apples should I use for this apple pie?

I used Braeburn apples & Golden Delicious apples. Braeburn apples are crisp and Golden Delicious are sweet.
You’ll use about two pounds of each and slice them a little thin. (You can see a pic above in the post.)

Do I really need to saute the apples before I bake the pie?

Well that’s the magic of this recipe. Cooking the apples a bit before baking the pie is what allows the apples to stay crisp and not get mushy like other apple pies.
So if that’s the type of pie you’re going for, try it out and see how you like it.

How should I store this pie?

Once baked and before it’s cut, this pie can be kept covered at room temperature for about a day. After it’s cut, cover the pie well and it will keep in the fridge for about 3-4 days.

Can I use a crumb topping instead of a top crust?

Sure you can!

What type of pie pan should I use with this pie?

It’s best to use a deep dish pie pan for this recipe.

Supplies Used:

  • Mini fall cutters
  • Deep dish pie plate
  • Pie Slicer
  • Apple peeler and corer

Ok, now to the detailed recipe!

***I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are used to seeing and using. For weight in metric measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s a best guess. Please note that because I develop recipes using ‘cups’ I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results.

Recipe:

Not Another Mushy Apple Pie

Not Another Mushy Apple Pie

This is definitely not a mushy apple pie. This recipe uses a combination of two types of apples, one for their tart crispiness and one for their sweetness. The apples are sauteed with sugar and spices before baking in a crust, which surprisingly prevents them from turning mushy when baked. What you get is a sweet apple pie with bits of tart and slightly crisp apples with no more mushy bits.
4.75 from 8 votes
Print Pin SaveSaved! Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: apple pie
Prep Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 284kcal
Author: Kara @I Scream for Buttercream

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs peeled and sliced Braeburn apples
  • 2 lbs peeled and sliced Golden Delicious apples
  • 4 tablespoon butter
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 4 tablespoon flour
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • Refrigerated or homemade pie crust
  • egg wash
US Customary – Metric
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Instructions

  • Peel and slice the apples.
  • Melt butter in a large skillet.
  • Add apples and saute them for about three minutes.
  • Add the sugars, flour, spices and salt and saute with the apples another five minutes. If the juices are still quite runny, you can saute for another minute or so.
  • Let the mixture cool completely. You can leave in the refrigerator over night.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prepare your pie crust. Set the bottom crust into your pie plate.
  • Add the apples into the crust.
  • Cover with a top crust. Cut slits in the top and crimp the edges. Bonus points if you add some cute pie crust cut-outs to the top.
  • Brush on an egg wash and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes.
  • Let the pie cool completely before cutting.

Video

Notes

Adapted from Emeril Lagasse’s Deep Dish Apple Pie Recipe.
Nutritional values are an estimate. 
Make sure to check out the blog post, which goes into detail with photos about this recipe and may answer any questions you might have.
*This recipe card may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition

Calories: 284kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 202mg | Potassium: 260mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 10.4mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 0.5mg
Some recipes have difficulty levels.Check out what they mean here: Difficulty Levels Explained
Baking at higher elevation?Adjustments will need to be made for that. This website does not specialize in higher elevation baking. Please take time to do your research on what adjustments should be made.
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DisclaimersTo see food safety, allergy & nutrition disclaimers, go here: Disclaimers

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Other posts you might like:

  • Apple Coconut Cake
  • Caramel Apple Toffee Cake
  • Farmhouse Cake

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Filed Under: Other Sweets, Recipes Tagged With: apple, fall cakes and recipes, other desserts, pie, Thanksgiving cakes and recipes

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Comments

  1. Sandra Cathey

    June 27, 2017 at 7:59 am

    5 stars
    I like the idea of sautéing the apples rather than setting aside in bowl with sugar mixture blended into the apples.

    I am a crust person. I love tanned, crispy or crunchy and flaky crust. I don’t like gummy bottom crust. I edge the bottom crust a bit over the edge, prick with fork and stick in a 425 dog oven until its begins to shrink and/or shows slight browning.

    How do you keep your bottom crust crisp and crunchy?

    Reply
    • Kara Jane

      June 27, 2017 at 8:33 am

      Pre-browning the bottom crust is a great tip! In full disclosure here…I’m not an expert at pie baking. I’m much more of a cake person, but my husband’s favorite thing is apple pie, so since I kinda like him, I figured I’d try to come up with the best apple pie recipe I could make. 😉 I didn’t find the crust on this one to be too soggy. I have to admit though, I don’t actually mind a soggy crust, as long as it’s not to the point of falling apart. My biggest pet peeve is mushy or mealy apples, which just grosses me out. What I love most about this pie is the apples are cooked just enough, but are still crisp plus each kind of apple has a different level of crispness to them. Sauteing them first is the secret. Sounds kind of counter-intuitive, but it works 😉 Thanks for the pie crust tip!

      Reply
      • Sandra Cathey

        June 27, 2017 at 8:46 am

        Combining our tips should produce the ULTIMATE apple pie!

        Do you have access to the recipe on the side of the Hersheys Cocoa Tin, long ago was tin, for the recipe of Buttermilk Chocolate layer cake? My mother used to make it with dark buttercream frosting. It was to die for— I need this recipe so that I can make and pass to my daughter.

        Reply
        • Kara Jane

          June 27, 2017 at 8:55 am

          Oh yes, I agree, it WOULD be the ultimate apple pie! 😉

          I don’t have that recipe, but I just did a quick search and this may be it. Here’s a link to what I found. Hope it helps: https://www.hersheys.com/kitchens/en_us/recipes/heritage-chocolate-cake.html

          Reply
  2. Renee

    September 17, 2017 at 8:37 pm

    Hi! Thanks so much for posting these tips! How thick do you slice your apples? I’m contemplating getting one of those kitchen gadgets that peels, cores and slices apples all at once, but I keep taking myself out of it cause it only makes the super thin slices, and I feel like the thinner the apple slice the mushier the pie, but maybe if they are that thin and then I try your sautéing tip, that will take care of the mushiness. Your thoughts, please.

    Reply
    • Kara Jane

      September 17, 2017 at 9:18 pm

      Hi there, I did actually use a peeler/slicer for my apple slices. The one I have was fairly inexpensive and it still did a good job. I set it to slice as well as core and peel, but you still have to do a little bit of cutting afterwards…only because it sort of slices them in a spiral. My slices were pretty thin but they stayed really crisp even after an hour and 15 minutes of baking. The apple slicer sure makes life easier though. ?

      Reply
  3. Mollie

    September 11, 2019 at 8:25 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely fabulous!! Thank you for the solution I have been looking for. No more mushy apple pies, crisps, or cobblers coming from my kitchen. My apple tree has apples that are especially starchy (turn to applesauce when baked) and this trick worked so perfect. I made the best apple cobbler using this method. The apple slices really held their structure despite the long baking time. Now all my apples will be put to good use. Thank you so much!

    Reply
    • Kara Jane

      September 12, 2019 at 12:39 pm

      Mollie, I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for the wonderful comment and I’m so glad it worked for you! I have to admit when I first heard of this trick, I wasn’t sure it would work because it sounds so counter-intuitive, but it totally works. Glad it worked for you too. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Heather

    October 27, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    Is it possible to freeze the sautéed apples to use later?

    Reply
    • Kara Jane

      October 27, 2020 at 8:42 pm

      Hmmm I haven’t tried that. It might work okay…just make sure if you try it to put them in a freezer bag or vacuum seal them. You want to keep them from getting freezer burned.

      Reply
  5. John

    August 09, 2021 at 2:29 pm

    5 stars
    First baking a pie and this turned out great! The apples were nice and crisp and the recipe was super easy to follow. The hardest part was the prep/slicing the apples by hand.

    Reply
    • Kara Jane

      August 09, 2021 at 7:02 pm

      Hi John, so glad you liked it and that it turned out well! I agree with you on the prep part…it’s so much work! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Valerie Sattler

    October 18, 2021 at 1:34 pm

    5 stars
    I have been using a family recipe for years to bake an apple pie for my husband who, like yours, loves apple pie. His biggest complaint was the structural loss of the apples after baking. Since I also kinda like my husband LOL I went on a mission to improve my apple pies. I found your recipe in 2019 and have used it every Thanksgiving since, it’s truly a game changer! He loves it and I get so many compliments from other guests. Never going back!!!

    Reply
    • Kara Jane

      October 18, 2021 at 2:58 pm

      Hey Valerie! Thanks for the wonderful review 🙂 I was just thinking about this pie…my husband’s birthday is coming up and I need to bake it for him. So glad you all love it too!

      Reply
  7. Stephanie

    October 09, 2022 at 7:43 pm

    5 stars
    This is the best Apple pie filling I have come across. I’ve made so many recipes and this one is the one I’m sticking to from now on. Great taste, love the fact that it’s actually stable once cooked and the crust doesn’t get soggy.
    I’ll actually write this one on a card for my recipe book.

    Reply
    • Kara

      October 15, 2022 at 6:35 pm

      Oh yay, Stephanie! I’m so glad you love this one. I just can’t stand soggy pies and it was just shocking to me that cooking the filling first, worked so well. Glad you love it too. 🙂

      Reply

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Hey there, I’m Kara!

Hi, I'm so glad you're here! Cake shows up at our most important and happiest moments in life, like birthdays, weddings, baby showers and holidays. It's also for those everyday moments...it makes them even better. Put simply, cake just makes us happy! I love trying out new cake flavor combinations and decorating ideas. Have a look around and I bet you can find a cake recipe or tutorial for any of life's big moments and those everyday moments too. Click here if you want to learn more about me!

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