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Salted Caramel Apple Pie is the best apple pie recipe – perfectly cooked apples baked with salted caramel sauce in a homemade pie crust! It’s one of my favorite Thanksgiving pie recipes – but it’s perfect all fall or all year long!
This caramel apple pie takes a classic apple pie recipe and gives it a big upgrade! If you’ve ever tried making an apple pie with caramel before, you might have ended up with a runny filling and a sad, soggy bottom crust. Liquid caramel and juicy apples can easily become a watery mess in the oven if you don’t use the right method.
After years of testing pies in my kitchen, I’ve perfected a foolproof technique that guarantees a thick, jammy spiced apple pie filling nestled in a perfectly flaky crust: I pre-cook the apples a bit to allow them to release their juices that can then be drained resulting in a perfectly baked pie crust! Whether you want to make it completely from scratch with homemade caramel or need the quick grocery-store shortcut, this recipe gives you a show-stopping dessert every single time!
Caramel Apple Pie Ingredients
- Pie Crust: You’ll need two 9-inch crusts. Use double my all butter pie crust recipe for the top and bottom crust or buy a package of semi-homemade refrigerated crusts for a time saver.
- Apples: Use firm, tart baking apples. Granny Smith is highly recommended (and are my go-to apples to use). If you want a blend, mix Granny Smith with Honeycrisp or Braeburn. Always peel the apples for pie; the skin creates a tough, chewy barrier that is unappetizing.
- Salted Caramel Sauce – use my salted caramel recipe or my homemade caramel sauce or use a jar of your favorite caramel sauce (with or without salt). If you want salted caramel and only have regular caramel, simply add a generous pinch of flaky sea salt to your apple mixture.
Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions. See below the recipe card for even more information: process shots, variations, FAQ and more.
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Dorothy’s Testing Tips
- The Apple Test: I tested this recipe with multiple apple varieties. All-sweet options like Fuji or Gala completely lose their structure and make the pie cloying when combined with caramel. Granny Smith is the non-negotiable winner because its sharp tartness cuts through the rich sugar.
- Pre-cooking relaxes the apple structure and releases excess moisture. This guarantees your fruit is perfectly tender, doesn’t shrink during baking, and won’t leave a massive empty air gap under your top crust.
- The Great Drain: During testing, skipping the apple-draining step resulted in almost 1/4 cup of excess liquid pooling at the bottom of the pie plate. Do not skip draining your cooked apples!
- Caramel Consistency: I tested both my 5-Minute Homemade Salted Caramel and jarred ice cream topping. Both work perfectly, but if using store-bought, ensure it is a thick premium caramel sauce, not a thin, runny sundae syrup.
- To keep the edges from browning too quickly, cover the outer edge of the crust with thin strips of aluminum foil or use a pie crust shield. Always bake the pie on a baking sheet to catch any of the apple filling that spills over.
- Because we properly prep the fruit, you don’t need excessive flour or cornstarch hiding the clean, bright fruit flavors.
- Customizable Top Crust: This recipe is engineered to work beautifully as a classic double-crust pie, an elegant lattice top, or a buttery Dutch crumble topping.
Salted Caramel Apple Pie Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 Recipes All Butter Pie Crust, (or a pack of two from the store)
- 6-7 Granny Smith apples about 3 pounds
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup salted caramel, or you can use regular caramel
Instructions
- Roll out one pie crust according to recipe or package directions and place in your 9″ pie plate. Refrigerate until ready to use. Roll out second pie crust and set aside.
- Peel and core the apples, then slice into thin slices. I like using my apple peeler for this step. Place one inch of water in the bottom of a large pot. Add apples and cook, stirring occasionally, approximately 3-5 minutes after water boils, or just until the apples start to turn the slightest bit opaque.
- Drain apples very well. Let them sit in the strainer for a few minutes to cool, then place them in pie crust.
- Sprinkle cinnamon over apples then pour caramel evenly over the top.
- Top with second pie crust and crimp edges, then cut slits to vent pie. Cover outer edge of crust with thin strips of foil or a pie crust shield.
- Bake at 425° for 10 minutes then lower the oven temperature to 350°F for 30-40 minutes. Remove pie crust shield during the last 15 minutes of baking to ensure that the crust browns.
- Pie may be made a day in advance. Refrigerate overnight. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.
Notes
- Make a lattice top crust out of the top crust if you wish.
- Skip the double crust and make a crumble topping
- Use salted caramel, pumpkin caramel, or cinnamon caramel to make the pie (or you can buy caramel sauce at the store, regular ice cream topping is fine.)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Step by Step Photos
1. Cook the apples before putting them in the pie, that way they are assured to be soft and NOT chewy or crunchy. Drain the apples really well to avoid a soggy bottom crust.
2. Your pie crust needs to be COLD before adding the filling. Prep the pie shell then pop it in the freezer while cooking the apples.
3. You’ll sprinkle the cinnamon and caramel over the apples once in the crust.
4. Decide how to top the pie.
Caramel Options
- 3 Ingredient Caramel Sauce to make life easier.
- Pumpkin Caramel Sauce for a nice twist.
- Cinnamon Caramel Sauce gives it even more apple pie flavor.
FAQs
Bake it at 425°F for 10 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 350°F. Bake it 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the crust shield in the last 15 minutes of the baking time. Cool the pie before slicing and serving.
You can make this pie up to a day in advance. Just be sure to fully cool the pie first and then cover it before you put in the refrigerator.
I always pre-cook my apples for pie. By par-boiling the apples for a few minutes you get them to start softening so they’re nice and soft in the pie.
The absolute secret to a crisp bottom crust is heat placement. Bake your pie on the lowest oven rack for the first 10 minutes at 425°F before lowering the heat to 350°F. This initial blast of high heat sets the bottom dough immediately before the juices can soak into it.
If your pie is watery after baking, it almost always means it hasn’t cooled down. A apple and caramel pie needs to rest for at least 2 to 3 hours at room temperature, or overnight in the fridge, to allow the caramel and natural apple pectins to set up structurally into sliceable layers.
Good morning Dorothy,
thanks to you I’m loving baking again! Thank you for sharing all your knowledge,
Question:
Can I use a different recipe (one of yours), for the bottom crust?
Thank you again!
Yes you can use any pie crust 🙂
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