Canned Apple Pie Filling Recipe
This canned apple pie filling recipe makes delicious pie every time! Easily can jars of apples to use in your next homemade apple pie!
We are surrounded by orchards where we live. There are so many kinds of fresh fruit available throughout the summer and early fall!
Apple harvest is especially exciting. It’s the time of year that means fresh-pressed apple juice, apple butter slathered on homemade biscuits just out of the oven, and fall desserts like caramel apples and apple pie.
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There are so many different kinds of apple recipes out there. Today, I want to share my easy recipe for canned apple pie filling with you.
Making your own apple pie filling is a great way to make use of the abundance during apple season. When you make your own pie filling, you get complete control over the ingredients, and it takes less time than you might think.
If you are new to home canning, my easy apple pie filling is a great recipe to get you started. If you are already making applesauce, pie filling is simple!
Basically, you are going to stuff your jars with sliced, peeled apples and pour a yummy sauce overtop to save for later. This recipe makes 2 quarts of apple pie filling, enough to fill one apple pie. You can double or triple the recipe as needed.
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Canning Supplies
- 12 Quart Water Bath Canner with Lid – best for foods with high acidity like salsa, tomatoes, and fruit.
- Ball Mason Jars – sterilized quart size jars work best for this recipe.
- Snap Lids and Rings – new, unused snap lids are needed to get a good seal on your jars.
- Canning Jar Lifter – this is used to lift the hot jars safely out of the boiling water bath.
- Magnet Snap Lid Lifter – this makes pulling the snap lids from the water after being sterilizer much easier.
- Jar Canning Funnel – perfect for pouring the filling into mason jars.
- Ladle – for pouring liquid into the jars.
- Over the Sink Strainer – this is my go-to strainer for processing a lot of fruit.
- Rubber Tongs – for grasping hot jars and lids when sterilizing.
- Tea Towels – used for cleaning and handling hot jars.
- Stock pot – for cooking the apple filling.
- Apple peeler, slicer, and corer – this one is great for preparing apples.
- Butter knife – to release air bubbles.
- Paper towel – for clean up.
Tips and Tricks
- Be sure to check out my Complete Guide to Canning for detailed sterilizing, preparing, and canning techniques.
- Use your favorite apple or a combination of a few different varieties. I tend to use Granny Smith apples. I love their tartness! Honeycrisp, Gala, Braeburn, Pink Lady, and Cortland are all good choices too.
- Try your hand at other fruit pie fillings. How about peach pie filling? Or cherry?
- To prevent the apple slices from browning as you work, mix water and a cup of lemon juice together in a large bowl. As you prepare the fresh apples, add them to the bowl, making sure they are fully submerged. The ascorbic acid in the lemon juice ensures the sliced apples retain their original color.
- When filling your jars, be sure to leave 1 inch headspace at the top to allow for expansion/contraction during the canning process.
- If you are running short on kitchen towels, once you have removed the jars from the hot water bath, you can also set the hot jars on a wire rack to protect your countertops.
- I recommend using quart jars for this recipe, but you can use any size of canning jars you have on hand.
- Making sure you have extremely clean jars is an important step in the canning process. It helps ensure that you avoid spoilage from mould growth.
Apple Pie Filling Recipe
Ingredients:
- Apples, cored, peeled, and sliced
- Granulated white sugar
- Cornstarch
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground nutmeg
- Lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare the equipment.
1. Wash and sterilize all of the jars and lids.
2. Fill the canner half-full with water and turn on to boil.
Prepare the fruit.
3. Using the apple peeler/slicer/corer, peel, core, and cut the apples into slices.
Prepare the sauce.
4. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, salt, and water.
5. Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly.
6. Remove from heat and add 1 Tbsp lemon juice.
Can the fruit.
7. Place jars on a clean tea towel and fill with fruit.
8. Pack the jars very full, then drain any excess water.
9. Fill jars with sauce mixture using the large serving spoon and funnel, making sure the fruit is covered completely.
10. Use a butter knife to jostle the apples in the jar and get out any air bubbles.
11. Clean the rim of each jar with a damp paper towel.
12. Place snap lids on jars and hand tighten rings over the snap lids.
13. Place jars in the canner, making sure to have them completely covered in boiling water.
14. Process for 25 minutes at a boil with the lid on.
15. Remove jars from the canner with a jar lifter and place on a towel on the counter to seal. Snap lids with “pop” and be indented when the cans have sealed.
16. Mark with the date and contents.
17. Once cooled, store in a cool, dark place.
How to Use this Pie Filling
- Homemade apple pie is, of course, the classic and obvious choice! Use a pre-made pie crust that you picked up at the grocery store or whip up a homemade crust. Then, line a 9-inch pie plate with a layer of crust, pour in your canned pie filling, and cover with your top crust.
- Apple cobbler, crisp, or crumble, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, is always delicious.
- Apple hand pies are fun to make with the kids!
- Pie Iron apple turnovers are great for camping!
- Homemade apple pie filling also makes a great gift! Add some ribbon and a tag with any extra instructions and the bake time, and you have a beautiful (and delicious!) gift for any occasion.
Be sure to check out a few more of our easy canning recipes! The salsa and tomato sauce are family favorites.
Easy Canning Recipes:
- Crunchy Dill Pickles
- The Best Salsa for Canning
- Canning Tomato Sauce
- Easy Pickled Onions
- Apple Pie Filling
If you love this apple pie filling recipe, please give it a five-star review and help me share it on Facebook or Pinterest so that others can enjoy it too!
Canned Apple Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 6-8 apples cored, peeled and sliced
- 1 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Wash and sterilize all of the jars and lids.
- Fill the canner half full with water and turn on to boil.
- Using the apple peeler/slicer/corer, peel, core and cut the apples into slices.
- In a medium saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, salt and water.
- Bring to a boil and cook until the mixture thickens, stirring constantly.
- Remove from heat and add 1 Tbsp lemon juice.
- Place jars on a clean tea towel and fill with fruit.
- Pack the jars very full, drain excess water.
- Fill jars with sauce mixture using the large serving spoon and funnel until the fruit is covered completely.
- Use a butter knife to jostle the apples in the jar and get out any air bubbles.
- Clean the rim of each jar with a damp paper towel.
- Place snap lids on jars and hand tighten rings over the snap lids.
- Place jars in the canner, be sure to have them completely covered in boiling water.
- Process for 25 minutes at a boil with the lid on.
- Remove jars from the canner with a jar lifter and place on a towel on the counter to seal. Snap lids with “pop” and be indented when the cans have sealed.
- Mark with the date and contents.
- Once cooled, store in a cool dark place.
Hello, what is the shelf life of thr canned apple pie filling?
I typically use our apple pie filling within one year.
Great recipe. Thanks!
You are very welcome!