Traditional Dutch Apple Pie

Dutch Apple Pie is made with a spiced apple filling in a flaky pie crust topped with a crumb topping made of flour, sugar, and butter.

The Best Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

This Dutch Apple Pie recipe is the perfect way to enjoy fall flavors and fresh-picked Granny Smith apples this season! If the thought of making an apple pie intimidates you, it’s because you just haven’t found the right recipe yet!

This pie is made with a store-bought pie crust (shh, don’t tell!), and topped with a rich, buttery crumble that’s totally irresistible.

What is Dutch Apple Pie?

It’s that streusel topping that makes an apple pie “Dutch”! Not to be confused with French Apple Pie, which has a less sweet and softer textured crumble topping.

To further explain it, let’s put it this way: if a regular apple pie and Apple Crisp had a baby, you’d get Dutch Apple Pie.

Dutch Apple Pie vs Apple Pie

The difference lies mainly in the topping. A traditional apple pie is a double-crust pie, meaning it has a top crust and a bottom crust.

A Dutch Apple Pie has a deep golden brown crumble topping made with butter, flour, and sugar. Another noteworthy difference is that Dutch Apple Pie has a touch of lemon juice in the filling.

And while not all traditional apple pie fillings are cooked on the stovetop before baking and thicken with cornstarch, a Dutch Apple Pie will always use fresh apples tossed in a mixture of sugar, flour, and spices.

Is Traditional Dutch Apple Pie Really Dutch?

Good question; the answer is no. Although the origins are European, the version we know today was adapted over generations and through different colonial factions using ingredients available in the New World.

The final adaptation that stuck was a flaky pie crust, a spiced apple filling, and a streusel topping that was actually made in Pennsylvania by French colonists in the 1600s.

So I would say this recipe is as American as Apple Pie 😉

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe ingredients

• pie crust
• Granny Smith apples
• light brown sugar
• granulated sugar
• lemon juice
• almond extract
• vanilla extract
• ground cinnamon
• ground nutmeg
• all-purpose flour
• kosher salt
• unsalted butter

Variations to this Recipe for Dutch Apple Pie

Topping – A true Dutch Apple Pie is just a sweet crumble topping, but you could use an oatmeal streusel instead like you would for a homemade apple crisp.

Filling – You can drizzle a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of thick caramel sauce over the top of the filling and under the topping for a caramel apple pie.

Crust – For a unique twist on a traditional pie crust, try my Cream Cheese Pie Crust recipe.

How to make Traditional Dutch Apple Pie

Step 1: Preheat your oven and peel and slice your apples.

Step 2: Stir the apples with the sugar, spices, flour, and salt.

Step 3: Pile the apple filling high in the crust.

Step 4: Cut the topping ingredients together in a bowl.

Step 5: Sprinkle the topping over the top of the apples and bake.

Step 6: Cool completely at room temperature before enjoying.

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe Tips

• Pile It HIGH! It might seem like you have too much filling, but you probably don’t. This recipe is meant for a standard 9-inch pie crust (not a deep dish), and you want to mound all of the ingredients into the crust to make a dome. Make sure to gently press the apples down so that they fill all of the crevasses. Then, pile on your crumble topping!
• Let It Set! I prefer my Dutch Apple Pies to be made with granny smith apples, and a lot of times, this means it’s really juicy right after it bakes. But if you let it sit for several hours (better yet, overnight), then those juices will thicken back up and leave you with a perfect pie. You can always reheat the pie a bit before serving, but I like mine to be at room temperature.
• Use A Baking Sheet! As I just mentioned, this pie gets juicy while it bakes, and there’s a chance the juices might seep out. I highly recommend wrapping a lipped baking sheet with aluminum foil and placing your pie on it while it bakes to protect your oven! The aluminum foil makes for easy cleanup; trust me, you don’t want to have to scrub burnt sugar off the baking sheet.
• Don’t Forget The Foil! Because of the topping of this pie and because it starts off at a rather high height, using a traditional pie crust guard could prove to be a little risky – we don’t want it sticking to that delicious topping. So what I like to do is use two pieces of aluminum foil and dome it over the pan and pie so it’s not touching the pie and bake it that way for about 30 to 35 minutes, then I remove the foil and finish baking the pie so the crust can brown up.

Dutch Apple Pie Topping is a simple mixture of flour, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. It starts soft but gets crunchy as it bakes.

I love this recipe because it gives you the delicious flavors of traditional apple pie without a lot of work. It’s perfect to serve at any gathering from now through the holidays.

Or, make one to enjoy at home… after all, you need to use up all those fresh-picked apples, right?

Dutch Apple Pie is a simple way to savor some of your favorite seasonal flavors and get your apple fix! Bake up this classic dessert, and get ready to hear accolades from all your family and friends.

How To Serve The Best Dutch Apple Pie Recipe

Eat it hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top or a dollop of whipped cream! Trust me, you’ll have a hard time stopping at one slice!

Storing Apple Dutch Pie

You can keep baked apple pies at room temperature for up to two days. If the pie has been sliced, cover it loosely with foil or plastic wrap to ensure freshness. An apple pie will keep for an additional 2 to 3 days covered in the refrigerator.

Dutch Apple Pie Recipe FAQs

More Delicious Pie Recipes:

• Impossible Pumpkin Pie
• Grammie’s Pecan Pie
• Banoffee Pie
• Peanut Butter Pie
• Cherry Pie
• Blueberry Pie

Let’s Connect!

If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!

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