Mama’s Apple Pie — The Easy Homemade Recipe That Gets All the Compliments 🍎
Mama’s Apple Pie Is the One Everyone Asks Me to Bring
Mama’s apple pie is the recipe I make every single time someone needs a homemade pie — and it never lasts long. The secret? Store-bought crust, no apologies. The filling is all from scratch, and that filling is what gets all the compliments. Granny Smith apples loaded with cinnamon, sugar, a little flour to thicken it up, and butter pats tucked in right before the top crust goes on. That is the whole recipe. That is Mama’s filling.
🍰 This one’s in my collection of desserts for a crowd — the ones that travel well and feed a lot of people.
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Watch me make Mama’s apple pie from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card. Bonus cherry pie at the end!
Featured Tools & Ingredients
- Griprite 9.5' Pie Plate
- CORNING CONSUMER PRODUCTS CO
• The Pyrex pie plate I bake every Mama's apple pie in. Easy-grab handles, deep enough to hold a generous filling without spilling over, and glass means you can see the bottom crust browning. Goes from oven to table without anyone questioning it.
- SET INCLUDES: 4.5 quart, 3.5 quart, and 2.5 quart sizes
- NONSLIP BASE: keeps bowls stable while in use
• The big red bowl that holds all the chopped Granny Smith apples plus the cinnamon, sugar, and flour mixed right in. Wide base means I can toss everything without slinging filling onto the counter.
- SET OF 2 BAKING SHEETS: GoodCook’s Nonstick Cookie Sheet Set comes with two extra-large 15” x...
- EVEN BAKE, EVERY TIME: The heavy-duty gauge baking pans in this bakeware set ensure long-lasting...
• The sheet pan I slide under the pie plate every single time. Apple pie filling bubbles up and there's always a little spillover — the sheet pan catches the drips and saves me from scrubbing burned-on filling off the oven floor later.
🌾 King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
For premium baking, King Arthur is the flour I reach for — and you can shop directly from King Arthur’s site. A little flour in the apple filling thickens the juices into something glossy and just-set, not runny. King Arthur’s higher protein content gives the filling beautiful body.
See the complete shopping list ↓
Mama’s Apple Pie
Start CookingIngredients
- 1 refrigerated pie crust top and bottom
- 6 large Granny Smith apples peeled and chopped (honeycrisp, pink lady, or gala also work)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons King Arthur all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ cup salted butter 1/2 stick, cut into small pats
- Extra sugar for sprinkling on top
Don’t Want to Plan? I Got You.Every Saturday I share a full week of dinners, sides, and a dessert — with the grocery list already done. Come grab this week’s Weekly Meal Plans!Method Start Cooking
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Roll out the bottom pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the peeled and chopped apples with the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well until apples are evenly coated.
- Pour the apple mixture into the pie shell. Scrape any remaining cinnamon sugar from the bowl into the pie.
- Lay 6–8 pats of butter evenly on top of the apples.
- Roll the top crust over the filling. Pinch the top and bottom crusts together to seal the edges.
- Cut a few slits in the top crust and sprinkle generously with sugar.
- Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.
- Optional: Broil the top for 1–2 minutes to deepen the color on the crust. Watch it closely — it browns fast.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Four Weeks of Family-Friendly FoodWhen people gather, I cook. Four weeks of the dinners my crowd asks for — planned, tested, and shopped for. Come see what’s in the cookbook →Why Mama’s Apple Pie Works
I have been making this Mama’s apple pie my whole life and it still gets the same reaction every single time I set it on the table. People see that golden, sugar-sparkled crust and they cannot wait. And when they taste the filling — cinnamony, buttery, soft apples that hold together when you slice it — they always ask for the recipe.
The honest truth is that most of the work is in the peeling and chopping. Once those apples are prepped, the rest comes together in about ten minutes. You mix the cinnamon , sugar , and flour right in the bowl with the apples, pour it into the crust, add the butter pats, put the top on, and that’s it. The oven does everything from there. King Arthur Baking has an excellent guide on how to get the best apple pie filling that’s worth a read if you want to nerd out on the technique behind why this works.
And if you want to get a little fancy? Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crust together all the way around. It doesn’t have to be perfect — mine never is — but it seals everything in so that filling stays right where it belongs.
A Few Things That Make Mama’s Apple Pie Even Easier
- Pull the pie crust out 15 minutes before you roll it. Cold straight from the fridge cracks when you try to unroll it. Let it warm up just enough to be pliable but still cold to the touch — that’s the sweet spot for handling without tearing.
- Chop your apples uniformly — about 1/2-inch pieces. Mixed-size pieces means some bites are mushy and others are still crunchy. Uniform sizing is the difference between a filling that holds together when you slice it and one that runs all over the plate. Worth the extra two minutes.
- Don’t skip the butter pats — and don’t skimp on them. The little pats of butter tucked in right before the top crust goes on melt into the filling as it bakes and make it rich and glossy. Six to eight pats spread across the surface is right. They look small going in but they do all the work.
- Sprinkle sugar on the top crust before it goes in the oven. One tablespoon of granulated sugar shaken over the top before baking is what gives you that golden, sparkly finish that makes people gasp when you pull it out of the oven. It’s a 30-second step and it changes everything.
- Use a sheet pan under the pie plate. Apple pie filling bubbles up in the oven and there’s always at least a little spillover. A sheet pan underneath catches the drips and saves you from scrubbing burned-on filling off the oven floor later.
Mama’s Apple Pie FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature and how long do I bake Mama’s apple pie?
Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. The pie should be deeply golden on the crust and the filling should be bubbling at the vents you cut in the top. If your crust is starting to brown too fast at any point, tent a piece of foil loosely over the top to slow it down. If you want that extra-golden finish, two minutes under the broiler at the end (watching the whole time) does the job.
Can I use a different apple in Mama’s apple pie?
Granny Smith is strongly preferred here — the tartness balances all that cinnamon sugar beautifully and Granny Smith apples hold their shape during baking instead of turning to mush. Honeycrisp, pink lady, or gala will all work in a pinch and are still good. Avoid soft baking apples like McIntosh or Cortland — they break down too much and you’ll end up with applesauce pie instead of apple pie.
What if I want less cinnamon in Mama’s apple pie?
The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and yes, this pie is very cinnamon-forward — that’s Mama’s recipe and I love it that way. But if you prefer a more subtle flavor, pull it back to 1 tablespoon. It will still be delicious. If you want to get fancy, swap in 1 tablespoon of cinnamon plus 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon allspice for a more traditional warming-spice profile. Mama would not approve, but I won’t tell.
Do I have to broil it at the end?
Nope — the pie comes out beautifully at 375°F for 45 minutes. But if you want that deep golden color on the crust, two minutes under the broiler finishes it off perfectly. Just stay right there and watch it. It goes from golden to too dark very fast.
Can I make Mama’s apple pie ahead of time?
Yes — you can assemble the entire pie, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and freeze it unbaked for up to 3 months. Bake it straight from frozen at 375°F, adding 15 to 20 minutes to the bake time. You can also bake it the day before and just reheat slices in the microwave or the whole pie covered loosely with foil in a 325°F oven for 15 minutes before serving.
How long does Mama’s apple pie keep?
An apple pie keeps loosely covered at room temperature for 2 days, or covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. It also freezes beautifully baked — wrap in plastic wrap then foil and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat covered in a 325°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes. The crust does soften a bit on day two but the flavor actually gets better, which is why we never have leftovers worth worrying about.
Can I make this without a top crust — like a Dutch apple pie?
You sure can. Skip the top crust and instead top the filling with a streusel made from 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup softened butter, and a pinch of cinnamon. Crumble it across the top and bake as directed. The crumble browns up beautifully and you get a different pie that still has Mama’s filling at the heart of it.
🛒 Complete Shopping List
Everything you need to make Mama’s Apple Pie — click any item to shop.
Ingredients
🌾 All-Purpose Flour: Premium baking calls for premium flour — shop King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour direct →
Equipment
More Crowd-Pleasing Desserts You’ll Love
- Pecan Pie — the other pie I make with a store-bought crust and no apologies, and this one goes together in a single bowl.
- 3 Ingredient Cherry Dump Cake — three ingredients, one pan, comes out of the oven looking like you worked all day, this one is a staple.
- Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars — the easiest cookie bar you will ever make, one bowl, no scooping, 36 to 48 squares from a single 9×13 pan.
- Easiest Most Delicious Coconut Cake — the Easter dessert my family refuses to let me skip, rich, creamy, and feeds a big crowd with ease.
📬 Come to the table on Saturday
Every Saturday morning I send a printable meal plan and full grocery list — the whole week, formatted for the fridge and the grocery run — plus new recipes and whatever’s happening at the Longstreth house. Drop your email below and I’ll save you a seat.
Mama’s Apple Pie — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Mama’s apple pie is the recipe she has been making her whole life — the one her people ask her to bring to every holiday, every potluck, every gathering. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.
This is the BEST apple pie recipe ever!!! Love the heavy cinnamon amount and the apples in chunks instead of slices. My go to apple pie recipe – and I don’t have to make a crust (she even uses a box crust)
Thank you so much for the review! I love this recipe for the exact same reasons you love it!❤️ Hope you are having a great day!!!