Deep Dish Apple Pie

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for full details.

This Deep Dish Apple Pie is the ideal fall dessert! It’s a buttery, flaky homemade pie crust piled high with tender, cinnamon-spiced apples, then baked to golden brown perfection. Here are all my tips to ensure a perfect deep dish apple pie every time. 

Note: This recipe is this month’s baking challenge recipe! You can read more here about the baking challenge and how to win a $100 Amazon Gift card!

Apple pie is probably the most classic fall dessert. But do you know what’s better than apple pie? DEEP DISH apple pie!

It’s a flaky, buttery crust piled impressively high with a sweet cinnamon-apple filling, then topped with a second crust. 

Although all pie is delicious in my book, there is a special case for deep dish apple pie.

First, it is stunningly tall and golden, which always impresses guests. But more importantly, deep dish pie means, well… more pie! There is more crust and filling to go around for everyone. Plus, the crust to apple ratio is absolutely perfect.

Ingredients for Deep Dish Apple Pie

• All-purpose flour – AP flour creates a tender, yet sturdy crust. Perfect for pie. 
• Salt – I prefer kosher salt in the filling and crust to help bring out all the flavors. 
• Sugar – Use just a bit of regular granulated sugar in the crust, then more in the filling. 
• Shortening – Vegetable shortening has a higher melting point than butter, so it is easier to incorporate into your crust. Plus it helps the crust hold it’s shape. 
• Butter – Butter is what gives the crust the best flavor! Make sure it is super cold before starting. 
• Ice cold water – The colder the better. This is the key to flaky pie crust. 
• Granny smith apples – These apples are a little tart, which balances out with the sugar in the filling. They hold up really well when baked. 
• Honeycrisp apples – These apples are sweet and juicy, contrasted to the Granny Smith, but still hold up well when baked. 
• Light brown sugar – Brown sugar adds that hint of caramely flavor and gooey texture to the filling. 
• Lemon zest and lemon juice – Adds a bright, fresh flavor. 
• Cinnamon – You can’t have deep dish apple pie without cinnamon! Just normal ground cinnamon is perfect here. 
• Ground nutmeg – Another essential spice to give the pie a classic fall flavor. 
• Ground allspice – The last spice you need to tie all the flavors together.

How to Make Deep Dish Apple Pie – Step by Step

Make the crust. In a food processor or by hand with a pastry cutter, stir together the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the cold shortening and pulse for a few seconds or incorporate with the pastry cutter. Then sprinkle very cold butter over the top and pulse or cut the butter with the pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly and the butter is evenly distributed. Add in the ice water a little at a time, mixing gently until the dough is shaggy, but sticks together when you squeeze it. Divide the dough and pat into two equal discs, then wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out the crust. Roll out 1 disk of dough into a 12-inch circle on floured counter. Loosely roll the dough around a rolling pin and gently unroll it onto a 9-inch pie plate, letting excess dough hang over edge.  Ease dough onto plate by gently lifting edge of dough with your hand while pressing into plate bottom with your other hand. Wrap dough-lined plate loosely in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Roll other disc of dough into 12-inch circle on floured counter, then transfer to parchment paper lined baking sheet; cover with plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Make apple filling. Toss apples, sugar, brown sugar, lemon zest, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice together in dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until apples are tender when poked with a fork but still hold their shape, 15 to 20 minutes.

Cool the filling. Spread apples and juices on a rimmed baking sheet and let cool completely about 30 minutes. This will help prevent it from overcooking of making a soggy crust. 

Finish the filling. Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Drain cooled apples thoroughly in colander set over bowl, reserving ¼ cup juice. Stir lemon juice into reserved juice.

Fill the pie. Spread apples into dough-lined plate mounding them slightly in the middle, and drizzle with lemon juice mixture.  Loosely roll remaining dough around rolling pin and gently roll onto filing.

Trim and crimp the crust. Trim overhang to ½-inch beyond lip of plate. Pinch edges of top and bottom dough firmly together.  Tuck overhang under itself; folded edge should be flush with edge of plate.Crimp dough evenly around edge of plate.  Cut four 2-inch slits in top of dough.  Brush surface with egg wash and sprinkle with additional sugar (up to 1 tablespoon). 

Bake and cool. Place pie on aluminum-foil-lined rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees, rotate sheet, and continue to bake until juices are bubbling, and crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes longer.  Let pie cool on wire rack until filling has set, about 4 hours. Serve.

Tips for Making the Perfect Pie Crust

• Do Not Overwork Your Dough. You can make your dough by hand (in fact, you’re less likely to overwork it if you do). You can also use a food processor.  Just be sure when using the food processor to pulse the dough together. If you just let it run for too long it can result in overworking the dough, which gives you a tough crust. 
• Use shortening and butter. This pie uses my double pie crust recipe. By using a mixture of shortening and butter, it makes the crust both tender and flaky, yet also sturdy enough to hold lots of apple filling. A just butter crust will not be sturdy enough to hold its shape in such a deep pie. 
• Use very, very cold shortening and butter. When butter and shortening melt, they interact with the flour in a particular way that results in a more bread-like dough. To prevent that, keep these ingredients as cold as possible.
• Use ICE cold water. Sensing a theme here? Pie crust is all about the COLD. If the water is too warm it will melt the butter and shortening. So ice cold water! I like to put a few ice cubes in my water and chill it down. Just don’t add the ice 😉
• For a thorough list on all my pie crust tips, check out this post: 20 Pie Crust Tips. You can also make a lattice top instead of a full crust. Here is a tutorial for How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust.

Tips for Making Deep Dish Apple Pie

• Cut the apples into uniform size pieces. Too thin and they will turn to mush, too thick and they won’t get tender. I cut my apples into ¼ inch thick pieces to get the perfect tender-crisp texture. 
• Layer the apples in tightly. Sometimes it’s best to dump a little filling at a time, then use a spatula to arrange it so that there are as few air pockets as possible. Then repeat with the rest of the filling. 
• Pile the apples high! If you’ve never made a deep dish pie, you may think this is too much filling. I promise it isn’t! Pile it all in there and be amazed at the final result.
• Use a pie plate that is at least 2 inches deep. If it is a very shallow plate, it will not hold all of the filling.

What kind of apple is best for pie? 

You want to use apples that don’t disintegrate when baked. I also like to combine a tart and sweet apple, so I used Granny Smith and honeycrisp apples in this recipe. My other go to apple for pies are Cortland apples, and Golden Delicious would also be great. For other good apple options, read my post on all The Best Apples for Baking. 

Can I use store-bought pie crust? 

You could definitely skip the making pie dough part if you are short on time or just want something simpler. Use a store-bought pie crust and this pie is ready in no time.

Can I freeze apple pie filling?

Yes, apple pie filling freezes nicely. I suggest cooking the filling, then cooling thoroughly without draining it. Then freeze it in an air-tight container for up to 3 months and thaw in the refrigerator overnight before you need it. Before baking, drain the filling and reserve ¼ cup of liquid, exactly as called for in the recipe. 

Can I freeze a whole unbaked deep dish apple pie? 

Oh yes! It’s one of my secrets to getting ahead of the Thanksgiving cooking craziness.

If you want to get a jumpstart on your holiday baking, then freezing your pie is your best bet. After you assemble your pie, you want to freeze the pie uncovered until it’s frozen. It’s best to freeze in a metal or ceramic pie plate. A glass pie plate may break going from freezer to oven.

Once frozen, wrap in 3 layers of plastic wrap and then in a final layer of tin-foil. Be sure to label the pie with what it is, date frozen, and baking instructions. When you are ready to bake, you do not need to thaw it. Un-wrap the pie and bake straight from the freezer according to the instructions. You may need to add a few additional minutes of baking time at the end for the pie to bake through completely.

Other Fall Apple Recipes

• Easy Apple Pie
• Apple Crostata
• Caramel Apple Crisp
• Salted Caramel Apple Bars
• Baked Apple Cider Donuts
• Caramel Apple Cupcakes
• Irish Apple Cake With Custard Sauce

Let’s Connect! 

I created this fun little group on Facebook and I’d love for you to join! It’s a place where you can ask questions, and see what’s new with Boston Girl Bakes. Share your own recipes and participate in the monthly baking challenges. 

If you like to check it out, you can request to join HERE.

And be sure to follow me Instagram and tag #bostongirlbakes so I can see all the wonderful recipes YOU make from this blog. You can also subscribe to my newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe again! I also share sometimes helpful tips, free guides, and exciting news there first so be sure to subscribe to my e-mail list below.

Don’t forget to make this apple pie this month and be eligible to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card! Check out the baking challenge details here.