Make Instant Pot apple pie filling quickly and easily! Throw this delicious pie filling into your next apple pie for a perfect holiday or any time dessert. Having a batch in your freezer makes pie-making SO EASY!
Why This Recipe Works
Is there a soul on the planet who doesn’t adore apple pie? It’s safe to say that ALL of us enjoy eating it, but do any of us enjoy making it? It requires some time and energy and honestly, many people are afraid of the process involved. So here I am to make your pie-making life a little bit easier! Make the filling ahead of time so you can dump it into a crust and bake away!
Making apple pie filling in your instant pot is a breeze and as is always the case, the magic of the pressure cooker will make the apples more delicious than ever. Keep reading for instructions and also for making this on the stove top, if that is your preferred method of cooking.
Recipe Ingredients
Lemon – When chopping and peeling the apples, fill a large bowl about half with cool water and squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon into it. The lemon juice will keep your apples from getting brown while you get them prepped for the recipe.
Apples – Use medium baking apples such as honeycrisp, gala, golden delicious, jonagold or granny smith.
Sugars – If you prefer, you can add more naturally sweet apples and reduce the amount of sugar/brown sugar you added. Other sugar substitutes that would be great are maple syrup, coconut sugar or stevia. For a sweeter sauce, throw in some added sugar (up to 1/2 cup total).
Spice mixture – If you enjoy the spice in the baked apples, additional flavors you could add or exchange are ginger, cardamom or allspice. Start with a half teaspoon each.
How To Make Apple Pie Filling In Your Instant Pot
Step 1
Squeeze lemon juice into a large bowl half full of cool water. Add a total of six peeled, cored and sliced apples to the bowl. Place the sliced apples into the bowl as soon as they are cut in order to avoid browning.
Strain apples and add to the pot. Add the cider/juice, 1/2 cup each of granulated and brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Press the apples down so they are fully covered in liquid.
Step 2
Place the cover on the pot and set timer to 3 minutes on high pressure (pressure cook setting). It will take the IP around 17 minutes to build up pressure before it begins cooking.
Step 3
When cooking time is done, do a quick release. Remove the cover and let the mixture cool.
Use immediately in your favorite apple pie recipe, refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months!
Make Apple Pie Filling On The Stovetop
If you want to make this sweet filling but do not have an Instant Pot, don’t fret! Prep the apples in the same way, then combine all of the ingredients in a Dutch oven or heavy saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce to medium low. Simmer for 15 minutes or until desired thickness has been reached.
How To Cut Your Apples For The Filling
Use an apple corer/peeler if you have one because they will make this process go super fast. If you don’t have one, use a potato peeler and a knife to get the job done. You’ll need to peel, core and chop the apples. Place them into the water-lemon juice mixture as you work.
What Types Of Apples Are Good For Apple Pie
I recommend using a variety of apples and at the very least, use two kinds: one sweet and one tart. My favorite combo is Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples.
Sweet/Softer Apple Brands
- Fuji
- Honeycrisp
- Red Delicious
- Golden Delicious
- Cortland
- Gala
Tart (or a little Sour) Apple Brands
- Granny Smith
- McIntosh
- Ida Red
- Braeburn
- Empire
- Jonathan
How To Freeze Apple Pie Filling
You can freeze pie filling before OR after cooking! I know! Either way, pour into a resealable freezer bag and seal tightly. Freeze for up to 6 months.
How To Thicken Apple Pie Filling
Allow the filling to simmer for a few additional minutes until thickened. If this doesn’t produce the desired results, combine 2 tablespoons of water with 2 tablespoons of corn starch and once smooth you can incorporate it into the mixture.
What To Do With Leftover Apple Pie Filling
- Consider tossing a batch of apple cinnamon filling into a simple apple pie!
- Apple pie is the most obvious way to use this filling, but consider using it in apple pie bars, as well.
- Apple crisp, crumble or cobbler, of course!
- Use it as a topping for ice cream.
- Eat it as a solo snack (warm, of course) with a bit of whipped cream on top!
- Throw some into your next batch of cinnamon rolls. YUM!
Best Dessert Recipes To Make In An Instant Pot
FAQ About Apples
Good news! Apples are very good for you! Apples are high in dietary fiber and pectin found in the peels of the apples.
Dogs can eat apples, as they are a nutritious snack for dogs. They are an excellent source of vitamin C, helping immunity and providing other benefits.
Apples do not align with a keto diet. One medium apple contains more than 20 g of carbs, making it too carb-heavy for this low-carb eating plan.
Apples can be frozen! They can be frozen whole for up to 9 months, or prepare applesauce, pie filling or entire pies and freeze them that way instead.
The recommendation is that you enjoy an apple in the morning hours of each day. This will help you avoid poor digestion at night. The fruit can help your stomach to empty more slowly, helping you to stay feeling full longer and not prone to snack/eat between meals.
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Instant Pot Apple Pie Filling
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- fresh lemon juice from half a lemon
- 6 apples peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4 pieces (use a variety of sweet and tart varieties)
- 1 cup apple cider substitute apple juice or water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Squeeze the lemon juice into a large bowl half full of cool water. Add the apples to the bowl as you work. Strain apples and add to the pot. Add the cider/juice, sugars, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Press the apples down so they are fully covered in liquid.
- Place the cover on the pot and set timer to 3 minutes on high pressure (pressure cook setting). It will take the IP around 17 minutes to build up pressure before it begins cooking.
- When cooking time is done, do a quick release. Remove the cover and let the mixture cool. Use immediately in your favorite apple pie recipe, refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months!
Completely obliterated the apples. Turned them into applesauce.
Perfect! Nice and goopy, just like it should be. And tasty too. Thank you very much! I live in Argentina and pie fillings DO NOT exist down here. This saved my bacon!!
Also, I DID have to use the cornstarch and water. No biggie. Thanks!
No pie fillings? Well, IMO, this is way tastier and I’m glad you liked it too. Thank you for sharing!
Because she didn’t put corn starch as an ingredient! Read the classic recipes they won’t let you down
Curious if a person can double this or have you tried?
I have not doubled it but you most certainly could! The only thing to consider is how much room is left in your Instant Pot. If you have an 8 quart, you’d have more room to add the apples and ingredients. If you have the 6 quart like I do, then you have to consider how much more you can safely add in – 1.5 or a true doubling of the recipe. Let me know when you do it how it comes out!
Nope. Followed those directions and it just completely disinterested. Used Granny Smiths.
Not a good feeling when something doesn’t turn out. I’m sorry that happened. What was disinterested? If I can help problem solve this, let me know a little more detail. Thank you for commenting.