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This Caramel Apple Crumb Pie gets requested every holiday season! The sweet cinnamon apple filling, buttery oat crumb topping, and caramel drizzle are complete apple pie perfection!
This recipe and photos have been updated since the original post on 12/1/2014
It’s not Thanksgiving unless there’s apple pie on the table and this Caramel Apple Crumb Pie to be exact! I’ve been making this pie nearly every Thanksgiving for at least the last 10 years and every year someone wants the recipe. I don’t blame them. It’s loaded with apples, lots of cinnamon, a crumbly oat topping and then drizzled with caramel sauce. It’s truly the perfect apple crumb pie in my opinion.
If you’re not into a double crust pie and prefer a buttery, sweet oat, streusel topping then this is the pie for you. If you’re like me and find yourself picking at the streusel, then you may want to make extra so that people aren’t wondering about the bare spots when the pie makes it’s way to the table.
Ingredients For Caramel Apple Crumb Pie
- Pie Crust
- Apples
- Lemon
- All purpose flour
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice
- Vanilla Extract
- Rolled Oats (old fashioned oats)
- Unsalted butter
- Caramel sauce or salted caramel sauce
How to Make Caramel Apple Crumb Pie
Start by peeling, coring and thinly slicing the apples and placing them in a large bowl. Sprinkle flour, brown sugar, salt, lemon juice, vanilla and spices over the apples and stir everything together until all of the apples are coated.
In a smaller bowl combine the oats, flour, cinnamon. Cut the cold butter into small pieces and work it into the oat mixture with your hands or a pastry cutter until crumbles form.
Roll out the pie dough and place it into a 9 inch pie plate and crimp the edges to make the crust. Pour the apple filling into the unbaked pie crust and top it with the oat crumb topping. Bake the pie for 45-55 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. You will likely need to place a piece of foil over the pie halfway through the baking time to prevent the crust and crumb topping from getting too brown.
Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
Time saving tips – Use store bought pie dough. Making homemade pie dough can be stressful for some people, save your sanity and buy some from the grocery store. If you are feeling ambitious, I love this extra-flaky pie crust recipe. Buying caramel sauce will also save you time, but if you make your own I’ve made this salted caramel sauce several times and it’s delicious.
What kind of apples are best for apple pie?
I like to use a mix of a couple different varieties. Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Honeycrisp are my favorite varieties to use. They stand up well to baking and have great flavor.
How thin should the apples be sliced?
I like to slice the apples very thin, no more than 1/8 – 1/4 inch thick. I think the filling bakes better when the apple are thin. If you do thick slices, you’ll risk the apples not being cooked and the crust getting over baked.
Gluten-free apple pie substitutions
If you need to make the apple pie gluten-free you’ll want to look for a gluten-free pie crust or recipe for one. Replace the flour in the filling and crumb topping with a gluten-free all purpose flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 baking flour. Be sure to use certified gluten-free oats as well.
More Apple Desserts
- Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Glaze
- No Bake Apple Pie Bites
- Apple Pear Cranberry Crisp
- Baked Apple Chips with Snickerdoodle Dip
- Honey Bourbon Apple Crisps in Jars
Caramel Apple Crumb Pie
Ingredients
For the Apple Pie
- 1 unbaked pie crust
- 5 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
- Caramel sauce for drizzling on top
Instructions
To Make the Apple Pie
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Place the pie dough into a 9 inch glass or ceramic pie plate. Create a fluted crust with your fingers or crimp the edges with a fork. Refrigerate until the rest of the pie is prepped.
- Wash, peel, and thinly slice the apples, placing them in a large mixing bowl and tossing them in the lemon juice. Add the flour, sugar, spices, salt and vanilla to the apples and stir together until they are completely coated.
- In a separate bowl stir together all of the oat topping ingredients except the cubed butter. Once the topping ingredients are combined add in the cold cubed butter and work it into the mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until crumbles form.
- Pour the apples into the unbaked prepared pie crust. Top the apple filling with the oat topping. Bake the pie for 45-55 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. If the crust and topping start to get too brown, place a piece of foil loosely over the top. I usually do this about halfway through the baking time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks delicious! If I were to make the pie ahead of time to take to a family dinner a few hours away, would you recommend that I re-warm the pie and the sauce and then drizzle before serving?
Hi Rebekah, thank you so much! If you make the pie ahead of time go ahead and rewarm it. if you do so in the oven I would probably cover it lightly with foil if the crust and topping start to get too brown. The caramel sauce reheats perfectly in the microwave, about 15-20 seconds should work. I think drizzling the sauce on top of the pie just before serving is best. I hope you enjoy it!
Woah – this pie sounds amazing – I’d request it too! That caramel drizzle shot is awesome too – I want to stick my finger in it and lick it up!
Thanks Sarah! I may or may not have stuck my finger in the caramel multiple times!
Wow, look at that caramel sauce and the oat topping! I would love a slice for an afternoon treat!
Thanks Ashley! It would be a perfect afternoon treat!
I’d take a crumb topping over a traditional crust any day! This pie looks so good!
Thanks Jessica!
This looks amazing! I want to lick my screen right now! Love this pie! :)
Haha! You and me both Cyndi!
Always love a crumb topping! I’m like you- guilty of eating it while baking… or picking it off the top when done :)
Haha! Glad I’m not alone Jenna, I’m a total crumb thief!
Looks like the perfect pie!
Thanks Barbara!
This looks absolutely amazing
Thanks Melissa! :-)
This pie looks absolutely delicious! I love baking with oats during the holidays, but I’ve never used oats as a pie topping like this. I will definitely need to give this pie a shot…and soon! Thanks for sharing! #client
Thanks David! The oat topping is my absolute favorite part about this pie, I usually have to double the topping because I can’t stop eating it! ;-)
this looks incredible! Love it!
Thanks Lauren, it’s some seriously good pie!
Hi there 🙂 I don’t really use allspice… would I be able to use ground cloves along with cinnamon and sugar instead? Looking forward to trying this. It looks and sounds yummilicious
Hi Tulea, yes you can definitely substitute the allspice with ground cloves. If you don’t like a strong clove flavor you many want to cut back and only use an 1/8 teaspoon.