Best Apples for Apple Pie

Curious about the best apples for apple pie? What’s the easiest way to slice apples? You have questions, and I have answers. This post will show you my favorite how-to tips for preparing apples for an apple pie recipe, or any sliced apple dessert, for that matter.

I love apple desserts. Like my delicious deep dish Vegan Apple Pie. I mean, that pie features layers and layers of delicious apple slices! There’s also my Vegan Apple Crisp and my Vegan Apple Cake. It’s just hard to go wrong with apple desserts.

If you love apple recipes, then it’s good to know a few things about apples, including what are the best apples for pie, and how to slice them properly…and quickly.

Specific Apples for Apple Pie

Let’s talk specifically about the best pie apples and how you can use them to make a pie or sliced apple dessert. For the best apple pie, you want to choose apples that are firm, this prevents your pie filling from being mushy.

No one likes a mushy apple pie. well, except maybe babies, but they don’t really count.

For the rest of us, here are my favorite tips for choosing apples for an apple pie:

1. Choose firm apples (see the list below)
2. Use half-sweet and half-tart apples — these two varieties of apples result in a complexity of flavors for your pie
3. Select from readily available apples — like your supermarket’s produce section. However, you can mix things up by going to a health food store or farmer’s market, where you can try even more varieties of apples.

In fact, there are so many varieties of apples I can’t mention them all! So, this list shows the varieties I’ve found to be the best apple pie apples that are also most readily available.

Firm Tart Apples

• Granny Smith. This is my favorite for apple slices because it’s a nice, firm apple with the perfect tart flavor. Personally, I love this apple and will add slices (with the peel) to my salads too. For a pie, I use half Granny Smith apples. You can find these year-round at most grocery stores.
• Jonathan. The Jonathan apple is another one that’s available at many grocery stores. It has a slightly sweet, but noticeably tart flavor that makes it perfect for apple pies.
• Braeburn: This slightly tart, slightly sweet apple is not as readily available throughout the year, but you can find it at farmer’s markets in the fall and the produce section in the fall and winter.

Firm Sweet Apples

• Pink Lady. The pink lady apple is the perfect crossover between sweet and tart. It’s a great firm apple for your apple pie filling, and I’ve been able to find them at my local grocery store most of the time. It may be seasonable produce in some areas, though.
• Yellow Delicious. This is a lovely, sweet apple, but not flavorful enough to use on its own. However, combined with other apples, it’s a great team player for your next apple pie.
• Red Delicious. It may seem like an unusual choice for an apple pie, but I’ve used the red delicious in combination with Granny Smith, and it’s worked perfectly!
• Honey Crisp. This is my favorite apple, and its sweet flavor and firmness make it an excellent choice for your next pie filling. However, they can be pricey, so I use them in combination with other apples.

Now that you know what apples to use, it’s time to talk about how to prepare them for your apple pie. These are my favorite tricks for cutting apples quickly and efficiently.

How to Prepare Apples for Apple Pie

Once you’ve selected your apples, give them a good wash and then pat them dry with a paper towel or dishcloth. Next, the apples will need to be peeled, cored, and sliced.

Tools: These are the tools you’ll need: a knife, a vegetable peeler, and a melon baller.

How to Peel Apples

My favorite way to peel apples involves a vegetable peeler. You can peel an apple with a paring knife, but it can take off too much of the apple flesh. And I find it hurts my hand after a while.

The beautiful thing about a vegetable peeler is that it takes off the thinnest level of the peel without digging into the apple flesh. It can be tough to get the vegetable peeler to dig into the smooth apple peel. However, I’ve got a solution!

If your vegetable peeler keeps “bouncing” off the smooth apple peel, the problem is you need a “starting point”. To create that starting point, simply chop off a thin layer at the top of the apple, by the stem. Then use your vegetable peeler, starting from the sliced top and move down. You’ll be able to shave off thin slices of the peel. It’s perfect!

Look, we’re not going for 100% shaved apples here. It’s OK if bits of the peel remains — it will remind people that this is a HOMEMADE apple pie!

Note: Be sure to save those peels — there’s a lot of nutrients in fruit peels! I love adding them to my Green Smoothies.

How to Core Apples

Now that the apple has been peeled, it’s time to core the apple. I’ve always found this very difficult to do, and I’ve ended up taking out too much of the fruit flesh. Sounds like a reoccurring theme!

Then one day I learned this handy trick — use a melon baller!

But first, you must cut the apple in half. Starting from the stem side of the apple, cut down the middle.

Then get a melon baller and cut a little circle out right where the core is. Voila! It’s as simple as that! I use the melon baller to remove the stem bits from the top and the bottom of the apple too.

Now you’ve got peeled and cored apples. Great job!

How to Slice Apples for Apple Pie

At this point, it’s pretty easy to slice apples for your apple pie or apple crisp.

Place the apple cut side down on a cutting board. Use a knife to cut the apple into thin slices, about 1/4″ thick.

I like to transfer the cut apple slices into a large pyrex measuring cup so I can keep track of how many apple slices I’ve got. Be sure to immediately drizzle some lemon juice over the apples, to prevent them from browning.

Next, follow the instructions for your recipe to add a mixture of flour, brown sugar, and spices to the apple slices. Oftentimes, it’s a good idea to allow apples to sit after tossing them with this mixture before adding them to the crust.

Favorite Apple Recipes

Now that you’ve got the proper apples and you know how to slice them, here are some delicious recipes to use them with.

Vegan Apple Pie

Deep dish vegan apple pie features layers of cinnamon-infused sweet apple slices and a buttery flaky vegan pie crust!

Vegan Apple Pie Recipe

Vegan Apple Crisp

This simple Vegan Apple Crisp recipe is easy to make and absolutely delicious, especially when served with a dollop or two of vegan ice cream!

Vegan Apple Crisp Recipe

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Baked Apple Slices

This simple Baked Apple Slices recipe is easy to make. It's a healthy, easy, gluten-free dessert recipe. Serve it with a dollop of vegan ice cream or vegan whipped cream!

Baked Apple Slices Recipe