Apple pie is one of the absolute best comfort desserts. There is just something about a warm-baked apple pie (or any pie for that matter) that gives you the feeling of home.
Not only do you have delicious flavor but it’s cozy and comforting by its very nature.
If you love apples, apple pie is a must! Even people who aren’t big apple fans sometimes enjoy apple pie. It’s just totally delicious. The filling for apple pie can vary quite a bit.
Some people will can apple pie filling so they can just grab and go. They might even purchase canned. Other people will prep filling and freeze it for later use.
Can you make apple pie with frozen apples or frozen filling? Yes, you can use frozen apples or frozen filling for your apple pie. If you plan to freeze apples that you think will later be used for pie, it’s better if you make up the filling ahead of time and then freeze the entire filling.
In this guide, we will share with you how you can make apple pie using frozen apples or frozen filling. There are some tips to get the best results and you might notice some differences depending on how you froze the apples to begin with.
Stick with us to learn more about making apple pie with frozen apples!
Frozen Apples To Yummy Pie
We want to share with you that using frozen apple pie filling works far better for making pie than using just frozen apples. This is because you have the filling already completely made.
Then you can go straight on to making the pie rather than having to work with frozen apples to create your filling first.
Making apple pie filling before you freeze the mixture is just so much easier to use. However, you can use frozen apples, it’s just not as simple. That’s the first thing to know here.
We also want you to know that apples freeze better when they are combined with the filling. They are coated and less likely to discolor or turn brown this way as well.
Using Frozen Apples For Apple Pie
Let’s talk first about just using frozen apples. If you preserve your apples properly when you put them in the freezer, this will work. Since apples tend to turn brown, you will be able to freeze them best if you add some lemon juice to them.
You definitely need to slice them or dice them up to the size you want the apples to be when you make pie filling out of those apples.
Again, they are much easier to work with if you have them as prepped as possible before you freeze them.
Now, here’s the challenge with using frozen apples. You have to be able to work with them to get your pie filling made but you don’t want to thaw them completely.
As they thaw, they are more likely to get soggy or discolor so you need a happy medium.
However, you could let them thaw just enough that you can work with them, assuming that you cut them already to pie sizes.
Important Tips to Know
Some apples do maintain their crisp texture better after they have been frozen. If you stick to those apples when using frozen apples, you will have better results.
Here are the best choices:
- Golden Delicious
- Granny Smith
- Empire
- Cortland
- Jonagold
What you will find is that these particular types of apples have a firm texture so if you get them in the freezer while they are firm, they will stay pretty firm even when they thaw out while baking in a pie.
If you want to avoid soggy apples or challenges making the filling, go ahead and either sugar pack your apples or just make the pie filling and then freeze. Don’t thaw out the apples if you just freeze apples.
Soggy apples in your filling are the biggest challenge you will face when using frozen apples.
However, if you keep them frozen until they are baking, it shouldn’t be a huge issue. The other challenge is the potential for the apples to brown but again if you bake from frozen, you should be fine.
Using Frozen Apple Pie Filling For Pies
Now, an alternative to just using frozen apples is to use frozen apple pie filling. For example, if you harvested a bunch of apples that you need to freeze away, you could make several batches of apple pie filling instead of just freezing apples.
This will give you helpings of apple pie filling that you just pull out and toss in your pie when you are ready.
It’s a really simple process here and you can thaw it out or use it frozen when you are ready to make a pie. Either way will work just fine.
Follows these steps to prepare apple pie filling for freezing:
- Slice apples and put together all of the ingredients for apple pie filling. You can use whatever recipe you wish for this.
- Scoop the amount you need for one pie into a gallon freezer bag or a freezer-safe dish if you prefer.
- Label and date each bag.
- Seal it all up tightly.
- Toss it in the freezer until you need it!
The nice thing about just making pie filling before you freeze those apples is that it’s ready to go. You don’t have to deal with the apples afterward.
You’re less likely to experience browning or get frustrated because you have to try to make your pie filling with frozen apples.
Thawing Apple Pie Filing
You can thaw out the pie filling if you like. In this case, it’s less likely to turn mushy or soggy because it was preserved with all of the other parts of the filling. These will also help during the thawing process.
You can thaw the pie filling in the fridge overnight or thaw it using some warm water for 30-60 minutes. It’s totally up to you!
Some people even just thaw it out partially using the microwave. Doing a partial thaw might make it easier to form it to your pie crust.
Baking With Frozen Filling
The other option is to simply put the frozen filling straight into your pie. The only challenge here is that it will be a solid item when it is completely frozen. That just might make it harder to manipulate into a pie.
As we mentioned above, you could just partially thaw it or defrost it to make the pie filling more pliable and easy to maneuver. However, it’s totally ok to bake your pie with frozen or partially frozen apples and filling.
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