Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (2024)

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You won’t believe how perfectly golden, flaky, and buttery this gluten-free pie crust is. Packed full of warm caramelized apples and spices, this apple pie recipe an irresistible dessert!

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Growing up, every family gathering during the months of September to January included my grandmother’s apple pie. I would help her pick and peel the apples, she would bake. She made rolling out the crust look like a breeze.

And when it came out of the oven it was always perfectly browned, with flaky layers made possible from a heavy dose of butter. The top glistened with sugar and a little egg wash, a caramelized glaze stuck to the sides from the juices that escaped.

Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (2)

This gluten-free apple is now a favorite all year long, and perfect for the holidays served alongside Pecan Butternut Squash Pie and Gluten-Free Tart Cherry Pie!

What apples make the best apple pie?

The best apple pies are made from firm apples that won’t disintegrate from the long baking time, and have a balance of tart and sweet flavors.

For this recipe, I used SnowSweet apples from my favorite local orchard, but other good varieties are:

  • Northern Spy
  • Cortland
  • Granny Smith
  • Honeycrisp
  • Jonagold
Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (3)
Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (4)
Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (5)

Pie crusts can be intimidating even though they’re made from just a few ingredients. Getting them to roll out evenly, not fall apart, turn out buttery & flaky – there’s a lot of components. Then throw gluten-free into the mix and it can seem even more difficult.

I’ve made gluten-free rhubarb hand pies, which certainly helped me get over some of my fears, but its not the same as making a whole pie. Armed with a little research and the gluten-free flour blend that never lets me down, Cup4Cup, I set out to conquer an all-butter crust complete with a lattice crust. I used their Whole Grain Blend, which gives it great color & texture, making for one gorgeously browned crust.

This gluten-free pie crust is flaky, tender, and flavorful. It stands up to the leisurely bake, while giving the highly stacked apples a tenderness, with jammy pockets of their own juices.

Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (6)
Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (7)

Tips For Making Great Gluten-Free Pie Crust:

1. More whole grains in this flour blend means more fiber. Fiber acts as an absorbent, so you’ll always need a little more liquid or fat when baking with it. For this pie crust, I used honey and a little more water than what you would typically use.

2. Leverage is key for rolling out the dough. Even though I’m quite tall, it helped immensely when I got on a stepping stool and was able to take control of the crust.

3. Gluten-free dough is stickier, so always line your counter with saran wrap, dust it with flour. Then put your dough on top of it, followed by another sprinkle of flour, followed by saran wrap. Then you’ll be able to roll it just like your grandmother did.

4. I know you’ve heard it before, but all crust ingredients should be ICE cold. This helps the butter stay firm so those fats can expand and create air bubbles when baked, which is where the flakiness comes from. Also, use the refrigerator and freezer to your advantage when working with the raw crust. When it’s cold, its much easier to work with.

5. Don’t mix your fruit (apples in this case) with sugar & cornstarch too far in advance of filling the crust. Since sugar pulls out the liquid in fruit, you will end up with too much water, resulting in a soggy crust.

Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (8)

More Gluten-Free Pie Recipes:

  • Homemade Gluten-Free Cherry Pie
  • Butternut Squash Pie Recipe with Candied Pecans
  • Banana Yogurt Pie

Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (9)

Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie

A homemade gluten-free apple pie with a buttery, flaky crust with tart and sweet apples inside. This gluten-free pie crust rolls out beautifully, and tastes just like regular pie crust.

5 from 4 votes

Prep Time :30 minutes minutes

Cook Time :1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

Total Time :1 hour hour 35 minutes minutes

Yield: 1 pie

Author: Amanda Paa

SCALE:

Ingredients

Apple Pie Filling

  • 2 3/4 pounds firm apples such as Honeycrisp Pink Lady or SnowSweet (about 6-7 medium), peeled and cored
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons minced fresh sage, optional

Gluten-Free Pie Crust

  • 305 grams of Cup4Cup Wholesome Gluten-Free Flour 

  • 1 tablespoon honey

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 14 tablespoons

    (1 stick + 6 tablespoons) very cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes


  • 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons ice cold water

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

  • Make pie crust: Add flour, honey and salt to food processor. Pulse a couple of times to blend. Then add cold butter and pulse until most of the butter is the size of peas. It’s okay if you see a few larger chunks.

  • Remove food processor base and stir water in by hand (I like to save on dishes so I don’t use another bowl, but you could). Dump the scraggly dough onto your counter and work in together with your hands to form a tight circle.

  • Flatten the circle, wrap in saran wrap and place in refrigerator for at least one hour, up to overnight. When chilled, divide the dough into two equal pieces. Line your counter with saran wrap, dust it with flour, then put your dough on top. Sprinkle top of crust with a little more dough, cover with large piece of saran and roll out into a large circle that will fit your pan. Remove saran and gently lift into pie pan. Use THESE amazing details to make your lattice top – thanks to The Kitchn for always being such a wonderful resource!

  • Put bottom crust into your pie plate and set in refrigerator.

  • Cut peeled apples into thin wedges and put into a large bowl. Stir in lemon juice. In a small bowl, combine sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cornstarch and minced sage. Add this mixture to the bowl of apples and stir to coat. Dump into pie plate with bottom crust. Top apples with the lattice strips that you have made, following instructions linked to above.

  • Bake pie on the bottom rack for 7 minutes, then move to the middle rack, placing pie on a metal baking sheet to catch spills. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for additional 40 minutes or until juices are bubbling and crust is nicely browned. Then remove from oven and let rest for 1 hour on a wire rack. (About midway through baking, put a foil lining around the edges of the crust to ensure that it does not burn.) Remove at this point.

  • If you want the crispy sage for a pretty garnish, heat about ½ inch of oil in a small pan over medium high heat. Add fresh sage leaves and fry until crispy, about 3 minutes.

Notes

Pie will keep for 3 days at room temperature (do not refrigerate or will turn soggy) or you can freeze it.

Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (10)
Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (11)
Light, Flaky Gluten-Free Apple Pie Recipe | Heartbeet Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why does my gluten free pie crust fall apart? ›

Xantham gum is what helps hold the flour and pie ingredients together, and mimics what gluten does. Gluten is like glue, and is why doughs stay together. Without xantham gum, it will be crumbly and fall apart.

Should I blind bake my apple pie crust? ›

The key is to avoid the typical apple pie pitfalls — a soggy crust and waterlogged filling — by blind baking the crust and boiling down the juices before filling the pie. These steps add a bit of extra time but ensure a crisp and flaky crust and a cider-flavored filling that's not the least bit watery.

How do you make gluten-free baking less crumbly? ›

Dry, crumbly loaf- you may need more liquid (see above), fat or binder. Gluten free bread dough needs more fat than wheat bread dough whether it's oil, butter or something else. So if your bread is dry, simply add more fat to get a better crumb.

How to stop gluten free pastry from crumbling? ›

Add xanthan gum to gluten-free flour. It enhances elastic qualities that gluten-free flours lack, making it easier to work with and less likely to crumble. Add plenty of water to the gluten-free flour to prevent the pastry from becoming too dry when rolling out.

What is the apple pie rule? ›

Here's a look at one of the most unusual laws on the books in the Badger State. In Wisconsin, it is illegal to serve apple pie in public restaurants without a slice of cheese on top. Yes, you read that right: cheese is required on top of any apple pie that is served in a public restaurant in Wisconsin.

What is the best thickener for apple pie filling? ›

Very often flour or cornstarch is used, but in certain instances tapioca, arrowroot and potato starch can also help achieve the desired consistency. Tapioca starch is preferable for products that will be frozen because it will not break down when thawed.

What can I use instead of cornstarch in apple pie filling? ›

Cornstarch Substitute for Fruit Pie Fillings

You can also use tapioca starch if you have it handy. Just be sure to use 2 tablespoons flour or tapioca starch for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in the recipe.

Should I Prebake a pie crust for fruit pie? ›

You do not need to pre-bake a pie crust for an apple pie or any baked fruit pie really, but we do freeze the dough to help it stay put. Pre-baking the pie crust is only required when making a custard pie OR when making a fresh fruit pie. you should probably get: Pie weights are super helpful to have for pre-baking.

Why do you put milk instead of water in a pie crust? ›

Some bakers use milk or buttermilk in their pie crust. Thanks to their milk solids, both will help crust brown and add a bit of tenderness. But the classic liquid in pie crust is water — ice water, to be precise.

How do you bake an apple pie so the bottom crust is not soggy? ›

Brush the Bottom with Corn Syrup or Egg White

Coating the inside surface of the bottom crust will create a barrier to prevent sogginess.

Why don t you blind bake apple pie? ›

I do not usually par-bake my fruit pie crusts - this is because with a fresh fruit filling (or even with a cooked fruit filling such as my apple pie or my blueberry crostata), the pie has long enough in the oven that it gives the crust enough time to crisp up properly, removing the need for blind baking.

Should I egg wash my pie crust before blind baking? ›

An egg wash is not necessary when blind baking, though if you want to add some shine to the edges of the pie, you can brush the crust with egg wash after removing the pie weights and before returning the pie to the oven to finish baking.

How do you fix a pie crust that keeps falling apart? ›

If it's too crumbly, add a little more water. Once your pastry has come together, don't then ruin it when rolling it out. It's always tempting to shovel loads of flour onto a work surface when rolling out pastry.

How do you keep pie crust from crumbling? ›

Your dough is too crumbly.

If your pie dough breaks and crumbles when you try to roll it out, it's probably too dry. This is a relatively easy fix. Just sprinkle some cold water over the dough with your fingers and work it in—gently! —until the dough comes together.

How do you keep pie crust from separating? ›

Now let's see how to prevent it.
  1. Use butter, not shortening. The solidity of unmelted fat is part of what helps pie crust hold its shape as it bakes. ...
  2. Keep water to a minimum. This pie pastry looks good, doesn't it? ...
  3. Roll sparingly. ...
  4. Choose apples that hold their shape. ...
  5. Vent the top crust.
Sep 13, 2017

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