You might think it is difficult to find the perfect apple pie filling substitute, but with a little experimentation and taste-testing, you will find that there are lots of options to choose from.
What Is Apple Pie Filling?
Apple pie filling is a mixture of sweet ingredients used to fill a pie crust in order to make an apple pie and other pastries. The filling typically consists of sliced or diced apples, sugar, spices (such as cinnamon and nutmeg), and sometimes butter or lemon juice.
Common Recipes Using Apple Pie Filling
- Classic Apple Pie – this is the most common use for apple pie filling
- Apple crisp or crumble – similar to an apple pie, except it has crumbs added on top made from flour, cookies, or oats.
- Apple turnovers – this is when you take apple pie filling and scoop it into puff pastry squares, fold them over, and bake them until golden brown and puffed up.
- Apple pie topped deserts – this can be apple pie topped cheesecake, cakes, or muffins.
- Apple fritters – a deep-fried dough that is crunchy and filled or flavored with apple pie filling
- Apple pie quick bread – adding some apple pie filling to bread can make a sweet dessert loaf of bread.
How to Choose a Substitute for Apple Pie Fillings
To choose a substitute for apple pie filling, you should consider the reason you need the filling. If you want less sugar, try making a low-sugar or sugar-free version. If you simply want to add some apple flavor to something other than an apple pie, you might be able to get away with more options.
7 Best Apple Pie Filling Substitute Options
1. Homemade Apple Pie Filling
If you are used to buying store-bought apple pie, you won’t need a lot of skills to make your own apple pie filling. Using Spend with Pennies’ recipe, you’ll have a batch of filling ready in 15 minutes.
2. Sugar-Free Apple Pie Filling
If you need to lower your sugar intake, then you can easily buy sugar-free apple pie filling at most grocery stores and use it as a 1:1 substitution. Or if you have some time to spare, try following Taste of Home’s recipe to make a sugar-free apple pie.
3. Gluten-Free Apple Pie Filling
You might not have known that most brands of apple pie filling have a lot of gluten in it, due to the thickeners they use. If you need to make both your own gluten-free filling and crust, Meaningful Eats has a recipe for you to try out.
4. Pears
If you have fresh or canned pears, you can use that instead of apples if you can’t find any or they’re out of season. Hostess at Heart has an easy-to-follow recipe that will resemble an apple pie but with a slight twist.
5. Peaches
Peaches are naturally sweeter than apples. Since they’re abundant in summer, using some fresh peaches in your favorite apple pie recipe will work just as well. Just remember to adjust your sugar to allow the sweetness of the peaches not to overwhelm the pie. Simply Home Cooked has a great peach pie filling that will remind you of summer.
6. Berries or Cherries
Good to Know has a recipe to fill a pie with cherries, but they use cinnamon which will remind you of apple pie if you miss the classic cinnamon that isn’t found in cherry pies.
7. Fruit Pie Fillings
Almost any fruit pie filling that you can find from the store will work to make flavored fritters, pies, or even breads. It is just up to you to decide what you like best. Love Foodies has the best tips for making any fruit pie filling.
Tips for Apple Pie Filling Substitution
- Adjust the sugar content – not every filling is the same, and if you’re used to one brand, your pie might be more or less sweet if you try an alternative. Taste your mixture as you go along to ensure the sweetness remains the way you prefer it.
- Check your ingredients – if you are looking for an allergy-friendly apple pie filling substitute, it is a good idea always to check the ingredient labels or make your own from safe ingredients.
- Adjust your cooking time – some alternatives cook longer than others, keep an eye on your pie to avoid any mishaps.
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