Slow Cooker Apple Pie Filling Recipe for Perfect Homemade Filling

There’s nothing better than the warm, gooey filling of a homemade apple pie. This slow cooker apple pie filling captures all the flavors of fall in an easy, healthier recipe. Simply combine the ingredients in your crockpot and let them do the work. Use the filling on oatmeal, yogurt, pancakes, or ice cream for a delicious treat. This version uses less sugar than traditional fillings while still tasting great.

Uses for the slow cooker apple pie filling

This lighter apple pie filling is versatile. Try it in these ways:

• Portion into ramekins and top with reduced-fat crescent rolls or pastry for mini apple pies.
• Spoon over overnight oats for an apple pie–inspired breakfast.
• Add to hot oatmeal for a naturally sweet topping.
• Serve over yogurt for a quick, guilt-light snack or breakfast.
• Top vanilla ice cream for a classic apple pie à la mode.

This filling stores well in the fridge in a mason jar and keeps for several weeks if it lasts that long. I like keeping a jar on hand to add to oat and yogurt bowls. These apples also pair nicely with pumpkin or maple cinnamon baked oatmeal for a filling, flavorful breakfast.

Ingredients you’ll need

Fresh apples plus a few pantry staples are all that’s required. A 3 lb bag of apples (about 8 cups sliced) is ideal; gala, Honeycrisp, and Fuji are recommended for their natural sweetness and crisp texture, but use whatever you prefer.

• 8 cups apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (about 3 lb)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

If you want to reduce calories, you can substitute a sugar replacement such as stevia or monk fruit, but this recipe uses only 2 tablespoons of sugar for the whole batch (roughly 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per serving), so using regular sugar keeps the flavor closest to classic apple pie filling.

How to make slow cooker apple pie filling

The method is simple: peel, core, and slice the apples, then combine everything in the slow cooker and cook.

1. Peel, core, and slice the apples.
2. Add the apples to the crockpot.
3. Stir in the vanilla, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and lemon juice until well combined.
4. Cook on HIGH for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally to check texture. The apples will be done when they reach your desired softness—about 1.5 hours is often sufficient, but 2 hours yields a softer, more broken-down filling.
5. Let cool, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate.

This makes roughly 3.5 cups of cooked apples depending on how the fruit breaks down. The recipe was portioned into 14 quarter-cup servings for nutrition estimates; servings between 1/4 and 1/2 cup work well depending on how you use the filling.

For a smoother applesauce texture

Add an additional tablespoon of cornstarch and 1/2 cup water to the mixture before cooking. This encourages the apples to break down more and produces a chunkier applesauce-style filling after the same cooking time.

Storage

Allow the filling to cool, then transfer to a 32-ounce mason jar and refrigerate. It will keep in the fridge for several weeks—use your judgment for freshness. The filling also freezes well: portion into 1/4 to 1/2 cup amounts in freezer bags for easy thawing and use.

If you enjoy slow cooker fruit recipes, try a slow cooker peach variation for a similarly delicious topping to use on yogurt or oatmeal. The sweet peaches and these apples are interchangeable for many breakfast and dessert uses.