How to Make Easy Water Bath Canned Apple Pie Filling

Fall is apple season to me! Well and pumpkin season….Both are my favorite. This time of year we start making loads of apple recipes and pumpkin recipes.  One thing I love to can every year is water bath canned apple pie filling. 

When I first started this health/homesteading journey I would dream about the day that I would have my own fruit trees, especially apple trees, in my yard that I could can the abundance from.

I would watch all the homesteading youtube videos and think, I can’t wait until I can go out my back door and pick apples to can or plums to make jam out of. 

Then about 3 years ago we moved cross country and guess what?

We bought a farm with fruit trees! Now I am living all my best homesteading dreams out!

Every year I go out in October and pick all the apples off my granny smith apple tree in my yard. It is such a special moment that just never gets old. 

I will waltz into my kitchen and get to chopping, peeling, and coring all these delicious green apples. There is just nothing better then having water bath canned apple pie filling on your shelf to be able to make a delicious apple pie when you need it.

But before we get to the recipe, let’s talk about the equipment you will need. 

​What equipment do I need to water bath can apple pie filling?

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First things first.

You will need a water bath canner and canning tools for this project. You can use a large pot but you would need to get a rack that fits it so you can keep your quart jars off the bottom. If they sit on the bottom of your pot, the jars will break. 

Water bath canners are not super expensive and you usually can buy a whole set that comes with canning tools and all for under $100. This is the water bath canner I have bought on Amazon when I got started and have used year after year!

To make your job go a lot quicker, you may also like to use an apple peeler. This will help you to core, peel, and slice your apples quickly! I bought my apple peeler on Amazon. Although I will admit, lately it hasn’t been working properly and I just find it faster to do it by hand. First, I use my apple slicer to get them all into slices, then I will peel them and slice them a little thinner by hand. 

I have tried two apple peelers and they work for a bit, but seem to always give me problems after a couple seasons. I have found this just works better for me, although the slices aren’t as uniform.

Of course you will also need quart canning jars and canning lids and rings. I love to buy all my canning lids and rings from Denali Canning, they have the best lids! Their lids are made with a preserve lock so I get a perfect seal every time. You can actually hear the suction of the lid when you crack open a jar. I highly recommend them! I also have their pressure canner and dehydrator that I love!

Use code EPSONZCUZ9 for 10% off your order.

Lastly, in order to weigh out your apples, a kitchen scale comes in real handy. You have to make sure to get the right measurements when making water bath canned apple pie filling. This ensures the safety of the food in your jars. In order to do that, you have to weigh your apples and make sure you have 15lbs. 

The best way to weigh them is with a kitchen scale. I use my digital kitchen scale that I got on Amazon. I use my kitchen scale all the time in bread making and when I am water bath canning. It definitely is a cheap investment that gets used often. 

Best variety of apples to can into apple pie filling.

You can really use any variety of fresh apples to make this water bath canned apple pie filling, however the best apples are any variety that’s tart. Since you are adding quite a bit of sugar to your recipe, it is best to save the sweeter apples for apple sauce, apple butter, or apple juice!

If you use too sweet of an apple in this, your homemade apple pie filling tends to be too sweet. 

I use granny smith because that is the tree that I have. But some other varieties you can use are Braeburn and Pink Lady apples. If you don’t have an apple tree, try finding a local orchard and asking for “seconds”. These are the apples that may be misshaped, have a few bruises, or simply just aren’t picture perfect to head off to the store. 

They will usually sell them to you a lot cheaper and your apple pie filling doesn’t care how they look before you slice them up!

Ingredients:

• 15 lbs apples
• 5 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1 1/2 cups thick gel or clear jel, you can not use regular cornstarch in canning recipes
• 1 TBSP cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 5 cups apple juice
• 3/4 cup of lemon juice

How to Make Water Bath Canned Apple Pie Filling:

1. Core, skin, and slice apples to your desired size. We like them pretty thin for in the apple pie. Place them in a bowl full of warm water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice. This will help to prevent browning.
2. Place a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil while you are working through all your apples.
3. Once water is boiling and you have peeled and sliced all your apples, blanch them in the boiling water for 1 minute. You will have to work in small batches. Remove the apples after 1 minute and stick them in a pot with the lid on to keep them warm.
4. Fill your water bath canner to about 1/2 full with hot water and place on the stove. Turn your stove onto medium high heat to warm up. Wash 6 quart jars, lids, and rings with hot soapy water. Place your jars in the canner to keep warm until ready to fill.
5. In a separate pot, combine the sugar, thick gel, spices, water, apple juice, and lemon juice. Stir over medium heat until the mixture is thick and bubbly.
6. Add your warm apples to the mixture.
7. Using a jar lifter, remove your jars from the canner and fill each hot jar with the hot apple pie filling. Leave a 1/2 inch of headspace.
8. Using the back of a wooden spoon or canning tool, release any air bubbles in each jar. Add additional filling and liquid as needed.
9. Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean dish towel and white distilled vinegar to remove any spills.
10. Place the lids and rings on, tightening only to finger tip tight.
11. Place jars into canner and make sure the water level is over the jars about 1″.
12. Once water has come to a full rolling boil, start timer for 30 minutes. Adjust your processing time for your elevation.
13. Once your timer has gone off, turn your stove off and remove the lid of your canner. Let jars sit in canner for 5 minutes.
14. Remove your jars and place on a clean dish towel to rest undisturbed for 12-24 hours.
15. Remove the rings, wipe the jars down, and label the tops of the jars with the contents and the year. Now your delicious apple pie filling is ready to go on your pantry shelf, out of direct sunlight, to be made into a pie whenever desired! I usually use 2 quarts of apple pie filling for 1 pie.

How to turn this water bath canned apple pie filling into a pie.

Every good pie starts with the crust. The filling is important but the crust is equally as important. 

Especially when you have to eat gluten free, I find the crust becomes more important then the filling. You can usually make a good filling but the crust is another story. 

Luckily for you I have a delicious gluten free pie crust that I have been making for years! I use this crust for chicken pot pies, pumpkin pies, and of course apple pies. The best part about it is you can serve this one pie to the whole family and no one complains that it is gluten free. 

If you do not need to eat gluten free, you can simply take this pie crust recipe and use regular flour to make a regular crust. 

Now go get some of the most delicious homemade apple pie filling on your shelf so you can wow your family all winter long with homemade pies, with not a lot of effort!

Printable Recipe

If you are already an experienced canner and would just like the recipe, here is the recipe in printable form!