Apple Slab Pie is a quick and easy way to bake this fruit filled dessert in a rectangular sheet pan rather than a round pie plate. It's the perfect party pie to feed a crowd!
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Apple Slab Pie is filled with your favorite traditional apple pie flavors, but it’s baked in a sheet pan and sliced in rectangles or squares. This recipe is so easy to make using a premade pie crust that sits below a filling of sweetly spiced fresh apples, all drizzled with a creamy, gooey glaze.
Easy Apple Slab Pie Shortcut Recipe
Apple Slab Pie is my favorite way to tweak the classic all-American dessert by cooking in a sheet pan! This quick and easy recipe uses a simple shortcut that fills packaged dough with juicy fall fruit that’s been coated in sugar and spices.
I love slab pie recipes because they make a crowd-sized cozy dessert, baked in a large rectangular jelly roll pan rather than a small pie plate. With its warm and bubbly filling and apple slices that are fork tender, this sweet treat will make you rethink your round apple pie.
For more revised apple pie recipes, try my Apple Pie Bites, Caramel Apple Pie Cookies, and Caramel Apple Hand Pies.
Why We Love This Apple Sheet Pan Pie Recipe
- Quicker and easier than making multiple apple pies.
- Uses a premade pie crust and some additional simple ingredients.
- Cutting bars rather than slices is so much easier to serve.
- A sweet, tender filling of spiced fresh apples is baked over a layer of golden crust.
- The glaze is thick, buttery, and creamy.
- Fun way to feed a crowd for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving, a housewarming party, or a holiday celebration.
Ingredients
- Pillsbury Pie Crusts
- McIntosh Apples
- Light brown sugar
- Cornstarch
- Unsalted butter
- Apple pie spice blend
- Fresh lemon zest
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
- Fresh lemon juice (from the small lemon that was zested for the pie)
- Heavy cream
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Substitutions and Additions
- Swap The Apple Slices: I really like the taste and texture of the McIntosh apples (they are crisp with a slightly sweet and tart taste to them), however, honey crisp, pink lady, golden delicious, or even gala apples work great for this recipe. I do not recommend using red delicious or other softer apple because they get too mushy when baked.
- Switch The Spices: Feel free to adjust your spices according to your preference. You can swap out the apple pie spice blend for just cinnamon, or you can make your own spice blend by mixing together 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves. You can either increase or decrease the amount of spice according to your tastes as well.
Recommended Tools
- 10 in. x 15 in. sized standard jelly roll pan
- Sharp knife
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring tools
- Whisk
How to Make Apple Slab Pie
Apple Slab Pie is so much easier and faster than making multiple pies when you need to feed a crowd. This delicious dessert is filled with all your favorite apple pie flavors baked in a large pan, glazed, and served in rectangle slices.
- Prepare The Pan: Lay the crusts, slightly overlapping onto the jelly roll pan and trim the excess dough. Seal all the seams with your fingers, tuck the border edges slightly under, and crimp the outer crust.
Pro Tip: You will want to face the rounded edge of excess dough towards the center of the pan, and the straight edges will fill in the edges of the crust. - Mix The Filling: Coat the apple slices with the brown sugar, cornstarch, melted unsalted butter, apple pie spice blend, fresh lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt. Spread the apples in an even layer onto the prepared pie crust.
- Bake: Bake at 425°F for 25-30 minutes.
Pro Tip: The crust should be lightly golden, the filling should be slightly bubbly, and the apple slices fork tender. - Cool: Cool on the counter for 30 minutes before adding the glaze.
- Make The Glaze: Whisk together the powdered sugar, butter, lemon juice, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth.
Pro Tip: You may need to add a little more heavy cream to thin out your glaze enough to be thick yet pourable. - Serve: Drizzle the glaze over the apple slab pie and allow the pie to to cool completely for another 30-45 minutes. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Tips
- You can slice your apple slab pie directly in the pan, or if you are very careful, you can transfer it onto a large wooden cutting board to slice and serve.
- I like to serve my slab apple pie at room temperature.
- You can slightly warm individual servings and serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.
Storage Tips
- To Store: If you keep your apple slab pie in the pan, you can cover it with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can store your pie in the refrigerator, but note that the crust will start to get soft.
- To Freeze: To freeze, wrap portions tightly to keep all air out and store in the freezer for 3-4 months.
- To Reheat: Apple pie can be thawed, and then warmed in the microwave or served cold.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make a homemade pie crust?
You can absolutely make a homemade pie crust for this recipe. Using the refrigerated rolled pie crust for this apple slab pie makes it super easy to get a delicious dessert on the table in less time.
Feel free to substitute the premade crust for your favorite homemade pie crust recipe. Make sure that your recipe yields 2 crusts.
When rolling your dough, roll it in the shape of a rectangle instead of the standard circles.
What is the best way to buy apples in bulk for this Apple Slab Pie?
I like to buy 3 lb. bags of apples at my grocery store that they sell for school lunches. The smaller size of those apples is perfect for this recipe.
This size bag yields approximately 8 cups peeled and sliced. If you can only find the 5 lb. bags, then you can use the extras to pack lunches for the kids.
Can I omit the lemon juice in the glaze?
I love the addition of lemon juice to the glaze in this recipe. I think lemons and apples work very well together flavor-wise. However, if you prefer to omit the lemon, you can just use water instead.
What are the best apples for apple pie filling?
In addition to McIntosh apples that we used in this apple pie, some of our other favorite apples for apple pie filling are Granny Smith, Honey Crisp, Rome, Golden Delicious and Braeburn.
Should pre-bake my crust?
For this recipe, we did not prebake the pie crust.
Other Easy Sheet Pan Recipes
Apple Slab Pie
Serves — 8
Apple Slab Pie is a quick and easy way to bake this fruit filled dessert in a rectangular sheet pan rather than a round pie plate. It's the perfect party pie to feed a crowd!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
Apple Slab Pie:
- 14.1 oz box (2 rolled crusts per box) Pillsbury Pie Crusts
- 8 cups McIntosh Apples peeled and sliced into ⅛ in. slices
- ¾ cup light brown sugar lightly packed
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ unsalted butter melted
- 2 tsp apple pie spice blend
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest (from a small lemon)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from the small lemon that was zested for the pie)
- 1 tbsp heavy cream (plus additional if needed to thin the glaze)
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. You will need a 10 in. x 15 in. sized standard jelly roll pan.
- Remove your box of Pillsbury Pie Crusts from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature, according to the package directions, before unrolling each crust. Once they can each be unrolled, you will lay the crusts, slightly overlapping in the center, onto your jelly roll pan so that you have about 2-3 inches or so of excess dough hanging off the shorter sides of the pan.
- With a sharp knife, you will need to trim off the larger amount of excess dough hanging off the shorter ends of the pan.
- You will need to place those two pieces of excess dough, one on each of the longer sides of the pan so that you fill in the gaps on the pan where the dough does not cover. You will want to face the rounded edge towards the center of the pan, and the straight edges will fill in the edges of the crust.
- With your fingers, gently press the dough to seal all the seams together, tuck the border edges of the dough slightly under so that you have an even edge all around your pan. Crimp the outer crust the same as you would for a standard round pie. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the McIntosh apple slices, light brown sugar, cornstarch, melted unsalted butter, apple pie spice blend, fresh lemon zest, vanilla extract, and salt. Stir to evenly coat all the apple slices with the other ingredients.
- Spread your coated apple slices in an even layer onto the prepared pie crust.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Your crust should be lightly golden, your apple slab pie filling should be slightly bubbly, and your apple slices fork tender.
- Allow your apple slab pie to cool on the counter for 30 minutes before adding the glaze.
- To make the glaze whisk together the powdered sugar, unsalted butter, fresh lemon juice, heavy cream, vanilla extract, and salt. Whisk until smooth. You may need to add a little more heavy cream to thin out your glaze enough to be thick yet pourable.
- Drizzle your glaze over your apple slab pie and allow your pie to continue to cool completely on the counter for another 30-45 minutes to allow your apple pie filling and glaze to firm up before slicing and serving.
- You can slice your apple slab pie directly in the pan, or if you are very careful, you can transfer it onto a large wooden cutting board to slice and serve. I like to serve my slab apple pie at room temperature. You can slightly warm individual servings and serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: If you keep your apple slab pie in the pan, you can cover it with plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can store your pie in the refrigerator, but note that the crust will start to get soft.
- To Freeze: To freeze, wrap portions tightly to keep all air out and store in the freezer for 3-4 months.
- To Reheat: Apple pie can be thawed, and then warmed in the microwave or served cold.
- I like to buy 3 lb. bags of apples at my grocery store that they sell for school lunches. The smaller size of those apples is perfect for this recipe. This size bag yields approximately 8 cups peeled and sliced. If you can only find the 5 lb. bags, then you can use the extras to pack for lunches for the kids.
- I really like the taste and texture of the McIntosh apples (they are crisp with a slightly sweet & tart taste to them); however, a honey crisp, pink lady, golden delicious, or even gala apples work great for this recipe. I do not recommend a red delicious or other softer apple as they get too mushy when baked.
- Using the refrigerated rolled pie crust for this apple slab pie makes it super easy to get a quick, easy and delicious dessert on the table on a busy night. If you have some extra time, you can substitute it for your favorite recipe for a homemade pie crust. You will want to make sure that your recipe yields 2 crusts. When rolling your dough, you will just roll it in the shape of a rectangle instead of the standard circles.
- As with many apple pie recipes, you can adjust your spices according to your taste. You can swap out the apple pie spice blend for just cinnamon, or you can make your own spice blend by mixing together 1 ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves. You can either increase or decrease the amount of spice according to your tastes as well.
- I love the addition of lemon juice to the glaze in this recipe. I think lemons and apples work very well together flavor-wise. However, if you prefer to omit the lemon, you can just use water instead.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 82g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 322mg | Potassium: 232mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 162IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 2mg
I love the fact these recipes seem so easy, but don’t take forever to make!