If you adore warm, cozy apple pie but don’t always have the time to peel, chop, and cook apples from scratch, canning your own pie filling is one of the best kitchen shortcuts you’ll ever try. With a few jars on your shelf, turning a dessert craving into a bubbling homemade pie takes minutes—not hours. Just open a jar, add dough (store-bought works perfectly), bake, and enjoy.

This guide walks you through how to safely can apple pie filling, why using the right thickener matters, which apples give the best texture, and how to transform each jar into easy desserts all year long.

Why Can Your Own Apple Pie Filling?

1. Dessert in minutes
All the slow work—peeling, slicing, and cooking apples—happens once. Every jar becomes a shortcut to pie, crumble, turnovers, and more.

2. Perfect apple texture every time
Canning-safe thickeners keep the apples plump and glossy instead of mushy, giving you bakery-style filling straight from the jar.

3. Preserve apple season
When apples are cheap and abundant, stocking up lets you enjoy them long after the season ends.

4. Reduce waste
Slightly imperfect apples work beautifully once trimmed and cooked.

---

The #1 Safety Rule: Use Clear Jel® (Cook Type)

For canning pie filling, never use cornstarch, flour, or other regular thickeners.
Only Clear Jel® (cook type) stays safe and stable during canning and storage. It prevents the filling from becoming too dense to heat properly—important for food safety.

---

Best Apples for Canning

Choose firm, tart-sweet apples that hold their shape when cooked:

• Honeycrisp

• Granny Smith

• Golden Delicious

• Jonagold

• Braeburn

Avoid apples meant for applesauce—they break down too quickly.

---

Apple Pie Filling Formula (Per 1 Quart Jar)

Scale up as needed (a full canner load is usually 7 quarts).

• 3½ cups blanched apple slices

• ¾ cup sugar

• ¼ cup Clear Jel®

• ½ cup water

• ¾ cup apple juice

• 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice

• Cinnamon or nutmeg (optional)

Two quarts generously fill one 9-inch pie.

---

Equipment

• Water-bath canner

• Quart or pint canning jars with lids

• Large pots

• Funnel, ladle, jar lifter, spatula

---

How to Can Apple Pie Filling

1. Prepare jars
Wash, rinse, and keep them hot. Preheat your canner.

2. Prep and blanch apples
Peel, core, slice, and briefly blanch for about 1 minute to ensure even heating and better texture.

3. Make the thickened syrup
Whisk sugar, Clear Jel®, water, juice, and spices. Heat until thick and bubbling. Add lemon juice.

4. Combine apples + syrup
Fold gently so you don’t break the slices.

5. Fill jars
Ladle hot filling into hot jars, leaving 1 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles, wipe rims, apply lids.

6. Process in a boiling-water bath
Process pints or quarts for 25 minutes (adjust for altitude).
Let jars cool 5–10 minutes in the canner before lifting to prevent siphoning.

7. Cool + store
Let cool untouched for 12–24 hours. Label and store for up to 12–18 months.

---

How to Turn a Jar Into Dessert (Fast)

1. Quick Apple Pie
Use store-bought crust: fill, top, and bake until golden.

2. Apple Crumble
Pour filling into a dish, top with oat-butter crumble, bake.

3. Mini pies & turnovers
Spoon filling into pastry rounds or squares and bake until puffed.

4. Breakfast + toppings
Perfect over yogurt, ice cream, pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal.

---

Extra Tips

• Always use bottled lemon juice for consistent acidity.

• Don’t reduce headspace—this filling expands.

• If a jar doesn’t seal, refrigerate and use within a week.