Canning Apple Pie Filling

Canning Apple Pie filling has been a family tradition for most of my married life!  It is something I actually look forward to each fall.  Picking apples in the crisp autumn breeze, bright blue skies and horizons decorated with golden colored leaves along with rich red and orange colors.  Against the blue, it is such beauty.

All the apple trees in the orchard bend with the weight of apples hanging from their limbs begging for someone to come along and lighten their load.  Apple picking is big in Wisconsin.  The winter’s bring enough cold to give the trees ample time to rest.  Here is Tennessee, we just can’t produce the quality of apples that you can produce in cooler climates.  I have seen some apples, but they just look sad.  We will try our hand at apple growing in Tennessee.  Maybe we can do more research and find a trick that will allow us to also produce some great apples on our homestead!

We actually canned the pie filling the same day that we canned the apple sauce.  I will share the steps to canning apple pie filling…
Step 1  Cut the apples in half and then in quarters…

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 Step 2 peel the slices and remove the core…

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 Step 3 reserve the cored, sliced, and peeled apples into another pot.  
Make sure you have about 4 gallons of apple slices for this recipe!

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 Step 4  Bring 7 quarts of water to a boil.
In a separate bowl add dry ingredients…

  • 7 cups sugar
  • 2 cups corn starch or clear jell
  • 6 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 3 teaspoons salt
  • 4 teaspoons of lemon juice or 6 drops of lemon essential oil

Whisk together and add to your boiling water as you stir.  Stir until thickened.  If not thick, add in a bit more cornstarch that is mixed with a little water to dissolve it.  Should be nice and think like pie filling.

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Step 5  Add the sauce into the apples and stir together.  

  • Put apple pie filling into quart sized jars about 3/4 way to the top.  Do not overfill, the contents will expand as they are cooking and you will bust out the top of the jar.
  • Add your lids and rings.

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Step 6 place jars into water bath canner.  

  • Add enough water to cover the jars by an inch or so.  Some jars could float because of the extra air in the top of the jars.  This is normal.
  • Cover and wait for the water to boil.  Once it is boiling, set the timer for about 30 minutes.

Now you can add your pie filling to great recipes like apple pie, apple cobbler, or even to top your breakfast pancakes.  It is so nice to have this on hand.  It is also a very fun fall activity.

Watch my video tutorial below…

Download the recipe card.

Get a PDF version so you can print it and cut it out to add to your recipe deck.
Download

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5 thoughts on “Canning Apple Pie Filling”

  1. I was planning on canning apple pie filling. I don’t like to use cornstarch. I always substitute it with arrowroot powder. Do you know if I can use arrowroot powder instead of cornstarch in your recipe.

    1. Erin@Keeper of the Homestead

      Yes you could do that, arrowroot is a great thickening agent that is very natural as well. Let me know how it turns out for you! Happy canning!

  2. Great post and wonderful video! Can’t wait to see more of your rustic homestead. We have 3 apple trees on our farm that are in pretty bad shape from years of neglect prior to us purchasing our homestead. My husband has spoken to Paul Gautschi (Back to Eden) twice now on the phone and he has been extremely helpful and suggested ways that we can help our orchard grow well again. Thanks again for sharing. Still hoping we can have tea and meet someday soon.

  3. Hello Erin,
    I wanted to ask you where I can find the large utensils that you have? I have 11 children and we use large pots, etc for cooking but it would be so very nice to have some larger utensils to use.
    Also, I know you’ve written about being content with your home, etc. I wanted to be humble and share with you that I am a bit jealous of your home! I know I shouldn’t be but it is so rustic. I live in a fixer upper but it is a ranch style brick home. Years ago my family and I lived in an older very small farm house on 10 acres. We moved closer to my husbands job. Oh how I miss it! Your home reminds me of our old house somewhat.
    Wish we were neighbors and friends. I would love to share in the everyday with you.
    Blessings and hugs,
    Janet in TX 🙂

  4. My mother use to can many things and it was always a joy to have it at hand. My personal favorite was figs and tomato jam and tomato chutney.
    I would love to start doing this soon.
    Thank you for making it look so easy and delightful.

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