Preserve your apple harvest and make apple pie filling and can it in canning jars to use at a later date!
Canned apple pie filling allows you to make delicious apple desserts with homemade pie filling all year long.
Why make this recipe
I love apple pies! My favorite is made with tart fresh apples. Sometimes there just isn't enough time to make a pie and this apple pie filling really comes in handy. You just make a quick pie dough, open a jar of filling, pour it in and bake! Instant dessert!
Apple pie filling is also amazing in cobblers, crisps and warmed and spooned over ice cream! And I'll let you in on a little secret - this pie filling is delicious just scooped right out of the jar and eaten with a spoon!
I love canning and preserving our own food. We grow a lot of apples and while I do love them best fresh, I also love canning apples and using them all year long. Some of my favorites include apple butter, apple sauce and this canned apple pie filling.
Type of apples to use
Almost any type of firm apple will work fine for this canned apple pie filling. You do want an apple that is going to hold its shape when cooked. Some good options are Granny Smith, Braeburn, Honey Crisp, Macintosh and Gravenstein.
Many of our apples are old trees that were planted several decades ago. We don't know the true variety, but when you bite into them, they have a great crispness to them.
Peel and core your apples
To peel, core and slice the apples, I used an apple peeler. If you don't have one, no problem! Just use a small paring knife. The apple peeler makes canning this filling a bit quicker! It not only peels the apples, but it cores and slices the apples too. Once the apples are all peeled, I slice the stack in half. It make it easier to fit half moon slices into the jars.
Don't worry if your apples begin to discolor a bit. You can add them to a large bowl filled with water to help stop discoloration if desired. Once added to the thicken mixture, the sliced apples will take on the golden color from the cinnamon and nutmeg.
Clear Jel
Clear Jel is a modified corn starch that is designed for commercial bakeries and home canning. It is a USDA approved thickener for canning pie fillings at home. Clear Jel is heat tolerant and can be reheated again and again, which makes it perfect for canning and then baking again into a dessert.
Look for Clear Jel at some grocery stores and small markets that specialize in repackaging and selling bulk food items. You can also buy it online and have it shipped directly to your home.
Canning guidelines
- Use clean, sterilized canning jars (sterilize jars in a dishwasher or by pouring boiling water into clean jars)
- Select the best fruit you can find (you can cut off any small bruised areas)
- Leave 1 inch of headspace at the top of your jar
- Use a small spatula to remove air pockets in filled jars
- Always wipe rim of jars before putting lid on
- Tighten ring firmly
- Boil in a water bath according to USDA for 25 minutes (adjust according to your altitude)
- When time is done, turn off heat and let jars remain in the boiling water for 5 minutes before you remove. This helps prevent the filling from leaking out of the jar when it hits a cooler room temperature. Tip from Ashley at Practical Self Reliance.
- Let jars cool for at least 12 hours before removing rings
- Wash jars to remove any sticky residue. Rings should be removed for washing.
- Check to make certain jars are sealed
- Label and date jars
- Use any unsealed jars right away
- Store canned goods in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months
Increase processing time
| Altitude Feet | Increase Processing Time |
|---|---|
| 1,001- 3,000 3,001- 6,000 6,001- 8,000 8,001-10,000 | 5 minutes 10 minutes 15 minutes 20 minutes |
These canned apples should last for 18 months if stored in a cool dark place.
Anytime you open a jar of canned goods, you want to examine the jar first. Look for anything unusual - foaming, bubbles, leaking are all signs that the contents are not good. Also make certain the lid is fully sealed. If mold and discoloration occurs on the top, discard the contents. When in doubt, throw it out! Never taste a product that you are unsure of.
If a jar didn't seal, you have two options - Place it in the refrigerator and use up within one week or remove lid wipe down surface of rim. Place a new lid on and process in water bath again.
The temperature for water to boil varies by elevation. The higher you go, the lower the temperature for water to reach a boil. In order to compensate for this lower boil temperature, time is added to your processing time.
If you are looking for other canning recipes, try Canning Tomatoes, Canning Peaches, Homemade Blackberry Jam and Apricot Jam.
Use this pie filling as a topping on these cream cheese danish!
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my canning recipes.
Apple Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 6 quarts apples (peeled, cored and sliced - approximately 30 medium sized apples)
- 5 cups sugar
- 1 ½ cups Clear Jel
- 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 7 ½ cups water
- ¾ cup lemon juice (bottled lemon juice)
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, nutmeg and water.5 cups sugar, 1 ½ cups Clear Jel, 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 7 ½ cups water
- Cook over medium heat until mixture thickens. Stir mixture often to prevent scorching.
- Add lemon juice and continue cooking for one minute¾ cup lemon juice
- Add apple slices and stir carefully6 quarts apples
- Heat for 3-5 minutes on low until apples are heated through.
- Remove from heat and fill prepared jars with mixture. Leave at least 1 inch head space in each jar.
- Use a small spatula to get rid of any air pockets or air bubbles in jars
- Wipe jars. Place canning lid and ring on jars.
- Process for 25 minutes (adjust for altitude) in a boiling water bath
Notes
- Use clean, sterilized canning jars (sterilize jars in a dishwasher or by pouring boiling water into clean jars)
- Select the best fruit you can find (you can cut off any small bruised areas)
- Use a small spatula to remove air pockets and large bubbles
- Always wipe rim of jars before putting lid on
- Tighten ring firmly
- Boil in a water bath for 25 minutes - adjust time for your elevation
- When time is done, turn off heat and let jars remain in the boiling water for 5 minutes before you remove. This helps prevent the filling from leaking out of the jar when it hits a cooler room temperature.
- Let jars cool for at least 12 hours before removing rings
- Wash jars to remove any sticky residue. Rings should be removed for washing.
- Check to make certain jars are sealed
- Date and label jars
- Use any unsealed jars right away
- Store canned goods in a cool, dark place
- 1,001- 3,000 ft. - add 5 minutes
- 3,001- 6,000 ft. - add 10 minutes
- 6,001- 8,000 ft. - add 15 minutes
- 8,001-10,000 ft. - add 20 minutes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in October 2016. The recipe and pictures have been updated.
Elyse says
How big of a pie will one jar make?
Kathy says
Hi Elyse,
One jar has 4 cups of filling and will be perfect for an 8" pie.
Enjoy 🙂
Stephanie says
How long do you think they will stay in the refrigerator? 18 months also or less?
Kathy says
If you didn't use a hot water bath to process your jars, the filling will only be good for a week in the refrigerator.
MS says
I had a pretty hard time blending the clear gel with water. My first batch was too clumpy and I had to dump it out of the pot(thankfully no apples were added), and the second batch was really clumpy too. To fix it, I threw the cold water/spice/gel mixture into the blender and the clear gel dissolved much better. Problem solved!!!
Kathy says
I have not had that issue with clear jel before. I appreciate you letting us know what works in case anyone else runs into the same problem.
Thanks 🙂
Kathy says
Any chance you were using instant Clear jel? It does work differently than regular Clear jel and may cause the issues you had.
Shannon says
Kathy,
This is a wonderful recipe! I am fairly new to canning and I was so happy with how this turned out! My husband sampled the filling before jarring and said it was delicious. I especially loved how you listed the recipe with the instructions and ingredients together, saved me the trouble of scrolling up and down between the two. It’s the little things. Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
Kathy says
Shannon,
Thanks so much for your comment and great job on diving into canning! It's such a rewarding process! My boys have been know to eat spoonful of the pie filling right out of the jar! 🙂
Kathy
Cindy says
So it’s okay to sub apple cider for the water and fresh lemon juice instead of bottled lemon juice?
Kathy says
Hi Cindy,
It's okay to use apple cider instead of water. However, I'd be cautious about using fresh lemon juice. In this case the acidity from the lemons is needed to make the apple pie filling safe for water bath canning. Sometimes fresh lemon juice can vary in their acidity levels. Bottled lemon juice is uniformly acidified with a PH of 5 percent. Here's a great article explaining lemon juice.
Let me know how everything works out!
Baswick says
Is it acceptable to reduce the amount of clear jel? I used the 1 1/2 cups per recipe, but it was very thick. Could I reduce by 1/2 cup? Has anyone tried this?
Kathy says
Hi,
It is okay to reduce the amount of clear jel. You could also add additional water, if you feel the filling is too thick.
Kathy 🙂
Baswick says
Marvelous! I added a couple of cups more liquid this time around. I used 4 cups water and 6 cups apple cider and had a few more apples. I'm hoping the apple cider adds flavour intensity. I'm from Canada and clear jel is very hard to find here, but scored some on the weekend.I'm thrilled with your recipe, so thank you!
Kathy says
That's great!!! The cider should definitely add more flavor. Thanks for the update! 🙂