You could be stressing over the apple pie you have to make for Thanksgiving or a picnic in a couple of days. While baking an apple pie isn’t too time-consuming or hard, it could be a hassle if you’re short on time.
So, can you make apple pie filling ahead of time to quicken the process? Let’s find out how long ahead you can prepare and keep apple pie filling.
Can You Make Apple Pie Filling Ahead of Time?
Yes. You certainly can make apple pie filling ahead of time. If you want to save time peeling the apples, removing the cores, and slicing them, you can do it a couple of days ahead.
You can make the filling four or five days ahead if you’ll keep it in the fridge. On the other hand, keeping it in the freezer allows you to make it up to six days or a week before baking the pie.
Moreover, you might like to make the crust dough ahead, too. You can wrap, chill, or freeze it after placing it in the pan.
Finally, you may even resort to making the entire pie and sticking it in the freezer. This way, your apple pie is ready to bake once you take it out.
Is It Better to Store Apple Pie Filling or the Entire Apple Pie?
While it’s much easier to freeze the whole pie and reheat it, it’s not ideal. When you store the pie as a whole, it’s still prone to getting moist. If that happens, you’ll end up with a soggy crust.
Unfortunately, if your crust becomes soggy, there’s little you can do to help the structure of the apple pie any longer.
Alternatively, storing your filling and crust separately keeps everything intact. It might take a little longer to bring together when you take it out to bake it, but it’ll be worth it.
How Far in Advance Can You Make Apple Pie Filling?
The ideal number of days before using your apple pie is four or five if you’ll refrigerate it. Alternatively, you can go for up to a week if you’ll store it in the freezer.
However, that’s not the maximum. Fruit pieces can last up to three or four months in the freezer. Consequently, you can make your apple pie filling months ahead of baking. You have to follow the best freezing practices, though. So, let’s take a look at them.
What Are the Best Practices for Freezing Apple Pie Filling?
There are some things you can do to make sure your apple pie is as fresh as possible when you bring it out again.
Wrap your raw apple pie in three layers of plastic wrap. This way, you’ll make sure it’s sealed well and none of its parts is exposed.
Put your apple pie in a gallon-size freezing plastic bag. Make sure to label the bag with the date in case you forget to count the days.
You should bear in mind the following:
- You can keep apple pies —and any fruit pie— at room temperature for around two days before they go bad. Then, you can refrigerate them for two more days.
- The dough itself can last up to three days in the fridge. That number increases to three months when you keep it in the freezer.
- Separate the crust and filling until it’s time to bake your pie if you’re making them ahead of time as well.
What Are the Best Practices for Serving Frozen Apple Pie?
To get the best results when baking a frozen apple pie, you should preheat the oven to 450°F.
Once the oven is ready, take out your apple pie and add a couple of slits to the top crust, and put it in the oven.
To avoid getting a soggy pie, steer clear of thawing it.
Leave the pie to bake for 25 minutes. After that, bring the temperature down to 375°F and then leave it to bake for 40 to 50 minutes.
It could take longer, but it should be ready by the time the crust turns a golden brown color. Make sure to check that the apple filling turned soft when you prick them with a toothpick or fork.
Final Thoughts
To be frank, the best time to serve an apple pie is after you freshly bake it. However, life doesn’t always give us the luxury of time to enjoy this indulgence.
That’s why you can make use of the fact that apple pie filling lasts up to a week in a fridge or up to three in a freezer.
Still, you’ll get some pretty stellar results if you follow the proper cooling and reheating steps when prepping and serving your apple pie.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.