Why Is My Apple Pie Watery?

If your apple pie is too watery, you’ve come to the right place!

Here’s why your apple pie is watery. And how to prevent watery apple–as well as how to fix watery apple pie after baking.

Related: 100 American Pies

Why Is My Apple Pie Runny?

Moist apples aren’t the only culprit for watery apple pie. Lack of thickening agents, insufficient baking, and improper venting can cause a runny pie. Cooling your apple pie properly is also key to a thick filling.

Common causes of watery apple pie…

Excess Moisture from Apples: Different apple varieties have varying water content. Granny Smith apples are often recommended for their low moisture content and firm texture .
Lack of Thickening Agents: Not using a thickener can result in a watery filling. Common thickeners include cornstarch, flour, and tapioca.
Insufficient Baking Time: If you apple pie is not baked long enough, the filling may not set properly. It is crucial to ensure the pie is baked until the juices are bubbling and the crust is golden brown.
Improper Venting: A solid top crust can trap steam, preventing moisture from escaping. Venting the crust by cutting slits or using a lattice design allows steam to escape, reducing the likelihood of watery apple pie.
Cooling Time: Cutting into the pie before it is cooled completely can lead to a watery mess. Allowing the pie to cool for several hours helps the filling thicken as it sets .

How to prevent watery apple pie

Use Cornstart or ClearJel: If you’ve used flour, try switching to cornstarch or Instant ClearJel.
Pre-cook the Filling: Simmer the apple filling on the stove before placing it in the crust. This helps reduce excess moisture and allows the thickener to activate .
Use a Colander: Drain the sliced apples in a colander before mixing them with sugar and spices. This step helps eliminate some of the excess liquid.
Ensure Proper Ventilation: Use a lattice crust or cut deep slits in a solid crust to allow steam to escape effectively .
Bake Thoroughly: Make sure to bake the pie until the juices are bubbling, and consider letting it bake for an additional 10 minutes after boiling begins

How to fix watery apple pie after baking

1. Place It Back In The Oven

Easy as pie!

Use an oven thermometer to ensure the right oven temperature (if your dial isn’t accurate).
Cover the pie with aluminum foil, place it back in the oven and bake it at 425 to 450 F for about 12 minutes.
Wait until the pie cools/sets (about 2 hours at room temperature) before cutting into it. Or, it’s almost certain that you’ll end up with a juicy, wet mess when you slice it.

Important: If you didn’t follow a reliable apple pie recipe — use strategy #2 or #3 below instead.

2. Scoop Out The Filling (Crumble Topping)

A more time intensive strategy involves: re-heating the pie filling, re-baking the bottom crust, and making a crumble topping:

Here’s how to fix watery apple pie after baking with a crumble topping, step-by-step:

Remove the pie’s top crust and scoop out the filling.
Put the pie back in the oven (bottom rack) and allow the bottom crust to cook all the way through.
Simultaneously heat the pie filling on the stove (over a low simmer) until the juice reduces. Let cool.
Once the bottom crust cooks –and cools– reinsert the filling.
Replace the top crust with a crumble topping.

3. Scoop Out The Filling (Whipped Cream Topping)

A little whipped cream, and all is forgiven!

Here’s how to fix watery apple pie after baking with whipped cream topping:

Remove the pie’s top crust and scoop out the filling.
Put the pie back in the oven and allow the bottom crust to cook all the way through.
Simultaneously heat the pie filling on the stove (over a low simmer) until the juice reduces.
Once the bottom crust cooks, reinsert the filling.
Wait for the pie to cool.
Then top with whipped cream instead of a crust.

4. Make A Festive Holiday Sundae Or Parfait

The best kind of mess. Watery apple pie filling makes great ice cream toppings. Garnish with whipped cream and nuts.

*A parfait is similar to an ice cream sundae, only it’s layered.

5. Make An Apple Pie Bourbon Shake

Easy. Boozy. Beautiful.

This is the one time you’ll want to make a baking mistake. You’ve got a festive & easy holiday shake or smoothie and your guests are none the wiser.

It’s totally healthy, its got apples AND milk!

Baking tips for the perfect apple pie

1. Use Instant ClearJel Thickener

Professional bakers have been using this pie hack forever to avoid watery apple pie filling. Instant ClearJel is an instant, corn-based thickener for (high-acid) fruit based pie fillings.

It’s called “Instant” because is gels & swells instantly upon contact with liquid (hot or cold).

For smooth results, combine with dry ingredients before adding liquid.

Unlike other corn-based thickeners — (ahem, corn starch) — ClearJel does well at high temperatures and doesn’t lose its thickening abilities. It also tolerates acidic ingredients (like apples).

2. Choose A Reliable Recipe

Apple pie is very finicky & unforgiving. Make sure to use the a good apple pie recipe and follow it exactly, for the perfect pie every time.

Tip: Read the whole recipe once or twice before getting started. You’ll be much more likely to get it right the first time!

3. Measure Ingredients Accurately

Baking is more science than art. Eyeballing ingredients isn’t good practice for baking!

Also, don’t make substitutions that may add moisture and cause runny apple pie. For example, if a recipe calls for an ingredient of a specific brand, don’t use a generic brand.

4. Use tart-firm apples

Tart apples are high in pectin. Pectin is the glue that holds plant cells together. When sweet apples are cooked, pectin breaks down, and they turn mushy.

You can choose other tart apples like: Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Empire, Cortland, and Golden Delicious. Avoid Red Delicious, McIntosh, and other sweet varieties for baking apple pie.

5. Soak your apples in sugar

Soak your sliced, tart apples in sugar. The sugar will draw out excess liquid. Use the amount of sugar your recipe calls for. Soak for 30 minutes then strain through a colander.

6. Par-cook your apples

Par-cooking is short for “partially cooking”.

Heating apples between 140 and 160°F will increase the enzyme activity that converts pectin into a more heat stable form.

Your apples will lose some of their water and retain their shape better.

7. Use apple syrup (instead of water)

Step 1: Bring one cup of apple juice to a boil over medium heat (in small saucepan). Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until mixture has reduced to 1/4 cup.

Step 2: Combine sugar, thickener, and other dry ingredients in a bowl. This will ensure that the thickener is evenly dispersed throughout the filling.

Step 3: In a large bowl, toss dry ingredients with the other ingredients.

8. Put a cold pie into a hot oven

“Make it cold, bake it hot.”

Putting a cold pie into a hot oven will help avoid a soggy bottom.

Everything should be chilled: ingredients, bowls, and materials.
Refrigerate the pie crust dough until your filling is ready. Warm dough causes butter to soften—which will cause a soggy instead of a flaky crust.
You can also chill your pie in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking.

9. Use an oven thermometer

Pre-heat your oven and verify the baking temperature with an oven thermometer (don’t trust your dial). If your oven bakes unevenly you may want to rotate your pie half-way through baking.

Tip: Double crusted pies should be placed on the middle rack.

10. Use a glass pie dish to bake

Don’t use an aluminum pie pan. Bake in glass pie baking dish in order to monitor the doneness.

11. Partially blind-bake your bottom crust

As an alternative to blind-baking, you can also sprinkle cornstarch (or flour) on top of your bottom crust. This will soak up excess liquid. Sprinkle before adding your pie filling.

If you opt for a frozen crust, place a cookie sheet in preheated oven. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on the preheated cookie sheet.

12. Do not overfill your pie plate

Extra fruit can cause a soggy crust due to the extra juice. Stick with the amount of apples that your recipe calls for to avoid watery apple pie filling.

13. Vent your top crust

You’ll need vents to allow evaporation of excess moisture.

A lattice style or crumbly topping pie does not need vents.

14. Cool before slicing or refrigerating

Cutting a hot pie will cause it to collapse.
Do not place a hot pie into the fridge, the temperature difference is too drastic.
Cool for at least 2 hours on wire rack before serving.

If you don’t allow apple pie to rest until it is cooled, it’s almost certain that you’ll end up with a juicy, wet mess when you cut into it.

15. Adjust recipe in high altitude

To avoid a watery apple pie in high altitude baking, make these modifications.

Filling adjustments

Increase the thickener (flour, cornstarch, or tapioca) slightly to compensate for the lower boiling point of water at high altitudes .
You may need to add a bit more liquid to the filling, as evaporation happens more quickly at higher altitudes.

Baking time and temperature

Increase the oven temperature by 15°F to 25°F.
Extend the baking time. Pies, especially those with high liquid content like apple pies, often take longer to bake and set at higher altitudes .

Monitoring during baking

Keep a close eye on the crust edges as they may brown more quickly. Use a foil ring or pie crust shield to prevent over-browning while the filling finishes baking.
Allow for adequate cooling time, as the filling may take longer to set properly at high altitudes.

Cooling time

Allow for adequate cooling time, as the filling may take longer to set properly at high altitudes.

Related: 72 Southern Pie Recipes

Watery Apple Pie FAQs

How do I pre-cook apple pie filling?

To par-cook (or pre-cook) apple pie filling, all you’ve got to do is heat up a pre-determined amount of water (I use 3 quarts per 4 pounds of apples) on the stovetop to a boil and pour it directly over your room temperature apples in a bowl. If everything is measured right, you end up with apples sitting right at around 160°F. Cover the bowl, let it rest 10 minutes, drain the apple slices, and you’re good to go.

How do I partially blind-bake a crust for apple pie?

To partially blind bake, pierce the pie dough in the pie plate with a fork. Chill for an hour. Then line with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at a moderate temperature (350 degrees F) for about 5 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned, removing the pie weights halfway through.