Best apples to cook apple pie with

11 Best Apples for Apple Pie

So many apples, so little time! Here are the best ones for baking.

Apple pie is so dreamy. The flaky crust, the sweet apples, the big scoop of melty ice cream on top. it’s pure bliss. Ree Drummond loves apple pie so much, she even created a cocktail version of it and put it on the menu at her pizzeria, P-Town Pizza! We all know what kind of apples we like to eat, but how do you know what kind of apples to use for baking? If you put a Granny Smith pie next to a McIntosh one, would you taste the difference? Before you start baking, let’s get down to business: Read on to find out our picks for the best apples for apple pie.

There are so many apple varieties out there—some are great for apple pie and others, not so much. When picking apples for apple pie, one of the most important things is that the apples stand up to baking. You don’t want an apple that turns to mush in the oven! Flavor is also key: You want something that’s not too tart and has just the right amount of sweetness—you can mix and match varieties to get the perfect balance. Check out the best apples for apple pie, then give some of Ree’s recipes a try, like Caramel Apple Pie and Dreamy Apple Pie.

Honey Crisp

Honey Crisp apples are nice and sweet, and they’re a fan favorite in apple pie. They’re also relatively firm and hold their shape well when baked, making it the perfect combination of flavor and texture. With Honey Crisp apples, you’ll get nice clean slices of pie without too much juice. Looking for another use for Honey Crisp apples? Ree loves using them for her Apple Peanut Butter Delights.

Granny Smith

These green-skinned apples are Ree’s favorite pick for apple pie. Their signature tart flavor is delicious on its own, but if you prefer a pie that’s a little sweeter, Granny Smith apples are great when paired with some of the sweeter apples on this list. They’re even delicious when combined with sweet pears, which is why Ree uses them in her recipe for Apple-Pear Pie. Bonus: Granny Smiths are easy to find year-round, so you can get your pie fix whenever the mood strikes!

Gala apples have a nice mellow sweetness to them and they don’t get too soft in the oven. They’re a great multi-purpose apple and a delicious pick for apple pie. Best of all, this variety of apple is usually available year-round. Look for the red and yellow striped apples at most grocery stores and farmer’s markets.

Pink Lady

We love Pink Lady apples: They have a nice, rosy color (hence the name!) and they’re super crisp, so they’re ideal for getting that picture-perfect slice of pie. Pink Lady apples have a sweet-tart flavor that’s refreshing when eaten raw as a snacking apple, but that also works well in baked goods.

Golden Delicious

Golden Delicious apples stand out on the shelf thanks to their sunny yellow color, and you can usually find them throughout the year. These apples are pretty mild in their flavor, so they work well in pies that have some extra sweetness and spice. Unlike Granny Smith apples, Golden Delicious apples tend to break down more when cooked, so they’re a good choice to combine with other firmer apples on this list.

Northern Spy

These large, round apples aren’t always readily available throughout the year, but when they are, they’re one of the very best for pie! They have a mostly sweet, very lightly tart flavor and they’re nice and firm. Look for them in the later months of fall and you’ll be baking apple pie for all the cold-weather holidays.

Jonagold

Jonagold apples are a cousin of Golden Delicious and they have some of the same pretty golden hues in their skin. They’re a nice mix of sweet and tart, so they work well on their own in a pie. The firm-fleshed apple is a great choice for baking in all forms. They’re mostly found at farmer’s markets during apple season.

Braeburn

Braeburn apples are perfectly balanced: not too sweet and not too tart! They have a unique flavor that’s almost citrusy and spiced, but turns deliciously sweet when cooked. They’re great for baking because they release very little liquid when baked, so your pie won’t be too runny.

McIntosh

This classic fall apple has a soft white flesh and sweet flavor that’s hard to beat. They’re actually better for snacking on and making applesauce than pie—it can get mushy pretty quickly. If you love the flavor of McIntosh apples and have a lot of them, try mixing them with a firmer variety, like a Pink Lady or a Honey Crisp for pie.

Cortland

These apples don’t brown as quickly as other varieties—you can slice them and set them aside while you roll out your dough. Cortland apples have a very sweet, slightly tart flavor that’s similar to McIntosh and works well when baked in an apple pie. Look for the large, often flat-shaped, apples throughout the fall season.

Red Delicious

These iconic red apples aren’t the most exciting apples for eating, but they work just fine for pie. The flesh is crisp and juicy, with a very mild sweet flavor. They break down more quickly than other apples, so we recommend mixing them with one of the firmer apples on the list.

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The Best Apples for Baking and Cooking

Learn which apples are best for cooking and baking, and get delicious apple recipes, from apple crisps to apple waffles!

Choosing the Right Apples for Apple Pies and Other Recipes

Not all apples are ideal for cooking! In this article, we share some of best apples for baking and cooking—including the best apples for apple pies, best apples for making applesauce, best apples for apple cider, and best apples for apple butter. Hooray for apple season!

Choosing the Right Apple Variety

Ever eaten a mushy apple pie? Often, this is the result of the baker using a soft apple variety that doesn’t hold up in the oven. When you use the right kinds of apples in your recipes, your dishes can go from good to delicious!

Amy Traverso, apple expert and author of the award-winning The Apple Lover’s Cookbook, shares a couple important tips for apple pies:

1. For apple pies and crisps, use “firm” apples which hold their shape during cooking.
2. Ideally, bake a pie with more than one apple—an equal amount of 1. “firm-tart” and 2. “firm-sweet” apples for depth of flavor. (See chart below.)

The Best Apples for Baking

Below is a list of the best apples for baking and cooking. Note that some familiar apple varieties may be missing because they are best eaten fresh. If you have apple varieties in your region that aren’t listed here, please comment below and let us know what you prefer to use!

Best Apples for Pies and Crisps
Here’s a list of best apple varieties for pie and baked dessert, which has some good geographical diversity in it:

Name	Best Uses	Flavor Characteristics, Appearance
Firm-Tart
Arkansas Black	Pie	A favorite of many Southern cooks, with deep red skin that turns purple-black in storage. Aromatic, crisp, with a cherry-spice finish.
Calville Blanc d’Hiver	Pie, Tarts	A French apple that dates back to the 16th century, it is the classic variety used in tarte tatin.
Granny Smith	Pie	Classic “green apple” is slightly sour and a favorite apple for pie. Available in supermarkets everywhere.
Newton Pippin	Pie	Sweet-tart flesh, crisp, greenish-yellow skin
Northern Spy	Pie	Our favorite apple variety for pie-making
Rhode Island Greening	Pie	Very tart, distinctively flavored, grass-green skin, tending toward yellow/orange
Roxbury Russet	Pie	America’s oldest apple, it’s heavily russeted and tastes like honeyed lemonade. Flesh is dense and rather coarse. A great keeper.
Sierra Beauty Stayman Winesaps	Pie	Popular on the West Coast, Sierra Beauty is complex and tart-sweet with floral and spice flavors.
Firm-Sweet
Baldwin	Pie	A New England favorite, this fruit is prized for both cooking and cider. Very aromatic, with spice and apricot flavors.
Ginger Gold	Pie, Muffins, Cakes	Sweet and crisp. Great for pie and light baking.
Golden Delicious	Pie	Fairly mild variety but easily found. Tastes best when paired with bolder apples.
Gravenstein	Pie	A California favorite, the Gravenstein ripens early. Sweet-tart with a hint of raspberry. Very juice and tender, but bakes well.
Honeycrisp	Pie	Crisp, with balanced sweetness and acidity. Doesn’t brown quickly when sliced.
Jazz	Pie, Raw snacks	Exceptional taste and found in supermarkets year-round.
Jonagold	Pie	Yellow top, red bottom. Tangy-tart-sweet combo. Cross between the Jonathan and Golden Delicious and could fill a pie on its own.
Pink Lady	Pie, Baking, Snacking	Balance of sweet and sour undertones and widely available in supermarkets any time of the year.
York	Pie	A great all-purpose apple popular in the mid-Atlantic region. Honey and vanilla flavors dominate and the flesh is juicy and fine-grained.

Best Apples for Applesauce
Below is a list of apples which are best for sauces and fresh preparation. Softer apples tend to work best for sauces as well as baking dishes that cook quickly, like muffins. Use firmer apples (such as above) for dishes that cook 45 minutes or more.

Name	Best Uses	Flavor Characteristics, Appearance
Cortland	Applesauce	Tender-sweet, these large purple-red apples with yellow streaks red-blushed apples are moderately juicy and fairly sweet compared to McIntosh.
Macoun	Applesauce	Striated green and red color, these tender apples have snow white flesh and a sweet tart flavor with a hint of strawberry and spice.
Empire	Applesauce, Fruit Salad	Doesn’t brown quicky when sliced
Cox’s Orange Pippin	Applesauce	Lightly red-striped with an orange huge, this medium-sized apple has a spicy or nutty fragrance.
Davey	Applesauce	Red with some light yellow striping and small dots, this Mac-type apple is sweet-tart, very juicy, and crunchy.
Jonathan	Applesauce	Tart flesh, crisp, juicy, bright red on yellow skin
McIntosh	Applesauce	Juicy, sweet, pinkish-white flesh with two-toned red and green skin. Slightly tart, and the most aromatic of all apples.
Liberty	Applesauce	A popular apple for organic growers, it’s naturally resistant to disease and pests. Tender and sweet, great for sauces, with a wine-like flavor.

Best Apples for Cider

Name	Best Uses	Flavor Characteristics, Appearance
Baldwin	Cider	Crimson red with coppery green skin, Baldwin’s cream-white flesh is crisp and juicy with a spicy, sweet-tart flavor that’s great for cider.
Gravenstein	Cider	Heirloom apple with a thin skin and a juicy, sweet flavor
Esopus Spizenburg	Cider
McIntosh	Cider	Juicy, sweet, pinkish-white flesh with two-toned red and green skin. Slightly tart, and the most aromatic of all apples.
Cox’s Orange Pippin	Cider	Lightly red-striped with an orange huge, this medium-sized apple has a spicy or nutty fragrance that’s great for cider.
Snow Apple	Cider
Goldrush	Cider
Stayman Winesap	Cider	Very juicy, sweet-sour flavor, winey, aromatic, sturdy, red skin

Best Apples for Apple Butter
Soft apples work best for apple butter because they cook down faster. Use any mix of apples.

Name	Best Uses	Flavor Characteristics, Appearance
Braeburn	Apple Butter
Cortland	Apple Butter
Fuji	Apple Butter
McIntosh	Apple Butter	Juicy, sweet, pinkish-white flesh, red skin
Liberty	Apple Butter

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook

Are you an apple lover! Do you know an apple lover? We highly recommend The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Amy Traverso, who quite literally wrote the book on cooking with apples. Winner of the IACP Cookbook Award (Best American Cookbook) and Finalist for the Julia Child First Book Award, Splendid Table called The Apple Lover’s Cookbook “The perfect apple primer.” We call it a perfect and amazing gift to any apple lover!

Why an apple book? Click the cover below to look inside—and find out! Plus, find a brief history of the apple (Adam and Eve?), how to match an apple to a recipe, and 100 amazing apple recipes! Look inside the book to see ALL the apple recipes!

Apple Cooking Measurements

When it comes to cooking with apples, it may be helpful to know the following:

• 1 pound of apples = 2 large, 3 medium, or 4 to 5 small apples
• 1 pound of apples = 3 cups peeled and sliced apples

Have you ever made apple cider before? Learn all about apple cider pressing.

Favorite Apple Recipes

Perfect Apple Pie

If you want straight-up good ol’, classic apple pie, then this is the one that mom used to make!

Caramel Apple Pie

Of all our apple pies, this Caramel Apple Crumb Pie is the winner! The cinnamon-spiced oat topping is wonderful. And the caramel sauce adds that special taste of fall!

Cinnamon Applesauce

Our homemade Cinnamon Applesauce can be eaten straight from the jar or paired with grilled pork chops or potato pancakes.

How to Can Applesauce

Making homemade applesauce is a favorite fall tradition of ours. Here’s how to make applesauce–and how to can it for year-round deliciousness.

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