Swiss Apple Pie

  • 62 comments
  • October 13, 2020
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This Swiss Apple Pie is generously filled with sweet and tart apples and topped with the easiest crust ever. You can mix the batter for the crust in one bowl, that only takes a few minutes to prepare and then you just pour it on top of the apples, spread it out and it’s ready to go in the oven. The pie crust is somewhat like a “cakey” cookie – tender and sandy.

Swiss Apple Pie - apple pie with the easiest crust

Apple pie always sounds so homey, cozy and nostalgic, doesn’t it?

Of course, everyone knows that homemade apple pie is absolutely the best, but who has time for making an apple pie from scratch? You do, that’s who! That’s because this is probably the EASIEST pie recipe in the world. Even though it’s made completely, 100% from scratch, the most time consuming part is peeling and cutting the apples, which isn’t that big a deal. If you have children, put them to work. The crust takes less than 5 minutes to make. Are you shocked yet?

One of my mom’s co-worker’s shared this recipe with her and it has become a family favorite. I jazzed up the flavor of the filling by adding some lemon zest and vanilla extract for extra aromatic flavor. The crust is the surprising part of this Swiss Apple Pie. In my opinion, the taste and texture is a lot better than the conventional apple pie. It’s light, crisp and just a tad bit cakey where there is a thicker layer.

Video of How To Make a Swiss Apple Pie

What Type Of Apples Can Be Used?

My favorite apples to use in baking are Granny Smith apples. They are the green ones. What’s great about them is that they are tart and very firm. They hold up really great in baking and don’t turn to mush and fall apart as easily as most of the other apples. Sometimes, they can be really tart though, so you may need to add more sugar. If you are using sweeter apples, you might want to add less sugar and more lemon juice.

Ingredients for a Swiss Apple Pie

What Pie Plate/Baking Dish Should Be Used?

I use a deep dish pie plate for this recipe, which means I can have a really generous, thick layer of apples.

If you use a shallow baking dish, you will need to use less apples than I have listed in the recipe. If you overfill the pie plate, as the apples bake, they will produce juice, which will bubble as the pie is baking and may spill out of the baking dish, drip down into your oven and create smoke:). Keep that in mind, leaving a bit of room at the top for the crust and to make sure the delicious apple juices stay in the pie, not create a mess for you to deal with later. 

You can also make this apple pie in a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, in which case double the recipe.

Preparing the Swiss Apple Pie

Swiss Apple Pie tutorial (step by step recipe)
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a pie plate with butter. (You can use the paper wrapper from the butter that you just melted and grease the pie plate with the the buttery side of the paper wrapper. Economical and clever, isn’t it?)
  2. Peel and slice the apples, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract. The amount of apples is completely up to you. It will also depend on the size of the apples and what kind of pie plate you are using. Basically, just fill the pie plate all the way to the top with sliced apples. If you like your pie very sweet, add more cinnamon sugar. (Cinnamon sugar is just a mixture of ground cinnamon and sugar.)Mix it all together and even the apples out in the pie plate.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Add the flour and whisk again until smooth.
  4. Pour the batter over the apples and smooth it out as much as you can. Bake in the preheated 350 degrees oven for 45-50 minutes, until the apples are cooked all the way through and the top crust is golden brown.
Baked Swiss Apple Pie - the easiest apple pie with a pourable crust

Serving the Swiss Apple Pie

For the most delicious results, serve the pie still warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. The pie is still really great the next day and even as a treat in your lunchbox.

A slice Swiss Apple Pie with vanilla ice cream
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Swiss Apple Pie

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★★★★★

5 from 7 reviews

This Swiss Apple Pie is generously filled with sweet and tart apples and topped with the easiest crust ever. You can mix the batter for the crust in one bowl, that only takes a few minutes to prepare and then you just pour it on top of the apples, spread it out and it’s ready to go in the oven. The pie crust is somewhat like a “cakey” cookie – tender and sandy.

  • Author: Olga’s Flavor Factory
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
  • Category: Dessert

Ingredients

Scale
  • 6–8 apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest and juice (each)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup butter (melted and cooled (plus 1/2 Tablespoon butter for greasing the pie plate))
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup all purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 inch pie plate with softened butter. You can use a regular size or a deep dish pie plate. (If you use the deep dish pie plate, you will use more apples and bake the pie longer.)
  2. Peel and slice the apples, sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla extract. Fill up the pie plate almost to the top with apples. Mix it all together and even the apples out in the pie plate.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the melted and cooled butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Add the flour and whisk again until smooth.
  4. Pour the batter over the apples and smooth it out as much as you can.
  5. Bake in the preheated 350 degrees oven for 45-50 minutes, until the apples are baked through completely and the top crust is golden brown. 

Did you make this recipe?

Share a photo and tag us — we can’t wait to see what you’ve made!

This recipe was originally published on November 4, 2015. I added a video and clarified the instructions. The recipe is still the same and has been enjoyed so much over the years.

62 Comments

  • Norma

    I’m a fairly good cook, but pie crust terrifies me — and I AM a pie person! So I can’t wait to make this! Thank you as always.

    And I LOVE the new family group photo! I’ve been hoping for a while that you would replace the outdated view of the precious little man. He just keeps getting more adorable, if that’s possible. (And of course you and Sergi are pretty cute, too . . .)

    • olgak7

      You’ll LOVE this version. It’s the easiest ever and I like it much better too.
      Thank you for your kind words about our family picture. Nathaniel grows and changes so quickly, it’s really hard to keep up with an updated family photo.

  • tatyana

    I made the pie last night and it was delicious!!! Will be making another one tonight to share with my parents. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe.

  • Liliya

    Made this apple pie last night! It’s very good, easy, and quick to put together. Whole family loved it. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. 🙂

  • Nelya

    You chose the perfect day to post this! I was going to make Apple Sharlotka today, kind of a trial – we’re hosting a Bible study for the first time next week and that was one of the things on our menu. But now I want to try this out instead!

  • Julie

    Thanks so much for sharing this amazing and easy recipe! My 11year old daughter made two yesterday ! ( well I did help slicing the apples)
    The pie is delicious and very easy to make! And we all liked the crust much more than the original recipe.
    Thanks again!!

  • AILUY

    Hi, thanks for posting the recipe. For my family, I have to make it non-dairy. What do you think would be the best substitute (oil. coconut oil…)? Also, do you think it will work with whole wheat flour (half AP, half WW)? Thank you

  • Linda

    I am a good baker with 30 years of experience, but still looking for something new.
    So I tried this apple cake/pie, whatever you want to call it. 😀
    1. I sifted flour, very important.
    2. I used only 4 medium Granny Smith’s, yet I hardly covered apples with cake batter. If wait for a butter to cool down and than add flour, egg and sugar – butter becomes very hard to work with. Even I had a hard time working on covering apples. I know if i used 7-8 apples, as recipe calls for, no way I would have enough batter. So make sure to not let butter to cool down.
    3.If using GSmith apples, one Tbs of sugar isn’t enough. Turned out to be very sour. Another thing, you shouldn’t add vanilla to apples, it goes in a cake batte

    Overall taste isn’t bad. Easy to make and nice for an afternoon something with cup of tea. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

    • olgak7

      Thank you for sharing your experience, Linda.
      The size of the apples can be very different. I specified how much I used, but I did mention that the amount of apples needs to be enough to fill a pie plate. Also, everyone has a different preference of sweetness. I actually used less than 1 Tablespoon. I don’t like desserts to be too sweet. I also did specify in the recipe that you need to add as much sugar as you prefer. I love the flavor of vanilla and lemon zest with apples.
      I had more than enough batter to cover the apples.
      I share recipes the way my family and I enjoy them. Of course, everyone has different taste preferences, so you can make as many adjustments as you like so that it will be just what you enjoy:). As a very experienced baker, I’m sure you make some really delicious treats.

    • Eugenia

      Unfortunately would have to agree, I used 6 medium apples and didn’t
      have enough batter to cover them, and the batter was too thick to be spread nicely over the apples. I did follow the recipe exactly.

      • olgak7

        I’m sorry to hear it didn’t work out for you, Eugenia.
        There should be enough batter to spread it out over the apples and it will settle over the apples as it bakes. It shouldn’t be too thick at all. The consistency is easy to see in the video and in the step by step recipes.
        I hope you will find the recipe that will work for you.

  • Olga

    I made this apple pie today! And wow so yummy!! My husband said it tasted like a dessert from a fancy restaurant☺️ I love how simple it is to make!!! Thanks so much for a great recipe!

  • Several a

    Hi Olya, I made this apple pie today, it was delicious! We are having a company on Monday, and this is what I am planing to make. I was wondering if I could ask you for some tips on to make it look as perfect as yours! When I cut the pie into slices, they kind of fell apart, the apples were too soft. I would like the slice to stay together like yours so it doesn’t just taste great but looks good too! I wonder if my apple slices were too thin or I kept it in the oven for too long (47min)? I’ll greatly appreciate your comment!

  • Mila

    Hi Olga. Thank you so much for this easy apple pie. I have been making this everyday ever since you posted my kids love it with ice cream and whip cream:). Can you share what kind of pie plate is that?

  • Oksana

    I’ve gotta say I make this pie almost every week now!🙈😋😋 my favorite! But I was wondering can I bake it in a foil round pan? (The one time use ones) because I wanted to take it elsewhere for xosti 🙂

    • olgak7

      I’m thrilled to hear that you are enjoying this recipe, Oksana.
      Sometimes the store-bought pie pans are not as big and may be overfilled. I would recommend using a little bit less apples just to make sure that the apple filling doesn’t leak out and make a mess. Otherwise, it should work just as well, I think.

  • Rose

    Olga,

    I recently found this awesome recipe with your pie, and love it! It’s so light and delicious! And reading one of the comments left earlier, I disagree. I put about 10 apples into my glass pan, and had enough batter to cover it! I also disagree on not adding vanilla, it does add a good flavor to the pie. Thank you again!

  • Lenusya

    Love this recipe!😋 made this pie already two time, only second time I add some cranberries, turn yummy! Thank you Olga for your awesome web site.

    • olgak7

      That’s great! So happy to hear that you enjoyed the pie. I usually make it only with apples, but during cranberry season, I love adding them to the pie too.

  • Lesley

    Thank you for this recipe! I loved how darn easy it was to throw together, and my family loved the taste. We’ve never had this type of pie before, and now I’m thrilled to have such an easy and well-received recipe to use in the future.

  • Inna

    Hi Olga,
    I just made this recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious! And it was so easy to make. In contrary to others, I had plenty of batter to spread over the apples and loved the addition of lemon and vanilla to the apples. Thank you for this and many other wonderful recipes! God bless

  • Lily

    I am wondering if I’m doing something wrong, since 3/4 cup of butter is a stick and a half…a LOT of butter. The butter bubbled over the top and just the burning butter in general set off the smoke alarm. Help? 🙂

    • olgak7

      Hi Lily,
      The 3/4 cup of butter was supposed to be mixed into a batter, along with sugar, salt, egg and flour.
      It’s possible that you used a large amount of apples, which produce liquid as they cook down, which may have bubbled over the top. If you used a shallow pie plate, not a deep dish pie plate, it may have been too full of apples.
      If you mixed the melted butter into the batter, it shouldn’t have bubbled over.
      I hope it works out for you next time.

  • Lana

    This is a family favorite now!! ❤️ We absolutely love it. I love how light and delicious it tastes and so easy to make. Thanks for an amazing recipe.

    ★★★★★

    • olgak7

      I haven’t tested this recipe with less butter or butter substitutions, so I can’t say if it will work out. I’m pretty sure the result will be different, since it’s a significant ingredient in this recipe.

  • Natalya

    This is definitely my kind of baking…slice, mix and put together.. what an awesome recipe… so easy to make and very delicious

    ★★★★★

  • Brittany

    My mom has made this recipe since I was a kid, but she never knew what it was called so she called apple crisp—my husband and I had several arguments about what apple crisp actually is until mom admitted that apple crisp was something completely different than this! Shattered my world 😂. But thank you for telling me the true name to my family’s favored apple dessert!

    ★★★★★

  • Anita

    This is such a great pie!!! Super delicious, quick and easy to make!!! Tried the recipe for the first time today and fell in love!!! This is truly my favourite pie now. Thank you so much, Olga!!! 🙏❤️🙏

    ★★★★★

  • Tanya

    Made this last night for family that came over . It was quick and easy to put together and turned out delicious! Everyone loved it! Thank you! (I used red apples )

    ★★★★★

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