The saying goes “As American as Apple Pie”. In this case it should be “As Delicious as Apple Pie”.
This Easy Apple Pie Bar Recipe is a delicious way to enjoy apple pie flavors without all the extra work of a traditional apple pie. Sweet homemade vanilla cake batter is topped with store bought apple pie filling, sprinkled with cinnamon, and then topped with the remaining batter. Before it is served it gets drizzled with a delicious Powder Sugar Glaze.
You could also skip the vanilla glaze and opt to serve with ice cream or a drizzle of Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce or Butter Rum Sauce.
RELATED: Cherry Pie Bars & Lemon Pie Bars
Easy Apple Pie Bars
These make a great sub for traditional apple pie. If you are not a pro-baker this is a great option.
It is easy to make and if you serve it warm with a little vanilla ice cream it is just as good, if not better, than apple pie!
If you have a crowd that does not like pie, this will be your GO-TO recipe. Everyone will still get those fall apple flavors that are perfect for the season.
This is also a great recipe to save for summer barbecues or pot luck dinners.
How to Make Apple Pie Bars
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grab a 9×13 baking pan. Prepare the pan with a baking spray or oil.
In a mixing bowl, with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer), cream the butter and sugar together for about 2 minutes. (I have used melted butter in a pinch and it works as well as softened butter.)
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat them in. Also mix in the vanilla extract.
Add the flour and baking powder into the butter/sugar mixture. Blend until all the flour is incorporated.
Spread ⅔ of the batter in your prepared 9×13 pan. The batter will be super sticky! Using an off-set spatula sprayed with non-stick spray can make quick work of this job.
Top that with the canned apple pie filling. Sprinkle a little cinnamon over the apples.
Dot the apple pie filling with the remaining batter.
Place in the oven for 30-35 minutes (dark metal pan), until it is golden on top and around the edges. If you are using a glass baking dish you will need to bake for 45-50 minutes.
For the topping, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk and then drizzle the glaze over top of the bars before serving.
You can also choose to sub in Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce or Butter Rum Sauce for the Vanilla Glaze.
These are great served warm with a little scoop of vanilla ice cream! It will be hard to just eat one!
Variations on Easy Apple Pie Bars
This is an old fashioned recipe that is sometimes made with cherry pie filling. Here are some ways to change up the recipe to suit your taste buds:
- Use any pie filling to match the season- apple for the holidays, peach in the spring, or blueberry in the summer. Or make these Cherry Pie Bars. In the Spring you can also try these Lemon Pie Bars.
- If you are using apple pie filling add spices to create your favorite flavor- more cinnamon, pinch of clove, or all spice.
- Top the pie filling with chopped and toasted pecans
- Add some orange or lemon zest to the Powder Sugar Glaze, to match the flavor of pie filling you use.
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Easy Apple Pie Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 9×13 pan
- off-set spatula optional- but makes quick work of spreading the sticky batter
Ingredients
Apple Pie Bars
- 1 cup butter, softened - (I have used melted butter in a pinch)
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 21 oz can apple pie filling - (use 2 if you like more apple filling)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon - (add a pinch of clove and all spice for even more seasoning)
- non-stick spray
Glaze
- ½ cup powder sugar
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Apple Pie Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9×13 baking pan by greasing the bottom with oil or non-stick spray.non-stick spray
- In a large mixing bowl, with a hand mixer (or in a stand mixer with paddle attachment), cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together for 2 minutes.1 cup butter, softened, 1 ½ cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them in one at a time.4 eggs
- Slowly add the flour and baking powder into the butter/sugar mixture. Mix until the flour is completely incorporated.Pro Tip: Measure the flour and baking powder onto a piece of parchment paper and then use it like a funnel to get all the dry ingredients into the bowl, easily!3 cups flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- Spread ⅔ of the batter into the bottom of the prepared 9×13 baking dish, make sure it is spread evenly in the pan. Pro Tip: an offset spatula sprayed with non-stick spray can make easy work of spreading the sticky batter!
- Pour the apple pie filling over the batter, sprinkle with cinnamon (and optionally other apple pie spices like clove or all spice).21 oz can apple pie filling, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- Dot the top of the apples with the remaining batter.
- In a dark metal pan bake for 30-35 minutes until the top and the edges are golden and the cake is cooked thru. If you are using a glass baking dish you will need to bake for 45-50 minutes.
Glaze
- While the cake is baking make the powder sugar glaze by mixing together the powder sugar and milk, add a dash of cinnamon for extra seasoning!The glaze should be a drizzle consistency. Add a splash more of milk if needed.½ cup powder sugar, 1 tablespoon milk
Serving
- Let the Apple Pie Bars cool for about 20 minutes before cutting. This allows the apple pie filling to cool and set.
- Cut into 12 or 16 squares. Drizzle with the glaze. Could also sub in Brown Sugar Caramel Sauce or Rum Butter Sauce for the powder sugar glaze.
- Optionally serve with a little vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream .
Storing
- Store at room temperature, in an air tight container, for up to 4 days.
Recipe Tips and Notes:
Originally published November 2018 – Republished October 2020
Elaine Ruch says
Excellent recipe! I made it for a church lunch and received many compliments.
Mary Kirk says
Was going to bake an apple pie for Thanksgiving, but didn’t have enough pie filling, do I found this recipe and made it instead. HUGE hit with the family and I shared it with my Art Class friends and the ALL wanted the recipe!
It saved Thanksgiving dessert and I impressed my friends ❤️
Susie Weinrich says
This makes me so happy!!! Thank you so much for sharing. – Happy Holidays
Laurel says
Bland. Should have definitely added spices, more sugar, some salt. I made half the recipe and used 1 can filling, still not enough filling to “cake” ratio in my opinion.
Jrdixo says
There was too much ‘cake’ to the amount of pie filling. It might be good to use 2 cans of pie filling.
Susie Weinrich says
Yes, if you like more cake only use one… if you want more filling use two.
Susie Weinrich says
I thought I had that written in the recipe card (I’ve added it now)… I guess I had it in the Cherry Pie Bar recipe, but not the apple one. Thank you for calling this out!!
Peggy Gustafson says
Could I use a Jelly roll pan?
Susie Weinrich says
I think that might be a little too thin.
Traci says
Well..took a lot longer to cook. The top was done the middle was soft goo. I realized after cool. I read how to save. Cover with aluminum foil 300 took another 30 min. Been wanting to try. Hopefully it’s good cooling now. Yes I use glass. Think something needs adjusted. Looking forward to successful taste.
Bri says
Made these tonight and they’re so good! I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp nutmeg to the batter and I put a cinnamon sugar mixture on top before baking and skipped out on the glaze. I also used olive oil margarine sticks instead of butter and neither taste nor moisture was sacrificed! I’ve also made it with cherry filling and almond extract in the batter and that is very delicious! I think next I’m going to try blueberry filling with lemon zest and juice in the batter. I’m thinking about a pecan pie version… the possibilities are just endless! Thank you for this awesome recipe that can be tweaked to be so many different flavors all year ’round!
judith says
such a great recipe! Tastes more like a coffee cake. My husband said the cake is so tasty it didn’t need the apples! Im going to treat my 94 yr old mothers friends to this recipe–it reminds me of an old fashioned recipe. No ice cream needed!
Mary says
Thank you! Great recipe, been looking for something like this that I used to make at a bed and breakfast. It used cherry filling and almond extract. I’m going to try those substitutions next!
Susie Weinrich says
I actually have that recipe too! https://momsdinner.net/cherry-pie-bars/
Sarah says
Could this be made ahead and frozen?
Susie Weinrich says
You should be able to do that since you can freeze cake and apple pie filling. Although I have not tested the outcome. If you do freeze just make sure you wrap it really well with plastic wrap and possibly foil too.
Carolyn says
This worked great with the last of my frozen apple pie filling from last year. I won’t do the frozen apple pie filling again because it didn’t make a good pie. But this recipe turned so so filling into a lovely cake.
It is good with vanilla ice cream, I skipped the icing.
Endee says
Great recipe worked on first go, looks exactly like the recipe – added some extra cinnamon to the batter as well because I love warm spices in apple pie.
SJ says
This was a hit at a dessert pot luck! Best part was that I used local apples I had canned into apple pie filling that I needed to use up so the dish was even more of a hit. It was a win at every level. I probably should have let it cook a little longer than the noted 35 minutes for glass pans. The very center was a touch too under done. Many thanks and I will be making this again!
Letty says
Tried this recipe as is just yesterday and it was a hit! Not too sweet or dry at all. Only minor thing is the batter can be a little hard to mix with a hand mixer so next time I’ll use my stand mixer. Thanks for posting!
MARIE MCLAREN says
Could I use fresh apples?
Susie Weinrich says
Only if you have a recipe for “apple pie filling” with fresh apples. I wouldn’t put them in raw, like you would in a pie.
Johnnie says
Want to make this tonight, could I use a muffin pan to make these? If so, what changes would I need to make?
Susie Weinrich says
I have never made them in a muffin tin, but that is a great idea! I think the recipe would be very similar – spread some batter on the bottom of each cup, then apple filling, then top with more batter. You just might need to adjust the cooking time (less time).
Let me know if you try that!!
Deanna says
This sounds delicious! Plan on making it tomorrow but have a question. Step 4 mentions the ‘remaining butter’. Should I not include all of the butter in step 2?
Thanks!
Susie Weinrich says
Definitely use all the butter in step 2. In step 4 it is talking about the batter.