Apple Cranberry Pie

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Topped with a buttery crumble, apple cranberry pie is a sweet-tart delight for the holidays. Chopping the cranberries ensures a perfect blend of flavors in every bite.

While I know pies are wonderful any time of year, I’m sure we can all agree that right now is what we consider to be “pie season.”

I look forward to it every year, and on any given day my pie carrier is loaded with something delicious. The excuse is testing for the big holiday feast, but the real reason is that we just love pie!

This apple cranberry pie is one I like to make every year because it’s so easy, and the tangy fruit filling means enjoying it for breakfast isn’t as much of a stretch as, say, chocolate chess pie.

If you enjoy the tart taste of cranberries, this pie is a must-have for the holiday table — or just the weekend!

Ingredients for apple cranberry pie

Full list of ingredients including quantities is located in the recipe card.

You’ll need:

• Baking apples, such as Granny Smith
• Cranberries – I recommend fresh, but you can also use frozen. Make sure to completely thaw them and drain well.
• Brown sugar
• Granulated sugar
• Butter
• All-purpose flour
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Nutmeg
• Pie crust dough – Homemade pie crust or your favorite premade dough

When it comes to choosing your apples, you want a variety that will keep its shape during baking. Granny Smith apples are a classic pie apple, but you can also use Fuji, Gala, Jonathan, or Braeburn apples (just to name a few!). 

You can also use a combination of apples to get a medley of flavor, but make sure they are firm and crisp varieties.

How to make this recipe

Preheat your oven to 425°F.

Roll out your pie dough to fit a 9-inch pie plate and transfer to the plate. Trim off excess and crimp edges as desired. Set the pie crust into the freezer to keep it cold while you prepare the filling.

Peel, core, and dice the apples. For this pie, I prefer to cut the apples into bite-size chunks rather than slices.

Pour your cranberries into a food process and pulse just a few times to roughly chop. (If you are using thawed frozen cranberries, drain off the excess juice.)

Add 2 tablespoons butter to a large pan and melt over medium heat. Stir in the sugars, then add the apples, cranberries, flour, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Stir well to evenly coat the fruit.

Cook until the sugars have melted completely and the juices are more syrupy than watery. The liquid should not rush immediately back when the bottom of the pan is scraped with a spatula. This will take about 10 minutes.

Let the filling cool slightly while you make the topping.

To make the crumble, combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/4 cup brown sugar in a small bowl. Cut in the butter using a pastry blender, knife, or your fingers, until it is evenly mixed and clumps are forming.

Remove the pie crust from the freezer and set on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any spilled juices). Pour the filling into the crust, then scatter the crumble topping on top of the pie. If you’re using a pie shield, place it around the edge.

Bake the pie at 425°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven to 350°F and cook another 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and bubbly. If the topping is browning too quickly. you can cover it with a piece of foil.

Let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving. Apples and cranberries have a lot of pectin, so this pie will set well, as long as you can wait for it to cool!

Serve chilled, room temperature, or warmed, with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Storage tips

This pie will keep at room temperature, covered, for up to 4 days. It does not need refrigeration, unless you will not be eating it within that time. It will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.

You can also make this pie and freeze it after baking. Let the pie cool completely, then wrap it well in two layers of foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. 

Note that if you do plan to freeze this pie, I recommend using a disposable pie pan so you don’t have your pie plate stuck in the freezer!

More holiday pie recipes

Embracing pie season or just looking for another dish to add to the dessert table?

For other apple pies, try apple pie with cheddar or caramel apple slab pie.

Go for an old-fashioned pie with shoofly pie or buttermilk pie.

Hit the classics with a twist and make maple pecan pie or pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust.

This apple cranberry pie recipe is the perfect addition to the holidays!