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It’s no secret that I really adore canning my own pie filling.  They’re versatile, delicious, and preserve many varieties of fruit beautifully.  Today, I’m going to walk you through how I can homemade apple pie filling using a recipe that was inspired from Practical Self Reliance that I changed up a little to suit my canning practices more.  Less dishes, different flavor, all the things.  Who doesn’t love apple pie?!  And who also doesn’t love not having to peel apples when they want one.  Make a big batch and peel all those apples at once, destroy your kitchen once, and have jars on the shelf waiting for you to enjoy your hard work while apples were in season without worrying about storing them over the winter.

What Apples Do I Use?

Cheap ones!  Any hard crisp types of apples will work great.  I honestly will get seconds from the orchard and use those because they’re cheaper and nobody cares around here if a lil wormy had a snack.  We can share.  They don’t eat much.  

The best apples for canning are:

• Cortland
• Honeycrisp
• Evercrisp
• Jonagold
• Fuji apples

But, if I’m being honest, I just go straight to asking about seconds and I don’t give a second thought to the variety unless it’s a golden delicious or early Ohio apple variety, like translucents.  Those aren’t good for much but apple sauce or apple butter or apple cider.  It’s also fun to mix different varieties of apples because they all have a different texture, flavor, and sweetness profile which makes for a more interesting pie!

Canning Pie Filling

When canning a pie filling thickened with clear jel, the main piece of advice I have for you is to REMEMBER to leave extra headspace.  I fill mine to where the shoulder of the jar starts, or if using wide mouth pints, to the freezer line.  This measures to about 1 1/2 inch headspace-ish, but knowing me, I can’t  be bothered to measure and it’s all eye balling here.  Blame my Mom, she’s the one that taught me how to can :D

Second is deciding whether to use pint or quart jars.  It depends what you want to use it for.  I can most of my pie fillings in quart jars because…. I use them for pie.  For a normal sized glass pyrex pie pan (don’t ask me the measurements… it’s a normal pan), I fill it with 2 quarts of pie filling.  I’m good at baking pies, people enjoy my pies, and being creative with the crust design is a therapeutic outlet for me, especially in the winter.  I also use quarts for crisps and cobblers.  I do can some pints for topping cheesecakes or pancakes/waffles or churning into ice cream so it is nice to do a selection.  And it’s easy to do because you process all jar sizes for the same processing time.

What the Heck is Clear Jel?

This is probably the most frequent question I get.  What even is clear jel.  Clear jel is the ApPrOvEd thickener for canning and is a chemically modified corn starch.  It stays clear and doesn’t cloud up like cornstarch does, holds up to the canning process, and works well.  So whoever made it must have had a hand in the pocket of whoever runs and funds the USDA and the NCHFP to get them to exclusively recommend that and “ban” the rest.  

I have used clear jel, thermflo, and cornstarch for canning and all have been fine.  The only oops I had happen is I used instant one time and it thickened beautifully and then was complete juice after canning.  So do make sure when purchasing your thickener for canning you do get a COOK TYPE instead of instant.  Otherwise, you’ll learn real quick like I did to pay attention.  

Rebel Canning

This recipe can be considered rebel canning if you choose to use anything other than clear jel, know that you will be rebel canning.  If you are okay with that and comfortable and firm in your decision and knowledge, do you.  This means this exact recipe has not been evaluated nor approved by the USDA or NCHFP.  Does the mean this recipe is unsafe?  Sure doesn’t, as its one I and many others use and consume.  What it does mean is as with any home canning, you should can at your own risk and use common sense.  Make your own decisions because what I do and say I’m doing in my own home should not affect what you do in yours.  If you are not comfortable with rebel canning, please don’t follow this recipe.   In the end, you will have canned something you are afraid of and you will not eat it or use it and you will have essentially wasted your time and money.  

Let’s get started with this apple pie filling recipe!

Equipment You Might Want

• Johnny apple peeler
• Large bowl
• Large stock pot
• Pint or Quart canning jars
• Canning Lids & Screw Bands
• Jar Funnel
• Jar Lifter
• Steam Canner
• Water Bath Canning Pot

Ingredients

• 12 cups apples
• 2 1/2 cups apple juice
• 3/4 cup clear Jel (cook type)
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 3/4 cups vanilla sugar (vanilla bean infused raw unrefined sugar)
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Step 1:  Prep

Use firm, crisp apples for canning pie filling.  Select ripe and undamaged apples.  Wash apples with cool running water.

If you prefer (which I do) peel apples using method of your choice.  After hand peeling for my entire childhood, once I was an adult I realized there was such a thing as an apple peeler which is a wonderful apparatus that really mows through a ton of apples with little effort.  I use a johnny apple peeler and it both peels, cores, and slices your apples into perfect spirals for canning that I then cut in half and it’s nice, small slices.  If you prefer larger apple slices, you can remove the coring tool and just peel the apples with it and then slice apples and remove cores by hand.

As you work, toss apple slices in a bowl with lemon juice to prevent browning or fill the bowl with water and a citric acid solution.  Your choice.  Or let them brown, I don’t care.  They’re gonna be in a pie anyway!  Measure or eyeball out about 12 cups of sliced apples.

Step 2:  Cook

In a large pot, bring water and apple juice to a boil.  Dump all the apples in, cover, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  

The reason for heating the apples is to remove the oxygen from the slices.  This does two things.  It prevents massive shrinkage of the apples during the canning process and prevents the release of tiny air bubbles into your thickened pie filling.  It makes the pie filling look prettier but also helps improve shelf stability since you’re releasing the oxygen beforehand and not chancing the oxygen behind in your jars after canning to cause food spoilage.

While apples are simmering, whisk clear jel and water together in a small mixing bowl.

Once apples are done simmering, add in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and clear jel & water mixture.  Stir to mix very well and then bring the mixture back to a gently boil.  You’re going to want to stir this almost constantly because it thickens pretty fast and will stick and burn to the pot if left alone too long.

Add in lemon juice once the mixture boils and stir.

Continue cooking until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat.

Step 3:  Canning

Ladle hot pie filling into clean pint or quart jars leaving generous headspace, about 1 1/2 inches or so.  

Wipe jar rims and add a lid and secure with a screw band.

Place jars in water bath canner or steam canner on a rack.

Using the water bath method or steam canning, process pint and quart jars for 25 minutes adjusting time for elevation if needed.  Once processing time is complete, turn the heat off and allow the jars to sit for 5-10 minutes.  Then remove the lid and allow the jars to sit for another 10 minutes before completely removing from the canner to cool undisturbed on a heat proof surface lined with a clean towel.  This allows for slower cooling to prevent siphoning.

Step 4:  Storage

After cooling, remove bands, test seals, wash jars, label, and store in a cool dark place away from direct sunlight.  Room temperature is fine as long as jars are not exposed to extreme temperatures.

Any jars that did not seal can be reprocessed, frozen, or placed in the fridge to be used soon.

Shelf life is ’til you eat it.  If the seal is good, they’re good.  Aim to rotate canned goods out every 2 years for maximum nutritional benefit and flavor, but they’ll last way longer than that if needed.

Step 5:  Preparing

​Roll out a homemade pie crust and line the bottom of a pie pan.  Add in 2 quarts of pie filling, top with a top crust and cut a few vent holes or be creative and make a lattice or some braids.  Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes, or til crust is golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling.  Cool and serve with homemade goat milk ice cream!

Notes:

You can use fresh squeezed lemon juice as well if that is your preference, I just never have fresh lemons and bottled works perfectly fine.  When canning, they recommend bottled so acidity is guaranteed.

You can use plain ole white sugar for this recipe, coconut sugar, or whatever sugar you want.  You can also reduce how much you add to even no sugar.  I use vanilla infused sugar because it gives this pie filling a depth of flavor you wouldn’t expect and it smells AHHHMAZING baking.

Happy Canning!

Easy Canning Recipe for Homemade Apple Pie Filling

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Canning Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 7 pints

Author: Ruby – Red Feather Farm

Equipment

• Johnny Apple Peeler
• Large bowl
• Large Stock Pot
• Pint or Quart Canning Jars
• Canning lids & screw bands
• jar funnel
• jar lifter
• steam canner
• Water bath canning pot

Ingredients

• 12 cups apples
• 2 1/2 cups apple juice
• 3/4 cup cook type clear jel
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 3/4 cups vanilla sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 cup bottled lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

• Peel, core, and slice apples splashing with lemon juice in a large bowl as you go to prevent browning.
• Add apple juice to a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Dump all apples in and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
• While apples are simmering, whisk clear jel and water together.
• When apples have simmered 5 minutes, add in sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, and clear jel/water mixture.
• Stir to mix well and bring to a boil. Add lemon juice. Continue to boil until slightly thickened.
• Ladle pie filling into prepared canning jars, leaving 1 1/2" headspace, filling to the shoulder of the jar, to leave space for expansion when canning with clear jel.
• Wipe rims well with a damp cloth, add lids and bands, and process in a boiling water bath or steam canner for 25 minutes, adjusting processing time for elevation if needed.
• Once the time is up, turn the heat off and allow the jars to sit for 5-10 minutes. Then remove the lid and allow the jars to sit for another 10 minutes before completely removing from the canner. This allows for slower cooling to prevent siphoning.
• Allow jars to sit undisturbed for 24 hours before removing bands and testing seals and storing. Any jars that did not seal may be repocessed, frozen, or placed in the fridge to use soon.

Notes

You can use fresh squeezed lemon juice as well if that is your preference, I just never have fresh lemons and bottled works perfectly fine.  When canning, they recommend bottled so acidity is guaranteed.

You can use plain ole white sugar for this recipe, coconut sugar, or whatever sugar you want.  You can also reduce how much you add to even no sugar.  I use vanilla infused sugar because it gives this pie filling a depth of flavor you wouldn’t expect and it smells AHHHMAZING baking.

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