this post may contain affiliate links
This cinnamon roll apple pie is both easy and delicious. The recipe utilizes some of my favorite convenience foods: store-bought pie crust and canned cinnamon rolls. The crust gets par-baked which means partially cooked and then filled with a sweet and sticky apple filling and topped with the cinnamon rolls. The cinnamon rolls are bathed in cinnamon and sugar, and it all gets baked until golden-brown then topped with icing.
The Crust
You can certainly make a homemade crust for this recipe. If you need a recipe, check out my skillet apple pie here. But if you’re low on time and bandwidth (like me), a store-bought crust will work great! I have tried Pillsbury, Jus-Rol and Kroger brand. Out of those three, Jus-Rol is my favorite but use whatever you like. No matter which brand you use you’ll have to allow the crust to lose its chill from the refrigerator for about thirty minutes. If you unroll it too soon, it’ll crack on you. Nothing is worse than losing the convenience of the convenient food. You also don’t want to speed up the process by microwaving the crust. Just get it out of the fridge first and move on to peeling and slicing the apples.
The crust has to be par baked. This means it has to partially cook before filling. Giving the crust a head start ensures it will be completely cooked after baking the whole pie. You can’t just throw the crust in the oven though. Because there’s butter in the crust, when it warms up in the oven it releases steam which can cause bubbles and shrinkage. To prevent this from happening the crust needs to be weighted down. You can use dry beans, rice or my favorite, pie weights. Be sure to grab two sets if using pie weights! First, line the crust with a crinkled piece of parchment paper, then fill with the weights. The crust cooks like this for 15 minutes until the edges set. Then the weights and parchment paper get removed. The bottom is raw since it was covered so it needs to play catchup. Put back in for 7 more minutes after pricking the bottom with a fork to again prevent bubbles.
The Filling
For all my apple recipes including my easy apple tart and my award-winning apple crisp I use a blend of sweet and tart apples. And this cinnamon roll apple pie is no exception. I prefer Granny Smith and Fuji apples. The recipe calls for 3 of each but that’s if you’re using the large individual apples. If you have smaller bagged apples, you’ll need 5 of each. The apples are peeled and sliced thin and cooked on the stovetop with butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, vanilla and flour. This also gives the apples a head start in the cooking process and brings the caramel sauce together evenly.
The Cinnamon Roll Topping
Just as with the pie crust, you can make homemade cinnamon rolls for the topping. I have a viral cinnamon roll recipe here. But why make life harder? Grab a can of the large 5-pack cinnamon rolls. I prefer Pillsbury Grands! for this recipe. The rolls have perforated edges to create 5 rolls. Ignore that. You can make your own slices. Depending on the size of your pie plate, you’ll need either 8 or 10 slices. If you have a wide pie plate like the one I’m using in the photo of this recipe then you’ll cut into 10 slices. If you have a standard deep pie plate, then cut into 8 slices. If you cut into 10 slices, you’ll have a leftover roll and you’ll cut it into triangles to fill the gaps just as I did. The cinnamon rolls get covered in cinnamon & sugar and then baked. The canned icing is the final step of the pie, just be sure to microwave for 10 seconds so it pours easily!
Cinnamon Roll Apple Pie
Ingredients
- 3 large Fuji apples peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 large Granny Smith apples peeled and thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp salted butter
- 1/2 c brown sugar
- 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 1/4 c flour
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- pinch salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 can Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls (the large 5 count)
Cinnamon Sugar Topping
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Set a rack to the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Remove the store-bought pie crust from the refrigerator to warm up so it doesn't break when you unroll it. Make sure it's out for at least 30 minutes.
- Peel and thinly slice apples.
- Lay pie crust in a deep pie plate, line with crinkled up parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dry beans. Bake for 15 minutes so the edges set.
- While the crust bakes work on the filling. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the apples, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, flour and vanilla. Stir and cook for 20 minutes just under medium heat, stirring often. Turn the heat off after 20 minutes but leave the pan on the stove.
- Take the crust out of the oven. Remove the weights and parchment paper and prick the bottom of the crust with a fork all over and put back in the oven for 7 more minutes.
- During this time, you can slice your canned cinnamon rolls. You need the large sized cinnamon rolls. I use Pillsbury Grands! which come with 5 rolls per pack. Depending on how wide your pie plate is, you'll cut in either 10 even slices or 8 slices. Don't worry about the perforated marks.
- Remove the crust from the oven and fill with the apple mixture.
- Top with the sliced cinnamon rolls. If your pie plate is wide you may need to cut small triangles out of the extra cinnamon rolls to fit in the holes. If you have a standard deep pie plate, you'll just lay on all 8 slices.
- Mix the cinnamon and sugar and use it all to top the pie.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil after 40 minutes and bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes.
- Remove and let rest for one hour so the filling thickens. If you cut too soon when it's too hot the liquid will spill out.
- Microwave the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls for 10 seconds and pour over the pie.
- Slice in 7 servings and enjoy!