Ritz Cracker Apple Pie (No Apples)

Faux Ritz Cracker Apple Pie recipe – Iconic apple pie flavor without any apples. Pie crust, buttery Ritz crackers, lemon juice, sugar, cream of tartar, water, and cinnamon. Top with crushed crackers, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Everyone says this is the BEST apple pie they have ever eaten – no one ever knows it is a cracker pie. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel. Make it for the holidays!

slice of ritz cracker apple pie

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Apple Pie Made without Apples

This Ritz Cracker Apple Pie is CRAZY! There are no apples in this pie, but it tastes EXACTLY like a regular apple pie!! SO, what is in the pie if it isn’t apples? Ritz Crackers. I know it sounds crazy, but it really does taste like a real apple pie.

This is an old recipe. The original recipe comes from the back of the box of Ritz Crackers back in the 1930’s. If a recipe has been around that long, it must be good! Let me tell you, this is better than good. Chicken Legs tried a slice and was shocked at how good it was. I had to tell him that the pie didn’t have any apples in it. Ritz crackers cooked in simple syrup and topped with a buttery crumb topping. One bite and this is sure to become a favorite!

How do crackers taste like apples?

It is all due to the chemistry of the cream of tarter in the filling. Cream of tartar has a slightly tart, fruity taste that tricks our tongues into thinking we’re eating real apples when we’re not. 

ritz cracker apple pie

How to Make Ritz Mock Apple Pie Recipe

This dessert is super easy to make with only a few simple ingredients. Combine water, sugar, and cream of tartar in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add whole Ritz crackers to the pan and continue to boil for a few minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in ground cinnamon and lemon juice. Pour the cracker mixture into an unbaked pie shell. In a small bowl, stir together crushed crackers, brown sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the top of the pie. Place the pie in a preheated oven and bake until the crust and crumb topping is golden brown.

  • I topped this pie with buttery cracker crumbs. If you don’t want to use cracker crumbs, you could leave it plain or top it with another pie crust for a double-crust pie.
  • I use a frozen pie crust. There is no need to thaw or prebake the pie crust before adding the filling.
    • Can substitute a homemade pie crust.
    • If using a homemade crust, line 9-inch pie plate with pie crust and flute edges.
  • You can make the pie a day or two in advance and store in an air-tight container.
slice of ritz cracker apple pie

Ritz Cracker Pie for the Holidays

We served this simple dessert with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It is equally delicious with a dollop of cool whip or whipped cream. This is a great recipe to go with your holiday meal. I promise none of your family members will ever know that there aren’t any apples in the pie.

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slice of ritz cracker apple pie

Faux Ritz Cracker Apple Pie

Yield: 6 people
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Faux Ritz Cracker Apple Pie recipe – there are no apples in this pie, but it tastes EXACTLY like an apple pie!! The secret is Ritz Crackers! Who knew?!? Pie crust, Ritz crackers, lemon juice, sugar, cream of tartar, water, and cinnamon. Top with crushed crackers, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Everyone says this is the BEST apple pie they have ever eaten – no one ever knows it is a cracker pie. Serve with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel.

Ingredients:

Filling

Topping

  • 1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  • In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine the water, sugar and cream of tartar; bring to boil.
  • Drop in whole crackers and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and cinnamon. Pour mixture into pie shell.
  • Mix together topping ingredients; sprinkle over pie filling.
  • Bake 10 minutes at 400ºF, reduce to 350ºF and cover edges of pie crust with foil. Bake 18-20 more minutes, or until pie filling has set. It shouldn't jiggle a lot when moved. Cool before serving.

Notes:

  • I topped this pie with buttery cracker crumbs. If you don’t want to use cracker crumbs, you could leave it plain or top it with another pie crust.
  • There is no need to thaw or prebake the pie crust before adding the filling.
  • You can make the pie a day or two in advance and store in an air-tight container.

Steph

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whole pie on table
slice of cracker pie

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Comments

  1. I made this when I was a
    teenager. Every one was shocked when I told them that their were no apples in this apple pie. My husband likes this better because he likes soft apples. Glad to have the recipe again.

  2. Made this and for the first time ever and me and my family could not believe how it was just like apple pie. Very good and would recommend definitely a 5 star!

  3. Grew up with this recipe Steph! It was in a booklet sent out by the local electric company! That was in the early 60's! Can't wait to try it again using your recipe!

  4. Hi! I've tried many of your recipes and everything is so good. So earlier today I saw this and copied and pasted it (just recipe, not description above) into a word document since I didn't have time to really read it through. So finally read it now and had to look over the recipe twice wondering if you left out how many apples went into it. So went back to this page and read the description now, can't believe there are no apples, lol. I can't wait to try this tonight! 🙂

  5. My mom used to make this when I was a kid. It is so weird how it tastes like apple pie. The texture is a little different but it is still really good. Thanks for the flashback memories of the 70s lol.

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