This no-bake apple pie lasagna has been a staple at our Thanksgiving table for years! I make this dessert lasagna with luscious layers of whipped cinnamon cream cheese and homemade apple pie filling with ooey salted caramel sauce and graham crackers.
Apple pie lasagna is a longstanding favorite from my site, dating back to 2013. For another fall dessert, try my easy caramel apple cheesecake bars. And if you love this icebox cake recipe, don’t miss this pumpkin dessert lasagna!
My Favorite Apple Pie Lasagna
Apple pie lasagna will always hold a special place in my heart. It was one of my first “viral” recipes after THE Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, tweeted the recipe back in the day. I will never forget that! This dessert lasagna is an easy no-bake recipe that layers fluffy caramel cream cheese with graham crackers, caramel sauce, and homemade apple pie filling.
It was such a popular dessert that I even included it in my cookbook, and that’s the last time I photographed the recipe, so it was time for a refresh! This time I added even more filling. Every year when I make this, it’s like a blast from the past.
You’ll Love This No-Bake Dessert
- Fresh fall flavor. Growing up in Vermont, I love any and all apple desserts, from classic apple crisp to apple pie and especially apple cider donuts. Made with fresh apples, spice, and caramel, this apple pie lasagna is packed with fall flavor, just the way I like it!
- No baking. This is a no-bake dessert, so unlike a traditional lasagna, there’s no oven needed. Apple pie lasagna is like a cross between an icebox cake and apple cheesecake, assembled in a casserole dish before it’s chilled in the fridge.
- Irresistible texture. The apple pie filling is deliciously sweet and gooey, the graham crackers soften to a cake-like texture and the cream cheese layer is to die for. I could shove it in my mouth by the spoonful. I’m not saying that I did… I’m just saying that you COULD.
Reader Review
This awesome recipe is a staple at our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner tables! Our family members look for it every year. Thank you for sharing our new tradition! -Lynn
Ingredient Notes
All those layers call for a few key ingredients. I’ve included some notes on what you’ll need below. Scroll down to the recipe card after the post for a printable list with the full recipe details.
For the Apple Filling
- Apples – Peeled and sliced. I prefer Granny Smith apples, but just about any kind works. Other good choices are Honeycrisp, Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Gala, or Braeburn.
- Brown Sugar – I use light brown sugar but dark brown sugar or granulated sugar is fine, too.
- Spices – I spice my apple pie filling with cinnamon and apple pie spice. You can substitute one with the other, or replace both with another spice like nutmeg, cardamom, or even pumpkin pie spice.
- Maple Syrup – Make sure it’s real maple syrup and not artificial pancake syrup. Honey also works as a sweetener.
For the Layers
- Whipped Cream – I make homemade whipped cream from heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. You can use Cool Whip if preferred. You’ll need it to whip with the cream cheese, cinnamon, and caramel for the filling, and for topping the lasagna afterward.
- Cream Cheese – Full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature so it combines easily into the filling.
- Caramel Sauce – I love my salted caramel sauce recipe but you can use your favorite store-bought sauce, like Smucker’s or Hershey’s.
- Graham Crackers – You’ll need a few packages of Graham cracker sheets, I’d grab 2 boxes. You could also use Nilla Wafers or Gingersnaps for a different flavor profile.
- Toffee Bits – I top my apple pie lasagna with Heath Bar milk chocolate toffee bites, but you can use regular toffee bits, butterscotch chips, or chocolate chips.
How to Make Apple Pie Lasagna
This apple pie lasagna has three different layers, and they’re easy to make. Follow along with the step-by-step photos here, and refer to the recipe card for printable instructions.
Preperation Tips to Save time…
Take your cream cheese out of the fridge before you start to peel the apples so it’s ready to go when you make the filling. While the apples are simmering on the stovetop, start working on the cream cheese filling.
Prepare the Pie Filling First
- Combine the ingredients. First, add your sliced apples to a saucepan with lemon juice, maple syrup, and the dry ingredients and toss to coat.
- Cook. Simmer the apples over medium heat until they’re softened. Add a little water if you notice the apples are sticking. Afterward, let them cool. You can also chill it in the fridge to speed up the process.
Why Do You Cook The Apples?
Since the apple pie lasagna isn’t actually baked after assembly, it’s super important that you cook the apples for the filling so you get that soft, gooey texture. If you didn’t cook them first, you’d have a crunchy apple pie filling!
Be sure to peel the apples first, When apples are cooked without being peeled, the peel can take on a not-so-pleasant chewy texture. I recommend peeling the apples before you slice them so all you get is the soft sweetness of the inside of the apple.
Make the Cream Cheese Filling
- Make the whipped cream. Start by whipping heavy cream in a chilled bowl until it forms soft peaks. Add powdered sugar, and whip again to make stiff peaks. Move the whipped cream to a separate bowl.
- Combine. Then, beat the cream cheese until it’s smooth and free of lumps. Add in both the granulated sugar and brown sugar, followed by the cinnamon, vanilla, and caramel sauce, and mix that until it’s combined. Finally, fold in the whipped cream.
Assemble the Lasagna
- Make another batch of whipped cream. Whip up a fresh bowlful of whipped cream following the directions above. This will be your topping, so you can place that into the fridge for now.
- Start with a layer of graham crackers. Arrange them in a single layer in the bottom of a 9×13” baking dish. If you have a pan with flat edges instead of curved, that works best. Use a serrated knife to cut down the graham cracker sheets to fit the smaller holes.
- Add the fillings. Next, spread half of the cream cheese filling over the graham crackers. Top this with half of the apple pie filling, then add a 2nd layer layer of graham crackers, followed by the remaining cream cheese and apple filling. To finish it off, top with a third layer of graham crackers.
- Finish and chill. Take out your prepared whipped cream and spread that over top of the last layer of graham crackers. This apple pie lasagna will need to chill in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours. Before serving, drizzle over extra caramel sauce and sprinkle over the toffee bits.
Julianne’s Recipe Tips
- Don’t skip the homemade filling. You can use store-bought apple pie filling if you’re short on time, but I highly recommend the homemade filling. Store-bought just doesn’t have quite the same freshness and flavor.
- Prepare the apple filling ahead of time. The apple filling can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
- Use large graham cracker sheets. You may need to break up some of the graham cracker sheets so that they fit into the baking dish, but do your best to use larger pieces. The graham crackers soften to a cake-like texture once the dessert lasagna is assembled and chilled.
- Cut the graham crackers with a serrated knife. If you do need to make the crackers smaller, use a serrated knife for cleaner cuts, so you don’t run the risk of breaking or crumbling the crackers.
- Rotate the graham crackers. Alternate the direction of the graham crackers in each layer, so they’re not all facing the same way. This helps to add structure to the dish.
Can I Make This Ahead of Time?
Absolutely! Like many no-bake recipes, apple pie lasagna is a perfect make-ahead dessert because it gets better the longer it sits. This is especially helpful if you are baking for a big holiday, like Thanksgiving. Assemble the full dessert up to 2 days in advance, although I do recommend waiting to add any final garnishes like the caramel and toffee until you’re ready to serve.
To save additional time, the apple pie filling can be prepared up to one month in advance and stored in the freezer in an airtight container. Thaw it in the fridge before using it.
How to Store
Finished apple pie lasagna will last in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, covered tightly for freshness. I don’t recommend freezing it because as it thaws it becomes a little too mushy.
More Apple Recipes
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Apple Pie Lasagna
- Prep Time: 60 minutes
- Chill time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 15 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
My iconic no-bake apple pie lasagna is an easy icebox cake recipe with layers of homemade apple pie filling, fluffy cinnamon spiced cream cheese, graham crackers, and gooey caramel!
Ingredients
For the apple filling:
- 5–6 medium apples, peeled and sliced.
- Juice from1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons (14g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (110g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon (5g) ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon apple pie spice
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) pure maple syrup
For the cream cheese filling:
- 1 cup (236ml) heavy whipping cream
- ½ cup (65g) powdered sugar
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup (95g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons (28g) light brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons salted caramel sauce (store-bought or homemade)
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
For the lasagna:
- 1 ½ cup (354ml) heavy whipping cream
- ¾ cup (98g) powdered sugar
- 4 packages Honey Graham Cracker sheets (you’ll need two 14oz boxes)
- ½ cup Heath Bar milk chocolate toffee bites (optional)
- Caramel sauce for topping (store bought or homemade)
Instructions
Prepare the pie filling first:
- Place apples in a medium saucepan, pour lemon juice over top and stir to combine. Add the maple syrup and dry ingredients. Mix well to coat the apples.
- Cook apples on the stove over medium heat, adding 1-2 tablespoons of water to prevent sticking as needed. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes until the apples are just soft and tender but not mushy. Remove from heat to cool
- While the pie filling is cooking, prepare the filling. Allow cream cheese to come to room temperature, or soften in the microwave for 15 seconds.
For the cream cheese filling:
- Prepare the whipped cream. Chill the mixing bowl and beater blade for 5-10 minutes in the freezer or refrigerator. Beat the heavy cream in the chilled bowl and using the whisk attachment and beat at a high speed until the cream thickens to soft peaks. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating on high speed until stiff peaks form. If needed, transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.
- Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed until it’s smooth and free of lumps. Next add the sugars and cinnamon and beat until well combined, followed by the vanilla and caramel and mix to incorporate. Finally, slowly fold in the prepared whipped cream until it’s completely smooth.
To assemble the lasagna:
- Prepare another batch of whipped cream as instructed above. Keep refrigerated while you’re layering the lasagna.
- Cover the bottom of a 9-inch by 13-inch pan with graham crackers. You may need to break the crackers into pieces in order to get into the nooks and crannies.
- Cover the graham crackers with half of the cream cheese filling. spreading evenly. Spoon half of the apple pie filling over cream cheese and spread evenly. Repeat each layer, graham crackers and remaining cream cheese and apple filling.
- Add a third layer of graham crackers on top and then spread the prepared whipped cream over top. Chill for 3-4 hours before serving. Drizzle with caramel sauce and toffee bits before serving.
Notes
Recipe Swaps
- Prepared apple pie filling. Swap out a homemade apple pie filling for a prepared one, but the flavor and texture will be different and I recommend cutting down the size of the apples if they are large slices.
- Cool whip. Swap out the homemade whipped cream for Cool Whip in the filling and topping. You’ll need one 8-ounce tub for the filling and another one for the topping. If you make this change, you will not need the heavy cream or powdered sugar.
- Brown sugar. If needed, you can swap out the brown sugar for granulated sugar, it does change the flavor a bit.
- Toffee Crunch- This is an optional topping, but you can add them into the layers for added crunch if you’d like.
Preparation and Storage
- Prepare ahead of time. This can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator. I recommend waiting to add the toppings (caramel and toffee) until you’re ready to serve.
- Apple filling. The apple filling can be prepare up to 3 days in advance and kept in an airtight container in the fridge, or frozen up to 1 month in the freezer. Thaw before assembling.
- Storing leftovers. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Keep tightly covered.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 554
- Sugar: 46.8 g
- Sodium: 351.1 mg
- Fat: 28.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 71.2 g
- Fiber: 3.9 g
- Protein: 5.8 g
- Cholesterol: 76.7 mg
As soon as this snow quits falling and I can get out, I’ll be picking up the items to make this for my family. I have no doubt it is going to be a huge hit. Thanks so much!!!
Hi! I don’t know how quickly you respond to comments here, or if you’ll even get this message in time, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that you will! I’m hoping to make this for Thanksgiving, but I have a question for you. What “caramel sauce” do you use? Do you make it or do you buy it? And if you make it yourself, how would I go about doing that?
Hi Char! I just used Smuckers or Hershey’s Camarmel sauce that you find in the ice cream section of the grocery store. I hope you like it!
So i’am making this right now but just got concerned about the graham crackers going soggy on me. I’am making this the night before for a dinner dessert the next day… What do you think… Should I assemble it in the morning or will it keep it’s form for 24 hours? Btw this recipe caught my eye and have been so excited to make this!!!
Thank you! Actually the graham crackers are meant to be softer. If you prefer a more crunchy graham cracker then I would wait until the day of to assemble. You can compare all the components ahead of time, refrigerate and assemble quickly.
oh yeah, and granny smiths or will honey crisp work?
Do you think this would be okay made the night before? Would it get soggy?
Looks so amazing!!!
Thank you Glory!
Since we are gluten free, I made this using cornstarch instead of the flour, gluten free graham crackers and used just whipped cream instead of cool whip. Out of this World good!! Tfs
Made this for hubs birthday. So fantastic!
Omitted toffee bits since the grocery store didn’t carry them. Served in a trifle bowl, which always make everything so dramatic.
Photo: http://instagram.com/p/fIkJ7iJb4G/
Yea! That sounds awesome! I totally need to buy a Trifle bowl!
Hi,
My step-daughter was sent away to a Christian school last week and she said the food is ok, so I’ve been looking for a recipe that she can share with her new friends, and the apple pie lasagna sounds perfect. I’m looking forward to making it and feel sure I’ll get another request for it later. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Anne, I hope you enjoy. Remember that this has to be kept refrigerated!
You had me until the cool whip. It’s full of chemicals. Can whipped cream successfully be substituted or will it change consitency while being chilled or if the whole pan isn’t eaten immediately? Thanks.
Hi Lizzie. I understand your concerns. I think that you can try to substitute a homemade whipped cream, but since that is a lighter consistency, it will change the consistency of cream cheese filling.
To late now…as its already chilling in the fridge (YUMMM!!!) But, to clarify, was I suppose to double up the gram layer, each time? Or just for the very first layer?
Thanks!!!!
Yeah! Enjoy! I doubled up the graham cracker layer each time, just because I love graham cracker!
Hi! Thanks for removing the word “sugar” and updating the cool whip. That will help future cooks with this delicious recipe! A larger pan might be helpful as not to miss any of the scrumptious ingredients!
Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it when people ask questions so no one is confused! Sometime I work too quickly and even my editor missed things every once in awhile! Enjoy!
Hi; this sounds really tasty, but I have a question; when you state in the recipe to cut your apples the size of a dime, do you mean how thin they should be? Seems like a stupid question, but I can’t imagine making all the apple pieces the size of a dime!
HAHA! Thanks for asking Pam! You’re right, that would be hard! No, I just mean about the size of a dime in width. I think the point is just to cut them up small so they cook down and you don’t have overly large apple pieces in your dessert.
You could cheat and use a prepared graham cracker crust. I would only make one layer, but it would be a perfect desert for a small group.
Hi Cat- absolutely, This recipe would probably make two single layer pies.
HI THERE, I WAS JUST WONDERING, WHEN I COOK THE APPLES AM I ONLY COOKING THEM WITH THE LEMON JUICE OR AM I TO ADD OTHER STUFF IN THERE, I DIDNT QUITE UNDERSTAND IF I WAS TO MIX THE FILLING WITH APPLES AND COOK THAT WAY OR NOT.
Hi JC- you should combine the lemon juice and all other dry ingredients with the apples prior to cooking.
My husband absolutely despises cream cheese, would you haplen to have a substitute idea for that ingredient? I thought breifly about maybe using marshmallow fluff? Any other ideas?
Hi Kendra- I think Marshmallow would probably be the closest thing I could think of. You could try vanilla pudding maybe but it would be a lot thinner or creamier than the original recipe.
I’ve been a fan of butter brickle frozen delight for forever, but I love the denomination of “lasagna” for this frozen sweet treat 😉 It really caught my eye on BruCrew’s linkup. I’m so glad you got to share this with us–such a great summer-fall transition dessert!
Hi Ala! I have never heard of butter brickle frozen delight, but I just looked it up and its looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing.
This looks amazing! Definitely going to be giving this one a try. I grew up in Vermont, too … nice to meet a fellow former-Vermont food blogger!! {I’m now in North Carolina … MUCH warmer. 🙂 }
Tracey @ The Kitchen is My Playground
Hi Tracey!! Woohoo! I love meeting other Vermonters! Some times I feel like I am on another planet here in California. Thanks for stopping by!
Please make print friendly.
Hi Bonnie- I am in the process of converting my recipe over the a Ziplist format so they will be easily printer friendly. Thanks for your patience.
Hi Bonnie- the recipe is now print friendly for you!
I found a picture of your Oatmeal Caramel Apple Cookies at a link party at Cooking on the Front Burner. I’m now following you on BlogLovin! I love your stuff.
Is the whipping cream whipped first and then folded in our just added to the mixture like you would any kind of liquid? (does that make sense?)
Hi Texannie- You will need two containers of cool whip for this recipe. The first container should be mixed in after the cream cheese, whipping cream, powdered sugar and remaining ingredients together. The second container is to act as a layer when you are assembling the final lasagna. So when you put down a layer of the cream cheese batter and apple pie filling, you then have a layer of whipped cream on top. I hope this helps.