Apparently… grape apple pie is a thing. I only just found this out. After going apple picking a few weeks ago, I was chatting with Food Husband Sean about what kind of pie I should make with all this fruit. I didn’t want to do my usual sour cream apple pie or a straight up apple pie…
Sean: I know what kind of pie you should make…
Me: what kind is that?
Sean: grape apple
Me: huh?
Sean: you should totally make a grape apple pie like Diners, Drive Ins and Dives
Me: never heard of it
Sean: no, you should totally do it – they all went crazy for it on the show
Me: you’re sure? grapes and apples? together?
Sean: yes. just do it.
Me: weird
Well alright then.
***editors note: for the record, Sean and I are not married – a lot of people have been asking over the last month if we’re married or getting married. The answer is most emphatically, NO. lol. We’re not a couple at all – we just like going out to eat and geeking out on camera stuff. The “Food Husband/Food Wife” joke came about over a year ago when we stopped at the Edible Canada take out window and the fellow serving us said to Sean “oh, are we finally meeting your gf?”. We both started laughing and I jokingly said, “no, I’m not his girlfriend, I’m just his Food Wife”. It stuck.
After googling grape apple pie and finding out it was, in fact, a thing, I decided to give it a try to see what happened. I couldn’t find any one recipe that really made me say that’s the one! so I combined several that I came across.
Ok, this is like, the prettiest pie I have ever made in my whole life. In fact, I almost forbid everyone from eating it because I just wanted to stare at it for days. (It really did sit on the counter for the whole day despite numerous attempts to try and sneak a slice).
It’s also spectacularly tasty. I used Concord Grapes which are very sweet to begin with – I think a regular grape would have given it a much different flavour and probably required more sugar. But, happily, Concords and apples are in season (and local!) at the same time.
I also, as often discussed here regularly, don’t make my own pie crust. I buy it frozen at the grocery store. I’m hopeless with pastry and it’s faster and, frankly, 100x better than anything I produce on my own. (I use Tenderflake if you want to know – it’s what I prefer – and no, I’m not sponsored by them – it’s just what I use)
- 2 9 inch uncooked pie crusts
- 3 cups of sliced appled (I cut the slices in half as well)
- 1 cup of concord grapes (concord grapes are small so you don't need to halve them)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp flour
- ¼ cup sugar (you might want to up your sugar quantity if using regular grapes)
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ cup of milk
- 1 tsp of Demerara sugar (or regular granulated sugar)
- preheat oven to 375F
- prick the bottom of your pie crust with a fork
- toss fruit together in a bowl with lemon juice
- mix together flour, ¼ cup sugar and nutmeg and stir into fruit
- pour the fruit mixture into the pie crust
- roll out your second pie crust on a lightly floured surface and cut out shapes with a cookie cutter (I used a maple leaf)
- place cutouts on top of the fruit in any pattern you like - don't layer too much or it might not cook through
- brush crust and cutouts with milk and sprinkle sugar over top
- bake for about 40 minutes or until the crust starts to brown and fruit is bubbling and producing liquid
- let sit for an hour before serving
I used a seedless local variety from Canada's Okanagan region called Coronation. There are tiny little seed "nibs" like in a regular seedless grape but they're not noticeable to anyone eating them. As these are the only variety of concords I've ever had, I didn't realize many parts of the US only know concords as having seeds. If this is you, you'll need to seed the grapes or use regular seedless grapes (although you may need to adjust your sugar quantities as concords are quite sweet to begin with)
I’m actually so proud of the photos for this post. It’s rare that I do something I’m happy with but these ones turned out so well – exactly what I had in my head. It was all shot with natural light with black foam board as a backdrop and a white foam board for a little extra bounce. It was a good day 🙂
Your pie looks scrumptious and your photos are beautiful! Great combination of fruits for a pie.
I feel as though I saw grape apple pie on an episode of Triple D. Until watching I never knew it was a thing either!
I. Love. This. Pie.
Melissa, this is a simply stunning post. That might be the most beautiful pie I’ve ever seen. My pies taste great and I’ve mastered the art of flaky pastry making but they’re not works of art like this! And, I’ve never considered the apple/grape combination. Always something new in the world of food!
dearest melissa – this is a most beautiful pie! The cutouts and the color of the crust is just gorgeous. I had to lookup when Thanksgiving is in Canada…monday already! 🙂 How did you like the combination of the apples and grapes in the pie?
Your photography just pops, girl!!!! The lighting and dof is absolutely lovely. I think these images should be framed…really. Just beautiful!
Happy holiday to you.
So pretty! I adore these photos. Happy Thanksgiving weekend 🙂
I think from here on in, people are going to be saying that your recipe is THE ONE to make when baking a grape apple pie. It looks awesome. Hoping you had a lovely Thanksgiving Weekend Melissa 😉
I would have never thought to combine the two…but it looks and sounds just brilliant! Thank you for the inspiration, and as everyone has already said…GORGEOUS photographs!
What did you do with the seeds from the Concord grapes? Did you leave them in the pie or take them out prior to sugaring them?
Your pictures are so amazing and tempting I want to make this pie immediately! Those maple leaves are the perfect touch. Thanks for sharing your secret about pie crust – will try your tip.
Hi Alen,
I left them in – they were barely noticeable when I was snacking on them prior to baking and nobody even noticed them!
What kind of apples do you recommend for this? (thx)
I think any kind of baking apple would work – granny smith or a honeycrisp, if you can get your hands on them!
Thanks! Can’t wait to try this… Coronation Grapes are starting to appear in the local stores. I sometimes see them called Ontario Blue Grapes here in Southwestern Ontario.