I spotted this recipe on my friend Jane’s blog about a month ago and I’ve been waiting until I had a boatload of zucchini to try it out. Basically, this is a fake apple pie. You heard me, a knock off apple pie. Which HELLO, is perfect if you are swimming in zucchini like I am.
Although I was a little skeptical, I tried it anyway. And my oh my was Jane right, you cannot even tell you are eating zucchini, because it has the same texture and sweetness as an apple pie would, this is the perfect dessert to trick your Handsome Husband and kids into eating their vegetables. And if you can hold back the big cheesy grin you will undoubtedly have on your face while you serve this pie to them, they’ll probably be asking you for seconds.
Ahhh… Tricking your peeps into eating their veggies, I love it.
Ingredients
4 cups peeled, sliced zucchini {slice them to look like apple slices}
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 tbsp. flour
3 tbsp. butter, divided into 6 pieces
1 double pie crust {ready-made or homemade}
1 egg {for egg wash}
Directions
Preheat oven to 375
Peel, slice in half, and hollow out the center of the zucchini. Cut into 1/2″ slices and place in a glass bowl. Add 1 inch of water to the bowl and microwave for 3 minutes, stir and then 3 more minutes. Drain water from bowl, place zucchini slices onto a clean towel to dry a bit and then place them in a bowl. To the zucchini add sugar, cinnamon, cram of tartar, nutmeg, flour and butter and toss. Pour zucchini mixture into a prepared pie crust, add the top crust, crimp edges, and brush with egg wash. Bake at 30 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown. Cool and serve with a big ole’ fat scoop of ice cream {and a big grin}.
Looking for more zucchini recipes? Click on the links below for more zucchini recipes
Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies
Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
The Zucchini Houdini
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Krista says
I made this on a dare several years back and my whole family loved it!
Mike says
Oh yeah, we are swimming in zucchini and that recipe looks delicious…now too convince Mrs. H to make it for me. I’m a pretty good cook but a baker I’ll never be. Some of my half-hearted attempts at desserts over the years have proved to be quite fascinating to look at but not so much to eat.:)
Thanks Mavis and Jane!
…and your carrot pilgrimage had us laughing pretty hard yesterday morning, you are too darn funny and I sure did love the message you were portraying. “Grow your own…carrots good”
Mavis says
Well hopefully one day I’ll be packing them in coolers like you too. 🙂
cptacek says
Thanks! I currently have a zucchini shelf in my fridge. I picked 12 zucchini on national zucchini day!
Andrea says
Oh this sounds great. I am going to have to get a few more zucchini to try this one on the family.
Jennifer O says
Holy cow, this is genius. My husband would balk without even trying it, but maybe I pull the same maneuver I did with a chocolate beet cake, just not tell him what’s in it until after he says it’s yummy 😉
Mavis says
I agree. Don’t tell them until they’ve tried it!
Megan says
Hmm… would it work to do this in a crisp? I’m scared of pie crust… 😉
Sansar says
Hi, would it still taste good if the skins of the zucchinis were left on?
Pauline says
I can’t really understand how one could be fooled into thinking that this is apple pie – in the UK we mostly use Bramley apple variety for pies and sauce and this has a really distinctive sharp/tart flavour which the courgette/ zucchini totally lacks in spades – are you in the USA more used to a milder flavoured apple?
I was thinking of adapting your idea though for a savoury pie leaving out the sugar and adding onion garlic and tomato sautéing and cooling before tucking the pastry over the top. What do you recon Mavis? P x
Inion says
Hello Pauline,
The apples I choose for my pastries is Cortland. It too has a wonderful crisp tart texture. I do know some folks prefer a sweeter apple for recipes and choose McIntosh, Golden Delicious, Rome Beauty etc. Others go totally opposite and bake with Granny Smith apples, which I find objectionably tart and tasteless. I had considered trying this recipe with the addition of some lemon juice for that added tang to balance the sweet. I think it best to try it unaltered for a first round and then modify it to taste after that.
Martina says
I’m a year late to this blog post, but I wanted to share my experience. I have made a zucchini crisp (I had a different recipe) and it was delicious. I never thought to make it into a pie! My recipe has a little lemon juice in it, I assume to mimic the tartness of a “baking apple”. If you don’t know you’re eating zucchini, you might wonder “what new apple variety is this?” It is really good!
Mavis says
You’ll have to try the pie some day! It’s so good!
Nancy says
I’m sorry to disagree with the majority, but I made this pie last night and threw it away this morning. Normally my pies are awesome, but this one was nondescript at best. The zucchini looked like apples, and the texture was similar to some types of apples, but the flavor was missing. It was sugar and spice and no apple taste at all! I can’t believe that anyone who thinks this tastes like apple pie has ever has a really good apple pie. Try using Gravenstein apples or a similar type of tart, flavorful cooking apple. (Granny Smiths are OK in a pinch, but while they have the tartness, they don’t have the flavor of the older varieties.) You’ll never go back.
Keep trying – we always need new ways to use up zucchini. This just isn’t one I will ever revisit.
Nancy