Easy Apple Slab Pie Recipe Feeds a Crowd for Thanksgiving

Baking Apple Slab Pie for Holiday Crowds

Home cooks preparing for Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving can turn to an apple slab pie baked in a half-sheet pan that feeds a crowd easily. The apple slab pie swaps out the traditional round pie plate for a rectangular sheet pan design, making slicing and portion management straightforward for holiday gatherings.

The Tech TL;DR:

• Yield: Assembled in a half-sheet pan to serve large crowds efficiently compared to standard round pie plates.
• Make-Ahead Window: Assembled unbaked up to 1 day prior, or components prepped up to 2 days ahead.
• Storage Protocol: Keeps at room temperature for two days, followed by two additional days under refrigeration.

Flaky Crust Pairs with Spiced Apple Filling

The recipe relies on a flaky all-butter crust paired with a spiced apple filling. Recipe developer Ghazalle Badiozamani notes she rotates among three distinct apple pie formulas, including a cream-heavy version with crumble topping, a caramel variation inspired by family preference, and a classic iteration. This new slab layout joins that permanent rotation specifically for its crowd-serving capacity.

Serving suggestions from the reporting recommend topping warm or room-temperature slices with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Split Kitchen Workflow Across Multiple Days

Kitchen workflow can be split across multiple days to manage holiday scheduling. Cooks can build the pie entirely up to 1 day ahead, keep it covered in the refrigerator unbaked, and apply the final egg wash and turbinado sugar right before it goes into the oven. Baking occurs straight from the refrigerator, with a few extra minutes added to the timer until the crust achieves a deep golden brown and the filling turns bubbly.

For earlier preparation, the dough and the apple filling can be mixed up to 2 days ahead and stored separately in the refrigerator. The unbaked dough also tolerates freezing for up to 3 months, provided it thaws overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.

Storage guidelines dictate keeping completely cooled baked pies at room temperature for up to 2 days, moving them to the refrigerator for another 2 days if necessary. Alternatively, fully baked pies freeze for up to 3 months when wrapped tightly or portioned into individual freezer-safe containers. Reheating frozen baked slices requires a thorough thaw in the refrigerator followed by a brief warm-up in the oven.