Apple Pie Pull-Apart Bread

This Apple Pie Pull-Apart Bread is what happens when warm apple pie meets gooey cinnamon rolls. Flaky biscuit dough is dipped in butter and cinnamon sugar, layered with homemade apple pie filling, then baked under a buttery crumb topping and finished with a generous drizzle of cream cheese icing. It starts with refrigerated biscuit dough for an easy shortcut, but those soft, gooey apple-filled layers make it taste completely homemade.

Behind This Apple Pull-Apart Bread Recipe

I wanted to create an easy apple dessert with all the cozy cinnamon-sugar flavor I love, without having to make dough from scratch. Refrigerated flaky biscuits ended up being the perfect shortcut.

I split them into thinner layers, dipped each one in melted butter and cinnamon sugar, then stacked them with layers of homemade apple pie filling. A buttery crumb topping goes over everything before baking, followed by cream cheese icing while it’s still warm. It’s incredibly easy, but somewhere between all those layers, it transforms into a cozy fall treat that tastes like a cross between apple pie and a gooey cinnamon roll.

Tips From My Kitchen

Don’t let the golden top fool you. This is a densely packed loaf with butter-coated biscuit dough and moist apple filling between every few layers. The outside can look beautifully baked while the very center is still doughy. Start checking around 50 minutes, but don’t be surprised if your loaf needs 70–85 minutes. Mine took about 80 minutes.

Use the foil as needed. I tent the loaf for the first 30 minutes so the crumb topping doesn’t become too dark before the center has a chance to cook. Remove it after 30 minutes, but loosely replace it later if the top is browned to your liking before the center is done.

Don’t overcrowd the pan. Depending on the exact biscuit brand and size of your loaf pan, you may have a couple of biscuit rounds left over. That’s okay! Forcing every last piece into the pan makes it even harder for the center to cook through.

Let the apple filling cool while you prep the biscuits. It doesn’t have to be cold, but I don’t recommend spooning piping-hot filling between raw biscuit layers.

Don’t overwork the crumb topping. Start with 3 tablespoons of softened butter and add more only as needed. You’re looking for distinct, buttery crumbs—not a cohesive dough.

Line the loaf pan with parchment. Besides making cleanup easier, leaving some parchment overhang makes it much easier to lift this sticky pull-apart bread from the pan.

Ingredients You’ll Need & Why

This recipe has a few different components, but they’re all made with simple ingredients. Using refrigerated biscuit dough keeps the actual assembly surprisingly easy.

Crisp apples. Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith are all great choices because they soften while cooking without immediately turning to applesauce. You can also combine varieties for a balance of sweet and tart flavor.

Butter, sugar, cinnamon + lemon. Butter, cinnamon, and sugar give the apples that classic apple pie flavor, while a little fresh lemon juice balances the sweetness.

Cornstarch. A quick cornstarch slurry thickens the apple juices so you get a proper pie-like filling that stays nestled between the biscuit layers instead of making the bread soggy.

Flaky refrigerated biscuit dough. I prefer Annie’s flaky biscuits because of the ingredient quality (in comparison to Pillsbury). Separating each biscuit into thinner rounds gives us more layers to coat in cinnamon sugar and stuff with apples.

Melted butter + cinnamon sugar. Each biscuit layer gets completely dipped in butter before being coated in cinnamon sugar. This is what creates those buttery, caramelized edges as the loaf bakes.

Flour, sugar, cinnamon + softened butter. These become the buttery crumb topping. Keep the mixture crumbly rather than overworking it into a dough.

Cream cheese icing. Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla make a simple icing that melts slightly into the warm pull-apart bread.

How to Make Apple Pie Pull-Apart Bread

The easiest way to make this apple pull-apart bread is to prepare the filling first, then set up an assembly line for the biscuits. Once you start dipping and stacking, it comes together pretty quickly.

Make the Apple Pie Filling

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang to lift the finished bread from the pan.

Peel, core, and finely dice the apples.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the apples, granulated sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and water. Stir everything together, cover and cook for about 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples have softened.

Whisk the cornstarch with 1½ tablespoons water until completely smooth. Slowly pour it into the apples while stirring.

Continue cooking until the juices begin to bubble and thicken into a glossy apple pie filling. Remove the pan from the heat and let the filling cool while you prepare the biscuits.

Set Up Your Cinnamon-Sugar Station

Add the melted butter to one shallow bowl and combine the sugar and cinnamon in another.

I like to lay a sheet of parchment paper across the counter next to the bowls so I have plenty of room to assemble the biscuit stacks without making a mess.

Carefully separate each flaky biscuit through its natural layers so you have approximately 16 thinner biscuit rounds.

Dip one biscuit round into the melted butter, coating both sides. Immediately transfer it to the cinnamon sugar and generously coat both sides.

Repeat with the remaining biscuit rounds.

Layer the Biscuits and Apples

Place one coated biscuit on your parchment and spoon some apple filling over the top.

Add another cinnamon-sugar biscuit and gently press down so the apple filling settles into the layers. Add more filling and continue stacking until you have about four biscuit rounds per stack.

Carefully turn the stack onto its side and place it upright in the prepared loaf pan.

As you add each new stack, spoon a little apple filling between the stacks so every biscuit layer has apple filling between it.

Continue making and adding stacks until the loaf pan is comfortably filled. The biscuit layers should sit vertically so you can pull them apart after baking.

If you have a couple of biscuit rounds remaining, don’t force them into an already-full pan.

Make the Crumb Topping

Combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Using a fork, work in 3 tablespoons of very soft butter. Add additional butter a little at a time until the mixture forms buttery crumbs.

Don’t overmix. If you’ve added too much butter and the mixture starts resembling dough, work in another tablespoon of flour until it’s crumbly again.

Sprinkle the crumb topping generously over the assembled loaf.

Bake Until the Center Is Cooked

Loosely tent the loaf pan with foil and bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.

Remove the foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes.

At the 50-minute mark, carefully check the biscuit dough toward the center of the loaf. If it still appears wet or doughy, continue baking in 10-minute increments, checking the center each time.

If the top becomes sufficiently browned before the center finishes cooking, loosely replace the foil.

Because the biscuit layers are packed with butter and moist apple filling, the total baking time can vary quite a bit. Plan for approximately 60–85 minutes total, with especially full or tightly packed loaves falling toward the longer end. Mine took about 80 minutes.

I also recommend putting a parchment-lined sheet pan on the oven rack underneath the loaf to catch any buttery drips.

Finish with Cream Cheese Icing

Let the finished bread cool for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the softened butter and cream cheese together until completely smooth. Add the powdered sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt and whisk until creamy.

Add milk a small splash at a time until the icing is thick but easily drizzleable.

Use the parchment to lift the warm bread from the pan, then generously drizzle the cream cheese icing over the top.

Pull it apart while it’s still warm and gooey!

More Recipes to Try

If you love the apple-cinnamon flavors in this pull-apart bread, my Apple Pie Cinnamon Rolls are another cozy favorite, combining gooey cinnamon rolls with warm spiced apples. For another easy breakfast that’s perfect for weekends or holidays, try my Pancake Casserole, or keep the cinnamon-roll theme going with my Cinnamon Roll Bites.

My Orange Cinnamon Rolls put a bright, citrusy spin on the classic, and if you need something savory to balance out all that sweetness, my Hashbrown Casserole is the perfect addition to a breakfast or brunch spread.

Have you tried this Apple Pie Pull-Apart Bread? If so, I’d love to hear what you thought! Leave a comment below with your questions or feedback. Your reviews help other readers in the Bad Batch Baking community decide what to make next.

Be sure to tag me @BadBatchBaking on social media using #badbatchbaking so I can see your creations!

Make Ahead & Storage

You can prepare the apple pie filling a day or two ahead and refrigerate it in an airtight container. Let it come closer to room temperature before assembling the bread so you’re not layering very cold filling between the biscuits.

For the best texture, I recommend assembling and baking the bread the same day you plan to serve it.

Because the finished bread is topped with cream cheese icing, store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Individual portions are delicious gently reheated in the microwave for a few seconds to soften the biscuit layers and warm the apple filling.

What to Serve with Apple Pull-Apart Bread

This is one of those recipes that works just as well on a fall brunch table as it does for dessert. Serve it warm alongside coffee for breakfast or brunch, or turn it into dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

If you’re serving it for a holiday or weekend breakfast, savory eggs and bacon make a nice contrast to all that cinnamon-sugar sweetness.

And if you’re serving it as dessert, I’d personally stick with vanilla ice cream. Between the apple pie filling, crumb topping and cream cheese icing, this bread already has plenty going on…in the best way.