My Easy Apple Tart Recipe features a hidden layer of delicious homemade almond paste underneath the apples. It’s a wonderful dessert for fall or winter and will for sure be a hit at any party or celebration!

The end of the year means plenty of holiday dinners to cook for — or at least it does in my house. We’ve hosted Thanksgiving for several years in the past before kids. I really wish I could share everything we usually make with all of you, but I don’t think I could squeeze it into one post, or even a week of posts! So I figured, why not highlight my favorite contribution to the meal, also known as apple tart with almond paste filling.
I know a tart isn’t exactly like a pie… but they are similar. I like to think of them as cousins. This easy apple tart is so good that I’m actually considering forgoing the traditional two crust apple pie I usually make. The flavors are similar (but this is… dare I say, better?), and I kind of love that it’s so much easier to make than a pie, peeling and slicing only a few apples versus a whole basket. It also tastes just as delicious with a serving of ice cream and a mug of apple cider on the side.
Table of Contents
Helpful tools
You don’t need anything special for my easy apple tart recipe. I usually use my food processor to make my all-butter pie crust and my easy almond paste, but you could use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment instead if that’s what you have or make everything by hand.
And of course you’ll need an 8″ or 9″ tart pan to bake the tart in.
Ingredients and substitutions
As always, you’ll find the complete list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post. Below are some notes and substitution tips:
- All-purpose flour – the base of the pie crust. I always have AP on hand and find that it works really well in the crust, but pastry flour could also be used.
- Unsalted butter – make sure that it is very cold for the crust — I keep it in the refrigerator until I’m ready to use it. I also use a little bit of butter for the apple topping, but I melt it first.
- Granulated sugar – adds sweetness to the crust and helps with browning. I sprinkle it on top of the apples as well to enhance their natural flavor.
- Salt – key for enhancing the flavor and balancing out the sugar in the crust and the homemade almond paste.
- Almond meal/flour – the nutty, almond-flavored base for the paste. Opt for almond meal or flour. If you can’t find either, I recommend adding blanched almonds to a food processor and pulsing until they are finely ground.
- Powdered sugar – also for the almond paste. Powdered sugar adds sweetness without messing with the texture.
- Egg white – binds the almond flour and powdered sugar together to create a paste. You can use pasteurized egg white from the carton, you’ll need a smidge more than 2 tablespoons to substitute for 1 fresh egg white which is about 33 grams.
- Almond extract – highlights and enhances the almond flavor making it more pronounced.
- Honeycrisp apples – crisp and sweet Honeycrisp are my favorite option for this easy apple tart as they also hold their shape well when baked. Fuji, Gala and Pink Lady are good alternatives. Granny Smith is a bit too tart for this recipe. Choose apples that are similar in size so you end up with uniform slices for the topping to make it look pretty.
- Cinnamon – just a little bit adds warmth and spice, and contributes to the signature apple pie flavor.
How to make my easy apple tart recipe
The following instructions, step-by-step photos, and tips are here to help you visualize how to make the recipe. You can always skip straight to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
Start the pie dough
Add the flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor fitted with the dough blade and mix. Cube the cold butter into the mixture and pulse several times until it starts to form coarse crumbs. Introduce cold water a tablespoon at a time and continue to pulse until the dough begins to pull together.
Turn the dough out and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Prepare the almond paste
Without washing the food processor, switch to the metal blade, add the almond meal, powdered sugar, and salt to the food processor and pulse to mix. Add egg white and almond extract, and mix until a smooth paste forms. Transfer to a bowl, cover and store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Note: Homemade almond paste can be prepared in advance and stored in the fridge for up to 10 days. And if you don’t want to make it from scratch, you can use store-bought. I usually buy Odense Almond Paste since it’s always available where I live.
Assemble the apple pie tart
Remove the pie dough from the fridge. Roll it out into a circle that’s about 2-inch larger than the tart pan. Transfer the circle to the pan and press into the bottom and sides. Remove any overhang with a rolling pin, cover the dough in plastic, and place in the freezer to chill while the oven is preheating.
Tip: Before preheating the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit, move the rack to the lower third. This ensures that the crust bakes evenly without overcooking or burning the apples on top.
In the meantime, peel and cut the apples into ⅛-inch thick slices. Remove the crust from the freezer and add the almond paste. Lightly spread and press down so that it covers the bottom evenly.
Arrange the apple slices on top of the almond paste in concentric circles in one layer, overlapping each piece, as shown in the images. Brush with melted butter, combine the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle the mixture on top.
Bake for 50 minutes, then let the apple almond tart cool on a wire rack before serving. Enjoy!
Note: If your oven runs hot, you may need to shorten the bake time or tent the tart with a piece of foil toward the end to avoid burning.
More baker’s tips
- Spread or roll the almond paste – homemade almond paste if softer and easier to spread than store bought one. However, if you made the almond paste ahead of time and it’s been in the fridge for a few days, it may be harder to spread. You can roll it out into a circle between a piece of parchment paper and the plastic wrap like I did in this almond rugelach recipe.
- How much almond paste to use – my homemade almond paste recipe yields about 7 ounces or 198 grams.
- Use jam to brush the apples – a reader recommended using apricot jam to brush the apple layer to better protect the apples from over-drying during baking.
Storage
If you think you’ll finish this apple pie tart within a couple of days, feel free to store it covered at room temperature. Otherwise, you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
My easy apple tart recipe also freezes well for up to 3 months. Wrap the entire tart (or individual slices) in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil for extra protection against freezer burn and freezer smell.
You can serve leftover chilled or at room temperature. If you like your tart warm, I recommend heating it up in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F, for about 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Single slices can also be reheated in a toaster oven if you have one.
From frozen, you can let the tart thaw overnight in the fridge and serve chilled the next day or warm it up as directed above. Or you can also pop the tart directly in the oven without letting it thaw and allow it to heat for a bit longer, 20-25 minutes. If it starts browning too quickly, I add a piece of foil loosely on top to prevent it from burning.
FAQs
The texture of the tart with puff pastry won’t be the same but the idea should definitely work. When you make the crust with puff pastry, make sure you place the puff pastry in the tart pan and then freeze it, it will make it easier to spread the almond paste on top. Make sure to punch some steam vents at the bottom of the puff pastry before you fill it.
Odense almond paste is not made with egg, so you can substitute store bought almond paste to make this recipe egg free. Or you can substitute the egg white with 2 tablespoons of aquabafa (canned chickpea liquid) or honey. You just need something to bind the almond paste together.
Yes, absolutely. You can assemble the crust and almond paste filling the day before and keep the whole thing refrigerated or frozen. Add apple slices on top just before baking.
📖 Recipe card
Easy Apple Tart Recipe (with Almond Paste Filling)
Equipment
- Round Tart Pan (8-inch or 9-inch)
Ingredients
For crust:
- 1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour (169 g)
- 4 ounce unsalted butter (cold and cubed, 133 g)
- 2 tablespoon granulated sugar (23 g)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon cold water (only use as much as needed)
For almond paste:
- 1 cup almond meal/flour (129 g)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (50 g)
- 1 egg white
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (use more for stronger almond flavor)
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
For apple topping:
- 2 large honey crisp apples (or 4 small ones, use similar size apples)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (12 g)
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (melted, 14 g)
Instructions
- First, make the pie dough: place flour, sugar and salt in the food processor fitted with the dough blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the cubed cold butter and pulse until butter is about pea and lima bean size and the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse until the dough starts to pull together. Be mindful not to overmix, you still want chunks of butter in the dough to create a flaky crust.
- Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board and shape into a disk. Wrap in plastic and rest in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Second, make the almond paste: without washing the food processor, switch to the metal blade. Add almond meal/flour, powdered sugar, and salt to the bowl of the food processor and pulse to mix. Add egg white and almond extract, process until a smooth paste forms. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to use. Almond paste can be prepared well in advance and store in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
- Third, assemble and bake: take the pie dough out of the fridge and roll out into a circle about ¼” thick and about 2" larger than your tart pan. Transfer the dough to your tart pan and lightly press into the bottom and sides. Let the excess dough hang off the edge, then take your rolling pin and roll it along the edge of the pan to take off the excess dough. Cover with plastic and place in the freezer while the oven is preheating. If you don't have room in the freezer, you can keep the crust refrigerated.
- Move your oven rack to the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In the mean time, peel and cut the apples into ⅛” thick slices. You'll want to use similar size apples to get uniform slices. This will help with the presentation of the tart.
- When the oven is ready, take the crust out of the freezer. Prick the bottom and side using a fork to create steam vents. Add the almond paste and lightly spread and press it to the bottom of the crust so it covers the entire surface evenly.
- Arrange the apple slices on top of the almond paste in concentric circles, in one layer, overlapping each piece as you go. Brush some melted butter all over the apples. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown. If your oven runs a bit hotter, you may need to decrease baking time or tent the tart with a piece of foil to prevent the top from burning.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack before serving.
Notes
- Spread or roll the almond paste – homemade almond paste is softer and easier to spread than store bought one. However, if you made the almond paste ahead of time and it’s been in the fridge for a few days, it may be harder to spread. You can roll it out into a circle between a piece of parchment paper and the plastic wrap like I did in this almond rugelach recipe.
- How much almond paste to use – my homemade almond paste recipe yields about 7 ounces or 198 grams. Store bought almond paste or marzipan also comes in a 7-oz package.
- Use jam to brush the apples – a reader recommended using apricot jam to brush the apple layer to better protect the apples from over-drying during baking.
Nutrition
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I’m commenting late as I’ve been making this a couple times a year since finding your recipe a couple years back. It’s delicious and I’m always happy with how mine turn out.
Thank you so much Ana! This is one of our favorite as well 🙂
I baked the tart as per the instructions, but either the temp or duration in the recipe is incorrect. Thankfully I was watching it carefully, so only the very top of the pateé sableé burned, and not the entire tart! Had I followed the instructions the entire dessert would have been ruined.
Hi Kristen, I’m sorry the timing or temperature didn’t work out for you. I should have specified if your oven runs a little hot you may need to tent the tart with a piece of foil toward the end to avoid burning it. I’ve made this tart many times without problem but I do notice my old oven runs a little cooler and I don’t recall baking this in my new oven yet. Thank you for letting me know.
I already have almond paste and do not want to make – How much almond paste is needed for the recipe?
About 7 oz, which is what my homemade recipe yields.
hello! i made this and the layer of almond paste was almost mushy after baking. i wanted to love it but this was not ideal. what did i do wrong? thanks!
Thanks for trying this recipe, I think maybe your apples were really juicy. I would use a different type of apples that are more firm and less juicy.
Looks lovely and very yummy
Good day,
I made this tart I have couple suggest some additional information about it
I think I like used apricot jam it is better protect apples from over drying .Second, you did not mentioned how many layers of apples.
I wish you had a video so I can see how you cut apples
use my apples are very big I tried to make perfect round raw but I could not do it.
I like your design because you had a perfect cut my slices are big and I cut o half and it did not look like on the picture
I used 375 For 55 min on 3 d rack I covered edges from burning with special rubber cover I tasted it looks ok .
I may watch another video about perfect application of apples
Can I make the crust & almond filling the day before and leave it in the fridge? Or would you suggest I cover it and put it in the freezer until I slice the apples and bake tomorrow?
Either way is fine. Since the filling is not liquidy, this recipe is very forgiving. You can assemble the crust and almond filling ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate.
Does the tart dough have to be made using a food processor. I don’t have a dough paddle on mine. Would a mixer with dough paddle work? cant pulse though..
You can use mixer with paddle or you can even use your hand, it’s very similar to making biscuits if you don’t use a machine. The main purpose is to “cut” the butter into the flour so there are still traces of it instead of completely mix. Does that help?
What size tart pan did you use?
8″
Just had a slice of this tart after spending the morning making it and I’m over the moon with how well it turned out. The homemade almond paste is such a lovely addition, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to a plain apple tart or galette ever again. Thanks for sharing this one!
Yay! So happy to hear you love this recipe 🙂
This recipe looks really good. One question. I do not eat eggs and milk. What can I substitute the egg with please?
Thanks
Hey Cindy, I’ve never used egg substitute before but I know people uses aquabafa (canned chickpea liquid) as egg white substitute, I think it might work in this recipe for the almond paste. One egg white is about 30 grams if you plan to make the substitution. Or you can buy store-bought almond paste by Odense, it looks like it is not made with egg.
Can you use pasteurized egg whites (from a carton)?
Yes definitely! 1 egg white is about 33 grams or just a tad more than 2 tablespoons.
I have almond paste already (so how much would i use for this recipe) if I’m not making it? Thank you in advance for your help!
Hi Gina, for this recipe, use between 7 – 8 oz of almond paste.
Can I make this the day before I serve it?
Yes, certainly. This will keep overnight at room temperature or 3 – 5 days refrigerated.
Can I make it with puff pastry instead? Thank you
The texture of the tart pastry won’t be the same but the idea should definitely work. When you do this, make sure you place the puff pastry in the tart pan and then freeze it, it will make it easier to spread the almond paste on top. Make sure to punch some steam vents at the bottom of the puff pastry before you fill it. I’d love to see a picture when you make it 🙂
This pie looks so stunning, the way you’ve arranged the apples. And I love the idea of almond paste in there as well. It sounds like a perfect combination.
Homemade almond paste sounds amazing as does this tart!
Thanks Aimee!
What a beautiful tart! I would be so proud of my creation, I wouldn’t want anyone to eat it!
Thanks Jessica! Actually my cousin didn’t want to be the one to cut into it last year LOL
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOUR HAIR AND WEBSITE
I don’t see any oven temperature. It says to spread the almond paste over the bottom crust. Might it be easier to roll it out to a round and just lay it in there? Would that work?
Maggie, temperature is specified in step 8, 400F. The homemade almost paste is very sticky, it is not formed like a dough that you can roll out easily. However, if you use premade almond paste that comes in a tube, rolling it out would definitely be the way to go.
this tart is gorgeous!
What a beautiful apple tart! I love the addition of almond paste, and I never knew how easy it was to make it myself!
Thank you Kristine, almond paste is so easy, you can make it in your sleep. And I didn’t realize that either until I started searching for how to make it!
Beautiful tart and the recipe sounds like perfection, almond paste sounds delicious!
Thanks Christina!