10 Clever Ways To Use Canned Pie Filling

Baking is all about measurements, but it can be pretty difficult to determine exactly how much pie filling you'll need for your confection. While you'll always want to overshoot to guarantee you have enough, that doesn't mean you need to toss your surplus.

Instead of trashing it, repurpose it! To determine what you should do with your leftovers, compare them to other items in your fridge. For example, if your surplus apple pie filling is a rich blend of melted sugar, butter, and fruit, why not use it as a syrup substitute? Delish on waffles or pancakes. If instead it's a smooth, creamy mixture, like you'd find in pumpkin pie, you could use it as a substitute for peanut butter on a sandwich — think a PP&AB: pumpkin pie and apple butter. Yum.

You'll want to be careful of using it as an ingredient in baked goods, however. Soft and chewy peanut butter cookies may lose their cohesion if you substitute the main ingredient with sweet potato pie filling, even if their textures are comparable. Your best bet is to use your surplus in cold dishes, as a condiment, or mixed in with already-cooked food. If you do decide to use the filling while baking, your best bet is to use it up in a starchy or crust-based recipe, like cobbler.

Even the tangiest, low-fat Greek yogurt can transform into a decadent dessert with a couple of scoops of pie filling. Mix it in with something a bit sweeter, and you end up with something that's practically like a fruity pudding.

Three-ingredient no-churn ice cream leans on dairy fat to produce a good texture, so if your filling is loaded with butter, it can only help. Just be sure any fruit chunks are small enough that they won't freeze into hard-to-eat ice cubes.

Dump cakes get their name for being low-effort and flexible with ingredients, making them a perfect baked good for leftover pie filling. When using something fruity and syrup-based, you end up with sweet chunks in every bite and ribbons of flavor throughout the whole confection.

If you have granola in the pantry, why not repurpose your leftover filling into another great dessert? By sprinkling the granola over top and warming it up in the microwave, you get the mug cake equivalent of a fruit crisp — easy, fast, and delicious.

No matter what kind of filling you have, if you smear some cream cheese on a biscuit, then add it on top, you've got an impromptu mini cake. This works especially with extra buttery biscuits, which can mimic the tender crumb of a high-quality cake.

If you can match your pie filling flavor to a Jell-O packet, it's a great way to up its sweetness while mixing in some much-needed texture. Pair with a Jell-O mold, one of many forgotten 1970s kitchen items, and you've got something easy and efficient that looks great.

While your filling is still warm, you can drizzle it over the top of a cake for something way better than store-bought icing. If you have a creamier pie filling, try smearing it over baked goods like banana or pumpkin bread for something similar to a frosted loaf cake.

Freeze your pie filling using an ice cube tray, then dip each portion in melted chocolate. This can be a bit tricky since you don't want the cubes to melt, but after letting the filling thaw and the chocolate set in the fridge, you're left with little cordials. These also make a cute, homemade gift for any chocolate lovers in your life.

Smear some icing on one cookie or whoopie pie, drizzle some pie filling over top, then sandwich it with a second cookie. If you have a creamier filling, skip the icing altogether and let it be the star of the show. You can also put a dollop on top as a delish garnish.

Offering s'mores as an after-dinner treat is great fun, by why not kick things up a notch with some additional toppings? Create a s'moresgasbord s'mores board with pie fillings and other sweet treats to let each person design their own dessert.