How to Cut an Apple: Wedges, Slices and Pie Cuts

Apple cuts are easy to tailor to the job: wedges for a snack, slices or dice for a recipe, and thinner slices when your pie recipe calls for them. Wash the apple first, then core it on a stable board so you are not cutting toward your hand.

Two apple halves with the seed cores visible on a wooden cutting board. — Two apple halves with the seed cores visible rest on a wooden cutting board. Photo by Shixart1985, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0; resized without cropping.

Wash and core the apple

Rinse the whole apple under clean running water and dry it. The FDA recommends washing produce before peeling or cutting. Use a stable board and a sharp chef’s or paring knife. If the apple rolls, cut it in half through the stem and blossom ends, then set each half flat-side down.

To core without a corer, halve the apple through the stem and blossom ends, then lay each half cut-side down and cut it lengthwise into quarters. Rest one quarter on a flat cut face. Slice away the core with the blade moving toward the board and your fingers outside its path. Repeat with the remaining quarters.

Cut wedges, slices or cubes

Wedges: Use the cored quarters as wedges, or rest each quarter on a flat cut face and split it lengthwise into narrower wedges. Keep fingers outside the blade path.
Thin slices: Set a cored quarter flat on the board and slice across it. For pie, follow your specific recipe’s cut size and shape. Recipes differ: one Illinois Extension mini-pie recipe uses thin slices or dice.
Cubes: Cut a cored quarter lengthwise into flat strips. Turn the strips onto a broad side, then crosscut them into pieces. Make a few strips at a time so the stack stays low and steady.

If you prefer to keep the skin, leave it on; peel only when your recipe or preference calls for peeled apples. When preparing more than one apple, work with a few pieces at a time and place finished cuts in the bowl before starting the next fruit.

For safe grips, basic cut shapes and practice drills, see our beginner knife-skills guide.

Sources: Illinois Extension, Apples (washing, coring, slicing and recipe-specific preparation); Illinois Extension, Recipe Rescue: Apple Pie (thin slices or dice in one recipe); FDA produce-washing guidance; Utah State University Extension knife-safety basics.