Our local farm is starting to dust off their blueberry signs. Soon, it will be time to gather up our buckets and head out for a fun afternoon!
When setting off to the berry patch, I remind the kids what they should be looking for as they pick:
Find fruits that are deep blue and plump, that aren’t shriveled. Those that appear red are not fully ripened, and white and green berries will not ripen after being plucked from the bush.
After a couple hours, we’ll return home giggling with our fingertips dyed a faint shade of purple. Back in the kitchen, we transform our harvest into jams and jellies (read Foodal’s guide to water bath canning), berry crisps, and breakfast muffins.
And of course, my favorite, sweet blueberry pie.
It’s such an easy recipe. In addition to a big pile of fresh, plump blueberries, the filling is a simple mixture of basic ingredients, lightly sweetened with sugar and flavored with a little lemon juice and cinnamon.
Even the homemade dough is a breeze to make – 4 ingredients will get you one of the flakiest, most tender crusts of your pastry dreams!
Enjoy summer’s sweet bounty, and make our dessert after your next trip to the farm.
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The Best Blueberry Pie
- Total Time: 33 minute
- Yield: 1 9-inch pie 1x
Description
Nothing smells quite as good as a hot blueberry pie cooling on the table. Topped with vanilla ice cream, this treat is really hard to beat.
Ingredients
For the Easy Pie Crust:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup cold water
For the Blueberry Filling:
- 6 cups (3 dry pints) fresh blueberries, rinsed with stems removed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- 1/2 cup whole milk (optional)
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar (optional)
Instructions
For the Easy Pie Crust:
- Combine flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the butter, and cut together with a pastry cutter, or with two knives or your hands, until the mixture looks crumbly.
- Stir in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms. You may not need to use all of the water. Do not overmix.
- Gently knead into a flat disk. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
For the Filling:
- When the dough has properly chilled, place the blueberries in a large mixing bowl.
- Combine the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a separate small bowl. Pour mixture over the blueberries and mix gently to combine.
To Assemble and Bake:
- Set out a 9-inch pie pan.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and let rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes before rolling out. Divide in half, and roll out one half to about 1/8-inch thick. Measure it to fit the base of the pie pan, being sure there is about 1/2 inch of excess around the edges. Carefully transfer it to the bottom of the pie pan, pressing down gently on the bottom and around the sides. Crimp the overhang with your fingers, and place it back in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.
- When ready to bake, pour the blueberry mixture into the bottom of the prepared crust. Scatter evenly with the butter cubes.
- With the other half of the pie dough, roll out and cut your top crust design (solid layer, lattice crust, cut-outs, etc.). Place on top of the filling. Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. If desired, brush the chilled top crust with milk and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden-brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the filling set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 50-60 minutes
- Category: Pie
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Dessert
Keywords: pie, blueberry
Cooking by the Numbers…
Step 1 – Prepare the Dough
In a large mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, and butter.
Using a pastry cutter or your hands, cut and mix the butter into the flour until the mixture has a crumbly appearance.
Stir in the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until a uniform dough forms, with chunks of butter still visible in the dough. You may not need to use all of the water. To keep the crust light and flaky, do not overmix.
Flatten the dough out to form a disc, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and set in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.
Step 2 – Make the Filling
Do not wash your berries until you are ready to use them, or you risk having them turn mushy or become moldy. This fruit, when freshly picked, will store well in the refrigerator for about two weeks.
When the dough has chilled, place the blueberries in a large mixing bowl.
Combine the granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt in a separate small bowl. Pour this mixture over the blueberries, and mix gently to combine.
Step 3 – Prep the Bottom Crust
Remove one half of the dough from the fridge and let rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes before rolling out.
With a rolling pin, roll out to about a 1/8-inch thickness in a circle shape. Measure it to fit the base of a 9-inch pie pan, being sure there is about 1/2 inch of excess around the edges.
Carefully transfer it to the bottom of the pan, pressing gently down on the bottom and around the sides.
Crimp the overhang with your fingers, and place it back in the refrigerator while completing the next steps.
Need a little help with the crust? If you’re looking to perfect your pastry game, learn our tips for the best pie crust.
Step 4 – Fill
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
When ready to bake, pour the blueberry mixture into the bottom of the prepared bottom crust. Scatter the butter cubes evenly on top.
Step 5 – Prep the Top Crust
With the other half of the dough, roll out and cut your top crust. You can choose to do a whole solid layer, lattice crust, cut-outs, or a pretty combination of designs!
Place on top of the blueberry filling. Put it back in the fridge to chill for another 20 minutes, to re-harden the butter.
Step 6 – Bake, Cool, and Serve
If desired, you can brush the top of the crust with milk, and sprinkle with turbinado sugar to get a browner crust with a crunchy texture.
Place the pie in the preheated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until golden-brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the filling set at room temperature for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.
If cut into it sooner, the filling will still be very liquidy and saucy. The filling needs time to thicken and set as it cools.
To speed up the process, put it in the refrigerator to cool more quickly.
Once set, cut the pie in slices and serve!
Enjoy a Very Berry Dessert
These tiny blue wonders are one of the easiest fruits to work with in the kitchen. There is no need to peel, pit, cut, or core them.
And nothing smells better than a freshly baked pie cooling on the counter. Topped with homemade vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, this dessert is a real crowd-pleaser.
Love this treat? Explore all of our pies and tarts. Here are some of our signature recipes:
- Apple Pear with Cardamom and Ginger
- White Balsamic Cherry
- Pumpkin and Sage with Brown Butter
- Sweet Potato
- Chocolate Blueberry
For more ideas to make during the fall and winter holidays, check out our 23 holiday pies round up that goes far beyond the pumpkin and apple!
Are you planning on picking any blueberries this summer? What desserts will you make with them? You can see all of our best blueberry recipes for inspiration. Leave your comments below, and be sure to rate this sweet recipe.
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Photos by Nikki Cervone, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published by Jennifer Swartvagher on April 25th, 2015. Last updated: January 1, 2020 at 6:30 am, with additional writing and editing by Nikki Cervone.
Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.
About Jennifer Swartvagher
Jennifer is an experienced journalist and author. Her work has been featured on TODAY Parents, The New York Times Blog, BlogHer, Scary Mommy, and scores of other parenting and cooking publications.
Blueberries are one thing that make me wish I lived elsewhere. They can apparently be grown where I live, but it’s pretty uncommon. I’ll have to get some frozen ones and a pastry cutter and try this recipe. It sounds like a delicious idea for the first pie I’ll ever bake.
Fresh or frozen, I bet your pie will turn out great. Have fun baking your first pie.
The blueberry pie is actually a decent competitor for the cherry pie. I wish I will never have to choose between those two! Also, question, would it taste differently if I use frozen berries instead of fresh ones?
Frozen work just as well as fresh in this recipe. Just be sure to thaw and drain before using.
Oh my, you drew me in with that delicious looking picture. I haven’t made a blueberry pie in quite a while, but this picture and recipe have me inspired. It even looks as if I have everything I need, other than the blueberries. I’ve never made a lattice top, and yours looks lovely. I love the idea of using fresh berries, but I’m glad you included instructions for using frozen, just in case.
That looks really delicious and reminds me of my time in Finland a few years ago when we were able to pick wild blueberries to our heart’s content. It will be a while longer before the blueberries are ripe in the local farms here, but I look forward to trying the recipe out. I would never have though to have used cornflour/cornstarch in with the fruit or for that matter cinnamon. Does the ground cinnamon change the flavour dramatically?
I have made the pie with and without the cinnamon.The cinnamon helps to balance the sweetness of the sugar and blueberries. It will not alter the taste dramatically if you choose to leave it out.
That does look absolutely scrumptious and the thought of eating it with homemade ice cream is making my mouth water! Blueberries aren’t quite so popular here in the UK, whilst they are readily available in supermarkets, it’s rare to see them being used in any desserts beyond muffins.
Freshly plucked blueberries & blackberries are the best. It’s really difficult for me to get to making a pie with them when everyone is so busy just popping them in their faces all day. Next time I’m freezing them in a Ziploc inside a giant cube of ice so I can try this recipe out. That’ll stop ’em.
You caught my attention right away with the delicious looking picture of the pie. I have never made a blueberry pie before but I am definitely interested in trying too. Plus this is something that would be so much fun for me and my daughter to do together. We went apple picking for the first time last year but I never though of going blueberry picking, I cant wait to try this recipe!
Hmmmph!… you ought to have seen me argue with someone at the grocer’s …the difference between grapes and blueberries… they said blueberries were grapes and stuck their foot to the ground in that regard,…so yes, they won being on the wrong of course…i had to let them have their cake… i hate when crowds gather at such a spectacle and i obviously hate arguing…anyway, back to earth… i’ve never made pie before…so having blueberry pie this cold weekend sounds like an awesome plan… page bookmarked… for i need the recipe 🙂
My problem with blueberry pie is that I’ve rarely found one that I found good enough to eat because I’m not a huge fan of these little berries. Every couple of years I’ll come across a pie that’s worth eating that contains blueberries. It doesn’t happen too often, though. This recipe does sound pretty good, though, and I might have to give it a try because everyone else in my household will gobble it up if I don’t enjoy it!
I could have indulged in this for Christmas if I had seen it. However, it still appears to be something I would like to try and I know my family would. It looks delicious and the recipe seems simple enough. I appreciate this recipe which I will certainly try.
The pie looks beautiful and just brings back memories living in North Carolina picking wild berries. We used to pick all kinds of berries, and both of my grandmothers use to make some amazing pies!!!
I absolutely love blueberries and never made my own blueberry pie.
But looking at that picture and the recipe makes me want to make it for my kids.
They love pies just like me!
This is one thing that I have never attempted to make in my house, but I’ve always harbored a hope that one day I might be daring enough to try it. My mom used to make the best blueberry pies ever, but she never did pass on her recipe. This looks really good and just looking at it I’m starting to feel a little more confident about trying this recipe out soon. Thanks for sharing it.