Fresh blueberries add a sweet and fruity flavor to this perfect summer pie. Homemade flaky, buttery pie crust turns blueberry pie into a crowd-pleasing dessert. And you can impress everyone by creating an optional lattice design on top!
And for more berry pies, try my strawberry blueberry pie and pink strawberry pie.
I don't know about you, but I've nominated summer as honorary fruit pie season. It's the perfect time of year to enjoy pear galettes, mixed berry pies, and no bake mint chocolate chip pie.
As a matter of fact, this blueberry pie with fresh blueberries was inspired by my childhood summers. Ever since I was a baby, my family would wake up at the crack of dawn on the first Saturday after the 4th of July.
We would drive to Blueberry Hill farm and pick bucket-loads of berries before the morning dew had time to evaporate. Even as an infant, I would be strapped to my mom or dad's back as they picked our year's supply of blueberries.
This cherished family pastime continued through my middle school and high school years. My sister and I would have competitions to see who could stuff more blueberries in our mouths. We wouldn't need to eat until dinner, because our bellies would be bursting with berries!
I usually cook my fruit before adding it into pie, but this recipe is unique because it uses fresh blueberries. This means there's less work and less dishes to do!
Be sure to read all the recipe tips below to make the perfect pie. I've spent the last four years developing foolproof recipes for beginner home bakers. So let's make sure your pie crust is flaky and your pie filling is juicy!
This fresh blueberry pie was inspired by my other easy pie recipes. So if you're a pie-connoisseur like me, be sure to also check out my German apple pie, savory German onion pie, no bake pumpkin pie, and apple hand pies.
Ingredients
Pie Crust
- Flour - I've also tested this pie crust recipe with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, and it worked great.
- Salt
- Butter - use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in your recipe; cut your butter into small cubes and keep it chilled in the fridge
- Water - place water in the fridge to keep it cold so it doesn't soften the butter in the pie dough
Blueberry Pie Filling
- Fresh blueberries - wash and dry your blueberries before making the pie filling
- Granulated sugar
- Lemon juice and lemon zest
- Ground cinnamon
- Tapioca starch - thickens the pie filling so it can set properly and hold its shape once it cools
How to Make Blueberry Pie
Prepare the Pie Dough
- Whisk the dry ingredients: Whisk the gluten free flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the butter: Add the cold cubed butter and toss in the flour to coat it. Squeeze each cube of butter between your fingers to smoosh it out into pieces that look like small cornflakes.
- Add the water: Add a few tablespoons of water at a time and mix the dough with a fork until it just comes together. When you squeeze the dough in your hand, it should mostly hold its shape and not crumble.
- Shape and chill the dough: Shape the dough into two discs and wrap them separately in plastic cling wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Roll out the bottom dough: Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll out one of the discs of the chilled pie dough. You can use the dish you'll be baking the pie dough in as a reference guide to know how big to roll out the dough. You'll want the dough big enough to line the bottom, go up the sides, and hang over the edges.
- Transfer the dough to the pie tin: Transfer the pie dough into a greased 9-inch round pie tin. Gently press down on the bottoms and edges to ensure the dough is snugly fit in the pie tin. Trim off any excess dough that hangs over the edge.
- Chill the dough again: Wrap the pie tin in plastic cling wrap and chill again in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare the Blueberry Pie Filling
- Mix the filling ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mix to combine the fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest, cinnamon and tapioca.
- Add the filling to the pie dough: Pour the blueberry filling mixture into the prepare pie dough.
- Chill: Store in the fridge until you're ready to add the top crust.
Make the Top Lattice Crust
- Roll out the top crust: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second disc of chilled pie dough.
- Cut the lattice pieces: Use a ruler or a baking sheet to cut eight straight strips that are one-inch thick.
- Arrange the lattice design: Place four strips across the top of the pie, parallel to each other, evenly spaced out, hanging over the edges.
Fold back every-other strip to the halfway point of the pie.
Lay one strip of pie dough perpendicular to the other four, placed about halfway across the pie.
Place the two folded strips of pie dough back down to lay flat.
Your perpendicular pie dough strand should now go under two strips and over two strips of pie dough.
Repeat with the other strands, pulling back the two strips that were not pulled back before, to create a lattice pattern. - Crimp the pie edges: Crimp around the top edges of the pie with a fork.
- Chill the pie: Wrap the pie in plastic cling wrap once more and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, while the oven preheats.
Bake the Blueberry Pie
- Prepare the oven: Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Bake the pie: Bake the pie until the berries are bubbling and the pie crust is deep golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Cool then serve: Let it cool to room temperature for at least one hour before slicing into the pie.
Recipe Tips
- Avoid Overbaked Crust: If you notice that the edges are getting brown before the center of the pie is done baking, use folded strips of aluminum foil to cover just the edges to prevent them from getting too brown or burning.
- Cut-Out Top Crust: Sometimes I use cookie cutters to cut cute shapes out of the top pie crust. This is way easier than making a full lattice crust design.
- Cold Butter: If you're making homemade pie crust, be sure to keep your butter cold. If your butter softens or melts before it hits the oven, your crust could end up tough and dry. Refrigerate your pie dough whenever you feel the butter is starting to soften.
- Egg Wash: To ensure your pie crust gets golden brown in the oven, you can brush it with an egg wash before baking it. However, this pie crust recipe usually turns golden brown without an egg wash.
Recipe Variations
- You can use homemade pie dough or a store bought pie dough.
- You can use frozen blueberries instead of fresh blueberries. Follow my method of pre-cooking the berry filling first, in my frozen berry pie recipe.
- Serve your warm blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for pie a la mode!
Storing
- Fridge - Cover cooled pie loosely with plastic wrap, or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer - You can freeze this pie unbaked or baked. First, place it in the freezer for one to two hours uncovered. Once it's hard, wrap it in plastic wrap then in aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- If you froze an unbaked pie, bake from frozen and add more time as needed to the total baking time until the pie is fully cooked.
- If you froze a baked pie, thaw it in the fridge overnight, then reheat it before serving.
- Reheat - To reheat individual pie slices, wrap them separately in aluminum foil. Place them in a cold oven and turn on the oven to 375°F. After the oven is preheated, leave the slices in the oven for 5 additional minutes. Carefully unwrap and enjoy!
How to Prepare Freshly Picked Blueberries
When we come home from berry picking, the first thing we do is start washing and drying all the berries. We rinse handfuls of blueberries in a colander, then spread them out on baking trays lined with clean kitchen towels to dry for a few hours.
For the majority of our berries, they get poured into ziplock bags and stored in the freezer to enjoy through the rest of the year. But nothing beats adding fresh berries into this gluten free blueberry pie.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use frozen berries to make pie?
Yes, you can definitely use frozen berries instead of fresh berries to make pie. You'll want to cook them and add a thickener to avoid your pie filling from being too runny.
What is the best thickener for pie?
Tapioca starch, cornstarch, flour, arrowroot, and potato starch can all be used to thicken pie.
If you're pre-cooking your pie filling on the stove, I recommend using cornstarch since it needs to be boiled for one minute to activate.
If you aren't pre-cooking your pie filling, I recommend using tapioca starch.
Tips from a Home Baker
This blueberry pie was my first ever attempt at a lattice crust pie! I learned a lot through this process and the years since, so I'm sharing two extra tips below with you.
Tip #1: Use ice water and the fridge. I was definitely sweating while making this pie, in part because it was so hot, but also because I was so nervous to make this pie look good!
It's helpful to have a bowl of ice water and a towel nearby, in case your hands get too warm. You can cool your hands in the ice water, then dry them, so you don't melt the butter in the crust.
Tip #2: Cover any imperfections with ice cream. And remember that if your pie happens to turn out a little wonky, just cover each slice with vanilla ice cream. Nobody will ever know!
More Delicious Pie Recipes
Blueberry Pie with Fresh Blueberries
Ingredients
Gluten Free Pie Dough
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) cut into cubes and chilled in the fridge
- 1 cup ice cold water
Blueberry Pie Filing
- 6 cups fresh blueberries (washed & dried)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed, from about one medium lemon)
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (from about one medium lemon)
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 tablespoon tapioca starch
Instructions
Prepare the Pie Dough
- Whisk the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cold cubed butter and toss in the flour to coat it. Squeeze each cube of butter between your fingers to smoosh it out into pieces that look like small cornflakes.
- Add a few tablespoons of water at a time and mix the dough with a fork until it just comes together. When you squeeze the dough in your hand, it should mostly hold its shape and not crumble.
- Shape the dough into two discs and wrap them separately in plastic cling wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least one hour.
- Grease a 9-inch round pie tin.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface. Roll out one of the discs of the chilled pie dough. You can use the dish you'll be baking the pie dough in as a reference guide to know how big to roll out the dough. You'll want the dough big enough to line the bottom, go up the sides, and hang over the edges.
- Transfer the pie dough into a greased 9-inch round pie tin. I usually transfer the dough by rolling it onto a floured rolling pin, then unrolling it right into the pie tin.
- Gently press down on the bottoms and edges to ensure the dough is snugly fit in the pie tin. Trim off any excess dough that hangs over the edge.
- Wrap the pie tin in plastic cling wrap and chill again in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
Prepare the Blueberry Pie Filling
- In a large mixing bowl, mix to combine the fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest, cinnamon and tapioca.
- Pour the blueberry filling mixture into the prepare pie dough. Store in the fridge until you're ready to add the top crust.
Make the Top Lattice Crust
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the second disc of chilled pie dough.
- Use a ruler or a baking sheet to cut eight straight strips that are one-inch thick. Place four strips across the top of the pie, parallel to each other, evenly spaced out, hanging over the edges. Fold back every-other strip to the halfway point of the pie.
- Lay one strip of pie dough perpendicular to the other four, placed about halfway across the pie. Place the two folded strips of pie dough back down to lay flat. Your perpendicular pie dough strand should now go under two strips and over two strips of pie dough.
- Repeat with the other strands, pulling back the two strips that were not pulled back before, to create a lattice pattern. Crimp around the top edges of the pie with a fork.
- Wrap the pie in plastic cling wrap once more and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, while the oven preheats.
Bake the Blueberry Pie
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.Remove the pie from the fridge and immediately transfer it to the hot oven. Bake the pie until the berries are bubbling and the pie crust is deep golden brown, about 35 to 45 minutes.
- Let it cool to room temperature for at least one hour before slicing into the pie.
Notes
- If you notice that the edges are getting brown before the center of the pie is done baking, use folded strips of aluminum foil to cover just the edges to prevent them from getting too brown or burning.
- If you are making homemade pie crust, be sure to keep your butter cold. If your butter softens or melts before it hits the oven, your crust could end up tough and dry. Refrigerate your pie dough whenever you feel the butter is starting to soften.
- Store leftover pie covered loosely with plastic cling wrap in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Jim
Save me a slice of pie! I love the top with one dreadlock braid.
strawberryandcream
Haha! It did sort of turn out like a dreadlock when it came out of the oven! I think thicker strands may help keep the braid shape in a future attempt :p
Yum-number1
Having a fresh home-made pie that is made with care and love and hard work is the BEST kind of pie to share with family…rather than a store bought pie that looks like had cosmetics surgery to make it look oddly perfect. Love your post!!!
strawberryandcream
cosmetic surgery hahahaha that's so funny! That's a good point though - if it has a few cracks or bumps, it just shows it was homemade with love 🙂