Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Super fresh and flavorful, thanks to a secret ingredient!
Texture: The crust is incredibly buttery and flaky while the filling is luscious and bursting with blueberries.
Ease: I won’t lie, this isn’t a quick recipe – but I PROMISE you can do it! There’s nothing more satisfying than a gorgeous homemade fruit pie.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: The perfect summer dessert recipe. I’ve been told this is one of the best recipes I’ve made! You don’t forget feedback like that 😉
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You’re going to love this easy Blueberry Pie recipe. Thanks to a secret ingredient and the best ever pie crust, this will be the most flavorful pie you’ve ever tried!
I used to find fruit pies incredibly laborious and intimidating. To be real, they are pretty laborious. But they don’t need to be intimidating.
The reward is SO worth the effort. Not only is something like a scratch-made Blueberry Pie so impressive, but it’s deeply satisfying.
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This homemade Blueberry Pie is perfect for Memorial Day, the 4th of July, or any gathering throughout the summer. Don’t forget to serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!
With the tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years (details below), I actually find pie making to be meditative and relaxing. The end result is incredibly tasty, too!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make the Best Homemade Blueberry Pie
What Pie Crust Recipe is Best for Blueberry Pie?
I highly recommend using my Best Ever Pie Crust for this recipe. It rolls out easily, bakes up ultra flaky, and is actually best when made in advance. I prefer to freeze the butter, then grate it with a cheese grater and mix by hand or with a pastry blender.
If you haven’t made one before or are intimidated by homemade pie crust making, read my Pie Crust recipe post completely. There are a TON of tips – like a mini pie-making class!
How to Make Lattice Pie Crust
I have an entire article with step-by-step photos showing How to Make a Lattice Pie Crust! I share tons of tips for baking beautiful pies, so make sure to check it out. Of course, if you’re not in the mood to assemble a lattice crust, you can always just roll out your second piece of pie dough and drape it on top, for a full top crust. Just make sure to cut some slits so air can vent out and escape.
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Blueberries for Pie Filling?
Both fresh and frozen blueberries work in this Blueberry Pie! If using fresh, make sure to wash and dry thoroughly before using.
Should I Thaw Frozen Blueberries Before Baking a Pie?
No! Do not defrost or thaw frozen blueberries before baking to avoid a runny pie filling.
How to Make Blueberry Pie Filling
This Blueberry Pie filling is surprisingly simple to make and is absolutely packed with fresh flavor! You’ll just need to mix a few ingredients together in one bowl for this filling:
- Blueberries (I used a combination of wild + regular)
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Lemon zest and lemon juice
- Cinnamon, nutmeg & salt
Why Use Regular (Cultivated) and Wild Blueberries? Where do You Buy Wild Blueberries?
To get the best of both worlds! I’ve loved frozen wild blueberries for years. They’re a staple when I’m making a morning smoothie! In a pie recipe? They work WONDERS!
They have an intense blueberry flavor with a slightly tart note. They’re also smaller in size so they fill all the little gaps in the filling, holding it together more uniformly.
Wild blueberries contain less water as well, so that’s another reason they help to set up a perfect Blueberry Pie filling.
You can find them at Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Kroger stores, and many more. Find them in the frozen section with the other fruits.
What if I Don’t Have or Can’t Find Wild Blueberries?
You can just replace the amount of wild blueberries in the recipe with more regular blueberries, if needed.
Watery or Runny Filling? How to Thicken Blueberry Pie Filling
To me, the perfect fruit pie filling sets up so a slice will hold its shape, but it’s not so set or stiff that it seems dry or like the consistency of jam or a mass-produced pie. It should still feel moist, and because it is fruit, which is primarily made from water, a little liquid is normal.
My top tips for perfectly set pie filling:
- Use cornstarch & bake to temperature: This recipe uses cornstarch to thicken the filling, which must be cooked to 203°F in order to activate. This means you MUST cook your pie well enough to set up the filling. It should be bubbling throughout when you remove it from the oven. See my tips for preventing your crust from browning too much below.
- Avoid thawing frozen blueberries: If using frozen blueberries, don’t let them thaw at any point before baking. This will cause a watery and runny filling. This means you’ll need a freezer-to-oven safe pie pan. More on this right below.
- Don’t skip the lemon zest + juice: Besides balancing out the flavors of the pie filling with tartness and freshness, the lemon also adds a little touch of pectin. This is a gelling agent (think jam making) that will help to set up the filling.
What’s the Best Pie Pan for Blueberry Pie?
The best option for this recipe, which I HIGHLY recommend using, is this OXO Glass 9-inch Pie Dish. It’s made from thermal shock-resistant borosilicate glass, which means you can take it from freezer to oven without it shattering. It’s also nice and deep, so your filling won’t leak over, and it has a lid for easy storage and transportation.
Why is My Pie Crust Soggy? How to Prevent Soggy Pie Bottoms
This Blueberry Pie recipe calls for freezing the pie for 15-30 minutes before baking, which will help prevent the butter from melting too quickly and causing a soggy bottom.
Adjust the oven rack to the bottom third of your oven, closer to the heat source. This helps ensure a nice browning on the bottom of your pie crust. Better yet, preheat a baking stone on that oven rack and bake the pie on a sheet pan (to collect any leakage) on top of the hot baking stone. This will all but guarantee a nice crisp crust.
Tips for Baking Blueberry Pie
- Set the pie plate on a baking sheet: For easy clean up in case any Blueberry Pie filling spills over the pie pan, place the pie pan on top of a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
- Start high, then lower: Start baking at a higher baking temperature and then reduce. Heat oven to 400°F for 25 minutes to ensure a crispy (not soggy) crust and thick (not runny) filling. Then lower the temperature to 375°F to finish baking.
- Preventing over-browning: If your crust begins to darken too much, tent it loosely with foil or place a sheet pan on the oven rack above the pie to shield it from the heat. You can also reduce the oven temperature to 350°F if your crust begins to brown too much. Just ensure the filling is cooked through and bubbling when you remove it from the oven, so it sets up perfectly.
How to Store Blueberry Pie
Store leftover Blueberry Pie wrapped in foil for up to 2 days at room temperature. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes to re-crisp the crust.
How to Freeze Blueberry Pie
Fruit pies freeze better unbaked. Assemble the pie fully, double wrap in plastic, and then freeze for up to 1 month. Let the pie partially thaw at room temperature for about 1 hour, then bake as directed by the recipe, adding about 10 minutes to the baking time.
To freeze an already-baked Blueberry Pie, cool your pie completely, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 1 month. Thaw at room temperature for 1 hour and reheat in a 375°F oven for about 30 minutes, or until warmed through and re-crisped. OR, defrost in the fridge overnight, then refresh in a 375°F oven for about 10 minutes.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Blueberry Peach Pie
- Blueberry Cobbler Recipe
- Caramel Apple Streusel Pie
- Brown Butter Peach Cobbler
- French Silk Pie
Homemade Blueberry Pie Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Filling:
- 4 cups (560 grams) blueberries, (don’t thaw if frozen)
- 2 cups (280 grams) wild blueberries, (don’t thaw if frozen)
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons (40 grams) cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest (don't omit)
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (don't omit)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, diced
For the Egg Wash:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or whole milk
- Turbinado or coarse sugar, for sprinkling
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Remove one disk of pie dough from the fridge. If needed, let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes or until slightly pliable.
- Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface. Keep turning the dough after every roll to ensure it doesn’t stick to the counter and is of even thickness. Add additional flour to the dough, the counter, and your rolling pin as needed. Roll out into about a 12-inch circle with a 1/8-inch thickness.
- Gently roll the dough up and around the rolling pin then unroll and drape over a 9-inch deep dish pie pan, preferably tempered glass. Gently mold into the cavity of the pie pan. Do not stretch the dough to fit or it will shrink during baking. Trim the dough edges to sit flush with the pie pan edge. Cover and place in the fridge.
- Remove the other piece of dough from the fridge and repeat the above, but rolling out to a 13-inch circle. Using a pastry wheel, cut 1-inch wide strips. You will need 10 strips. Place the strips on a sheet tray or cutting board and refrigerate until ready to assemble.
Make the filling:
- In a large bowl, toss together all of the blueberries with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
Assemble the pie:
- Pour the blueberry mixture into the refrigerated pie shell, flattening and adjusting to make it fit evenly. Dot with the pieces of butter. Brush the edges of the chilled pie shell lightly with water.
- Place 5 to 6 strips of pie dough over the filling, spacing evenly. Fold back every other strip in half. Place a long strip of dough down the center in the opposite direction. Unfold the other strips, then fold up the opposite strips. Place another strip down going the opposite direction. Repeat this weaving process until you have a lattice shape. Trim the lattice pieces so they’re just less than flush with the bottom crust so the edges won’t be too thick and slump over while baking.
- Tuck the edges up and over to create a border, sealing everything together by pressing with your fingers. Use your fingers to make a deep crimping pattern. Transfer to the freezer for 15 to 30 minutes (must use a freezer-to-oven safe pie pan). This prevents the pie dough from becoming soggy or misshapen.
- Meanwhile, adjust the oven rack to the lower third position. If you have one, place a baking stone or steel on the oven rack to help the bottom crust remain crispy. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and cream. Remove pie from freezer. Brush all over with egg wash. Sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake on a parchment lined rimmed baking pan until the edges are lightly brown, about 25 minutes.
- Reduce heat to 375°F and continue baking for another 45 to 55 minutes, or until the edges are deeply brown and the filling is bubbling in the center.*
- Cool completely, for at least 3 hours, before serving. Store leftovers wrapped in foil for up to 2 days at room temperature. Reheat in a 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes to re-crisp the crust.
Recipe Notes
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This post was originally published in 2021 and has been updated with additional baking tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Used your suggested pie crust recipe and it rolled out great, baked up flakey and crisp. Probably will add a pie shield about 1/4 through cooking instead of halfway like I did, since the crust came out very dark ( but I may have baked it at 425 instead of 400 by mistake, I can’t remember), but still tasty! Will use it again! Followed the filling recipe exactly except omitting the nutmeg since I didn’t have any (weight it grams makes this recipe so much easier!) The filling was still gooey but by no means watery after 5 hours of cooling time, so probably would add a bit more cornstarch for my preferences. But overall fantastic pie with the right balance of tart and sweet! Will be making this again!
Can I just use 6 cups of blueberries from the store?
Hi Diane! Please check out the Tip Box (above the recipe) where Tessa talks about why she prefers wild blueberries, and what to do if you can’t find them 🙂 I hope that helps! Let us know what you think of this pie once you have given it a try! Happy baking 🙂
I made this pie for my dad’s birthday and both he and my mom loved it! I actually enjoyed making the crust more than I thought I would. Would the filling be similar if I were to use cherries?
Hi Emily! We haven’t tried using cherries in this pie, so we can’t say for sure! Each fruit contains different amounts of liquids and sets differently, so it might take some experimentation to nail it. Let us know how it goes if you give that a try 🙂
Hi! I’m curious if I were to make a mini pie (probably around 6 inches) if you would recommend baking at the same temperature for less time?
Hi Ella! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure! Let us know how it goes if you experiment with that 🙂
So delicious! My boyfriend made this for the first time and two days later he was making another. This is a keeper recipe
Maybe my blueberries were too frozen. The sugar mixture did not mix well into the berries. After mixing I spooned the berries into the crust and poured the sugar mixture evenly around the berries. The filling was bubbling when it came out of the oven but it didn’t set up properly. The flavor was very good though.
Hi Joyce! Sorry to hear you experienced issues when making this recipe! To add the sugar mixture to the blueberries, you’ll want to actually toss it all together in a separate bowl. This allows for better coverage on the blueberries. Then, when you pour the blueberry mixture into the pie shell, if there’s any leftover sugar mixture, you can evenly distribute it on the top of the blueberries. I hope you give our recipe another try, but I’m glad to hear that the flavor was good! 🙂
Instructions say to heat a baking stone in the oven. Then instructions say to bake pie on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet. Do I bake the pie directly on the stone or place the rimmed baking sheet on the stone? Thanks!
Hi Linda! This is just a suggestion that Tessa has found to ensure a really crisp crust on your pie! As she states in the pink tip box above the recipe, “preheat a baking stone on the bottom third of your oven, and bake the pie on a sheet pan (to collect any leakage) on the hot baking stone.” I hope that helps! Let us know if you have any further questions! 🙂
Thanks for your reply Kiersten. I saw the pink tip box after I posted my question. Pie turned out Fantastic. The lattice top was Gorgeous and the pie tasted wonderful. Love you guys at Handle the Heat. All the recipes I’ve tried turn out amazing. You are my “go to” for baking recipes. Thank You!
Yay! So glad to hear that, Linda!! I’m so glad you enjoy Tessa’s recipes! Being a “go-to” recipe site always makes our whole day!! 🙂 Happy baking!
Results are picture perfect! (On the instagram hashtag)
One “oops” though – I realized as I was cleaning up I had only put in 4 cups of blueberries! But as the pie came out of the oven, I wondered where those other 2 cups would have gone. The filling was bursting through the lattice crust as it was. My glass, freezer-to-oven pie plate is only about an inch deep though.
We’ll see how the taste test goes when the pie is served tomorrow!
Hi Michael! We saw your pie on Instagram – it looks gorgeous!! So happy you enjoyed baking it!! As for your leftover blueberries, it may just be a case of a different pie pan. Tessa’s favorite Oxo pie dish is pretty deep. It also depends on how you fill the pan! I’m often shocked when filling pies, personally, how much filling I can really get in the pan if you press down and really compact the filling as you go. I’m sure your pie will be delicious!! 🙂
And it was perfect! Taste and texture.
Fantastic!! Thank you so much for letting us know!! 🙂
That was way too many berries for my largest glass dish.It ran.over onto the steel pan underneath (thank goodness). But the pie looked and tasted wonderful.
I will make it again
Hi Sharon! So happy to hear you enjoyed this blueberry pie! Tessa recommends a deep 9″ pie dish for this recipe (details in the pink box above the recipe). I’m glad it didn’t make a mess in your oven, though!!
Hey, Sharon – When I made this today, I accidentally left out the 2 cups of “wild” berries (which would have been regular berries anyway), and wondered where they would have gone had I used them! But the pie looked gorgeous, and I’m sure it’s going to taste terrific tomorrow. I’m glad yours did too!
I have a frozen pie shell (homemade) in my freezer that I made several weeks ago. How do I assemble the pie from a frozen state shell? Your recipe looks so good. I want to make tomorrow. Thank you! Amy
Hi Amy! Is your homemade pie shell already formed to a pie pan? If so, go ahead and place in the fridge overnight to thaw, then proceed with the recipe as written. Feel free to follow the instructions creating a lattice top with a second pie dough, or however you wish the top of your pie to look. You can bake-from-frozen a fully assembled unbaked pie, but I’d worry about your pie getting a soggy bottom if only your bottom crust is frozen and the rest of the pie is not. If you still need to roll out your frozen dough, you’ll still need to thaw the dough in the fridge overnight so you’ll be able to roll the dough out, then follow the instructions as written. I hope that helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Let me know how it goes!
This is a classic example of why I HATE making pie. My Mom used to use tapioca in her fruit pies, but it is something that gags me, so I never have it on hand. I use flour in my apple pie, but have never had luck with a berry pie and flour. This was significantly worse than the flour berry pie. The liquid migrated out of the pie all over the top of the crust. The crust was perfectly brown on the top and through the sides of the pie, but the inside of the crust was gloppy dough. It was like eating sour, gloppy, blueberry soup. Revolting in every way.
Oh no! So sorry to hear you experienced issues with this recipe! Did you use fresh or frozen blueberries? Did you use a freezer-to-oven safe pie pan so that you could freeze your pie prior to baking? Tessa includes a few tips in the pink tip box above this recipe to help ensure that your pie is fully baked with a thickened filling. I truly hope you give this recipe another try, it’s my all-time favorite pie. Please let me know if I can help troubleshoot further!
Can I use store bought pie crust?
While we highly recommend using our Best Ever Pie Crust recipe for the best flavor and flaky crust, you’re more than welcome to use store bought 🙂