Why I Love This Pie
- Holds Together—If you’ve had pies that turn into a runny, soupy mess when cut, follow my instructions and this blueberry pie will hold together beautifully.
- Delicious—It’s flavorful, but not overly sweet. The fresh blueberries really shine and I love serving it with vanilla ice cream.
- Crowd Pleaser—I had my mom’s help (the original pie expert!) tweaking and testing this recipe and I’m confidant it’s the best blueberry pie recipe that I vouch whole-heartedly for!
Ingredients
- Blueberries: Smaller blueberries work best for blueberry pie because they’re not so juicy, which allows the pie to thicken better. If you’d like to use frozen blueberries instead of fresh, I highly suggest using my triple berry pie recipe (use only blueberries). Using frozen berries in this pie will yield a runny pie filling, whereas that recipe calls for frozen berries and they get cooked into a thick filling before adding to the pie shell.
- Sugar: Use a little less if your berries are very sweet.
- Tapioca Flour: This is the secret ingredient that will keep your blueberry pie from being a runny mess when you cut into it. Tapioca flour works better than flour or cornstarch because you need less, and it wont alter the color or texture of the pie filling like those will.
- Lemon Zest and Juice from a fresh lemon is essential.
- Pie Crust for a bottom and top crust. Homemade Pie crust will work a lot better than store-bought crust as store-bought will brown easier and become drier when baked at this temperature and length of time. Keep the pie dough chilled before you roll it out and while you are making the filling.
- Egg White for brushing on the top of the pie to create a beautiful golden, shiny crust. Sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.
How to Make Blueberry Pie
Make Blueberry Pie Filling: In a medium bowl measure berries. Pour sugar over berries and then pour tapioca over sugar. Sprinkle the zest on and drizzle around the lemon juice. Stir gently to begin to coat the berries without crushing them. Let the berry-sugar mixture rest for 15 minutes, stirring gently every 5 minutes. Eventually the sugar and tapioca will begin to coat the berries and become wet looking and slightly sticky.
Transfer to Pie Shell: After 15 minutes, spoon berries into prepared chilled pie shell. Sprinkle lightly with small dash of cinnamon (optional).
Cover with chilled top crust. Make a small slit in the top crust to allow steam to escape, or do a lattice top. Trim off any excess dough and seal and crimp the edge of pie. With a pastry brush, lightly brush the top crust with beaten egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake in pre-heated 400 F oven for 30 minutes, then cover gently with a piece of aluminum foil to keep the pie from over browning. Bake an additional 25 minutes, remove foil, then bake 5 more minutes for a total of 60 minutes.
Cool this fresh blueberry pie for at least 3-4 hours before cutting (for best results, refrigerate for another hour after it cools, before cutting).
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions
To Make Ahead: Baked blueberry pie can be prepared and stored in the fridge one day ahead of time before serving. The pie crust can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
Blueberry Pie
Servings 8- 6 cups fresh blueberries*, about 2 lbs
- 1 cup granulated sugar*
- 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour*
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 dash ground cinnamon , (optional)
- Homemade Pie crust (my recipe makes the 2 crusts you'll need for this recipe-one for the top and bottom).
- 1 egg white , beaten
- granulated sugar , for sprinkling
Bottom crust: Add rolled out pie dough to a 9'' pie pan and refrigerate while you make the berry filling.
Blueberry Pie Filling: In a medium bowl measure berries. Pour sugar over berries and then pour tapioca over sugar. Sprinkle the zest on and drizzle around the lemon juice. Stir gently to begin to coat the berries without crushing them. Let the berry-sugar mixture rest for 15 minutes, stirring gently every 5 minutes. The sugar and tapioca will begin to coat the berries and become wet and slightly sticky.
After 15 minutes, spoon berries into prepared chilled pie shell. Sprinkle lightly with small dash of cinnamon.
Top Crust: Cover with chilled top crust (make a slit in the top to allow to vent), or strips of crust to make a lattice top. Trim off any excess dough and seal and crimp the edge of pie. With a pastry brush, lightly brush the top crust with beaten egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Bake in pre-heated 400 degree F oven for 30 minutes, then cover gently with a piece of aluminum foil to keep the pie from over browning. Bake an additional 25 minutes, remove foil and bake 5 more minutes for a total of 60 minutes.
Cool this pie for at least 3-4 hours before cutting (for best results I recommend refrigerate for another hour after it cools, before cutting).
Notes
Blueberries: Smaller blueberries work best for blueberry pie because they’re not so juicy, which allows the pie to thicken better.
Sugar: You can use a little less sugar if the berries are extra sweet.
Pie Crust: Keep pie dough chilled. Homemade Pie crust works best.
Tapioca Flour: I use Bob’s Red Mill brand Tapioca Flour, which most grocery stores carry it, or you can find it online. You can substitute cornstarch, but in my testing, tapioca flour thickens the sauce better.
Cutting the pie: It’s crucial to allow the pie to cool for the instructed amount of time. If your pie has excess liquid after cutting just spoon it out or soak it up with paper towel.
Make Ahead Instructions: Baked blueberry pie can be prepared and stored in the fridge one day ahead of time before serving. The pie crust can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
To Freeze: Allow the pie to cool completely, cover and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 188kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 0.5g, Saturated Fat: 0.03g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g, Sodium: 8mg, Potassium: 98mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 36g, Vitamin A: 61IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 9mg, Iron: 0.4mg
