A Couple Cooks

Fresh Strawberry Pie

June 29, 2021

This strawberry pie recipe has incredible flavor: an elevated take on the classic! Serve it to impress and everyone will ask for the recipe.

Strawberry pie

Usually we’re all about healthy everyday recipes. But sometimes, you need stunning dessert to impress everyone. Introducing…the best-ever fresh Strawberry Pie! It highlights the best ripe berry flavor, perfectly sweet tart with a delicious hint of cinnamon. The flavor is almost beyond words. Our neighbors promptly declared it was “the best pie I’ve ever had.” Don’t believe us? Well, you’ve got to test for yourself!

Why to make this strawberry pie

This strawberry pie is one of the favorite desserts to come out of our kitchen. To make sure we weren’t exaggerating, we had a few Instagram readers test the recipe for us. Here’s what a few recipe testers said:

  • “Oh my gosh this is delicious! I made it for a summer BBQ with my in-laws, and everyone raved!” -Erin
  • “Everyone in my family loved the filling! The cinnamon made the pie feel a little more elevated than your typical strawberry pie. Everyone also enjoyed how “real” it tasted. It didn’t have the artificial strawberry flavor.” -Elizabeth
Strawberry pie recipe

Use homemade or storebought pie crust

You can use your favorite pie crust recipe for this strawberry pie. It’s best with homemade pie crust, but easiest with homemade. Here’s what to know about the options:

  • Homemade pie crust: This Quiche Crust is our favorite, but you can use your family favorite recipe if you prefer.
  • Store-bought pastry crust: This is a great shortcut! If you use it, keep in mind the timing for the blind baking may vary.
Strawberry pie

Tips for blind baking the crust

This strawberry pie highlights the best juicy flavor of fresh strawberries. In fact, the filling itself is completely no bake. But this recipe uses a standard pie crust, not a graham cracker crust. So you’ll need to first bake the pie crust using a technique called blind baking. Here’s the general overview of this process:

  • Freeze the crust 30 minutes. Why? This helps the crust to hold its shape while blind baking. (This freezer method shortcuts refrigerating for a few hours. You’re welcome!)
  • Prick holes with a fork all over the crust. This is called docking the crust: it makes it puff up less while in the oven.
  • Add parchment paper then pie weights, dried beans, or rice! Pour them right into the crust! Then bake it for 15 minutes. Here are the pie weights we use.
  • Remove the pie weights and bake until golden brown. Once the crust bakes 15 minutes, remove the weights and bake another 15 minutes.

Then, you’ll just need to cool the crust before you fill it. One trick we use: we like to slide the crust into a separate pie pan that’s already cool. It speeds up the process for cooling and you can go right to the filling step.

Keys to the strawberry pie filling

How did we make this pie taste so “real” and avoid the artificial flavors? Well, here are our secrets to the strawberry pie filling:

  • The filling has no strawberry jello or gelatin. There’s nothing artificially flavored here, and no gelatin or jello.
  • The tricks? Smashed strawberries and a bit of cornstarch make the very thick sauce. It’s flavored with both honey and sugar, to bring in a delicious nuance in flavor from the natural sweetener.
  • Cinnamon takes it home. The hint of cinnamon in this strawberry pie sends it to over-the-top goodness.
Strawberry pie

Cool for 2 hours until it sets

The filling for this strawberry pie will set after 2 hours in the refrigerator. The key to setting the pie is that the cornstarch mixture makes an extremely thick sauce. After refrigeration, it will set and become even more solidified. No Jello needed!

When you’re ready to serve, topping it with homemade whipped cream makes it pretty darn special! Here’s our best homemade recipe: you’ll never go back to store-bought.

Storage info for strawberry pie

This strawberry pie is great the day it’s made, but it also stores well. Store this pie for up to 3 days refrigerated, and it holds its flavor well. We were surprised at how well it holds up! It’s perfect for serving at summer barbecues, picnics, potlucks, or as a 4th of July dessert.

Strawberry pie recipe

Variations: make it vegan and gluten-free

This strawberry pie is easily made vegan, and there’s a simple swap for gluten-free too. Here’s what to do:

  • Vegan strawberry pie: Swap maple syrup for honey in the filling, and use this Vegan Pie Crust. Top with Vegan Whipped Cream.
  • Gluten free strawberry pie: Use your favorite gluten-free pie crust recipe (try this one from King Arthur).

More great strawberry recipes

Summer is all about ripe summer berries! Here are a few great strawberry recipes to make this time of year:

This strawberry pie recipe is…

Vegetarian.

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Strawberry pie

Fresh Strawberry Pie

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 3 hours
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 8
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This strawberry pie recipe has incredible flavor: an elevated take on the classic! Serve it to impress and everyone will ask for the recipe.

Ingredients

  • 1 pie crust*: Homemade Pie Crust, purchased pastry crust, or Vegan Pie Crust
  • 2 pounds fresh strawberries
  • � cup granulated sugar (or coconut sugar)
  • � cup honey (or agave syrup or maple syrup for vegan)
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 pinch kosher salt
  • ¼ cup cornstarch**
  • ¼ cup water
  • Homemade whipped cream, to serve

Instructions

  1. Make the crust: Follow the directions in the Homemade Quiche Crust recipe to make the dough and shape it into a 9-inch pie plate. You can do either a fork pressed edge or a fluted edge. Then freeze the crust in the pie pan for 30 minutes (this helps to avoid shrinkage; you can skip the freezing portion for a purchased pastry crust).
  2. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. 
  3. Blind bake*: Remove the dough from the freezer. Crumble a sheet of parchment paper, then place it gently on top of the crust. Fill the dough with pie weights (we used two sets of these), dry beans, or dry rice. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully remove the parchment and weights and bake an additional 14 to 15 minutes until the bottom is golden brown (note that the timing may vary if you use store-bought pastry dough). Remove from the oven and allow the crust to cool completely before adding the strawberry filling. To cool it quickly, you can very gently slide it into another pie pan of the same size and place it on a cooling rack; this should cool it in about 10 to 15 minutes while you make the filling. (Or, the baked crust can be wrapped in plastic and stored in the refrigerator for 2 days.)
  4. Make strawberry filling: Wash, destem and quarter the strawberries lengthwise, cutting very large berries into smaller pieces. Take 1 cup of the quartered strawberries (reserve the rest), place them in a bowl, and smash them with a fork until each one is mashed. Add the smashed berries and their juices to a large saucepan. Add the sugar, honey, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbling, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  5. Then in a small bowl, combine the cornstarch with ¼ cup water and whisk until dissolved. Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan and cook, stirring often while it bubbles, for 1 to 2 minutes until very thick and glossy. Turn off the heat. Add the remaining fresh strawberries to the pan and turn with spatula until they are fully coated with the very thick sauce. 
  6. Immediately scoop the strawberry filling into the cooled pie crust. Use clean fingers to arrange the strawberries in the top layer (you may need to flip some over to make it look nice). Allow to cool in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving until it sets. Serve topped with homemade whipped cream. Lasts up to 3 days refrigerated.

Notes

*Blind baking the pie crust shrinks it a bit. For a larger puffy crust, you can make 1.5 times the recipe and cut scraps to reinforce the sides. Go to How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust.

**Arrowroot may work as a substitute, but we have not tested it. Try at your own risk!

  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Pie

Keywords: Strawberry pie

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

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