Blueberry Pie Recipe

Blueberry Pie is one of those dessert staples all year long. It is equally delicious made with frozen blueberries or peak-season fresh blueberries. The lemon juice balances the sweetness and makes the blueberries taste somehow more intense. The orange zest and vanilla extract pair beautifully with the blueberries for a subtle but wonderful flavor.

Serve this pie alongside my easy pumpkin pie, the best pecan pie, cherry pie and sweet potato pie for the perfect Thanksgiving dessert line up! Add an easy key lime pie for a unexpected twist! This old-fashioned blueberry pie is equally comfortable on a picnic table or just sliced up for a weeknight treat.

Professional Tips for Blueberry Pie

• Chill your pie crust ingredients and tools. I find it very helpful to have all my ingredients cold when making buttery, flakey pie crust recipes. This, plus lightly floured surfaces, keeps the crust from falling apart in my hands.
• Pre-cook your filling. For the thickest filling, pre-cook your blueberry pie filling slowly on low so that the berries pop and thicken the pie due to the natural pectin in blueberries. Boiling the filling one minute will cook out the starch flavor in the tapioca and turn it clear, so all you see is the purple blueberry color.
• Tent the crust. Sometimes, the filling might need a little extra time to come to a boil without the crust over-browning. In this situation, I use three pieces of foil folded around the edges to make a simple crust shield.
• Bake in a metal tin or glass pie dish. The best pie pan for blueberry pie is a metal tin or glass pie dish! Using these will generally allow the filling and crust to cook perfectly at the same rate!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Make it with different fruits: Try adding some blackberries to the mix or cherries. Just keep the ratio ⅔ blueberries to other fruits to ensure a thick filling. If you’re in the mood for totally different fruits, my Cherry Pie, Mixed Berry Pie or Mixed Berry Crumble are excellent options.
• Make a streusel topped pie: Use this streusel topping to make an even easier homemade blueberry pie! Simply crumble on top and follow the instructions to bake it.
• Make it vegetarian & vegan. Everything in this blueberry pie filling recipe is already vegan. You can simply eliminate the brushed-on heavy cream and replace it with a vegan egg wash to maintain that beautiful finish!

Substitutions

• Citrus: You can omit the orange zest or swap it for lemon zest if you prefer. If you use a different citrus juice, just be sure to keep the ratios the same.
• Tapioca Pearls: You can substitute tapioca pearls for tapioca flour. If you are using pearls make sure they are small pearls and I usually grind them in a spice grinder to make them fine. Let the mixed filling sit for 30 minutes to allow the tapioca pearls to hydrate. You might also need to adjust your amount.
• Thickener: You could use a different thickener, such as cornstarch, but the resulting filling will be less thick. Normal flour would also thicken your pie, but it does not have the strength of tapioca and will make the pie cloudy in appearance.

How to Make Blueberry Pie from Scratch:

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.

Roll & lattice the dough

Step 1: Roll out both top and bottom crusts to ⅛-inch thick. If it cracks, it is a little too cold. Let it sit out for 5-8 minutes.

Step 2: You can lattice like I did, or you can just cut a few vent holes such as in this easy apple pie. You can also just lay the strips on top of the filling without weaving, and it will still taste delicious. I show you several easy methods for latticing in this lattice pie crust tutorial!

Make filling & assemble:

Step 3: In a pot, combine all the filling ingredients. Slowly cook over low heat until the blueberries begin to break down and the tapioca is absorbed (no longer visible). This should take about 15 minutes. If using frozen blueberries, no need to thaw them before cooking.

Step 4: Turn up the heat and boil the mixture for one minute to begin activating the tapioca. Pour the filling out onto a baking sheet lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Cover and cool completely. 

Step 5: Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Step 6: Pour cooled filling into bottom crust (lined in pie tin) and spread out in an even layer. Top with a second pie circle or latticed top and crimp edges decoratively. You can brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired. If the crust didn’t get too warm, you can forgo a final refrigeration, but if it no longer feels cold to the touch, refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour. 

Step 7: Place dish on rimmed baking sheet and bake in pre-heated oven for 45-50 or until the  filling is bubbling in the center and the pie crust is a dark golden brown.

How to serve homemade blueberry pie?

You can serve this blueberry pie warm or cold. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or vanilla bean anglaise. Vanilla bean draws out the vanilla and orange notes in the pie and the cream pulls everything together.

Frequently Asked Questions