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This blueberry pie recipe makes the best thick, sliceable blueberry pie you will ever taste! The juicy blueberry filling is a notch above the rest, with its hints of citrus and vanilla all baked inside a golden-brown, buttery pie crust.
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.
Table of Contents
- Why you will love this blueberry pie recipe:
- Professional Tips for Blueberry Pie
- Ingredients
- Variations
- Substitutions
- How to Make Blueberry Pie from Scratch:
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- Why is tapioca flour the best thickener for pies?
- How to serve homemade blueberry pie?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Blueberry Pie Recipe
- Before You Go
Why you will love this blueberry pie recipe:
- Beautiful, thick slices. The tapioca and blueberry combination allows for the ideal slice of pie! Not only do these slices keep their form, but they look truly stunning next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Balanced berry flavor, fresh or frozen. This pie can be made with fresh or frozen fruit. If blueberries are not in season, I suggest using frozen blueberries, and not thawing the fruit prior to baking. Citrus notes balance out the sweetness of the berries in this recipe!
- Precise professional instructions. I put the time in so that you don’t have to! As a professional pastry chef, I’ve experimented with this recipe so you have the perfect measurements and instructions for an amazing blueberry pie.
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!
Ingredients
- Foolproof Vodka Pie Crust: The best pie crust recipe for the very best blueberry pie is my Vodka Pie Crust You could alternatively use my recipe for All Butter Pie Crust, Crisco pie crust or a store-bought crust (no judgment).
- Blueberries: Just like in my blueberry raspberry crumbles and no-bake blueberry cheesecake, you can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this classic blueberry pie recipe. I use frozen if blueberries are not specifically in season.
- Sugar: I use granulated sugar in this pie. It is here for the more obvious flavor reasons, but also to retain moisture, and improve texture and stability.
- Lemon Juice: My motto for citrus juices is that fresh is always best. If it looks dark in color, then it is no longer going to taste fresh. If you use store-bought lemon juice, try to find a frozen option that is frozen fresh juice.
- Orange Zest: The orange zest can be omitted or swapped for lemon zest if you prefer.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds a beautiful flavor itself but it also boosts the flavor of other ingredients around it, like blueberries and citrus.
- Tapioca Flour: I use tapioca to thicken my fruit pies. It thickens better than cornstarch and it doesn’t have an off-putting flavor. I use Bob’s Red Mill tapioca flour. Different brands have different thickening powers and you may need more or less.
- Heavy cream & turbinado sugar
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!
If you are using a vodka or all butter pie crust, I suggest pre-weaving your lattice on top of parchment paper and transferring it to the top of your pie like I do in my how to create a lattice pie crust video! This means you don’t have to chill the whole pie again before baking. Chilling the pie means you are chilling the dish and that will delay crust baking!
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.
You can make your filling up to a week in advance! This intel comes in handy when making multiple Thanksgiving pie recipes…
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.
If the crust is getting too dark, tent the whole top of the pie with foil, or make 3 strips of foil and fold them around the edges.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
I have made large batches of this blueberry pie filling for my professional life, and the biggest tip is starting the filling out on low heat. That gives the blueberries time to pop and release their juices. Then you activate the tapioca starch and thicken all that juiciness up!
Why is tapioca flour the best thickener for pies?
- Flavor: The flavor of other thickeners doesn’t always cook all the way out. Tapioca is flavorless when cooked, and other root starches have a subtle flavor that I find off-putting.
- Texture: No one wants a gritty pie. I have found that tapioca produces a smoother, silkier filling for your pie than even cornstarch!
- Curb-appeal: Tapioca is clear when cooked, which let’s fruit and berry colors shine! Flour will make your filling cloudy in appearance.
- Strength & Staying Power: Tapioca has a firm hold that keeps on holding long after other thickeners begin to weep. Cornstarch technically has a stronger grip, but it starts to leach liquid after about 5 days, sometimes sooner the more you use.
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
Store covered at room temperature for 4 days, refrigerated for a week or frozen for up to 2 months. Blueberry pie freezes beautifully! Thaw at room temperature and refresh (heat) in a warm oven.
Do not dock the pie crust for blueberry pie! The filling is liquid and will leak out of the holes and adhere itself to the pie dish or could lead to a soggy bottom crust.
Blueberries release a considerable amount of moisture as they cook or are in contact with sugar. If you don’t pre-cook your filling, you run the risk of the blueberries’ pectin and tapioca not being activated enough for a thick filling consistency. Another possible reason for a soupy pie is that you do not have the proper amount of thickener or have not baked the pie long enough.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
Foolproof Vodka Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup vegetable shortening cold, cut into small bits
- ¼ cup vodka ice cold
- ¼ cup water ice cold
- flour for your work surface aka 'bench flour
Blueberry Pie Filling
- 5 ⅔ cups blueberries
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 zest from orange
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
- heavy cream optional, for topping
- turbinado sugar optional, for topping
Instructions
Roll & lattice the dough
- 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. For additional information, visit my post on vodka pie crust!
- You can lattice like I did, or you can just cut a few vent holes. You can also just lay the strips on top of the filling without weaving, and it will still taste delicious.
Make filling & assemble:
- 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.
- 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.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- 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.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Variations – I would not recommend swapping out the blueberries for a different berry in this pie, as you will lose your perfect filling consistency.
Storage – Store covered at room temperature for 4 days, refrigerated for a week or frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature and refresh (heat) in a warm oven. Yield: 1, 9″ Pie
Nutrition
Before You Go
Check out our other delicious, chef-developed pie recipes! You also won’t want to miss these 20 Easy Summer Desserts for other baked and no-bake treats.
My fam can’t get enough of this blueberry pie! I topped some of the slices with ice cream and some with whipped and they were both irresistible! Decadent and satisfying!
That is wonderful to hear, Sharina!
Thank you for this awesomely detailed post! It’s so easy to follow and the pie really is amazing!
Thanks for stopping back to comment, Susie!
I have been looking for a great blueberry pie recipe and this is it!! Flakey and delicious and very generous amount of blueberries – delicious
That is fabulous to hear, Jo! Thanks for commenting
The best blueberry pie recipe and so easy to make!
Thanks, Rose!
I love the lemon blueberry flavor, it came out super refreshing!
Thanks, Shelby! I am so glad you enjoyed!