This Old Fashioned Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is a winning combination of sweet strawberries, tart rhubarb and just enough sugar. The addition of the crumbly almond crust is perfection!to be wary of rhubarb, it's superb in this dessert!
Rhubarb is one of those fruits (or is it a vegetable?) that people either seem to love or to hate, but it is ubiquitous in old cookbooks because it was the first fruit to arrive in the Spring. My Dad is definitely in the “Love Rhubarb” Camp. He didn’t tell many stories about his childhood, but he did mention nostalgically (several times) that his Mom used to grow rhubarb in her garden and she made the best rhubarb pies. Though pies get a lot of love in autumn, with roundups like 20 Best Thanksgiving Pie Recipes, sometimes a new springtime pie will catch my fancy. Plus, since pies are my safe-space, even with my Dad's glowing recommendation I felt the need to ease into my rhubarb culinary experience with a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. No easing necessary – it was darn good!
In my American heritage cookbooks rhubarb is primarily used in pies (i.e. strawberry rhubarb pie)– probably because it needs copious amounts of sugar to be edible! It was so common as a pie filling that the first cookbooks refer to rhubarb as “pie plant”. Fun fact just for you.
This Strawberry Rhubarb Pie recipe comes from The Settlement Cookbook, but the Almond Crust is from the American Woman’s Cookbook. It has an unusual mixing method where you mix the cornstarch with the fruit first then whisk the egg with sugar in a separate bowl. The egg mixture is poured on top of the prepared fruit mixture.
Strawberries and rhubarb both release a lot of juice when they are cooked, so this pie is definitely a little runny even when cooled. The key to a thicker filling here is to make sure it bakes long enough!
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
For the pie:
- 1 ½ cups rhubarb
- 1 ½ cups strawberries
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)
- turbinado sugar (optional)
Double almond pie crust or regular pie crust
Instructions
To prepare the pie:
- Preheat oven to 425. Line pie plate with pastry and place on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator.
- If rhubarb is still green, peel with a vegetable peeler. This is unnecessary if it is ripe and pink!
- Slice both rhubarb and strawberries into ¼ inch pieces.
- Place into a bowl and sprinkle mixture with cornstarch. Toss to coat.
- Whisk together egg and sugar vigorously until light and fluffy.
- Pour strawberry rhubarb mixture into the prepare pie crust. Do not mound up the filling like one does with apple pies. It will not cook down, just over.
- Pour egg mixture over the top.
- Cover with top pastry or with a lattice top, if desired. Trim off excess overhang (anything more than ½ inch over the edge) with kitchen scissors. Pinch top and bottom crust together and roll under. Crimp decoratively.
- Chill 30 minutes.
- Brush the top crust with heavy cream and generously sprinkle with turbinado sugar. This is optional but divine, so I wouldn't skip it!
- Bake in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes and then reduce to 325F until the filling is bubbly. Cover the edges of the crust after 20 minutes with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
Notes
How long total do you cook the pie as it doesn't say ?
Hi Barb! Cook it until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. It will depend on your oven but about 30-45 minutes.
What do u do after u put the foil on the pie???
The foil trick is just to keep the crust from getting too brown while it cooks through. You take the pie out when it's done and then remove the foil and let it cool! Happy baking!
Strawberry/rhubarb recipes looks wonderful...thank you...and I also just picked some cherries from the neighbor's tree...what amount of cherries would/could you add to the mix..... I am also looking for just a cherry pie recipe....Thank you all for your time......keep on baking....:)
I would do 1 cup of each fruit or just do rhubarb and cherry. You will definitely want to taste your cherries and if they aren't sweet, add a bit more sugar to taste. Let me know how the pie comes out!
I wish I had a cherry tree or a neighbor with a cherry tree! I have a cherry pie in the works that I hope to perfect and post soon! Stay tuned 🙂
Thank you for your very timely reply....And I will certainly try some cherry/rhubarb also, great idea...and I will let you know by the end of the week....I am on a roll now..LOL..also making apple/pear cheddar pies...
Have a wonderful week.......
Have you ever tried mixing in Sour Pie Cherries with your Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie or Crisp? I'm not much at making pies, (mostly because of the crusts), but have used the combination with Strawberry-Rhubarb-Cherry Crisps. Three flavors are a wonderful combination.
That sounds heavenly! I will definitely give it a try. I, too, am a huge fan of crisps and crumbles because of their simplicity. Pie crust and I have a turbulent history - you are not alone!
http://cheflindseyfarr.com/2013/02/piecrust-disaster-a-la-mode/
I think that even you will approve of the ease of the pie crust used in a recipe that I will be posting this week!
this pie looks heavenly!
Thanks Dina! It's definitely delicious even if you aren't a huge rhubarb fan!