This easy fresh strawberry pie can make any day feel like a sunny summer day. This homemade pie is piled high with juicy strawberries and topped with a sweet whipping cream that will make your mouth water.
Perfect Time of the Year to Make a Fresh Strawberry Pie
It is late spring here and the weather is warming up nicely. When the strawberries are in abundance at our local farmer’s markets, it is time to make this easy dessert.
When the season is right, I urge you to try this strawberry pie.
Blue-Ribbon Pie
My husband gets a fresh strawberry pie each year from our neighbor. She has brought pies to our local fair for decades and always wins the blue ribbon with her delicate and flaky crust topped with the fresh strawberries in a thick strawberry sauce. Finally, it is topped with fresh whipping cream. What a delectable dessert. We know why she keeps winning those blue ribbons and we are so lucky to get a whole pie every year to enjoy ourselves.
Ingredients in Strawberry Pie
Let the strawberries take center stage with these simple ingredients.
- 9-inch pie shell. This can be store bought or homemade.
- Fresh Strawberries. They can be used whole or sliced. Either way, clean them and snip off the green leaves.
- Granulated sugar. This adds a bit of sweetness.
- Corn starch. This is used to thicken the filling.
- Water.
- Strawberry Gelatin 1 small package. I like this for the thickening and flavoring.
- Whipped Cream. This is optional, but it sure makes the pie look pretty and taste a bit nicer with the creaminess.
How many Strawberries do you need for a pie?
Some recipes use cups, others use a pint, or quart. However, in this recipe, it is however many strawberries you can fit in the pie shell.
In general, plan on 4-6 cups of strawberries for a pie that has lots of filling piled high.
How Many Strawberries are in a Quart?
It is difficult to say exactly how many strawberries due to the variety of sizes. However, in general, there are 4 cups of strawberries to a quart. If your recipe calls for a pint of strawberries, that is approximately 2 cups.
What crust goes best with a strawberry pie?
I prefer a traditional pie crust for this recipe. However, any pie crust will work with this recipe. I have had pies that people have made using a graham cracker crust and ones with a few ground nuts added to the pie dough before baking.
How do you make strawberry pie from scratch?
This pie uses a pre-baked pie crust. You can make your own pie crust or use a refrigerated pie crust. The pie just has a bottom crust and that will need to be blind baked. This is the only baking that is required for this pie crust.
How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust
Roll your pie dough and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to a half inch overhang. Tuck the edges under and crimp the edges for a pretty edge. Dock the pie crust with a fork on the bottom and sides. You might be wondering what docking means. It simply poking holes in the dough so that it does not puff up during baking.
Line the inside of the crust with parchment paper, then fill with dried beans or baking weights. In a pre-heated 400-degree Fahrenheit oven, bake for 16-18 minutes, until the edges of the crust are a light golden color.
Remove the pie weights and parchment paper, brush all over with heavy cream or a whisked egg and return to the oven and bake another 10-12 minutes. This will help create a barrier between the pie filling and the crust, thus reducing the chance of having a soggy crust. Let cool to room temperature.
Make the Strawberry Pie Filling
While the pie crust is cooling, it is time to make the filling. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water stir until smooth. Heat to boiling and cook for approximately 2 minutes or until thickened. (stir the entire time boiling). Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Let sit until room temperature – approximately 20 minutes.
Clean and Slice the Fresh Strawberries
Some pie bakers prefer to add the strawberries to the pie crust whole. While this makes for a beautiful presentation, I prefer to eat a pie that has had the strawberries sliced. However, arrange them the way you like them.
Add the Thickened Pie Filling
Once the gelatin is cool, pour over the strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until the gelatin is set.
Serve with a Dollop of Whipping Cream
Finally, serve with whipping cream. Using store bought whipped topping works great to keep things simple. However, you can also make your own homemade whipped cream topping. It just takes a few minutes.
No Soggy Crust Pie
I have had strawberry pies like this where a gelatin was used, and it makes a watery and soggy crust. That is because the gelatin is not firm, and it soaks into the crust. Firming up the pie filling keeps this crust from turning soggy.
Additionally, baking the crust with a light brushing of whisked egg or heavy cream helps seal the crust. This creates a barrier between the pie filling and the pie crust.
I have purposely had a pie in the refrigerator for two days just to see what would happen with the crust. My crust was still great after two days. To me, this helps this easy recipe be a go-to recipe.
Why is my strawberry pie runny?
This is the complaint I see most often and most of the time it’s because the filling was not cooked enough, or the filling was not cool before adding to the pie crust and berries.
This fresh strawberry pie is not baked in the oven once the filling is added. Therefore, it is important to fully cook the filling on the stovetop.
This recipe calls uses cornstarch to create a very thick filling, so that your pie will set and slice nicely when chilled. However, it is important to note that the cornstarch needs to be dissolved first in a cold liquid, then heated to its boiling point. This helps in creating the thickening power of the cornstarch.
Further, make sure that the mixture comes to the full boil and cook for the entire time that the recipe recommends. The process of cooking the mixture also helps in reducing the liquid in the filling, which results in a thicker pie filling too.
Once the mixture is removed from the heat, the strawberry flavored gelatin is added and stirred until it is all incorporated. This also helps to thicken this pie filling.
Can a Strawberry Pie be Made Ahead of Time?
I highly recommend making this fresh strawberry pie recipe the day you are going to serve it. Once the pie has had an hour to chill and set, it is ready to eat. It is best eaten the day it is made.
How Long Will a Strawberry Pie Last?
Covered and refrigerated, it will hold up nicely for 1-2 days. After that, the crust might become a bit soggy. However, it is safe to eat up to 5 days. The quality of the pie is just not the same as the first day or two after it is made.
Make your own stabilized homemade whipping cream.
Easy Fresh Strawberry Pie
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Kitchen Essentials
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch pie shell
- 1 Quart Strawberries Sliced Approximately 4-5 cups
- 3/4 Cup Granulated sugar
- 2 Tbl. Cornstarch
- 1 Cup Water
- 3 Oz. Strawberry Gelatin 1 small package
- 1/2 Cup Whipped Cream Optional
Instructions
- Roll your pie dough and transfer to a 9-inch pie plate. Trim the crust to a half inch overhang. Tuck the edges under and crimp the edges for a pretty edge. Dock the pie crust with a fork on the bottom and sides. You might be wondering what docking means. It simply poking holes in the dough so that it does not puff up during baking.
- Line the inside of the crust with parchment paper, then fill with dried beans or baking weights. In a pre-heated 400-degree Fahrenheit oven, bake for 16-18 minutes, until the edges of the crust are a light golden color.
- Remove the pie weights and parchment paper, brush all over with heavy cream or a whisked egg and return to the oven and bake another 10-12 minutes. This will help create a barrier between the pie filling and the crust, thus reducing the chance of having a soggy crust. Let cool to room temperature.
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and water stir until smooth. Heat to boiling and cook for approximately 2 minutes or until thickened. (stir the entire time boiling).
- Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Let sit until room temperature to cool. Approximately 20 minutes.
- Wash, dry, and cut strawberries. Arrange on baked pie crust.
- Once the gelatin is cool, pour over the strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until the gelatin is set. Approximately 1 hour.
- Add a Dallop of whipping cream and serve.
