Fresh Blueberry Pie
With sweet, plump summer blueberries encased in a flaky all-butter pie pastry, my recipe for Fresh Blueberry Pie is always a winner. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream for guaranteed smiles at the table.
The markets are absolutely overflowing with the first big flush of glorious blueberries from Morocco and Spain at the moment. Sweet, juicy, plump, tasty… and perfect for baking a deliciously sweet and summery Fresh Blueberry Pie.
An Easy Recipe
This is truly an easy recipe! I love making blueberry pies because the filling is so simple to prepare. No peeling, coring, slicing or stewing necessary, just stir together and bake. That’s much easier than apple pie!
All butter Pastry
Somehow we seem to have the collective idea that making pie pastry is some kind of sorcery, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
My recipe for an all-butter pie pastry is super easy. You don’t even need a mixer, so no excuses.
To make pie pastry you simply need to whisk the dry ingredients together, rub in some cubed butter (I love this part) then add water. After a quick rest in the fridge, it’s ready to roll out. So good.
Ingredients
To make my Blueberry Pie recipe, you need the following simple ingredients:
- Flour: Plain or all-purpose flour is suitable for this recipe.
- Sugar: White sugar will give the best results and not disguise the lovely flavour of the fresh berries.
- Unsalted Butter: I always use unsalted butter when baking so that I can control the amount of salt in the final product.
- Ground Almonds: Sprinkling ground almonds over the pastry will soak up any extra blueberry juice and stop the bottom of the pie from going soggy.
- Blueberries: The most important ingredient! Use fresh, sweet, in season berries for the best results.
- Cornstarch: This binds the berries together. To work properly it has to be hot and bubbling, so don’t take your pie out of the oven too early.
Fresh blueberries Vs frozen
If blueberries are bang in season and you spot a serious bargain, snap them up and bake your pie. For most of the year, frozen blueberries are perfectly fine for pie baking.
Blueberries freeze beautifully because they are small, so blueberry pie can be made with either fresh or frozen berries.
For best results be sure to defrost and drain the blueberries well before baking, otherwise you’ll end up with too much liquid (and the dreaded soggy bottom!)
The full ingredient list and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Pro Tip: Don’t be scared!
Loads of people don’t want to attempt pie making out of fear. The truth is that your friends or family will love your pie because you put the effort into making it.
Who cares if your pie is a little rustic looking? Dust it with powdered sugar and add a big scoop of ice cream and NOBODY will complain, I promise.
Don’t be scared of baking pies! Your family, friends or guests will love it because YOU took the time and effort to make it!
Natural ingredients = natural variations
I feel it’s really important to point out that berry pies tend to vary wildly by season, by fruit and by location… and that’s ok!
When your major ingredient (and we are using LOTS of delicious blueberries in this pie) is a juicy little fruit, some blueberries will be juicier than others and some will be more tart than others meaning the end result will change too. Don’t stress about it, just dig in and enjoy.
Pie pastry is simple to make -you don’t even need a mixer! Leaving big flakes of butter will give you the lightest, flakiest crust.
More Fruit Pie Recipes
Why not check out my recipe for Deep Dish Apple Pie? If you’ve got some sweet and juicy summer peaches, try my Peach and Ginger Pie, it’s delicious!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I make Fresh Blueberry Pie with frozen berries?
Yes, you can. Defrost fully and drain completely before using.
I have a nut allergy, can I leave them out of this recipe?
Yes! You can use one of my favourite German baking tricks, use breadcrumbs instead.
Can I freeze blueberry pie?
You sure can. It’s better to freeze the unbaked pie as the texture of the pastry will be better. I bake the pie directly from frozen, until golden brown and bubbling.
Do I have to use cornstarch in Fresh blueberry Pie?
You can substitute the cornstarch with plain flour instead
Use the pastry offcuts to decorate the top of the pie, but keep it rustic, this is a no-stress pie!
Metal, Glass or Ceramic? What’s best for pie baking?
Although it is tempting (and perfectly fine) to use that beautiful decorative ceramic pie dish, the best results will come from using a metal or glass pie dish.
This is simple science, glass and metal conduct heat more efficiently than ceramic, cooking and crisping your pastry faster and more evenly.
Fresh Blueberry Pie
With sweet, plump summer blueberries encased in a flaky all-butter pie pastry, my recipe for Fresh Blueberry Pie is always a winner. Serve warm with vanilla icecream for guaranteed smiles at the table.
Ingredients
for the pastry:
- 400 g plain or all-purpose flour
- 3 Tbsp white sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 200 g cold unsalted butter, cubed
- 100 ml cold water
- 1 tsp apple vinegar
- 50 g ground almonds or hazelnuts
for the filling:
- 600 g fresh blueberries
- 100 g white sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 50 g cornstarch
- zest of 1 large lemon, finely grated
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
- MAKE THE PASTRY: Whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large mixing bowl. Add the cubed butter and rub together using your fingertips until the mixture looks rough and pebbly. Pour in the water and vinegar, then use a table knife to mix into a loose dough. Turn out onto the bench and squeeze together into two discs. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- ROLL OUT THE PASTRY: When the pastry has chilled, roll out one disc into a large round to fit your pie dish. Grease a 23cm / 9 in. diameter pie dish, lift the dough into the dish, and press gently down to fit and trim the edges. Scatter the ground almonds evenly over the base, then chill until needed.
- PREPARE: Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4 with an oven tray lined with baking paper (no mess!) in the bottom third of the oven.
- MAKE THE FILLING: In a large mixing bowl, toss together the blueberries, sugar, vanilla, cornstarch and lemon zest. Pour into the prepared pie shell and return to the fridge.
- ROLL OUT THE PASTRY LID: Roll out the second pastry disc on a floured surface, if you like, you can get creative, cutting into strips to weave a lattice top, or just leave it simple.
- ASSEMBLE THE PIE: Place the pastry lid onto the pie and press the edges to seal, crimping to decorate. Cut a couple of air vents in the middle, brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, until golden brown and bubbling.
- COOL THEN SERVE: Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving – this pie is delicious with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Notes
NOTE ON FLOUR: This pie has been tested using German type ‘405’ flour, similar to Typo ’00’ or cake flour. If using all-purpose flour you may find you need a tablespoon or two more water to make the dough come together.
Recommended Equipment
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Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 551kcal | Carbohydrates: 76g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 308mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 696IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.
The recipe lists almond flour but does not use it in recipe?
Hi John, thanks so much for catching this! I’ve updated the recipe so that the almond flour is in the right spot. The almond flour is used in the bottom of the pie shell to soak up some of the blueberry juices and add some lovely almondy flavour. Have a great weekend! J.