Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Loaded with cooked and fresh blueberries, no-bake fresh blueberry pie is a real summertime treat! Deliciously different from a baked blueberry pie, this recipe is easy to make and everyone loves it.
How long it takes: only 30 minutes but allow a couple of hours for chilling
Equipment you’ll need: pie plate, saucepan
Servings: 8
Fresh blueberry pie is one of my all-time favorite summer desserts.
My family picked blueberries every summer. We would pack a picnic lunch and lots of snacks, and pretty much spend the day in the blueberry patch. I’ll admit, my sister and I weren’t always enthusiastic pickers but mom rules, right? We would whine, “Don’t we have enough yet?” and the answer was always, “Keep picking!”
The fun started once we returned home. We all love blueberries so mom would get cooking and baking. Blueberry jam, blueberry muffins, blueberry pancakes, blueberries on our cereal, blueberries for snacks, we chowed on blueberries. Mom always froze several bags to enjoy in the winter, too.
Our favorite is fresh blueberry pie! Fresh blueberry pie covers all the bases: crisp buttery crust, sweet cooked berries, fresh tart berries, and mounds of whipped cream. The fresh blueberries almost pop in your mouth with every bite. Oh, it doesn’t get much better than this!
Try this recipe for fresh blueberry pie whenever you can get your hands on fresh blueberries. My mother-in-law deemed this “one of the best pies she has ever had.” You’ll love this pie. I promise.
About This Blueberry Pie
Easier than a baked pie. This blueberry pie is one of the easiest pies you can make. It always turns out. It’s not a typical baked pie. Half of the blueberries are cooked on the stove and thickened; the other half is stirred in fresh. It is phenomenally good and a real summertime treat.
It can be a no-bake pie. It depends on what type of crust you choose. The filling is not baked.
Ingredient Notes
- Pie Crust: There are lots of different pie crusts to choose from. You can make your own pastry pie crust or buy a frozen, refrigerated, or box crust. Graham cracker crusts or cookie crusts are great, too. It’s your choice.
- Blueberries: You’ll need six cups total: 3 cups are cooked, 3 cups are fresh. In-season summertime berries are the best tasting.
- Granulated White Sugar: You’ll need a cup and a half of sugar.
- Cornstarch: Used as a thickener, cornstarch is a white powder made from the endosperm of corn kernels, commonly found in the baking aisle. It is naturally gluten-free.
- Salt: Why add salt to a pie filling? Salt keeps things from tasting flat, including pie filling. You only need a pinch but it makes a difference.
- Water: A half cup of water is needed for the filling. I suppose you could use a fruit juice instead but water works just fine.
- Butter: Unsalted butter is stirred into the filling after it’s cooked. It provides flavor and a richer mouth feel.
- Fresh Lemon Juice: A squeeze of lemon juice perks up blueberry filling.
- Whipped Cream: Optional, but I would say required. Vanilla ice cream is a good choice, too.
How To Make Fresh Blueberry Pie
Start by preparing the pie shell you chose. You’ll need a nine inch pie plate. Because this pie isn’t baked, the pie crust has to be pre-baked and cooled. Follow the directions on the package or make the pie crust as you normally would for an unbaked pie shell. If you choose a graham cracker crust or cookie crust, you may not have to bake it.
Pie Weights
Empty pie shells often form air bubbles or shrink away from the sides of the pie plate when they are in the oven. To prevent this from happening, use pie weights inside the crust when you blind bake it. You can buy ceramic or metal pie weights or use dried beans. Our friends at Kitchn have detailed instructions.Prep the blueberries. Rinse fresh blueberries under cold running water and sort out stems, leaves, green berries, or mushy berries. Measure out 3 cups of the blueberries that you will use for the cooked portion. Spread the remaining 3 cups of berries on a clean towel or paper towel to dry.
Cook half the berries. To cook the berries, you’ll need a good sized saucepan. Mix 3 cups of berries with sugar, a pinch of salt, and cornstarch in the pan. Pour in a half cup of water, and heat the mixture over medium heat. Bring it all to a boil, and continue to boil for 2 minutes. This is important. The berry mixture will be very thick, some of the berries will begin to burst, and the filling should look clear, not cloudy. Remove the pan from the heat.
Stir a dab of butter, and fresh lemon juice. Let the hot mixture cool down for fifteen to twenty minutes. It doesn’t have to be chilled but it shouldn’t be boiling hot.
Add fresh blueberries. When it’s cooled, fold in the remaining 3 cups of blueberries and pour the mixture into the pie shell. Smooth out the top and chill the pie for a couple of hours until it’s firm. I know the waiting is hard but …. it’s worth it!
Serve. Cut the pie into wedges and enjoy! Top this fresh blueberry pie with homemade whipped cream. In a pinch, you could use canned whipped cream, but homemade is a hundred times better. Homemade vanilla bean no churn ice cream is really good, too.
It depends on whether you are making a baked blueberry pie or a no-bake pie. Most baked blueberry pies use all-purpose flour to thicken the filling. Instant or quick-cooking tapioca works well, too. For a no-bake pie, cornstarch is preferred because it cooks quickly and doesn’t get pasty or cloudy.
This no-bake pie shouldn’t get watery; however, if the fresh blueberries that are added to the cooked berries are very wet, that may cause the pie to get watery.
Baked blueberry pies sometimes are juicy or watery. It could be that the pie was underbaked; a baked blueberry pie needs ample time in the oven. Make sure you use enough thickener. Cooling the pie completely before slicing it helps too.
Fresh blueberry pie is definitely best the same day you make it. If you have pie left over, cover it, and store it in the refrigerator for up to two days. It cannot be frozen successfully.
More Blueberry Delight!
I love baking and cooking with blueberries. Here are some recipes I’m sure you’ll enjoy:
- Blueberry Crisp with Coconut – this is my second favorite blueberry dessert recipe, after fresh blueberry pie!
- Apple Blueberry Crisp
- Blueberry Crumb Bars
- Blueberry Strawberry Muffins – make these with all blueberries if you prefer!
- Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins
- Blueberry Wheat Bran Muffins
More Pie Recipes
Fresh Blueberry Pie
Ingredients
- 1 refrigerated pie crust (or homemade, if you prefer)
- 6 cups fresh blueberries, divided (see note)
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons cornstarch
- Pinch of salt
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- whipped cream (optional)
Instructions
- Bake the pie crust as directed on the package for a single crust pie. Cool completely.1 refrigerated pie crust
- Meanwhile, wash the blueberries; drain well. Measure out three cups of berries and spread the remaining berries on a clean dishtowel to dry.6 cups fresh blueberries, divided
- Combine 3 cups of blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium to large-sized saucepan (you’ll be adding the remaining blueberries to the same pan later). Pour in the water. Mix together and cook over medium-high heat. Cook until the mixture comes to a boil, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, and then continue to cook for two minutes more, or until mixture is very thick and clear.1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons cornstarch, Pinch of salt, ½ cup water
- Remove from heat; stir in butter and lemon juice. Cool slightly, about 15 to 20 minutes, before adding the fresh blueberries. When mixture has cooled, fold in the remaining 3 cups of berries. Pour into cooled, prepared crust.2 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Chill pie 2 to 3 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream, if desired.whipped cream
Notes
- Nutrition information does not include whipped cream.
- If desired, use 3 cups frozen berries for the cooked portion of the recipe. Be sure you have 3 cups of fresh berries to add.
- A graham cracker crust can be substituted for the baked pie shell.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Everyone loves this pie each time I make it! I’ve done 1/2 strawberries 1/2 blueberries, turns out great as well. I’ve cut some of the sugar and used graham cracker crust which is yummy too. It’s a great recipe and very forgiving to tweaks, but no changes necessary unless you have other berries you need to use
It looks so good, I love the addition of strawberries! Thank you for sharing a photo!
My blueberry were fresh until I froze them and will that still work for this pie
No, unfortunately frozen blueberries will not work for this pie.
This is the best pie recipe I have ever made. Practically foolproof.
That makes me so happy! Thank you!
This is hands down the BEST blueberry pie recipe!!! It turned out perfectly and everyone loved it!
I’m so glad to hear it! It’s my favorite too!