Fresh Strawberry Pie

Prep: 30 mins

Cook: 10 mins

Chilling Time: 8 hrs

Total: 8 hrs 40 mins

Servings: 8 servings

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

This glistening strawberry pie comes together quickly and satisfies the craving for classic diner-style strawberry pie. Even grocery store strawberries shine in this dessert because briefly cooking the berries with sugar and a squeeze of lemon brings out the strawberry-ness of the berry. Celebrate strawberries and serve this crowd-pleasing pie at the first cookout of the season.

How to Prevent a Watery Pie Filling

In-season strawberries are delicate and should be washed only moments before slicing. Try to buy the berries the day you will use them, or at most one day earlier. I like to stem and core the berries and place them stem side down on paper towels to dry before proceeding with the recipe. This will keep the filling from becoming watery.

Sliced or Whole Berries?

I’ve provided directions for making this pie identical to those diner objects of pie art, with whole berries as decoration. Feel free to abandon it if it feels too fussy. Sliced strawberries suspended in a beautiful bright red filling is just as delicious.

How To Make This Simple Pie Even Easier

If pie crust is not in your wheelhouse, grab a premade version at the grocery store and take this pie to next-level-easy. Or make or buy a press-in cookie crust. (Did you know? Even Nora Ephron didn’t roll out homemade pie dough.)

For make-ahead convenience, the crust can be blind baked up to 2 days in advance. Wrap and store on the counter until ready to fill.

Tips for Making Strawberry Pie

Core the strawberries with a small paring knife, working around the stem. This is particularly important for berries that have a white core.
If there are not enough large perfect strawberries to cover the surface, omit that detail and slice all the berries for the filling.
A fully-baked cookie crumb crust (try Nilla wafer cookies!) is a delicious alternative to a pastry crust.

“When strawberry season rolls around, what better way to showcase the summer’s bounty of fresh berries than a Fresh Strawberry Pie? This recipe is probably one of the easiest pie recipes I’ve ever made. If you use a purchased refrigerated crust your prep time will be even shorter. The final result is a spectacular fresh homemade dessert.” —Joan Velush

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

2 quarts fresh strawberries (about 3 pounds)
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup cool water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 9-inch blind-baked pie crust or store-bought crust baked according to package directions
Whipped cream, to serve, optional

Steps to Make It

Gather the ingredients.
Select the largest, most beautiful berries and place stem-side down in the empty pie dish as though they were decorating the surface of the pie.
Once enough berries have been selected, wash and core them and set aside.
Wash and core the remaining strawberries, then slice them about 1/4-inch thick.
Add the sliced strawberries to a medium saucepan. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and turn the heat to medium. Bring the mixture to a strong boil for 5 minutes, stirring so it does not stick.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and cool water until no lumps remain.
Stream the cornstarch mixture into the boiling strawberries, stirring constantly. Boil rapidly for exactly 1 minute. The gel will go from cloudy to almost clear and will thicken sufficiently to coat a spoon. Take off the heat and stir in the vanilla. Cool for 30 minutes.
Spoon the strawberry mixture into the baked pie shell.
Carefully place each whole berry on top of the pie filling starting in the center and spiraling outward. They will sink a bit.
Use a small pastry brush to glaze the berries with the gel from the filling. The whole pie should glisten.
Chill the pie for a minimum of 4 hours. Overnight (8 hour) chilling will result in the firmest pie filling and the most photo-worthy slice. Serve with whipped cream.

How to Store

Cover and refrigerate any leftovers. The pie is delicious for 3 days but the crust will get soggy.

Recipe Variations

Add orange or lime zest for a tart alternative flavor profile. Omit the vanilla.
Mix 2 cups whole raspberries, blueberries, or currants with 1 1/2 quarts of strawberries for a berry-licious filling.
Spread 1/4 cup strawberry jam or orange marmalade across the blind baked crust. Chill before filling.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	337
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g	15%
Saturated Fat 4g	18%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 183mg	8%
Total Carbohydrate 57g	21%
Dietary Fiber 5g	17%
Total Sugars 29g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 103mg	514%
Calcium 37mg	3%
Iron 2mg	10%
Potassium 314mg	7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.