Got a hankering for a delicious blueberry pie? No problem. It’s surprisingly easy and amazingly tasty to bake one yourself with frozen blueberries.
Whether you serve this easy blueberry pie as part of a larger array of pies and desserts or on its own with a cup of coffee, you’ll be so pleased with this quick and simple recipe.
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If you’ve got a hankering for pie, then it’s time to get baking. Seriously, unless you have an exquisite (and possibly expensive) bakery or pastry shop in your neighborhood, you can bake a better pie.
There’s just something tantalizing about the aroma of freshly baked pastry and jammy fruit drifting throughout your home. You can’t buy that, people. Bake it yo’self.
Why Make This
Home baked pies are better. Generally speaking, when you bake a homemade blueberry pie, it will be cheaper, healthier, and better-tasting than the ones you can buy. You get to control the ingredients. You get to make the filling sweeter or tarter, depending on your preferences. You get to save some money.
It’s easy to bake your own. You don’t need frozen pie dough or canned filling. You can do this! All you need are blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and an easy homemade pie crust.
Ingredients
Making a blueberry pie requires just a few basic ingredients:
a double batch of pie dough – this is easy to make yourself. You just need butter, flour, and salt to make homemade pie crust.
frozen blueberries – Whether you freeze berries yourself or buy them in the frozen foods section, frozen blueberries are readily available and much more affordable than fresh berries, unless you can find a sale. If you have a good source for fresh blueberries, just swap them in for the frozen.
granulated sugar – You don’t need a lot as blueberries are pretty sweet. Feel free to adjust it to your tastes.
cornstarch – this helps thicken the blueberry juices, so don’t omit the cornstarch.
lemon juice – Lemon is a perfect partner for blueberries. It offsets the sweetness of the berries and helps flavor the pie filling.
butter – As your pie bakes, the blueberries’ juice will mix with the sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and butter to create a thick and flavorful berry sauce. The butter adds a richness that can’t be beat.
egg – brushing a beaten egg on the top of the pie crust prior to baking gives it that shiny, golden brown texture. You can omit it if you like, but it’s a nice touch that takes your food presentation up a notch.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir gently to combine.
2. Fill the unbaked pie shell with the berry mixture.
3. Dot the mixture with small cubes of butter.
4. Fit the top crust over the berries. You can do this as one piece or layer cut-outs of pie crust over the frozen blueberry pie filling.
5. Crack the egg into a small dish and beat it lightly with a fork. Using a pastry brush, brush the beaten egg over the top crust.
6. Bake the pie until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbly.
Freezing Instructions
I love to freeze pies unbaked. That way I can experience the delicious aromas later without doing any of the work!
Once you’ve assembled your pie, wrap it gently but securely with heavy duty aluminum foil and store it in the freezer immediately. Don’t brush it with egg wash, and don’t allow the frozen blueberries to thaw.
The great thing about freezing an extra pie for later is that you don’t have to thaw it. Bake frozen pies from frozen. Remove the pie from the freezer, take off the wrappings, and proceed with the egg wash.
Heat the oven to 425 degrees and then bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 and continue baking until the crust is golden and the filling is hot and bubbling.
If the top crust browns before the filling is ready, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil to protect the top from getting overly brown.
FAQs
A pie filling will be runny if there was too much liquid, not enough thickener (like cornstarch and sugar), or if it didn’t cook long enough.
Be sure to bake the pie until the filling bubbles thickly. If the crust starts to brown too much before that point, cover it with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning.
Cool the pie completely before slicing into it.
The pie filling with sugar and cornstarch will thicken as it cools, but you still want to make sure it thickens in the oven.
Unbaked pies are a great thing to freeze. You don’t have to thaw them before baking and they fill the house with a great aroma — without all the work.
Once you assemble the pie, but before adding the egg wash, wrap the pie securely in heavy duty aluminum foil and stash it immediately in the freezer.
Store in the freezer for up to 8 months. Consult this frozen food storage chart for other foods you want to freeze.
Recipe Costs
Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.
- pie crust – $1.69
- frozen blueberries – $4.00
- sugar – $0.22
- cornstarch – $0.20
- lemon juice – $0.15
- butter – $0.10
- egg – $0.15
Shopped at a mid-range grocery store at non-sale prices, the ingredients for a homemade blueberry pie will run you about $6.51.
Save even more
Here are some of the strategies I use to make this recipe more economical:
- Buy in bulk. I regularly buy baking ingredients in bulk from Costco or via mail order. I store in the freezer what I won’t use soon; in this way, I can extend its shelf-life.
- Shop the sales. The major cost of this pie is the blueberries, so look for sales and snatch them up at a good price when you can. Whenever I see a great sale, I stock up and freeze berries to take advantage of the good pricing. Then I can make pie whenever I want.
More Great Blueberry Recipes
Easy Blueberry Pie with Frozen Blueberries
Ingredients
- 1 double-crust pie crust
- 4 cup blueberries
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon butter cut into small cubes
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a pie plate with one pastry crust. Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any drips.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Stir gently to combine. Spoon this mixture into the prepared pie plate.
- Dot the surface of the berry mixture with the butter cubes.
- Fit the top crust. If desired, cut shapes out of the crust and layer those across the surface of the berries.
- Brush the crust with the beaten egg.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the crust is golden and the filling is thick and bubbly. Cover with aluminum foil if the crust browns too quickly.
- Cool the pie completely, on a rack, before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on March 9, 2019. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Nickeisha
Does this recipe require a pre baked pie or can it be raw?
Jessica Fisher
You’ll want a double, unbaked pie crust, like the one linked or a storebought pack of dough.
Jennifer
Basic ingredients in the perfect amounts make a great pie. This is the first time I’ve made AND eaten blueberry pie.
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked it!