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Simple Strawberry Pie Recipe
If you love the taste of fresh strawberries, this pie is for you. Many strawberry pies use a jello mix to form a gelatin filler. This easy recipe uses pure, fresh strawberries for a natural flavor. It ends up being the perfect amount of sweetness. Try it in late spring/early summer for the best results.
Cook Time
Chill time: 2-3 hours
Ingredients
- 1 nine-inch baked pie shell, Pillsbury ready-made crust works fine too!
- about 2 pounds fresh, whole strawberries
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- whipped cream for garnish, optional
- vanilla ice cream, optional
Directions
- Follow the directions on the pre made pie crust and prick the crust with a fork to eliminate air pockets. Put foil around the edges and remove the last two minutes of baking. Bake 9-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown.
- Wash and hull the strawberries. For best results, use a collander or a strainer to wash the berries so they do not sit in water. After hulling the berries, let them sit on a paper towel to dry. Waterlogged berries will result in a runny pie.
- Use a small food processor or a potato masher and mash enough strawberries for one cup of pulp.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, strawberry pulp, cornstarch and water. Stir well and cook over medium heat. Use a wire whip to break up any cornstarch bubbles. Once the mixture comes to a boil, slightly reduce heat and stir continuously with the wire whip. The sauce will become very thick in about two minutes. Stir in the butter. Set it aside to cool.
- While cooling the strawberry mixture, fill the cooled pie shell with whole berries. Fill in any gaps with smaller berries, or cut them in half. Pack the pie shell as full as you can. Save your best berries for the top layer.
- Pour the cooled glaze over the berries. Let the pie chill in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 hours.
- Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on top.
- For best results, eat this pie the same day you make it.
How to Hull Strawberries
"Hulling" a strawberry refers to removing the calyx, otherwise known as the green leafy part of the strawberry. Use a paring knife to cut down and around the green part. The strawberry should look like it has a small hole in the center.
Fresh Strawberries Make the Best Pie
The secret to the best recipes is good, fresh ingredients. Strawberry pie is no exception. If you live in an area where you can go to a farm and go strawberry picking, that is the best! In North Carolina, this occurs in the month of May or early June. When picking fresh strawberries, be careful to gently pinch the stem just above the leaves. You do not want to grab the strawberry and just pull. Also, take care not to toss your strawberries into the bucket. Instead, gently place them in a container about four rows deep, being careful not to bruise the berries.
Tip: Do not go strawberry picking after a rain. The berries will be waterlogged and too mushy for a pie.
If you can't pick the berries yourself, head to the local farmer's market and buy them fresh.
A Word About Pie Crusts
I used to feel really guilty about calling my pies homemade when I use refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust dough sheets. My mother always makes her pie crusts from scratch, or so I thought. She had this "Foolproof Pie Crust Recipe" that she gave to me many years ago. I tried it and FAILED! Making a crust from scratch is a lot of extra work and most of the time my friends, and even my mother, can't tell the difference. In fact, last time I was at my mom's house, guess what I found in her trash can? A Pillsbury pie crust box!
What is your favorite fruit pie?
High in Vitamin C
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1/8 of pie | |
| Calories | 260 |
| Calories from Fat | 90 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 10 g | 15% |
| Saturated fat 3 g | 15% |
| Unsaturated fat 7 g | |
| Carbohydrates 41 g | 14% |
| Sugar 25 g | |
| Fiber 3 g | 12% |
| Protein 2 g | 4% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
