Okay, there’s something I haven’t told you about Louisiana.ย It’s not about the best jazz at Preservation Hall or the sazeracs at The Roosevelt. The secret is that Louisiana not only grows the best strawberries I’ve ever had, but Louisiana harvests those berries TWICE a year. It’s an embarrassment of riches, honestly.ย That’s probably why I’ve kept it to myself.
I’m currently trying to grow my own strawberries in the backyard which… will be more like an embarrassment in gardening rather than embarrassment of riches. The consolation is I can pop down to the farmer’s market for a flat of sun-kissed, never refrigerated, juicy red strawberries.
Every April for the past few years I’ve stacked the weekends with strawberry pie baking classes at The Bakehouse.ย Consider this my opened-armed strawberry pie class for you and yours.ย I’m sharing my VERY BEST Fresh Strawberry Pie recipe – a buttery crust filled with a sweet and juicy (but not runny!) strawberry filling topped with a crisp oat crumble. We’ve made strawberry pie in the past.ย See: Strawberry Lattice Pie.ย But this version is superior.ย Living and learning – as we do around here.
This is my ideal pie and I have a feeling you’ll love it too!
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make my perfect Strawberry Pie:
โขย one all-butter pie crust round
โขย the juiciest fresh strawberries you can get your hands on
โขย brown sugar and granulated sugar
โขย instant tapioca (sometimes known as minute tapioca)
โขย kosher salt
โขย dried ground ginger and nutmeg
โขย lemon juice
โขย all-purpose flour, oats, and cold, unsalted butter for the crumble topping
For this strawberry pie recipe, pie crust comes first.ย I’m partial to this all-butter pie crust my Dad taught me how to make but please use any pie crust recipe you’re comfortable with. My life’s work is to encourage you to make pie crust from scratch but if a store-bought pie crust is what it will take for you to bake this pie, you have my full support.
If you’re making a pie crust from scratch, we’ll use one pie dough disk for this recipe (thank you, crumble top) but make two crusts anyway.ย It’s just as easy to make two pie crusts if you’re making one and the second pie dough disk can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored in a zip lock bag in the freezer for a month.ย If you’re counting – that’s another pie in your future.
Should I blind bake the pie crust?
Short answer: You can but honestly, you don’t have to.
Long answer: If you prefer a very crisp crust you’ll want to grab the beans or pie weights and pre-bake this crust before adding the strawberry filling.ย ย Chill the rolled out and crimped pie crust in its pie pan in the freezer for 20 minutes while the oven preheats.ย Line the pie crust with parchment paper and fill to the absolute brim with beans or pie weights. Bake for 12 minutes. Carefully remove the hot beans (with a wish and a prayer), prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork and bake for another 10 minutes.
Now let’s talk about the strawberry pie filling. Find the freshest, juiciest, most red strawberries you can get your hands on for this pie. The sweeter the berry, the more delicious the pie!
Depending on the size of your hulled berries, halve or quarter them and place them in a medium bowl.ย Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, instant tapioca, salt, lemon juice, and a few pinch of warming spices like ginger and nutmeg.ย You won’t be able to pinpoint the ginger or nutmeg, they just add a nice depth and hint of spice to the sweetness of this pie.
As you stir the berry mixture together you’ll notice the sugar all but dissolves and disappears but the instant tapioca is still sandy and opaque white.ย Not to worry those little granules will soften and disappear as the pie bakes.
Can I use cornstarch instead of instant tapioca?
Short answer: Yes.
Long answer:ย You really should use instant tapioca if you can. Instant tapioca and cornstarch thicken in different ways. Instant tapioca will actually absorb the liquid from the strawberry mixture creating a semi-solid gel.ย Cornstarch will thicken the juices of the strawberry mixture once it reaches the boiling point in the oven.ย The rub about cornstarch though – it can be broken down my acid (remember the lemon juice we put in our filling) and can be over boiled.ย It’s just not as reliable a thickener so I prefer and recommend quick cooking tapioca.
Here’s King Arthur Flour’s Pie Thickener Guide to find your ideal pie thickener and measurements.
Next, let’s make the crumble pie topping – MY FAVORITE.ย I love a buttery, brown sugared, oat topping. It adds a nice crisp crunch to the soft cooked berries.
In a bowl toss together oats, sugar, flour, salt, and cold butter chunks.ย Use your fingers or a pastry cutter to blend all of the ingredients together into a crumbly mixture – nothing too cohesive.
Alright let’s have some fun with this filling.ย Pour a handful of the crumble topping into the macerating berries.ย Stir the mixture until well combined.ย Adding crumble to the filling will make the flavors cohesive, help thicken the strawberry filling even further, and add a bit of fat (thanks butter!) to the strawberry mixture.
Topple the strawberry filling into the crust set within the pie pan.ย Fold the edges of the crust under and crimp the edges with either tines of a fork or pinching with your fingers.
Sprinkle the crumble topping over the strawberry pie.ย Spread to the edges of the dough.ย Chill the entire pie in the refrigerator while the oven preheats.
Place pie on a rimmed baking sheet covered in parchment paper or foil to catch any juice from hitting the bottom of the oven and bake until bubbly around the edges and golden brown.
The hardest part is allowing the pie to cool to just warm before slices are taken out.ย Sure you can slice this fresh strawberry pie while it’s still bubbling hot, bit you’ll lose a majority of the juices to the bottom of the pie plate and what fun is that?
Serve this glorious pie as dessert with whipped cream. The flavor is springtime in Louisiana!
Other strawberry recipes that might suit you:
โขย If pie crust intimidates you, the double action press-in crust of these Strawberry Pie Bars will do ya right.
โขย A gluten-free alternative to all the strawberry goodness :Almond Flour Whipped Ricotta Fresh Strawberry Bars.
โขย If you’d like to make this pie but need a GF pie crust option: Gluten-Free Pie Crust.
โขย Thickened with cornstarch and baked with a lattice top, here’s an earlier version of my Strawberry Pie.
โขย Easily one of the most popular recipes on the site: Peanut Butter Cookie Strawberry Cobbler.
โขย Strawberry jam instead of fresh strawberries make this Almond Flour Strawberry Crumble Bars a breeze!
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My Best Strawberry Crumble Pie Recipe
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 45-50 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 9-inch pie 1x
- Category: dessert, pie
Description
A perfect spring and summer pie made with fresh strawberries and a buttery crumble topping!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon cold buttermilk
For the Strawberry Filling:
- 6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced in half
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup instant tapioca
- large pinch of salt
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- heaping 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 large egg, beaten and granulated sugar for topping the unbaked pie if making double crusted pie
For the Topping:
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- large pinch of salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
Instructions
- To make the crust, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt. Add cold, grated or cubed butter and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the flour mixture, some butter pieces will be the size of oat flakes (some the size of peas if you cut your butter into chunks rather than grating).
- Create a well in the butter and flour mixture and pour in cold buttermilk. Use a fork to bring to dough together. Try to moisten all of the flour bits. Add more water if necessary. On a lightly floured work surface, dump out the dough mixture. It will be moist and shaggy. Thatโs perfect. If you find the dough needs more moisture, add a bit more. Press and knead the dough into a disk. Wrap the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
- To roll our the crust, on a lightly floured surface, roll dough out into about a 13-inch round. Roll the dough a few strokes, then use your fingers to move the emerging circle around the floured surface. This ensures that the dough isnโt sticking to the work surface. The circle wonโt be perfect, thatโs ok.
- Try not to get any rips in the rolled out dough, but if you do, they can be patched together with extra dough. When you roll the dough and you can see it start springing back, that means that the butter is warming and the crust shouldnโt be rolled out anymore. Gently lift the 13-inch round from the floured surface and center in a deep 9-inch round pie dish. Place in the fridge.ย
- To make the strawberry pie filling, in a medium bowl toss together strawberries, sugars, tapioca, salt, lemon juice, ground ginger and nutmeg. Toss until all of the tapioca is dispersed throughout the strawberries and let rest for at least 10 minutes. The strawberries will begin to produce juice and the tapioca will begin to soften slightly.
- To make the oat crumble, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, and salt. Add the cold butter chunks and, using your fingers, work the butter into the flour mixture. Quickly break the butter down into the mixture until well incorporated. Some butter bits will be the size of peas, and smaller.
- Toss 1/4 cup of oat filling into the strawberry filling and stir to combine. Spoon strawberry filling and its juice into the pie dish.ย Spread the remaining topping over the strawberry filling in an even layer. Trim the pie crust to about 1-inch larger than the pie dish, fold the crust under (tucking it inside the pie dish a bit) and crimp with your fingers.
- To finish, place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Allow the pie to rest in the refrigerator while the oven preheats.
- Place pie on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350ยฐF and bake the pie for 30-35 minutes more, or until the crust is golden and the strawberry filling is bubbling. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before serving โ 4 hours or so will help the pie cool and set.
- Store pie in the refrigerator and enjoy as soon as possible!
30 Responses
Can I use sliced frozen strawberries instead of fresh?
This was amazing. I made it just for my husband so I partially froze it just to firm it up, then wrapped each slice in waxed paper placed them all in a freezer zip lock bag and had a happy husband for two of pie eating. I also made it glutton free by substituting with a flour mix of flax, coconut and oat flour.
Fantastic pie that I made yesterday with a standard butter crust. I deleted the 1/4 cup of brown sugar inside the pie, wanting more of the strawberry tart/sweetness. Everyone loved it.
I have high hopes for the tasting of this pie…the prep went off without a hitch and I followed the recipe verbatim. Will follow up with a taste test after cooling…loved the oats, brown sugar, nutmeg and ginger additions!
I made this using a gluten free crust, GF flour in the crumble. I only used half the crumble, and used the rest on your lemon curd crumb cake.?
This is messy, but super tasty! Really a fresh, delicious representation of spring. ?
Do I need to blind bake the pie crust?
I made this pie as part of a special thank you dinner for a friend, and it was a big hit! It was so deliciousโfresh and bright but also comforting and exactly how we wanted to end the meal. Thank you!
I can’t find tapioca so must use corn starch. How much should I use?
Absolutely delicious! I made the pie as described, I just exchanged regular sugar for brown sugar in the crumble topping. Just a personal preference. Pie was crispy, crumbly and juicy. With some vanilla ice cream to soak up the juice it was pure Heaven.
Great recipe! I made individual tarts. When they bubble they are done!
Just strawberry is great, also made with rhubarb and strawberry!
I made this pie for a family dinner the other night. All 7 guests devoured it! It was really delicious and easy to make . Highly recommend!!
I wanted to know if I could sub in different fruits in this recipe. Thanks :)
Hello there! I definitely think other fruits could be subbed in. Something like peach and blackberry play lovely together!
What can you use to replace tapioca in this pie
This is a beautiful delicious pie! Iโve made it a few times now. I followed the directions to a T with the exception of running the tapioca pearls through my spice grinder, throwing a handful of chopped rhubarb in one of them and adding a bit of coconut into the crumble topping. I swear when I made a strawberry pie a few years back following your recipe, there was coconut in the recipe. This is summer perfection!! Thanks for the recipe!
I made this last night and wow! It was absolutely delicious! I have previously made Joyโs strawberry pie with a lattice crust and itโs also delicious but this is our new favorite. Only change I made was using brown sugar in the crumble topping. My husband has not stopped talking about it and I made it 3 nights ago! Thanks for the recipe!
These look delicious!!!
Im preparing to make this lovely pie as we speak. I just printed out the recipe and the beautiful photo didnt print out. Did I do something wrong… or is there some way to tweak it to get the picture to print with it.
Can i make this pie gluten free
Hi Dora! Yes you sure can! You can use the pie crust recipe in this post to make a GF crust and sub the flour in the crumble topping with an all-purpose baking flour. https://joythebaker.com/2020/11/dads-perfect-gluten-free-dairy-free-refined-sugar-free-sweet-potato-pie/
Sounds delicious! I learned something about growing strawberries from the Instagram site, epicgardening, You need to prune away the first buds on the plant and not let the plants fruit until they are lush with leaves. According to the site, this will improve both yield and berry quality. Letโs try it!
This looks so delicious with the crumb topping. Iโm usually not a fan of cooked strawberry pies, but I will give this one a try. I love your recipes. I am also growing strawberries in my garden, I love to go into the garden and eat them one by one.
It is a joy, to me, that some of these recipes are completely gluten free. We are beyond the strawberry season in Florida, where they aren’t too bad. I am jumping into the jam tart asap. Thank you, thank you!
Joy,
I so appreciate all the side info you give us in your explanations. It is great to always learn something new. Love your posts!
Oh my goodness Joy, this pie looks delicious. I always like the look of strawberry pie, but the taste not so much. This one, however is different! The buttery crumb topping has my name all over it. Thanks for this game changer. Donโt know about you, but I really dislike that glossy glaze so many use on strawberry pie. I get the need for it, but you might as well use lacquer and call it a day. Yuck.
This looks delicious! Iโve read that you can put your pie weights or beans in an oven bag (the type used for turkey or ham) when you blind bake your crust to make them easy to remove.
That’s brilliant, Margot! I’m absolutely taking that on!
Thank you for posting this (on my birthday)! We had our first batch of fresh strawberries n Georgia last week and am looking forward to making this pie next week with more berries! Your recipes are a staple in my family.
This is such a sweet comment – I love being a staple in your family. Happy Birthday!
That looks like a really delicious dessert. I am giving it a top rating simply because it has all the ingredients for a delicious strawberry pie and instead
of two dough covers it has a crumbly crust which is a refreshing change to
the usual pie crusts. It will give it some texture. I have never made a crumble, but
this is a great reason to get some strawberries to try in this recipe. And who doesn’t like a good pie? The last pie I made was pumpkin. Thank you for this
recipe.