The Best Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe

This fresh strawberry pie is generously filled with ripe, plump strawberries and a sweet glaze in a flaky, homemade pie crust. Topped off with sweetened whip cream and you have the best summertime dessert to savor.

One of the best parts of summer, is eating all the fresh red ripe strawberries. Roadside stands selling fresh strawberries begin popping up, signaling summer is officially here.

We have a local farm that sets up a strawberry stand around this time every year. The strawberries are soooo good.

We know it’s summer when we see that stand.

And we buy a lot of fresh strawberries. They are irresistible.

What do you do with all those fresh strawberries?

Make fresh strawberry pie, of course! This is a fast and fresh strawberry pie.

No Gelatin Or Jello Needed In This Pie

I’ll be honest. I never cared too much for strawberry pie. It was always too sweet. I didn’t like the gelatin taste. Until I made this pie without the gelatin. That’s right, no Jello or gelatin needed. And it isn’t too sweet. This pie recipe changed my thinking on strawberry pie.

Instead of gelatin for the thickener, you use cornstarch. Yes, no gelatin required. Just fresh strawberries, sugar, water and cornstarch for the glaze. The glaze is simple. Very simple and delicious.

How To Make A Strawberry Glaze

The full instructions are in the recipe card below.

To make a strawberry glaze without Jello is so easy. All you need is:

• a medium size saucepan
• 1 cup of sliced strawberries
• granulated sugar
• cornstarch
• 1 cup of water

Just mash 1 cup of sliced strawberries in a medium size saucepan. I used a 3 quart pan.

Add the rest of the glaze ingredients and cook till thickened.

That’s all you need for a fabulous strawberry glaze for your pie.

The Tale Of Two Pies

When I bought the strawberries for my pie, I only used 1 pound of them. To fill a 9 inch pie crust. Hmmmm. The pie was delicious but…….there weren’t enough strawberries to fill that big pie crust. The pie filling was a bit sparse.

Take it from me. Do Not Be Stingy with the strawberries. Do you see how little filling there is in that pie slice? Yikes. Be generous with the strawberries. Like 2 pounds generous.

So, I had to make another pie. I couldn’t let my family eat such a puny filled pie. A plump pie filled to the brim with strawberries to the rescue.

Oh, by the way both pies were devoured within a day.

Fresh strawberry pie is best served with sweetened whip cream. You can easily and quickly whip the cream in a food chopper.

Pro Tips For A Successful Strawberry Pie

How much strawberries do you need for a pie? Use 2 pounds of strawberries for a 9 inch pie crust. See why above.

How do you thicken strawberry pie filling? In this recipe, I use cornstarch instead of gelatin. The cornstarch thickens the glaze beautifully.

Do you cut strawberries for pie? I wash and hull (I simply cut the tops off my strawberries). Then I slice them. You could leave the strawberries whole but I find that eating them whole is difficult. I want to enjoy my pie, so I slice the strawberries.

Will pie filling thicken as it cools? Yes, the pie does thicken as it cools. Do not cut into the pie until the filling sets or the filling will ooze everywhere. I couldn’t help myself but to cut into my pie before it was completely set. So, the strawberries kind of fell and glaze went all over my plate. But I still loved it. It is better to wait a minimum of 4 hours but overnight is best.

Do you refrigerate strawberry pie? Yes, fresh strawberry pie needs to be refrigerated. It will last about 3 days in the refrigerator but I find the pie is best eaten within two days of it being made.

Homemade Or Store Bought Pie Crust

Whether you make your pie crust from scratch or buy one from the grocery store, is purely personal preference.

However, the pie crust must be blind baked (meaning to prebake) because the strawberry filling is not baked.

How To Blind Bake A Pie Crust

There are a couple of methods to prebaking a pie crust. However, I only use one.

Tip: A chilled pie dough will prevent it from shrinking while baking. Whether homemade or store bought, chill the pie dough for the best results.

If using a from scratch pie dough recipe

• Place the chilled and rolled pie dough into the pie place. Crimp the edges. Then prick the piecrust all over the bottom and sides with a fork which is called docking. This prevents the pie crust from bubbling too much from the steam. It will bubble some but that is fine.

• Place the docked pie crust into a preheated 425℉ oven. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Allow to cool completely before filling.

If using a store bought pie crust, follow the package directions to blind bake.

Many bakers use pie weights or dried beans to weigh down the pie dough while it is baking to prevent it from shrinking. I have never used this method. Using the docking method has worked for me.

Remember to chill the pie dough. This is an important element to prevent shrinking.

I always make my pie crust from scratch. It isn’t hard at all. It just takes a bit of extra time. I have some tips and a recipe on how to make a pie crust from scratch.

If you haven’t tried making a homemade pie crust, you should. The hardest part is transferring the dough onto the pie plate. Even if you tear the dough, you can easily pat the hole together.

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