Perfect Blueberry Pie
Perfect Blueberry pie has a lightly sweet filling that is not runny or pasty. For an extra special treat, try baking the berries in a tasty cornmeal crust.
The number one complaint I hear about homemade blueberry pie is that the filling is either runny and soupy or gloppy and pasty. We can do better.
What it comes down to is how much and which starch you use in the filling. We use starch to thicken the berry juices so a slice will hold onto the berries as you lift it out of the pan.
I use cornstarch in my pie filling because it is readily available in US grocery stores and many folks keep a box in the pantry.
I think the biggest advantage of cornstarch, besides it’s easy availability, is that it can be cooked to a fairly high temperature without breaking down.
Cornstarch has a “gelatinization” temperature (the temp at which the starch thickens the liquid) of 144°-180°F. That’s the magic temp if the starch is just mixed with water.
But sugar will raise the temperature at which the starch is activated. Lucky for us, this pie filling has natural sugar from the blueberries and a little added sugar to sweeten the juice.
With the added sugar, we need to get the juices up to the boiling point for the filling to gelatinize. That’s really convenient because that means we have an easy visual cue as to when our pie filling is ready.
The other question is how much starch to use. You want just enough so a slice will hold on to the berries. Too much starch and the juice becomes a thick paste that mars the beautiful berry flavor.
How to make Perfect Blueberry Pie without a runny filling:
- How much is the right amount of corn starch? I baked this pie 3 times with gradually more starch until I got just enough thickening power to hold the berries together. But there is still a nice juiciness to the filling.
- You want to use enough sugar to sweeten the berries, but not so much that it overpowers the fresh flavor
- Add just a hint of lemon juice and lemon zest to bring a bright freshness to the filling.
- I think cornmeal and blueberries are natural flavor partners. I highly recommend my Cornmeal Crust for this pie, but you can use any flaky Pie Crust. If you keep a sourdough starter, try making blueberry pie with Sourdough Pie crust.
- You must bake the pie until the juice at the very center of the pie is fully bubbling. Not just a little shimmer, look for actual bubbles in the center. The starch needs to come to a boil to activate and thicken the juice.
- Wait a good 3-4 hours before slicing the pie. I know this is the hardest step, but the filling needs to cool down enough for the filling to gel. If you cut the pie too soon the berries will spill out of the crust.
Can’t get enough pie? Me neither. Maybe my favorite all time pie is Sour Cherry Pie. If you need to feed a crowd, try making Blackberry Slab Pie or Peach Hand Pies.
If you still want more blueberries you can make a super easy Blueberry Cornbread Cobbler. Blueberry Cheesecake Tart is a slightly more sophisticated take on dessert and everyone will swoon over these Lemon Blueberry Macarons.
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Perfect Blueberry Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 recipe Cornmeal Pie Crust
- 8 oz granulated sugar (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 oz corn starch (5 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1 each lemon (zest and juice)
- 32 oz blueberries (6 cups)
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- granulated sugar for topping
Instructions
- Roll half the dough to line a 9" deep dish pie pan.1 recipe Cornmeal Pie Crust
- Roll the other half of the dough to a 12" circle. Sprinkle a little flour over the circle and fold it in half. Sprinkle with flour again and fold in half again. Wrap the folded dough and set it into the lined pie pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour before filling. The dough can be rolled up to a day ahead and refrigerated. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, corn starch, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the blueberries and toss to evenly distribute the sugar and starch. Pour the blueberries into the pie shell.8 oz granulated sugar, 1 1/2 oz corn starch, 1/2 teaspoon table salt, 1 each lemon, 32 oz blueberries
- Brush the rim of the bottom crust with egg wash. Lay the top crust over the filling. Pinch the two crusts together to seal. Trim the excess dough and use your fingers or a fork to crimp the edges. Use the tip of a small paring knife to cut a 2" "x" in the middle of the top crust. Peel back the pieces of dough to make a vent hole.1 egg
- Brush the entire top crust of the pie with egg wash and generously sprinkle the pie with granulated sugar.granulated sugar for topping
- Place the pie a sheet tray and bake until the juices in the middle of the pie are bubbling. Make sure the juice all the way in the middle are bubbling. The juice needs to boil to activate the starch. Otherwise the filling will be runny. This takes about 1 hour.
- Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool for at least 3 -4 hours before cutting.
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I baked this pie today. The good: it tastes great, not too sweet, not too tart. The cornmeal crust gives a nice crunch too. The bad: the pie did not set at all despite being baked at 350 in a convection oven for 68 minutes and until the middle was bubbling. I also used metric measurements for precision. When I cut it, it turned into blueberry soup. Not sure if baking at altitude was the issue but I’ve never had trouble with pies before. Really not sure where I went wrong.
I’m not an expert in altitude baking, but I do know that boiling happens at a lower temp at higher altitude. It could be your filling wasn’t really at boiling temp despite seeing bubbles. Try temping the middle of the filling. For the cornstarch to activate the filling needs to be about 203F. I would go with 212F (boiling) to be safe.
Thanks so much! I’m sure you’re right and I’ll try again for sure because the pie was indeed tasty.