One of the best pie fillings I’ve ever made was done right on my stove top. This Fresh Blueberry Pie Filling takes the prize for its fresh flavor. But, the best thing about this filling? It’s the amazing texture.
It’s no secret that I adore fresh blueberries. I can wax poetic about them post after post. But, you’ll definitely hear me sing their praises when they’re abundantly in season.
I love it when I can buy boatloads of blueberries. Some of them are so large, they look like grapes! I think they’re one of the best fresh fruits to top a bowl of cereal. I love so many fruits with my cereal, I’m not sure if I have a favorite. It’s probably blueberries or bananas, though.
So, while I can eat bowls of fresh blueberries, I also love to bake with them. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh blueberry muffins baking. It used to get me out of bed as a teenager. (Now, I’m the one trying to get everyone else up. Hmph! Adulthood! ;)
And while we’re talkin’ muffins, we should definitely talk about Blueberry Crumb Cake *swoon*, which is like a blueberry muffin times 100. Yum!
But we’re talking about pie today, aren’t we? Pie filling to be exact. And I’m telling you that this is completely different than baking blueberry pie filling like I do in Blueberry Pie Baked Oatmeal, Blueberry Pancake Cobbler, and my oh so easy Blueberry Galette.
All of those “pies” are oven baked. Today’s pie filling happens quickly and easily on the stove top. And because it happens on the stove top, you get extra control over the texture.
It’s the texture that takes this filling over the top. Trust me on this.
How to Make Fresh Blueberry Pie Filling
Alrighty then. Here’s how it goes down…
You’re going to start with a slurry kind of mixture. This is your sweetener and thickening. It’s cornstarch and water and sugar and a pinch of salt.
Stir it over medium heat until it’s fully combined. It’s a little like making a simple syrup. You don’t need it to boil, just heat it until everything is nicely dissolved. The heat just gives the sugar a little hand with that.
Then, add your fresh blueberries, but don’t add all of them. We only need 4 out of the 6 cups of the berries for this step. Reserve the rest.
Now you’re going to bring that mixture to a boil and let the thickeners do their work. Cook it and stir it until is thick and bubbly. This will only take a few minutes.
Once it’s thickened, remove it from the heat. Now it’s time for additional flavor and texture.
You know a shot of citrus brings wonderful freshness to cooked fruit, so we’re going to add some lemon zest and some lemon juice.
Just a reminder…always remember to zest your lemons before juicing. Zesting a cut lemon is much more difficult and definitely less safe since you have less lemon to hold on to.
Then…here’s where the amazing texture comes in…add the rest of the fresh blueberries. Stir them in until they’re well combined and coated with all that thick syrupy goodness.
It’s that simple. That’s the magic. It’s just fresh berries combined with cooked berries! And it will give you that wonderful texture of biting into a fresh blueberry while you’re eating your pie.
I know. It seriously sounds like a nothing burger. But that little addition of fresh blueberries is a serious game changer.
Well, it’s the stove top cooking AND the addition of fresh blueberries. When you cook on the stove top, you can also control the amount of time your blueberries cook.
So, with this recipe, you’re cooking the blueberries for less time. They stay more intact and get less jammy…unless you want a more jammy filling. For that, just cook them longer.
But the stove top gives you more control, whatever your preference may be.
You can’t get that when you bake the pie filling. Not that I don’t love, love, love all of my blueberry baked desserts, because I do. But biting into a fresh blueberry in the midst of the softer berries? It kind of feels like texture jackpot heaven.
Making your own pie filling has so many benefits. One thing I hate about canned pie filling is the lack of actual fruit in the filling.
I remember succumbing to purchasing a can because I needed a really quick topping for something. It had been so long since I had bought a can of pie filling.
When I opened it up, I was so disappointed! Where was the fruit? The ratio of fruit to the gel it was suspended in was pitiful. Ugh! And the gel? Don’t even get me started on the gel.
If you really must buy canned pie filling, I would find brands or stores that sell it in glass jars so that you can see exactly what you’re getting.
Or, if you have a great canned pie filling that you’d like to share with the rest of us, please do. We all love a good shortcut, as long as it’s good.
Here’s another thing I love about making your own pie filling…controlling the amount of sweetness. My blueberries were quite sweet. So really, they didn’t need a ton of sugar.
I always think that when there’s too much sugar in a recipe, it really masks the flavor of the main ingredient. Sugar does more in a baked recipe than just sweeten it, so you need to be careful with adjustments.
However, in this pie filling? We can add more or less. I think I found a great balance, but it will really depend on your particular berries.
The other thing you can control is how much fruit you pack into this filling. I went whole hog and packed a ton of berries into it. If you like more of the filling syrup and a bit less fruit, feel free to reduce the amount by a cup.
Now… what to do with this amazing Fresh Blueberry Pie Filling? Well, let it cool…Then, you seriously could just sit down with a spoon and start eating it as is, it’s so good. I mean, why waste calories on pie crust? (kidding ;)
But, use it to fill a pre-baked pie shell for some of the best blueberry pie you’ll ever make. Or….ladle it on top of vanilla ice cream and it will sort of be like pie ala mode…
Or…it would be amazing over a plain cake like pound cake or angel food cake or wherever a generous spoonful of blueberry pie filling would make you happy.
What did I use this delicious filling for?
Guess you’ll have to stay tuned to find out :)
Fresh Blueberry Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 9 Tablespoons sugar
- 4 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 pinch salt
- zest from one lemon
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 6 cups fresh blueberries divided
Instructions
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Wash and drain blueberries. Set aside.
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Combine sugar, cornstarch, water and salt in a large sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring until thoroughly combined. Add 4 cups of blueberries to the pan. (Reserve the remaining blueberries.)
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Bring mixture to a boil and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
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Once the mixture has thickened, take it off the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and zest. Then, add the remaining blueberries, tossing gently to combine and coat.
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Pour into a large bowl to cool. Once cool, it is ready to use or store. Fill a pre-baked piecrust or use it top your choice of cakes and desserts. Store filling in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
*My blueberries were very sweet on their own. While we loved it exactly as is, I could have reduced the sugar by a tablespoon (which would have been a total of 8 Tablespoons or 1/2 cup) and still been quite happy with it. If you're a super sweet pie filling lover or if your berries are on the tart side, you might want to add 2 or 3 extra Tablespoons of sugar. For my family, that would be too sweet, but for others, it might be just right.
*This filling recipe is chock full of berries. If you prefer a looser filling, just reduce the berries by a cup.
*While the filling is thickened on the stove, it will set up further when it cools and even more so when it is refrigerated.
_The Merchant Baker Copyright © 2018_
Easiest & most delicious blueberry pie filling!!! Thanks so much!
!!!! Inexperienced Pie baker Question here, please help :)
I want to make a blueberry pie to gift a friend. Do I blind bake the crust then add filling then cook in oven again?
I’m afraid it will overcook the berries & ruin the taste but not sure.
Never have done a blind bake before but looks easy enough..
Any & all suggestions greatly appreciated!
Happy to hear you love the filling as much as we do, Di! The beauty of this pie filling is the addition of fresh berries. So, you are correct that baking it again will change the fresh flavor and texture. This is the type of pie filling you put directly into a fully pre-baked crust. So, yes, go ahead and blind bake your crust. You’re only going to need a single bottom crust. I have a post on blind baking that you might find helpful. Then, just pour your blueberry pie filling right into the fully baked and cooled crust. If you want to further top your pie, you could whip up some whipped cream with some powdered sugar and pile that all over the top. For that, I’d use 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and about 3 Tablespoons of confectioner’s sugar (or to taste.) You could also save some dough to cut out into pretty shapes with cookie cutters, brush with milk or some egg and sprinkle with raw sugar and bake until golden. You can place them right on top of your pie filling to further decorate the pie if you want to skip the whipped topping. It will be terrific just plain, too! Hope that helps!
I used fresh berries. Blind baked the pastry case, added a thin layer of lemon curd, then some fresh blueberries on top of that then topped with the cooked blueberries. I used less sugar as the lemon curd is v sweet. Only problem is that I had to throw away the saucepan because I simply cannot get the slurry off the bottom, even tried scraping it with a knife!
Lisa, I’m sorry you had an issue with your pan. I’ve never had an issue with that kind of sticking. Perhaps your heat was too high? Or, the slurry too thick? Once the slurry is added, it should just result in a thickened fruit syrup surrounding all the berries. And, your pan should be fairly easy to clean since water dissolves the sugary syrup.
Perfect! Exactly what I was looking for in a blueberry pie filling!
So happy to hear that, KW! I made some a few weeks ago and was reminded again how much we love it…especially when you have really delicious fresh berries!
This recipe is amazing!! I followed it exactly! it came out better than my grandma’s blueberry pie filling! ( Which I honestly didn’t think I would ever come close to replicating, since I lost her a few years back!). Thank you so much! I put it in my grandmothers pie crust recipe and topped with fresh whipped topping!!
Thanks, Amber! I’m glad you were able to pair it with your grandma’s pie crust and make something you enjoyed so much. I love that recipes from the past keep us connected to our loved ones :)
The cornstarch mixture sets up too quickly in this recipe, requiring you to turn the heat to low. I thought trying it this way might be a clever time saver but it seems much slower. I recommend making a slurry of cornstarch and COLD water at the end of the recipe, about when you add the last batch of berries. Just measure your water and use less at the beginning.
Thanks for the feedback, Kathrine! I haven’t had this particular issue, but I’m sure this tip will be helpful to others who encounter it and it’s a good tip to keep in my back pocket for the future.
Hi, I have a recipe that calls for a 21 oz can of blueberry pie filling that goes in as a layer in a 9×13 inch pan, but I want to make my own blueberry filling. Will this recipe made as is be enough? Thank you.
Hi Tosha, I haven’t weighed this particular recipe, but you should have more than enough for your recipe. The photos you see in the blog post show the filling in a 24 ounce mason jar and the filling comes up well over the 24 ounce line. Hope that helps!
Could you can the pie filling
Alison, I don’t have any experience with canning. And, since there are specific rules that must be followed for food safety, I would search for safe canning information for pie fillings. I’m not sure if the addition of fresh fruit to the cooked fruit changes the safety of the storage. That’s something you’d have to research.
What temperature on the oven do I need for this recipe
Sam, this recipe is made on the stove top, not in the oven. You’ll see all the directions in the recipe. Once you complete the recipe on the stove, the filling is ready to use in a prepared pie crust or as a topping.
Would this recipe work for a cobbler baked in a 9 x 13 pan?
Cynthia, the beauty of this recipe is the texture. That texture is achieved by adding in fresh blueberries into an already cooked berry mixture. So, normally, I only use this recipe as a stove top recipe that is then used as is, not baked again. You couldn’t add those fresh blueberries into an already baked cobbler. That being said, you could just put all of the ingredients (without cooking them first) into a 13 x 9, top it with your cobbler dough and bake it until the filling is bubbly and your cobbler topping is golden brown.
Thank you Ramona for your response.
How many pies will this recipe make?
Hi Lew! It’s enough for one standard 8 or 9″ pie. I’ve also used it to generously top a cheesecake pie.
Worked wonderful for my sons birthday! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Lew!
GREAT recipe for our use…thanks !!!
Never cooked fresh blueberries before…a Friend gave us some from her yard, and this was perfect…not too sweet !
Had to add a little water while breaking down the berries…think we had the heat up a little too high, and it really started to set up way too tight. Adding the fresh berries at the end gave a great burst of flavor and texture.
Gonna experiment with freezing what we don’t use…Wife and I will never make it through our batch in 5 days…LOL !!!
Dean, happy to hear it worked out so well for you. Adding water was a perfect solution, great trouble shooting!
Will this work with frozen blueberries?
Hi MaryJ, I’m sure you could, but your results may be a bit different depending upon what kind of frozen berries you use. I don’t usually find big plump frozen blueberries like I do when they’re fresh. Cooking fruit, whether it’s frozen or fresh, on the stove top along with the ingredients listed will give you a nice thick pie filling. The part that makes this filling so amazing is the addition of fresh fruit at the end. You can try setting aside some of your frozen fruit to add at the end so see if you get a similar effect. You’ll still get a different texture between the cooked fruit and the thawed fruit, which is what we’re after here. In any case, I don’t think you’ll mess up. One way or the other, you’ll end up with some tasty pie filling. I just happen to like the bite of fresh fruit mixed in. Good luck!
Can this be frozen for the holiday season?
Sherry, I’ve never personally frozen this pie filling. However, pie fillings can be frozen successfully, so I’m pretty sure it would work with this one. I would make the filling as directed, then pour it into a freezer bag, squeeze out the air and then toss it in the freezer. I like to freeze things flat in the bag, so I end up with a thin bag of the frozen item rather than a chunky thick bag. This helps it freeze faster and helps it thaw faster. Then, I would use it within 3-4 months. I would thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before using it. If it were me, I’d test out freezing a quick batch of the filling now while berries are still in season to insure I liked the outcome before banking all of my holiday pies on it. I would make a small batch, freeze it solid, then go through the thawing process. The beauty of this filling is the texture and freshness it gets from the fresh berries. I’d want to see how that holds up after being frozen. Again, it should work fine, but I’d give it a quick test run to insure you’re happy with the result.
Love it !
Thanks, Marie!!!