With wild blueberries baked up in a golden, flaky crust, this Wild Maine Blueberry Pie is a summertime staple. Wild blueberries, which are smaller and sweeter than conventional blueberries, are the star of the show here.
Why You’ll Love This Blueberry Pie Recipe
- The crust is extra flaky and foolproof to make. I use the method of pulsing butter and flour into a paste for most of my pie recipes, which makes it super forgiving. With this method, you don’t need to worry about over-pulsing the butter and flour and you can also use less water.
- Wild blueberries, which are smaller, sweeter, and full of antioxidants, make the best blueberry pie. You can buy them frozen year-round.
- A great summer dessert recipe that goes great with vanilla ice cream.
Ingredients and Equipment
Equipment
- Food processor: for making pie crust. If you don’t have a food processor try a different pie crust recipe.
- 10” Pie Dish
- Rolling pin and optional pastry mat for rolling out the dough
Ingredients for Pie Crust
- All-Purpose Flour: Measure flour with a scale for the best accuracy.
- If you do not have a scale, fluff up the flour a bit before using, and then measure it out by spooning it into a measuring cup and using a knife to level out the top. Do not pack the flour in.
- Cold, unsalted butter: make sure that the butter is very cold and cut it into cubes.
- Granulated sugar and salt: just a little bit of salt and sugar add some extra flavor to the crust.
- Ice water: this binds the crust together. Be sure to use ice cold water.
- An egg and turbinado or sanding sugar: these don’t go into the crust but rather on top of the pie to help it get brown and glossy as it bakes.
Ingredients for Wild Blueberry Filling
- Fresh or frozen Maine wild blueberries: I do not live in Maine but I love their blueberries, so I have to buy them frozen. Wyman’s brand is the best–it comes in a blueberry printed bag. Trader Joes also has frozen wild blueberries, but make sure to pick up a few bags since you’ll need a lot to fill up a pie!
- Fresh lime zest and lemon juice: yes, lime! Just trust me on this one.
- Granulated sugar: adds sweetness.
- Cornstarch: thickens the filling as it cooks and cools. Since the blueberries get super juicy as they cook, the cornstarch will help set everything and prevent a runny pie.
- Ground cinnamon: adds warmth to the filling’s flavor.
How to Make Flaky Pie Crust
This pie crust recipe is my absolute favorite, tried and true recipe. It’s a little bit unconventional and I have to credit the method to J. Kenji Alt-Lopez and the Serious Eats team. You essentially blend some of the flour with butter to create a mass of fat, and then pulse the rest of the flour around it. After that, you use a rubber spatula to fold water in, creating layers.
Three things to keep in mind are:
- Keep your ingredients cold. You want to make sure the fat does not melt too much before baking. Make sure to chill your pie crust before rolling it out, and then freeze it after shaping.
- Weigh the flour. Pie crust is one of those things where accuracy is important, and nothing is more accurate than a scale when it comes to measuring ingredients.
Start by combining sugar, salt, and some of the flour in a food processor. Cut the butter into cubes and add it in (1), then pulse for 30-40 times (or more) until it forms a dough-like paste (2). Sprinkle the rest of the flour on top and then pulse again for 10-11 times until the mixture is crumbly (3).
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Next, transfer the crumbs into a large bowl. Add one tablespoon of ice water and use a flexible spatula to fold it into the dough, making sure to fold the dough over itself. Then add another tablespoon of water and repeat. Continue doing this until you have a smooth dough (4) — I find that I usually only need 3 tablespoons of water.
Divide the dough in half and tightly wrap each in plastic wrap. Form each piece of dough into a round disc and then put them in the refrigerator to chill for at least half an hour (5).
How to Make Blueberry Pie
Roll out the Pie Crust: After chilling the dough, start by rolling one disc out on a floured surface until it is 2-3 inches larger than your pie dish. For example, if you have a 10 inch pie dish, roll the dough into a 13 inch circle.
Carefully drape the dough over your rolling pin and press it into the pie dish.
Make the Filling: Combine the frozen blueberries with sugar, flour, lemon, lime, vanilla, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Toss to combine and evenly coat the blueberries. There is no need to thaw the blueberries–I’d actually recommend against it because the filling may become too runny.
Make a Lattice Crust: Roll the other disc of dough out now to the same size as the other crust. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 6 equal-width strips. Drape 3 strips on top of the pie, spacing them evenly apart. Then, fold back the first and third strips (every other) and lay another strip perpendicularly on top. Fold the first and third strips back down. Then repeat, folding back just the middle strip this time. Repeat one more time, using the first and third strips again. Brush the top of the crust with egg wash and sprinkle with some sugar (if you want).
Bake: I like to put the pie on a cookie sheet before sticking in into the oven. You’ll want to bake it for 55-65 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and top is golden brown. Let the pie cool down before slicing — the filling will set as it cools. This may take a few hours (sorry) but is so important!
Tips for Success
- Keep the pie crust ingredients very cold and try to avoid substituting any ingredients.
- If you are using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them before baking.
- Frozen berries need longer in the oven than fresh berries. Adjust your baking time accordingly.
- Don’t skip the egg wash – brushing egg wash over the pie crust before baking will ensure that it gets a brown and glossy top.
- Store leftovers tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can leave the pie on the counter for the first 24 hours, but then make sure to store in the fridge after that.
Can I Freeze Blueberry Pie?
You can freeze either cooked or uncooked blueberry pie. Isn’t that fun? You can fully assemble the pie, and then cover and store it in the freezer for up to three months if you don’t feel like baking it right away. The only caveat is that the bake time will take longer if cooking from frozen, so keep that in mind.
To freeze cooked pie, I recommend cutting it into slices first. Wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap and then store them in an airtight bag or container. Thaw the pie overnight in the refrigerator, and then heat it up in the oven before serving.
Pin & Save for Later
Want to make wild blueberry pie but not quite ready to bake yet? Good news is that if you hover over any image in this post (or tap on mobile), you can click the icon in the corner to save it to Pinterest.
Happy baking my friends, and I’m excited for your homemade blueberry pies!
More Blueberry & Pie Recipes
Wild Maine Blueberry Pie
Wild blueberries tossed with sugar and spices and baked in a buttery, flaky pie crust.
Ingredients
Pie Crusts
- 2⅔ cups (320g) all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup (226g) cold butter, cut into cubes
- 3-4 tbsp ice water
Blueberry Filling
- 5 - 5½ cups frozen (or fresh) Maine wild blueberries
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ tsp freshly grated lime zest (yes, lime, trust me)
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
Make The Pie Crust
- In a food processor, add 1⅔ cups (200g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and all of the butter. Pulse the butter and flour together until they form a paste (look at the photos in the post for reference).
- Next, sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of flour into the food processor and pulse again for 10-12 times until the mixture is crumbly.
- Dump the crumbs into a large mixing bowl and add one tablespoon of the ice water, using a flexible spatula to fold the water in. Continue adding one tablespoon of water at a time this way, until the dough is moistened and holds together.
- Divide the dough into two and shape them into discs. Tightly wrap and chill for at least half an hour. If you are chilling for a lot longer, let the dough rest on the counter for 15-30 minutes before using.
Assemble the Bake
- Prepare the bottom crust. On a floured surface, roll out one disc of dough to fit your pie dish. The dough should be 3-4 inches longer than the pie dish (ex. for a 10 inch pie dish, roll the dough out to at least 13 inches). Drape this crust into the bottom of the pie dish. Trim the edges so that there is no more than a 2 inch overhang.
- Make the filling. In a large bowl, toss the blueberries with the sugar, lime zest, lemon juice, corn starch, salt, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon. Let this rest for 10 minutes while you roll out the top crust.
- Prepare the top crust. Roll the other disc of dough to a similar size and thickness as the bottom crust. Use a pastry wheel or pizza cutter to cut the dough into 6 even-sized strips. You will use these strips to form the lattice crust.
- Lattice crust: Place three of the strips vertically on top of the blueberries, spaced evenly apart. Peel back the first and third strips (every other), and lay down one of the remaining three strips closer to the top. Put the peeled back strips back down, so that the first and third strips now lay on top of the strip you just placed down. Next, peel back the middle strip, lay down another strip near the middle of the dish, and fold the middle strip down. This time, the middle strip will be on top. Repeat with the final strip, peeling back the first and third again.
- Finish crust: Pinch the edges of the top and bottom crust together, feeling free to tuck any excess under. Crimp the edges your fingers or a fork. Brush the egg wash on the tops and edges of the crust and sprinkle with turbinado sugar if desired.
- Bake and cool: Put the pie dish onto a baking sheet (this will catch any drips and make it easier to take out). Bake the pie for 55-65 minutes at 375°F, or until it is golden brown and the berries are bubbly. Let it cool down completely to set the filling before serving with vanilla ice cream--this may take a few hours but is worth it! You can enjoy the pie warm, but just note that it may be runnier.
Notes
- Wild Blueberries: Wild blueberries are different from conventional blueberries, as they are smaller and sweeter. These are typically grown in Maine, so if you don't live there the good news is that you can buy them year round in the frozen section. I highly recommend Wyman's frozen wild blueberries. If you want to substitute regular blueberries, that is fine but add a little bit more sugar.
- Pie crust tips: to ensure the best pie crusts, make sure that the butter is very cold before using and that you measure the flour with a scale if possible.
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