Blueberry Pie Filling
- By Amy Dong
- Published Jul. 26, 2022
- Updated Apr. 3, 2023
A thick and juicy blueberry pie filling is essential to a great blueberry pie. Learn the basics for a perfect blueberry pie filling that works every time.
Table of contents
Blueberry Pie Filling: What You’ll Love
- This blueberry pie filling is consistently rich, thick, and juicy all at the same time.
- You only need a few basic pantry ingredients for your perfect blueberry pie filling.
- This blueberry pie filling can be made ahead of time and chilled until ready to use.
- The flavors of this blueberry pie filling are brilliantly balanced – it’s sweet, slightly tangy, and loaded with juicy goodness.
- It’s SO delicious, you can use it over yogurt or ice cream.
How to Make Blueberry Pie Filling: Key Tips
- Start with the ripest, sweetest fresh blueberries you can get. We definitely recommend using fresh blueberries versus frozen blueberries.
- Do yourself a favor and grate a granny smith apple to include in the filling. It provides a balanced tart-sweetness, as well as a natural thickening agent in the form of pectin.
- Regarding the grated apples, be sure to wring them dry with a clean cloth, as this prevents excess moisture from creating a runny filling. We always have plenty of flour sack cloths on hand, as they’re great for cleaning and straining tasks.
- Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a must, as its flavors can’t be matched by bottled lemon juice. You’ll want fresh lemons anyways, as you’ll need lemon zest.
- Cornstarch is the thickener of choice here; it’s both gluten free and has twice the thickening power as flour does.
Blueberry Pie Filling:
Commonly Asked Questions
There are several thickening agents that can be used, but our go-to is always cornstarch. It’s ready available, it’s cheap, and it has twice the thickening power as flour does.
Absolutely, it will. We always recommend letting your finished pie cool completely to room temperature before slicing, as the filling sets up nicely once it’s fully cooled.
We highly recommend using fresh blueberries for pie filling, as frozen blueberries contain excess water. The extra water content can lead to a runnier, less flavorful filling.
Yes, you can make the filling up to several days ahead. After it cooks, let it cool completely. Cover tightly and chill until ready to use. If needed, warm it up slightly prior to using.
More to Bake and Eat
- Blueberry Lemon French Toast Bake – this is simply stunning for breakfast and brunch. It’s flavors are bright and delightful.
- Ribs in the Oven [with Blueberry BBQ Sauce] – yes, baby back ribs are absolutely stunning and delicious with blueberry BBQ sauce smothered over it.
- Blueberry Coffee Cake – this one has been a family favorite for decades. It’s so easy to make and always a hit.
- Steel Cut Oatmeal ‘n Blueberry Muffins – we love making the most of steel cut oats with this healthy blueberry muffin recipe.
Shop This Recipe
It’s the easiest way to juice lemons, oranges, or limes. Auto-reversing juicing cones provide maximum juice extraction, while straining pulp separately.
We love the fitted container that catches all your grated ingredients.
These flour sack cloths are a daily essential; they are extra absorbent, are great for cleaning as well as straining.
Did you make this?
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Blueberry Pie Filling
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh blueberries, divided
- 1 granny smith apple, peeled and grated on large holes of a grater
- 2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ cups sugar
- 2 TB cornstarch
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 2 TB salted butter, cut into 1/4 in pieces
Instructions
- Cook: Place 3 cups of berries in a saucepan and set over medium heat. Mash berries several times to release juices. Continue cooking, stirring often and occasionally mashing, until half of the berries have broken down. Mixture should be thickened and reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 8 min. Let cool slightly.
- Combine: Place grated apple in a clean cloth and wring to dry. Transfer apples to large bowl and add cooked berries, the remaining uncooked berries, lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt. Toss to combine.
- Fill: When ready to use, use rubber spatula to transfer filling into pie shell, scattering butter pieces on top of filling, prior to sealing with upper pie dough.
