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This Fresh Strawberry Pie is the ultimate summer dessert! If you’ve been looking for a recipe for strawberry pie that doesn’t rely on boxes of Jello, this is it. It features a flaky, from-scratch crust filled with 3 pounds of juicy berries coated in a natural homemade glaze. It’s a nostalgic classic that brings back memories of walking through strawberry fields on a warm summer morning.
This fresh strawberry pie recipe yields one 9-inch pie and is made without Jello or gelatin. It requires 6-8 cups (approx. 3 pounds) of fresh strawberries and uses a homemade glaze thickened with cornstarch. The recipe features a blind-baked crust and requires at least 2 hours of chilling time to properly set before serving with fresh whipped cream.
When I was a kid we’d go to Disneyland and stay down the street and to get to the park we had to walk by strawberry fields. I still remember the early morning air of summer thick with the smell of ripening strawberries! This strawberry pie recipe brings back so many memories and it will bring back your childhood summer memories too!
Why you’ll love this fresh strawberry pie:
- It’s completely from scratch – from the pie crust to the filling
- Made without jello or gelatin – the fruit makes it’s own!
- Great way to use up fresh summer strawberries
The secret to the best fresh strawberry pie is a double-layer approach to the fruit. Instead of just tossing berries in sugar, we use a potato masher to crush a portion of the berries to create a thick, vibrant base, while the rest remain sliced and fresh for that perfect fresh fruit bite. By using cornstarch as our natural thickener, we get a clear, glossy filling that lets the natural sweetness of the berries shine through without any artificial flavors.
Ingredients for Strawberry Pie without Gelatin or Jell-o
- Fresh Strawberries – it’s always a question of how many strawberries you need for a pie. For this recipe you need 6-8 cups of berries, which is about 2-3 pounds. Buy 3 pounds of berries, just to be safe.
- When preparing your berries, always wash and hull them before measuring. However, ensure they are completely dry before adding them to the cooled glaze. Any residual water on the surface of the fruit will prevent the glaze from adhering properly, which can lead to a weepy pie that separates when sliced.
- I don’t recommend using frozen berries in this pie – they will be too wet and cause the pie to be runny.
- Pie Crust: you can use any you like but traditionally this is made with a pastry crust – use a store bought crust or make my all butter pie crust.
- Because the strawberry filling is added to a pre-baked crust, the blind bake is the most important step. For a crust that remains crisp even under the weight of the glaze, bake your empty shell until it is a deep golden brown, not just pale yellow. This seals the pastry and creates a barrier against the moisture of the fruit.
- When you’re making a fresh strawberry pie filling, you cook some of the fruit like you would jam. The pectin in the fruit gels it enough when mixed with sugar and cornstarch that you don’t need the gelatin for it to solidify. It’s almost like you’re making an apple pie filling, but with strawberries, and then you mix the filling with more fresh berries to take the shape of the pie.
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Dorothy’s Expert Tips for Strawberry Pie
- To create a stable strawberry pie without gelatin, you must bring the crushed berry and cornstarch mixture to a full boil for exactly one minute. This specific time frame is necessary to fully hydrate the cornstarch granules, ensuring the glaze sets into a sliceable “gel” rather than remaining a cloudy syrup.
- You can make the filling (without the added in fresh berries) 24 hours in advance. It needs to cool completely so it’s best to do it ahead. The mixture will be very thick once cooled. It should be COLD before you add the berries or the pie will weep.
- If your pie is weepy or watery it’s most likely because you didn’t allow the berries to fully cool. If the mixture is at all warm it’ll cause the fresh berries to weep, making your pie runny.
- Don’t assemble the pie until the day you’re going to eat it.
- The mixture is thick like jam once cooled overnight. When you mix it with your berries there should be a bit of excess jam but not too much. There is a sweet spot between too much (pie falling apart) and not enough (again, pie falling apart). Add extra berries as needed (my recent pie used 2 1/2 pounds) – this also depends on the size of your berries. While 2 pounds is 2 pounds, different sized berries will take up different amounts of room when sliced.
- This pie is not a gelatin pie recipe – without jello the pie texture and stability will be different than that of one made with gelatin, so keep that in mind.
Strawberry Pie Recipe
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 1 All Butter Pie Crust pre-baked and cooled
- 2-3 pounds fresh strawberries (buy 3 lbs to be safe)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (79 ml) water
- 3 tablespoons (24g) cornstarch
- Whipped cream for garnish
Instructions
- Blind Bake your crust according to package or recipe directions.
- Measure out about 2-3 cups of berries, hull and slice them in half, then measure out 2 cups (approximately 300g). Crush them using a potato masher.
- Add the crushed strawberries, sugar, water, and cornstarch to a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat. Cool completely before continuing. (You can also make this the day before.) The mixture should be very thick as shown in the video.
- To assemble the pie, hull and slice the remaining strawberries and place them in a bowl. Pour the cooled strawberry filling over the top and stir. Place in pie crust. Chill for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Top with fresh whipped cream before serving.
- This pie is best eaten the same day its made. It will get weepy if refrigerated overnight.
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to use a refrigerated or frozen pie crust instead of my recipe.
- Learn how to blind bake your crust here.
- Want a completely no bake pie? Use a graham cracker crust instead.
- You can make the filling (without the added in fresh berries) 24 hours in advance. It needs to cool completely so it’s best to do it ahead. The mixture will be very thick once cooled. It should be COLD before you add the berries or the pie will weep. Don’t assemble the pie until the day you’re going to eat it.
- Buy 3 pounds of strawberries to be safe – not all strawberries are created equal.
- The mixture is thick like jam once cooled overnight. When you mix it with your berries there should be a bit of excess jam but not too much. You may need to add more berries (sometimes I’ll use up to 2 1/2 pounds – once chopped different size berries will take up different amounts of room.
- Since this pie is not a gelatin pie recipe (without jello) the pie texture and stability will be different than that of one made with gelatin, so keep that in mind.
Recipe Nutrition
Step-by-Step Photos
- Crust: Blind Bake your crust according to package or recipe directions.
- Berries: Measure out two cups of berries, wash and hull them, then crush them with a potato masher.
- Cook the filling: Add the crushed strawberries, sugar, water, and cornstarch to a medium saucepan.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Chill, cover with plastic wrap, and cool completely before continuing. (You can also make this the day before.) The mixture will be very thick once cooled.
- Assemble: To assemble strawberry pie, hull and slice the remaining strawberries and place them in a medium bowl. Pour the cooled strawberry pie filling over the top and stir.
- Place strawberry mixture in pie dish.
- Chill and Serve: Chill for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving. Top with fresh whipped cream before serving.
FAQs
You will need between 2 and 3 pounds (about 6 to 8 cups) of fresh berries to ensure a full, mounded pie.
Absolutely. This recipe uses a natural cornstarch-based glaze made from crushed fresh strawberries to create a beautiful, thick filling.
Ensure you boil your glaze for at least 1 minute to activate the cornstarch, and let the mixture cool completely before tossing it with the fresh berries.
Yes! You can use a store-bought refrigerated crust or a frozen shell; just be sure to blind-bake it according to the package directions before adding the filling.
Crusts To Pair With Strawberry Pie
Use a store bought pie crust if you want – I won’t tell – or make this into a no-bake pie by using one of my no bake pie crust recipes!
UNBELIEVABLE!! I wish my Grandma was still alive to taste this. I’ve used her recipe for years, the one with strawberry jello of course. I always seem to get strawberries and forget to get jello to make the pie. Problem solved! Healthier, cheaper, and doesn’t require that second trip to the store. So delicious ❤️
Hi Bonnie, so glad you like it! Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful
Can you freeze the pie mixture and use at a later date
I haven’t tried that – I think that it might make the filling too wet.
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