The Best Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

🍓 Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Ingredients

I absolutely love how easy it is to make this strawberry rhubarb pie recipe. All you need is

• Pie Dough for 2 pie crusts: I like using my grandma’s flaky pie crust recipe or a buttery Shortcrust pastry, but when I’m really pressed for time, I have been known to simply buy 2 crusts from the store.)
• Diced Rhubarb: Fresh is always best, but it can be made using frozen rhubarb! I often make it for Thanksgiving with frozen rhubarb I have stashed away in my freezer)
• Sliced Strawberries (Fresh or frozen)
• Granulated Sugar: to sweeten the fruit and a little extra to sprinkle on the top of the pie crust
• Cornstarch: thickens the juices as it reaches boiling point and doesn’t make the filling cloudy like flour. There is no need to buy tapioca that you will rarely use. Cornstarch works perfectly every time.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: pure vanilla has a richer flavor than imitation
• Pinch of Salt
• 1 egg white: for an egg wash on the crust. This can also be used to seal the base crust before adding the filling to prevent a soggy bottom.

🧐 How To Pick Rhubarb For A Pie: 

Rhubarb comes in different colors, ranging from green to pink to red. The color of the stalks does not necessarily indicate how sweet they are. However, red and pink rhubarb are often used in strawberry Rhubarb pies because it gives the pie a more attractive color.

1. Look for firm stalks, avoiding any which are limp or blemished.
2. If the leaves are attached, they should be fresh and crisp.
3. Pick stalks with deeper red colors if possible. This will make for the prettiest pies and deepest-colored recipes.

Rhubarb is most tender and flavorful in spring and early summer but can be used throughout the season. Select firm, crisp stalks when they are 8 to 15 inches long. To harvest, twist off the leaf stalk at the soil line rather than taking a knife and cutting near the roots. Finally, cut off the leaf.

🥧 How To Make A Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

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I have actually been asked for this recipe many times over the decade. But honestly, I have hated how my pies look so I never posted it before now. I can make the best-tasting pies, but they just don’t always look perfect. Now, my sister, she makes a gorgeous-looking pie!

I’ve been working really hard on my pie-making for the last few years. And I’ve made leaps and bounds on how they look! Oh, they are still miles away from looking as beautiful as I would like. But I couldn’t put off sharing this recipe any longer.

PREP The Fruit: Wash and dry the rhubarb and strawberries.

Hull the strawberries and trim the rhubarb. Then slice both into perfect pie pieces. For the strawberries, I use strawberry huller tweezers to remove the stems and a strawberry slicer to make the slicing go faster. Plus then the kids love to help slice the strawberries because it is so easy!

Macerate The Fruit: Combine the strawberries and rhubarb in a large bowl with the sugar and allow it to macerate for 30-60 minutes. Macerate essentially means to soak the fruit in sugar, this will draw out the juices and soften the fruit.

While the fruit is macerating I make my pie crust.

Prepare the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling: Portion out 1/4 cup of the juice from the strawberries and rhubarb to save and drain the rest of the juice.

Combine the strawberries and rhubarb mixture, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, and 1/4 cup juice in a large mixing bowl. Gently mix it all together.

Fill the pie crust: Gently pour the fruit filling mixture into the pie crust and spread it out evenly.

Special note: This strawberry rhubarb pie filling usually fills my 10.5″ pie pan and my 9″ pie dish nicely. Although, it will depend on the depth of your pie pan. I have a glass 9″ pie pan that is incredibly shallow and this is far too much.

Prepare the Pie for Baking: Apply the top pie crust and flute the edges to seal them.

Use a sharp knife to cut four or five 2-inch slits in the top crust, arranged in a circular pattern for venting.

Take one egg white and whisk it. Then brush it onto the top of the pie crust using a silicone pastry brush.

Then sprinkle with sugar!

This helps the crust to bake evenly, prevents edges from burning, and gives it the best sugar-coating top you have ever tasted!

Bake: Bake the pie in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and continue to cook for another 30-45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling. Check it every 5-10 minutes after the 30-minute mark until the top crust is golden. The cooking time can vary based on the crust that you use. Let the pie cool completely, at least 1-hour minimum.

🍊Variations

The great thing about rhubarb is that it is so versatile! There are several ways you can vary this old-fashioned recipe and have a mouthwatering classic dessert with a fun new twist! 

You can switch up the top crust! Try a lattice pattern or use a cookie cutter to cut out different shapes for the top crust. 

Try a Crumble topping! You can switch out the top crust altogether and use the crumble topping from our mini Dutch apple pies or the streusel topping from our spiced cinnamon muffins! Both go perfectly with this classic strawberry rhubarb pie!

Mix up the fruit! Strawberries are not the only fruit that is delicious when paired with rhubarb! You can also use raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, cherries, pears, apples, apricots, nectarines, and peaches!

Add Orange juice! Simply add 1 Tablespoon (15ml) of orange juice to the filling! While it’s a little alteration, it’s just enough for a fun variation. 

Top with Cinnamon sugar! Just like our fresh peach pie – topping off the strawberry rhubarb pie with a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar in the egg wash is a fun way to jazz up a traditional pie crust. 

🫙 How To Store Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

This pie can be kept at room temperature for up to 36 hours. After that, it’s best to cover it with plastic wrap or tin foil and keep it refrigerated. This will last up to 7 days in the refrigerator. 

🥶 How to Freeze Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The perfect taste of summer can be frozen to enjoy in the winter! There are 2 ways you can freeze your strawberry rhubarb pie. As an unbaked pie or a fully-cooked pie. 

You can freeze unbaked pies for up to two months. After that, you’re flirting with freezer burn. Frozen, baked fruit pies will keep up to 4 months. So really it is your choice which method you want to use. 

To freeze an unbaked strawberry rhubarb pie: assemble the pie as you would if you were going to bake it that day. Then, freeze the pie uncovered for 2 hours, or until it is mostly frozen. Once the pie is set, triple-wrap it in foil. Label and date the pie, and write the baking temperature and time on the foil.

The great thing about this method is that there is no need to thaw the pie before baking. Simply pop the frozen pie into a hot oven and bake it as usual. The baking time will be longer than for an unfrozen pie, but the exact amount of time will vary depending on the amount of filling in the pie. A general rule of thumb is to add an extra 20-30 minutes to the baking time for an uncooked pie.

To freeze a fully-cooked strawberry rhubarb pie: let it cool completely. Then, transfer the pie to a flat surface in the freezer. Let the pie freeze solid, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil. Label and date the pie, and eat it within 4 months. To thaw the pie, let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Then, reheat the pie in a 350-degree oven until warm.

🥫 Can Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Filling Be Canned?

Sadly I would not advise canning this strawberry rhubarb pie filling. Many people will say that yes you can. But the most current recommendation from the USDA is to not use cornstarch or flour in canning recipes. 

The reason is that flour and cornstarch are starches that do not break down with heat, so it can prevent the heat from penetrating the center of the jar, interfering with safe processing to destroy the bacterial spores that cause botulism. 

The only exception to this rule is when a tested recipe calls for Clear Jel® as in pie fillings or small amounts of thickener in a few relish recipes. So for safety reasons, I cannot recommend freezing this pie filling. 

💭 FAQ’s