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This Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe is the perfect berry pie for summer. I made this pie without jello so it uses the fruit to naturally gel the pie filling. It’s my GO TO recipe and one that everyone who tastes it loves.
Why this is the BEST Strawberry Pie Recipe
You will love this easy pie for so many reasons:
- 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
If you love strawberries this is the best way to use them! I cannot think about strawberries and summer without thinking about the strawberry fields in Anaheim – the sweet sticky air of the early summer mornings walking from the campground to Disneyland. This strawberry pie recipe brings back those memories and it will bring back your childhood summer memories too!
Ingredients Needed
- Fresh Strawberries (see below for details)
- Granulated Sugar for sweetness
- Cornstarch for thickening – no gelatin
- Water
- 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.
How to make Strawberry Pie
- 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.
Strawberry Pie without Jello
You can easily make my strawberry pie recipe without jello or gelatin.
I know the traditional strawberry pie recipes use jello but I don’t love it. I’m not a jello lover so I try to avoid it unless I’m making jello shots or pretzel salad.
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. That makes it super simple and such a fresh and delicious pie recipe.
What crust goes best with Strawberry Pie Filling?
Traditionally I think you see pastry crusts with strawberry pie, but you can really use any pie crust recipe.
For this recipe I used my all butter pie crust but you can also use a graham cracker crust, shortbread crust or Oreo crust if you want this to be a no bake pie.
If you’re using a pastry crust, you’ll want to blind bake it before filling. You can also use a store-bought crust, I won’t tell.
This is delicious served with whipped cream or ice cream on top.
Tip From Dorothy
Expert Tips
- I blind baked my pie crust on a baking sheet so it’s easy to get into and out of the oven.
- 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.
- Make this a NO BAKE Strawberry Pie by using a graham cracker, shortbread, or Oreo crust.
Strawberry Pie Recipe FAQs
If you want to make your strawberry pie ahead of time, you can make the jam filling the day before then chill it until you’re ready to make the pie. I highly recommend making this fresh strawberry pie recipe the day you’re going to serve it. You’ll need to chill it to set for an hour or so, but leftover strawberry pie is not good. Strawberry pie is best the day it’s assembled.
This is the complain I see most often and 99% of the time it’s because you didn’t let the filling cool before adding the berries. You have to let the cooked filling cool COMPLETELY before adding any fresh berries. If it’s warm or hot, it’ll cook the berries, causing them to leak moisture, causing your pie to be runny, weepy, or not set up. This also happens if you let the pie sit too long in the refrigerator, which is why it’s best eaten the day it’s assembled.
I don’t recommend using frozen berries in this – they will be too wet and cause the pie to be runny.
The key is making the strawberry puree thick with cornstarch and then mixing it with fresh berries once it’s cooled.
Use a gluten free pastry crust or make a cookie crust with gluten free cookies. Because this uses cornstarch, the pie filling is gluten free.
Recipe Update
July 2023: I’ve had some comments that mention the pie not setting up. I’ve remade the pie a few times and added notes to the recipe.
- Buy 3 pounds of strawberries to be safe – not all strawberries are created equal.
- I added weight measurements to the recipe card. This will help when measuring out the berries to make the jam (2 cups can vary from person to person and from size of strawberries, etc).
- 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).
- Note that 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
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 Video
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.
- I added weight measurements to the recipe card. This will help when measuring out the berries to make the jam (2 cups can vary from person to person and from size of strawberries, etc).
- 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).
- Note that 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
This easy FRESH Strawberry Pie Recipe has a filling with no gelatin and tons of fresh strawberries. Make it with your favorite pie crust for the perfect summer pie recipe!
Rookie baker here… but I have a quick question concerning adding the cut berries to the cooked portion… the written directions state to pour the cooked portion of top of the cut portion that are already added to the shell, but the video shows the cut portion being added to the cooked portion, mixed together THEN added to the shell. Which way provides the best results? I would think pre-mixing them so everything is mixed evenly, but hoping for a more definitive answer… 🙂
Thank you for clarifying that – yes it’s much easier to stir it together in a bowl then add it to the pie crust.
Rookie baker here, but I love strawberries and have been craving a big slice of strawberry pie for a while… then I ran across this recipe… quick question though… the directions state to pour the cooked portion over top of the cut strawberries already in the shell, but the video shows the cut strawberries being added to the cooked portion, mixed together THEN added to the shell.
Which way should it be done for best results? It seems mixing before adding to the shell would be the best way to make sure it’s mixed evenly, but looking for a bit of clarification.
I put a small layer of cream cheese at the bottom of the pie shell once it cooled. This helped protect the crust from becoming soggy. Loved the pie.
OOOH I love that idea!!
Question? If you do a store bought crust do you recommend a deep dish or regular??
Thanks!
Regular
Made this today. And it was super good. I used a Pilsbury refrigerated crust. And the only change was 4 tablespoons of corn starch instead of 3. I often have “setting issues.”) I’ll be making this pie often this summer!
I saw this recipe for strawberry pie this AM on my email. I was going to the grocery store for a few items so I picked up strawberries. Came home and make this pie from scratch except for the crust. I did cheat and buy a MC frozen crust but I did have to pre- bake it. That’s counts for something doesn’t it? LOL. Anyway the smashed strawberries with the sugar and cornstarch came out perfect. I love that better than the jello filling. When everything cooled I assembled the strawberry pie. It’s in The refrigerator now. I am so looking forward to having some with hubby tonight while watching TV. Wish I could post a picture. It looks amazing and my husband will love it !! Thanks again for another terrific recipe !!
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