From cherry pie to apple pie to creamy lemon pie (and don’t forget peach pie!), let’s move onto another fan-favorite flavor this month: blueberry.
If you haven’t made a pie yet this month, let me try to encourage you to get in the kitchen ASAP. Today we’re making blueberry pie! Ditching that top pie crust and sprinkling the whole thing with a buttery streusel crumble topping. It’s like blueberry pie and blueberry crisp in one. Did you read that? Literally the two best summer desserts on the planet in one pie dish. 8 slices of blueberry heaven. The stars have aligned and I’m declaring this the best of the best when it comes to blueberry desserts.
(Though this lemon blueberry cake begs to differ.)
I had some trouble with this pie! I tested it 4 or 5 different times. Honestly I lost count after the 3rd and everything after that was a blurry blueberry mess.
With my determination (but mostly a craving for blueberry crumble pie) I conquered this little blueberry beast. The pesky little issue each time? Blueberry soup. Sloshy blueberry soup on top of a doughy uncooked pie crust topped with much-too-buttery crumble on top. Can there ever be too much butter? YES. I’ve seen it. And it’s not pretty.
It’s a tall order, but I cracked the code. The filling is juicy—like the best blueberry pie fillings are—the bottom crust is golden brown and flaky, and the crumble topping keeps its shape.
So, how do we get there?
There are 3 components to this blueberry crumble pie.
The Pie Crust
Use a solid recipe that can stand up to the heavy and juicy blueberries on top. My pie crust yields 2 crusts so you can pop one into your freezer for the next time you crave blueberry pie. Which, if you’re anything like me, will be about 5 seconds after your last slice of this guy. Make sure to cook the blueberry pie long enough, too. This will help guarantee (1) a golden brown crust and (2) a thicker filling. If using a glass pie dish, which I strongly recommend, you can see when the crust on the sides is browning perfectly.
Since we’re using a crumble topping, we don’t have to worry about any pie crust designs. However, you still want to crimp or flute the edges of the pie dough. Here’s my full tutorial if you need a refresher: How to Crimp and Flute Pie Crust.
The Blueberry Filling
Let’s do all we can to keep it on the sturdy side. I typically make blueberry pie with cornstarch as the thickener, but a couple tries proved this isn’t enough in a blueberry crumble pie. Why not? All the butter in the topping melting down creates our not-so-beloved blueberry soup filling. So I gave a mixture of flour AND cornstarch a whirl and was pleasantly pleased with the results. I’ve discussed this before, but I prefer cornstarch as the thickener in summer berry pies. (Read why in my blueberry pie recipe.) Flour weighs things down, but proved to be just the ticket underneath this buttery crumble topping. Success!
The Crumble Topping
We want a crumble topping that can hold its shape, crisp up, and generally avoid turning into goo. I use the same topping on my apple cranberry crumble pie also. The trick with this crumble topping is to use the coldest butter ever. You’ll mix brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together then cut in super cold butter. Finally, mix in the oats. I add the oats last because I don’t want them to break down when I cut in the butter. I want them to stay whole. Whole oats = more texture on top of your pie!
There’s an obnoxious amount of crumble topping, so I hope you’re not opposed to brown sugar + cinnamon + butter + oats. You’ll flip for my blueberry pie bars, apple crisp and oatmeal lemon crumble bars, too!
And, like with all pies, the colder everything stays the better pie success you have. Whenever you’re not directly working with a layer, keep it in the fridge. For example: after you roll out the pie crust and place into the pie dish, refrigerate it while you prepare the filling. Likewise, after you add the filling to the crust, refrigerate the whole thing as you prepare the crumble topping.
If you want to dig in while the pie is still warm, be my guest! But I will warn you—it will be pretty juicy. I find the best time is to wait until it fully cools. This takes several hours but luckily, blueberry pie is THEE best make-ahead recipe. It’s even better the next day! Just keep it covered and refrigerate it. Bring to room temperature before serving. Add a scoop of ice cream and a dollop of homemade whipped cream for good measure. Pie-fection.
Enjoy this satisfying blueberry dessert for all your summer celebrations including Father’s Day, 4th of July, graduation parties, Labor Day, and more.
If you’re looking for all the benefits of a pie with half the work, try my blueberry galette instead. And here is even more inspiration for blueberry dessert recipes.
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Blueberry Crumble Pie
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 7 hours
- Yield: 8-10 servings
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Use up summer’s fresh blueberries in this buttery, juicy, and completely delicious blueberry crumble pie. It tastes even better with ice cream on top!
Ingredients
- homemade pie crust (my recipe makes 2 crusts; you’ll just need 1)*
- 5 and 1/2 cups (about 780g) fresh blueberries*
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (41g) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
Crumble Topping
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (46g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) unsalted butter, very cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup (40g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare my pie crust recipe through step 5.
- Make the filling: In a large bowl, mix blueberries, granulated sugar, flour, cornstarch, lemon juice, and zest together until thoroughly combined. It will be pretty flour-y. That’s ok. Place filling in the refrigerator until needed in step 4.
- Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C).
- Roll out the chilled pie dough: On a floured work surface, roll out one of the discs of chilled dough (you can freeze the 2nd for later use, see note). Turn the dough about a quarter turn after every few rolls until you have a circle 12 inches in diameter. Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch pie dish. Tuck it in with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Spoon the cold filling into the crust and discard the leftover juices in the bottom of the bowl, if any. Flute or crimp the pie crust edges. Place pie in the refrigerator until needed in the next step.
- Make the crumble: Mix the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Using a pastry cutter, cut the cold butter into the brown sugar mixture until coarse crumbs are formed. Stir in the oats and sprinkle over pie.
- Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 375°F (190°C) and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes. After the first 20 minutes of bake time, I place a pie crust shield on top of the pie to prevent the edges from browning too quickly. I also loosely cover the whole pie with aluminum foil to prevent the crumble from browning too quickly as well.
- Allow the pie to cool for 3 full hours at room temperature before serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead / Freezing Instructions: A couple ways to make ahead of time! Make 1 day in advance—after it cools, cover tightly and keep in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving. The pie crust dough can also be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Baked pie also freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling can also be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Rolling Pin | 9-inch Pie Dish | Pastry Cutter | Pie Crust Shield
- Remaining Pie Dough: You can freeze the 2nd pie dough for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
- Blueberries: I strongly suggest using fresh blueberries, not frozen. The pie will be quite soupy if using frozen. If you decide to use frozen, do not thaw first. The pie will take several more minutes in the oven due to the increased liquid. Again, I highly encourage fresh.
Try my brown butter blueberry peach crisp next!
Reader Comments and Reviews
We really enjoyed this pie.
First time I made it we ran out of Blueberries; needing about 1C more. So I wound up throwing in a cup of mixed frozen berries. Still came out excellent. The second time I made it I did bite sized pies using a mini muffin tin: they too came out delicious and were a huge hit, though I’m not convinced worth the trouble of being tiny. (Removing from the pan was an endeavor)
I must say I hope to have a glass pie pan by the time I make it again to make watching the bottom get golden a bit easier.
Can I use a store bought pie crust instead of homemade?
Hi Ashley, yes, you can use store bought. Follow all other directions the same. Enjoy!
We had some freshly picked wild berries to use up and I used this recipe. It turned out great! I have made Sally’s crust recipe several times, but was a little worried when others noted they had a soggy crust. The berries we had produced alot of liquid after sitting in the bowl for a day or two awaiting use. I put them in the a strainer for a few hours to get rid of the extra liquid. Still wasn’t confident that these would make the crust soggy, but I am here to tell you it turned out perfectly (in line with all other recipes I have tried from Sally!). I use a glass pie dish, so it when it was time to take it out – I was sure to look at the bottom first. It needed more browned in my opinion, so I kept it in for about 5 more minutes. As difficult as it was, my kids and I let it cool completely before slicing (which meant pie the next morning for breakfast!). So delicious!
Way too much lemon. The filling was thick enough, but the pie was sour.
Thanks. I always check the equipment list (it’s one of the ways I expand my kitchen tool collection) and I kept waiting for when/where I might use colorful bowls with this recipe. I can imagine a soupy pie and ice cream might be perfectly fine served in a pretty bowl. I love you recipes. Yours is pretty much the only site I use now and it never disappoints.
I’m allergic to OAT. Can the other struesel ingredients be adjusted to resemble the crumb topping?
Hi Paula, you can use the crumble topping from this cranberry pear crumble pie instead. Enjoy!
So what are the “Colorful Bowls” about in the “Special Tools”? Thanks.
Hi Alice! The special tools are just some recommendations of our favorite products to use when baking. The original colorful bowl set is no longer sold, but we’ve updated the link with a similar set. Hope this helps!
I’m confused about at what point you’re supposed to cover the crumble with aluminum foil. Are you supposed to do it after the first 20 minutes of baking time when you’re also covering the edges of the pie?
Hi Debbie, correct — we place the pie shield on after the first 20 minutes of bake time, at which point we also loosely cover the entire pie with foil so that the crumble does not brown too quickly. Hope this helps!
With the update to your blueberry pie, do you now recommend that this filling also be mixed until no longer powdery?
Hi Garland, With the slightly different ratios of blueberries to dry ingredients, this filling is going to look at bit more powdery – and that’s ok here!
Not sure about the recipe as the fruits were not precooked first. Imagine the fruits will be cooked inside the pie, and all those juices come out and dripping on to the pie.
No wonder one of the ladies mentioned on the comment, her pie was soggy on the bottom.
Hi Sally, if I bake the pie but leave it out longer than 3 hours to come to cool (will be traveling in a car for 5-6+ hours depending on car). Will that impact the pie?
Hi Nahida, that should be fine to allow the pie to set for that long. After slicing and serving, store in the refrigerator.
I use your recipes all the time and I have loved every single one!! Have you ever used Splenda instead of regular sugar?
Hi Megan! We’re so glad to hear you’ve been enjoying our recipes. We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt our recipes since it may not work properly), we typically recommend using a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Hope this helps!
Followed your recipe to the letter. This was the most spectacular blueberry crumble that I’ve ever tasted. My husband raved and I will be bringing it to the next family gathering. Thanks so much for this recipe. ♥️♥️
Just made this pie and it came out great! Followed the recipe exactly! Will say I had to leave the pie in for like an additional 15 minutes because the crust didn’t look done on the bottom. But I just covered it and it didn’t burn!
Amazingly textured & taste!! My pie didn’t bubble on the sides what did I do wrong?
Hi Andrew! How did the pie turn out? If it set up properly and the crust is cooked through, you did nothing wrong! Otherwise it may simply need to bake a bit longer next time. Thank you for giving this recipe a try!
I followed the directions exactly and the the pie texture wasn’t right. It had great flavor but didn’t hold together. My blueberries were fresh and I let the pie cool three hours. What am I missing???? Crust was perfect! My fav recipe to use.
Hi Ruth, We are so happy you enjoyed the crust and the flavor! The pie simply may have still been too warm when you cut it. If your kitchen is particularly warm it may take longer to come to room temperature to thicken the filling – you can also finish cooling the pie in the refrigerator if you wish. That should help!
Completely obsessed with this website! Thank you for all of your amazingly perfected, tried and true recipes! So grateful that you have done a lot of the leg work to provide delicious options. I love to bake and use your site for everything! This pie turned out incredible exactly as recipe stated. Happy 4th!
This is an absolutely perfect recipe! Not that I’m surprised – everything I’ve ever made from you has been perfect. But this pie is definitely one I’ll keep coming back to!
WOW. This is sooo very good. The entire family is in love. Not too sweet and really the best of summer. Thanks again Sally!!
I just made this exactly to recipe and it turned out absolutely delicious!
Absolutely delicious! Followed the exact recipe and the pie turned out PERFECT! I will definitely make this again 🙂
I made this recipe yesterday and it turned out to be very delicious. I thought the crumbs on top were a bit much at first ( I added 1/3 cup crushed peanuts for a different texture) but it wasnt at all. The mix of blueberries and the crumbly top are the perfect combination.
Should you blind bake the pie shell before putting in the blueberries? Can you use frozen berries in this recipe?
I absolutely love ALL your recipes! Recently discovered your website and have been looking daily for all the delicious recipes you’ve put on here. Thank you so much for sharing! Love them all!
Girl, all of your recipes are on point. I made the blueberry crumble pie for the 2nd time. My family raves about it. It’s not overly sweet and the all butter pie crust is to die for! I’ve made your strawberry cake, chicken pot pie and apple crumble pie. They are all fabulous. I want to make your cherry bourbon crisp next! I’m hooked on your blog and have learned so much about baking! Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
This pie was amazing! It’s not easy to get a crisp bottom crust with all those juicy blueberries, but I did. Absolutely delicious recipe, I didn’t change a thing and it came out perfectly!
Blueberry pie is my FAVORITE! This is the first time making this particular recipe, it is fabulous, and I will make again again! thank you!!
Would love to try this – will it work as just a blueberry crumble without the pie crust? Feeling a bit lazy 🙂
Hi Emily, I recommend using either this recipe for Brown Butter Blueberry Peach Crisp or Strawberry Vanilla Crisp and you can change up the type of fruit you use if you wish.
Hello – I’m making this pie today, and I have about a cup of the filling leftover since I used a smaller, premade frozen crust I’ve been wanting to use up. What can I do with the leftover filling? Freeze it, hand pie, turnovers, dump cake, cobbler or crisp, donuts? And will it last in the fridge for a few days? Thank you!
Hi Megan! We recommend making a quick crisp or cobbler with the extras – so easy! The filling will keep in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze it up to three months. Enjoy!
My husband and I went blueberry picking I made this pie yesterday well we didn’t wait the 3 hour’s my husband LOVED this pie and so did I the only thing I did add to the crumble was some pure vanilla powder this will be my only recipe I use thanks for sharing
This pie is a lot easier than it looks! It is so cute and tastes so good! I love the crumble topping because it adds some delicious flavor! I will make this again! Thank you
We have been frustrated for the second time by this pie. We need better instructions for when the pie is done. Our crust on top is perfect and covered to keep from burning. The bottom is so wet with too much juice after more than 5 hours rest. Do we have to see boiling of the juices before we take it out?
Hi MJ, Are you using fresh berries? I find the pie gets soupy with frozen berries. Is your bottom pie crust fully baked? Be sure you are baking for 25 minutes at 400 and then keeping the pie in the oven turn the temperature down to 375 for an additional 35 minutes. I love using a glass pie dish so that I can see the bottom of the pie to make sure it looks fully cooked before removing it from the oven to cool!
So you don’t bake the pie crust before adding the filling? When I have neglected this step, my crust was too soggy to serve. So you bake the pie once with all ingredients?
Hi Karen! We do not parbake the crust for this pie. We find that by draining the filling, giving the pie some time in the refrigerator, and allowing it to set after coming out of the oven allows it to stay thick and the crust to bake through.
I wonder if weighing the berries would help….it seems like an ingredient that could easily result in too much or too little if measured instead of weighed. Haven’t made this pie yet, but I’ll definitely be relying on the weight provided. Ingredients are far too expensive these days to risk not being exact!