It’s really, really good.
I’m so happy to finally share a solid strawberry rhubarb pie recipe with you. This is actually a recipe I played around with a few days ago and while I have weeks of content stored in my drafts, I couldn’t hold off on sharing this one.
How awesome are rhubarb desserts? It’s taken me years to warm up to them. Things like strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb crisp, crumble, cake, the whole rhubarb shebang. To be honest, strawberry rhubarb pie never stood a chance when I was growing up. Mom always had it around and while everyone else seemed to rave about it, I couldn’t get on board with… magenta celery pie. I mean when you’re 12, you’ll pretty much convince yourself anything and if rhubarb looks like celery, I’m certainly not eating it for dessert.
MY MY MY. Look how the tables have turned. Never did I imagine myself saying the words “my favorite strawberry rhubarb pie” and never did I imagine myself writing about it on the internet because the internet ties up mom and dad’s landline and I want to be a dolphin trainer when I grow up.
Also, what is a blog?
18 years later, magenta celery pie is at the top of my list. Let’s get right into it because I have a hankering this will be your favorite recipe for strawberry rhubarb pie too. It might even make the list of your favorite spring dessert recipes.
Strawberry and rhubarb are meant to be because the sweet flavor of strawberries balances out rhubarb’s tart/sour bite. Rhubarb is fantastic in pies, crumbles, crisps, and the sort because it needs all the sugar it can get. I like to use an almost equal amount of strawberries and rhubarb in the pie filling: about 3 cups of chopped rhubarb to 2 and 1/2 cups strawberries. Strawberries let out so much juice, so I like to have a slightly lower amount.
If you’ve never cooked or baked with rhubarb before, have no fear. It’s sold in the grocery store without its leaves (they’re toxic!) and can be prepped the same way as celery. Give the stalks a good wash, cut off both ends and slice. You’ll want 1/2 inch slices for this pie.
One common issue with strawberry rhubarb pie is the whole “mushy puddle” situation. Bottom line: the filling is known to be a soupy mess. I asked around and found that instant tapioca is usually the fix. I didn’t have any tapioca in my cupboards and wasn’t about to show my face in the grocery store AGAIN that day, so cornstarch was my choice. It was perfect—every time I tried it. I didn’t have a sloppy problem when cutting into the pie using cornstarch, which is exactly what I was hoping for. To combat the mushy puddle situation, I simply spooned the filling into the crust—leaving all the pooled liquid behind.
Also in the filling: orange juice. Just a smidge of it—1 Tablespoon. It pairs so wonderfully with strawberry and rhubarb. Mom likes to use a mix of brown and white sugars, which tugs at my heart strings. All hail brown sugar’s flavor!
Also: pats of butter to make things rich, just as we do with peach pie.
I haven’t even mentioned the pie crust yet! I always use my standard pie crust recipe because it’s the best of both worlds: flaky and buttery. A mix of shortening and butter produce the absolute best texture. I won’t get into too much detail today but shortening helps create that flaky, melt-in-your-mouth texture. Butter gets us that unparalleled flavor. Make sure both of these fats are cold. When the fat melts as the pie bakes, its steam helps to separate the crust into multiple flaky layers. You won’t get that with warm butter and warm shortening.
I used a lattice pie crust topping because it’s classic and beautiful. It’s my go-to way to decorate a pie and you can also see it on top of my blueberry pie. You can also use any overhanging pie dough to crimp and flute the pie crust edges.
By the way, do you SEE those flaky layers in the crust? I want to bake 50 pies this summer just so I can eat this pie crust as much as possible.
Add coarse sugar on top for a little pie sparkle.
You can switch up the pie’s topping. Maybe you want a crumble topping like from my apple crumble pie? Go for it.
My only request is that you finish her off with a pile vanilla ice cream. There’s no other way to eat magenta celery pie, ok?
PrintStrawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Prep Time: 3 hours
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 7 hours
- Yield: 1 pie
- Category: Pie
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This recipe turned me into a strawberry rhubarb pie fanatic! The pie holds together nicely and the homemade pie crust is phenomenal.
Ingredients
- homemade pie crust (my recipe makes 2 crusts; 1 for bottom 1 for top)
- 3 cups (about 300g) sliced rhubarb (1/2 inch pieces)
- 2 and 1/2 cups (about 380g) chopped strawberries
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (67g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (32g) cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) orange juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk
- optional: coarse sugar for garnish
Instructions
- The crust: Prepare my pie crust recipe through step 5.
- Make the filling: Stir the rhubarb, strawberries, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cornstarch, salt, orange juice, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Set filling aside as the oven preheats.
- 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 (keep the other one in the refrigerator). 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 filling into the crust, leaving all of the excess liquid in the bowl (you don’t want that in the filling—discard it). Dot the pieces of butter on top of the filling.
- Arrange the lattice: Remove the other disc of chilled pie dough from the refrigerator. Roll the dough into a circle that is 12 inches diameter. Using a pastry wheel, sharp knife, or pizza cutter, cut strips 1/2 – 1 inch wide. Carefully thread the strips over and under one another, pulling back strips as necessary to weave. Press the edges of the strips into the bottom pie crust edges to seal. Use a small knife to trim off excess dough. Crimp the pie crust edges with a fork, if desired. (Alternatively, you can simply cover the filling with the 12-inch pie dough circle. Cut slits in the top to form steam vents. Trim and crimp the edges. Or a crumble or streusel topping would be great.)
- Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg/milk mixture. Sprinkle the top with a little coarse sugar, if desired.
- Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F (177°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.
- 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: This a great pie to make 1 day in advance since it is so juicy – the filling will have time to set overnight. 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 freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Prepared filling can 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 | Pizza Cutter or Pastry Wheel | Pastry Brush | Baking Sheet | Pie Crust Shield
This pie is amazing. The crust is the best I’ve ever done. I had to come back here after eating the pie made from this recipe to print it for my sacred recipes book!!!
This pie is absolutely delicious. I should know; I’ve made it twice this week (big rhubarb harvest), once with corn starch and once with flour. It was great both ways. So, not wanting to waste my big harvest I made and placed in freezer bags enough filling for four more pies.
Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipes, Sally.
Wondering how many rhubarb stocks it takes for one pie?
Depends on the length and thickness of the stalks, but 12-14 average stalks should be enough
Hello Sally, My husband wanted a last minute strawberry rhubarb pie for yesterday. We were having our kids over for dinner and I didn’t have extra time to do a homemade crust so he had bought a prepared one. I baked the pie for 25 minutes as it was nice and golden. My bottom crust seemed underdone. I did have filling leak and I did have a cookie sheet underneath it. I used a Pyrex glass pie plate as well. Do you think it would help if I did not have the cookie sheet directly underneath it for more air/heat flow? Maybe I should have baked it longer but the top was perfect? Please advise if you have time. Thank you and also for sharing your recipes!
Hi Jacque, so glad that you tried this homemade pie. I don’t recommend placing the pie directly on top of a baking sheet in the oven. Instead, you can place the baking sheet on a rack below to catch any juices that may drip. You’re right, the heavy pan will prevent heat from evenly distributing around the pie crust (mostly blocking the bottom from even airflow). Baking a little longer will help, too. You can tent the pie with alumnum foil (or a pie crust shield) if the top is browning too quickly.
Really wanted this to work out! But it came out soggy, runny, and generally under-done. I followed the excellent instructions to scoop the fruit out of the bowl, and left a ton of liquid out. However it came so wet anyway that I don’t know if even an extra 5-10 min would have helped. Because that would have been well over the recommended cooking time, and the top of the crust was looking good, I pulled it. Wish I’d have kept it in longer even if it over browned. Oh, and it set for 4+ hours, so I wouldn’t think that would be it. The crust recipe was great (all butter crust because no shortening). We ate the pie runny and all, but the filling was a bit too tart, even with vanilla ice cream (totally the right way to serve it, lol!). Anyway, only other thing I thought was maybe I used the wrong pan under it? It’s a large sheet pan with 1″ sides; I use it for my quiche, etc. which turn out well. Not being a very experienced baker, I’m at a loss other than the timing is off, or my oven is dying? I did order a separate oven thermometer today, we we’ll see. Thanks for the crust recipe anyway, and good clear instructions.
Followed your recipe to the “T” and guess what, it was AMAZING! I’ve been a huge fan for awhile, and finally have the time to try my luck at making crust from scratch. Thank you for your thourough directions and photos. Hubby and family were impressed, and I’m sure will ask for this pie for years to come. I’m not sure I’ll ever buy a store bought crust again. It’s that good! 😉
Wish I could give this recipe 6 stars – it is that genius, easy, and delicious. I’ve never made pie before and this pie seriously looks and tastes like it came from a bakery!!!!!
Hi Sally, I’m attempting this recipe this weekend in combo with your pie crust recipe (which is amazing) and I was curious about your thoughts on blind baking the crust? I’m making two pies and was thinking of trying it for one of them. Do you have an opinion on this? And if I do blind bake one of them, how will that change my oven settings/cook time? Thank you!!!
Hi Daly! You can definitely try blind baking the pie crust, but I don’t find it necessary for this pie.
This is hands down the best pie my boyfriend and I have ever eaten! I have never had strawberry rhubarb pie before, but thanks to this recipe it has moved into my top spot. I highly recommend this pie – a perfect mixture of sweet and tart, and even more delicious with a bit of whipped cream or ice cream on top.
What a lovely pie. We have plenty of rhubarb growing in our garden and I used frozen strawberries (thawed). This is a winner and I will make it often. Many thanks.
Just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to you for THE BEST strawberry rhubarb pie recipe I have found yet!! My husband is thrilled with this pie, and I am so glad I found you, and your blog site for baking instructions!!! I followed your recipe exactly, only adding a teeny bit more brown sugar, and I MADE my husband wait until the next day to eat it, so the juices could set like you stated. All I can say, WOW!!! When we cut into the pie and I lifted it out onto the plate, he gasped and we thought it should be in a magazine, it set up that perfect!!! And the taste……Holy Cow!!!! A symphony of sweet and tart perfectly mingled!!!
I am so thankful to you and your awesome instruction. Thank you again, so much, for Vid- teaching me how to make my hubby ‘s favorite pie of all time. After years of trying, I just couldn’t get it rite and was tired of a doughy soupy wreck……You made our WEEKEND!!! Thanks again, and I’m wifey of the year ….. Kindly, JB
I have tried many recipes for my son-in-laws favorite pie, strawberry-rhubarb. He said not to try any more. This was the one! I did not make the crust, but I will try it in the future. Maybe it will be the one crust that actually works for me.
I can’t tell you how much I love this pie. I used the recipe for home-made pie crust and I love the crust as much as the filling, so it makes it double-yummy. I don’t tend to like foods that are overly sweet, and this is just perfect. If you can possibly find the time, definitely make the crust yourself! The contrast of slightly salty, against tart and sweet is delicious beyond words. The sexiest thing I’ve eaten in a long time. Thank you Sally, I’m your new biggest fan!
I’ve used several recipes for this pie in my many years. Your’s is the best ever!! Love the vanilla and brown sugar. (I did use my own crust recipe.) Thank you for sharing!!
I baked this today. I didn’t have time to make the crust from scratch, but will do so next time. This pie filling is DELICIOUS! I had read through all the comments and noted those concerning the amount of sugar. I used a heaping 1/3rd cup of granulated sugar, a firmly-compacted 1/3rd cup of brown sugar, and increased the corn starch by 1 scant teaspoon. I refrigerated the filling for an hour before adding to the pie crust (using a slotted spoon). I just about cried when I eventually bit into it, y’all, it is THAT GOOD. Next time it will be so HARD waiting three hours before I can cut it. Way yummy!
Hi Sally! I love your blog and all of your wonderful recipes. My mom makes a strawberry rhubarb pie that everyone loves and I’ve always been so intimidated to make it myself! I followed your recipe and I can see from the oven things are working out very well. I even had my husband watch your video on how to do a lattice crust and he helped me, which was a fun quarantine activity to do.
Absolutely LOVED the addition of cardamom! No strawberries so used raspberries. No orange juice in the house so used a capful of orange extract along with two healthy pinches of cardamom and a full teaspoon of vanilla extract. I couldn’t stop licking the bowl after I placed the filling in the pie shell. Thanks for the wonderful pie recipe, Sally, and for the cardamom idea, KD. All my best to you both.
I’m So sorry but this was a huge disappointment. I make a lot of pie and thought i would try something new Since this was supposed to be an award winner. I’m bummed that I spent the time and effort trying this. I found the filling gummy and bland. Way too much corn Starch and to little sugar. 1 tablespoon orange juice did nothing. Compare other recipes before you settle on this one.
If I add additional sugar to this pie to make it a little sweeter, do I need to adjust the cornstarch?
I would slightly increase the cornstarch– maybe a couple extra teaspoons.
I’ve made this pie and crust twice now and both times it has come out PHENOMENALLY!! Everyone raves over it. The only thing I change is using all butter for the crust which is just my preference, but don’t change a thing for the filling! Absolute winner! Make this now!!
WOW. I have bookmarked this recipe because it is just so fantastic. I also used your home made pie crust recipe with shortening (I actually tried both) and it was amazing. Setting the fruit mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours also makes a world of difference. Thank you so much!
Should the pie be placed on the middle rack in the oven? I had it in the middle of the oven and baked it an extra 10 minutes and it still wasn’t fully baked. The pie dough was excellent, rolled out like a dream
Yes, I place the pie in the middle of the oven. Oven temperatures often vary so don’t worry if yours takes longer as long as you keep an eye on it. If you want to be super accurate you can purchase an inexpensive oven thermometer to test and even adjust your oven temperature.
Can I sub arrowroot powder for the cornstarch?
I haven’t tried it but it should work. Enjoy!
Dear Sally, my daughter Sally, age 9 absolutely loves using your website. She bakes everything off of it she can , and just loves that she shares her name with another baker. I just thought it may bring a smile to your face to know that there is a little Sally out there who is really enjoying what you’re putting out there. Thank you!
Best, Rebecca (Sally’s mom)
I adapted your recipe to make a Strawberry & Pineapple pie flavoured with black rum, ginger, and black pepper. Most delicious!
The dough was great and the filling was fantastic.
The filling was perfect; not runny at all. It was more on the tart side tart but many people enjoyed it. Especially with a scoop of ice cream… Yummy
Great recipe, Thank you!!
This sounded like a good recipe and I’m so glad I found it! Other recipes had more sugar but I like the tart flavor of the rhubarb. Even better with ice cream. just a wonderful pie!
I made this pie two weeks ago and it was lovely. Now making another two,so thank you so much for this recipe xx
Made this yesterday with strawberries and rhubarb from the local farmer’s market.
This was my first attempt at strawberry rhubarb pie and it was perfect! Nice and solid filling, perfect balance of tart and sweet. Thanks so much. This recipe is going in my 5 star file.
I’m making this now. Can’t wait until it is done but will have to until tomorrow to eat it. I LOVE Strawberry Rhubarb pie and try to make it at least once every year.
Hi Sally, I love this recipe. Do you think I could make it into tarts? Cut the pie dough into a tart size, add the filling and adjust the bake time?
Yes, definitely! You can bake as hand pies or as little tarts in mini tart pans.