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 and triple berry 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- to 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 | Coarse Sprinkling Sugar
Hi! I made this pie this afternoon. We plan to eat it Thursday evening. Would you suggest freezing it to keep the quality or can we refrigerate it? Thanks!
Hi Samantha, refrigerating will be just fine. Enjoy!
Awesome! Thank you. 🙂
Can you use raspberries instead of strawberries?
Hi Roland, you can make that sub, but the bake time may be a few minutes longer since raspberries can be quite wet. Let us know how it goes!
So tasty! I used canned rhubarb. I let it drain through a strainer for 30 minutes. It turned out great!
Excellent recipe! Just made it last night. I did cheat with premade pie crust. Husband loved it!
I have a question: I am wanting to make this pie to serve in 4 weeks. Although, I already have the rhubarb. Can I go ahead and mix the ingredients and put it in the freezer? If not, what do you suggest. Thank you!
Hi S, Baked pie freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. Or, prepared filling can be frozen up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before using.
I’ve have tried many of your recipes and loved them all! I have all the ingredients on hand except orange juice to try this one. Can the juice be omitted? Or could I use something else? Thanks so much for your help!
Hi Marianne, the touch of citrus really brightens up all the flavors, and we find it a little flat without it. You can use lemon juice instead, if you have that on hand!
Hi Sally! I was hoping to make this pie, but I only have frozen, thawed rhubarb. I saw you recommend using fresh rhubarb, but I was wondering if you think I could stew the filling first, then add to the crust to bake (I would adjust baking time too). I found other recipes which use stewed rhubarb, but I tend to like your recipes best 😀
Thanks!
Hi Bahnu, You can try using your thawed rhubarb without pre-cooking it. Just blot any excess moisture from it before using.
This recipe was the perfect blend for me. Not overly sweet. I was so happy to get local berries and rhubarb. I knew I could count on Sally to give me a tried and true recipe. Followed recipe exactly using a double crust and had no issue with soupy pie. Thank you!
Hey Sally! I’ve got an abundance of raspberries right now. Can I sub raspberries 1:1 for the strawberries, or would you have a recommended adaptation?
Sure can, Abby! Enjoy!
Can you use frozen rhubarb? I can’t find fresh rhubarb
Hi Rebecca, for best results, we strongly recommend using fresh strawberries and rhubarb in this pie. Frozen will add too much moisture to the filling.
we found the pie very starchy tasting. won’t be doing this recipe again….
I have made this pie several times it is wonderful… My question is, if I make the pie a day in advance, do I put it in the refrigerator until it is time to serve?
Hi Terri, you can leave it at room temperature or in the refrigerator—whichever you prefer. Glad to hear it’s a favorite for you!
Hey Sally, should the internal temperature be 200-same as your awesome blueberry pie? My pie has been in the oven for 40 minutes, and only hitting 150 degrees.
Hi Sharon, yes, the internal recipe should be around 200°F (93°C) when done. Hope you enjoy the pie!
Thanks for the quick response-I realized it was taking longer than expected as I used a deep dish pie pan. It looks perfect-can’t wait to try it.
Thanks for your fantastic recipes-so easy to follow, and appreciate that you include weights as I find them the most accurate.
Strawberry rhubarb is my favorite pie and I made it for the first time today using your filling recipe. It came out AMAZING!!!! I used strawberries we picked at a local farm. The flavor was so good, even better than the bakery pies I’ve had before. The only thing that was sad was discarding all the delicious juice from the filling. Is there any way to use it rather than tossing it? Seems like a waste to discard all that delicious juice!
Hi Neeta, we’re so glad you enjoyed this pie! How about drizzling the juices over ice cream or yogurt?
So, I followed this recipe to a T, except one thing which I think really helped! After I mixed the pie filling in a bowl I put it all into a colander and the excess liquid dripped out. My husband said this was the best pie I’ve ever made and I make a lot of pies!
If my rhubarb is frozen, should I defrost it ahead of making the pie? Thanks!
Hi Laura, for best results, we strongly recommend using fresh strawberries and rhubarb in this pie. Frozen will add too much moisture to the filling.
Made this for Fathers Day…the best pie I ever made! Thank you, Sally!
I made this per my husband’s request for Father’s Day and it did not disappoint! The filling is perfection. I did end up with much more vanilla than stated due to my 2.5 year old’s help but it’s still wonderful. The center of the bottom crust didn’t quite bake through though. I’m wondering if I should have par baked first? The top was golden brown and the filling set up nicely.
We’re so glad the pie was a hit! We don’t find par-baking necessary for this pie, but a few things that could help. The pie could simply need a few extra minutes in the oven to finish baking through on the bottom. We find glass pie dishes are helpful for this reason, so that you can see how the bottom of the pie is baking up. Also make sure that there aren’t any excess juices from the fruit mixture in the pie. You’ll want to leave them in the bowl. Hope this helps for next time!
Sally, I made this pie for Father’s Day, and it was a massive hit. Now I want to make if for my daughter when she comes home this summer, possibly after rhubarb season. I think my mother in law used to freeze some pies after putting the filling in the crust and adding the top layer. But I’m not sure I remember that correctly. Have you tried this method?
Hi Nicole, we’re so glad the pie was a hit! We haven’t tried that way, but we prefer to fully bake and then freeze the pie. See recipe Notes for a few other make ahead options.
Mine was way too sour; i presume all the sugar got washed out with the juices we’re instructed to discard. And I’m a rhubarb pie fan – might be my favorite pie; so much so that I’ve never been interested in rhubarb-strawberry, cuz who wants to hide the rhubarb flavor??? But we were gifted a crate of strawberries, so it seemed the right time to broaden my pie horizons.
I’ve had great success with several other of your pies (the pear creanberry was a revelation; a new family favorite), so this flop was a surprise. And especially so when i read all the other positive reviews. Can’t figure out what i did wrong. Even my mom and sister (my two biggest fans who tell me things i’ve made are “delishious!” even when they’re just “eh…”) couldn’t finish their slices. But, as a tribute to your wonderful crust recipe (which I’ve gotten fairly good at), Mom said, “we could scoop out the filling and put in a lemon curd!”
Now I’m going to become obsessed with trying to make a rhubarb strawberry pie.
If you have any thoughts on what i might have done wrong, I’d love to know (I know I followed the proportions exactly; I’m not an intuitive cook so need to follow recipes precisely).
Hi Melissa, thank you so much for giving this pie a try! Is it possible that your rhubarb and/or strawberries were from a particularly sour batch? The sweet/sour balance of the pie can vary a bit depending on how ripe the fruit is. If you wish to try it again, you can certainly try increasing the sugar a little bit, but you’ll still want to leave behind those extra juices so that they don’t make the crust too soggy. Let us know if you give it another try!
Perfect pie. Filling stays together and the flavour perfectly balanced between tart and sweet.
Sally, I have those kids who won’t like rhubarb. Can I just sub the rhubarb for strawberries one to one? Thank you kindly!
Hi Janine, You can replace the rhubarb with either more strawberries or the same amount of a different type of fruit.
As a newbie pie maker, this is the best pie I’ve ever made. I have to say the taste was 11/10. My pastry was awesome, though I need to work on my pastry skills.
I had a really hard time with the butter/Crisco crust. I followed the recipe to the T ( I bake a lot) and put the crusts in the fridge for about 3 hrs. When I rolled the dough out it kept separating and even putting more flour into the dough left me with an uneven crust. I follow all of your recipes and never have a problem, but this one did not work out for me at all- Have no idea what I did wrong. I also weighed everything.
Hi Aline, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. If the dough is just too hard right out of the refrigerator, let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. It will still be cold, but even a few minutes at room temperature will help soften it up. Roll out very slowly and gently. If it’s cracking/separating, moisten your fingertips with water and meld the dough back together as best you can. (As if it were play doh.) If it’s cracking, the dough may not have enough liquid. We highly recommend at least 1/2 cup of ice water. Most pie dough problems come from not adding enough water. We hope all of this can help for next time!
Made this recipe with the apple crumble topping and with fresh rhubarb from my garden and it is absolutely amazing!! Letting it sit for 3 hours was a test of patience but so worth it in the end, it came out such a nice texture with minimal “soupyness”. 5 stars from myself and my family 🙂
I have never tried rhubarb, but having recently gotten into making pies, I am dying to try a strawberry rhubarb pie. However, the only rhubarb I and find in my area is canned rhubarb in syrup. There is simply no fresh rhubarb in grocery stores within 50 miles of me. How would it turn out to use the canned rhubarb, if I washed off the syrup? Thanks.
Hi Rachel, fresh rhubarb really is best, but you can try using the canned rhubarb. We’d make sure it is completely drained and patted dry. Bake time may be a bit longer since the canned rhubarb will let off more liquid. Let us know what you try!
This recipe turned out really good, great flavor and simple to make
I am an experienced cook with many years behind my belt. I tried this recipe today because it was a little different with the addition of the orange juice and vanilla. Let me say, I was disappointed. It seems like it needs more filling and a little more sugar. Most recipes I have tried in the past call for 3 c. berries, 3 c. rhubarb and between 1-2 cups of sugar. Just the right balance of each is needed to get that sweet, tangy taste we all love with this combination. I would probably up the white sugar to 2/3 c. and use 3 c. strawberries and try that out. Now I have 2 pies that I spent a lot of time on that are just “OK”.
Hello Sally, I’ve read some recipes that say to bake pies on the bottom rack of the oven, but most recipes (including yours) don’t specify. I assume you bake yours on the middle rack then? Have you tried both? What are your thoughts? One of the things I like about your website is that you explain things and add helpful little details. Thank you for that.
Hi Lin, we typically bake fruit pies on the middle rack unless noted otherwise, but keep in mind that all ovens can be a bit different. Anywhere from the middle to bottom third of the oven should work great. Hope this helps!
This was my first ever pie and I made sure to take my time with it. Naturally I followed every word very strictly…except I somehow completely forgot about the egg wash! Nonetheless, while the pie turned out a bit pale and bubbled out of the seams as a consequence, this was still a good pie to eat. I can’t wait to give it another go. Definitely was a labor of love, but was well worth the wait. For my taste it was just the right amount of sweet and tart.