Classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
on Mar 16, 2021, Updated Jul 11, 2024
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Classic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is such a great spring and summer dessert that combines the sweetness of strawberry with the tang of rhubarb in a perfectly crisp crust.
Growing up, my neighbor would gift us some of her rhubarb. I thought it was the craziest looking vegetable, but I loved the taste. We would dip the ends in sugar and have ourselves a yummy snack. Then I was introduced to strawberry rhubarb pie and my life was forever changed.
Peak rhubarb season is April through June in the United States. It just so happens to match up with strawberry season as well. Strawberry rhubarb pie is the one of the best ways to celebrate spring and summer. If baking with rhubarb is new to you, don’t sweat it. You can buy rhubarb in the produce section of the grocery store. It looks similar to celery, but they are reddish in color. If you’re looking to not make a pie, try my easy rhubarb crisp.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The buttery, flaky crust is made from scratch, adding a touch of homemade goodness that elevates the entire dessert.
- This pie highlights the best of seasonal produce, making it a fresh and vibrant treat during warmer months.
- The lattice crust not only helps control moisture but also gives the pie a beautiful, professional look that is sure to impress guests.
- With basic pantry staples and fresh fruit, this recipe is straightforward and easy to follow, even for beginner bakers.
Recipe Ingredients
- Flour – All-purpose
- Shortening – I like butter flavored
- Butter
- Rhubarb – Fresh
- Strawberries – Fresh
- Sugar – Granulated
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Step 1. Mix flour, salt, shortening, and butter. Add cold water to form dough. Divide, wrap, and chill for 30 minutes.
Step 2. Combine chopped rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, vanilla, and flour in a bowl.
Step 3. Roll out dough for the bottom crust, fill with fruit mixture, and top with lattice crust.
Step 4. Bake at 425°F for 15 minutes, then at 325°F for 1 hour. Let cool before serving.
Recipe FAQs
When selecting rhubarb at the grocery store or farmers market, you want to stay away from limp looking stalks. This indicates that they are old. Pick rhubarb that is firm and crisp to ensure the best taste.
You should never ingest rhubarb leaves because they are poisonous. They contain high levels of oxalic acid and if eaten in large volume can cause kidney damage. I mean you are going to need to eat pounds of the greens to be poisoned by them, but still, it’s a fun dinner table conversation.
You definitely don’t want the pie filling to be too runny (though it will be a little runny, it’s not as thick as say apple pie. To combat this you use a bit of flour to thicken up the filling.
If there are any leaves on the rhubarb you need to remove them first due to their poisonous nature. I like to rinse my rhubarb well. Sometimes the stalk can be stringy so you will want to peel those parts off. Then simply cut the stalks as you would celery in about 1/2 inch pieces. You can compost the leaves but don’t feed them to animals.
Expert Tips
- You don’t have to lattice the pie, but I find that because rhubarb pie can be so wet, it helps to have a lattice crust so that some of the moisture can evaporate while baking.
- If you aren’t doing a lattice top and choose a traditional pie crust top, just be sure to cut generous venting holes.
- Ensure the dough is chilled for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This helps maintain the flakiness of the crust.
- Keep the butter and water ice-cold to prevent the dough from becoming too soft and sticky, which helps achieve a crisp crust.
- Check the pie halfway through baking. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover it loosely with foil to prevent burning while ensuring the filling cooks thoroughly.
How to Serve and Store Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
A scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream or whipped cream complements the pie’s flavors perfectly. You can wash it down with a glass of my fresh strawberry rhubarb lemonade. If you have leftover strawberries or rhubarb, try my strawberry rhubarb crisp, or rhubarb crumb bars recipes.
You can store the pie in the refrigerator, covered with plastic wrap or foil, for up to 4 days. To freeze, wrap the cooled pie tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving. To enjoy warm, reheat slices in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes or in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup shortening, I like butter flavored
- 6 tablespoons cold butter
- 1/2 cup ice-cold water
For the Pie Filling:
- 4 cups chopped fresh rhubarb
- 2 cups cut up fresh strawberries, stems removed
- 1 to 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup flour
Instructions
- To make the crust, measure the flour by scooping it in your measuring cup, and leaving off the top with the back side of a butter knife. This will help ensure that you aren’t using too much flour.
- Place flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Add the shortening to the bowl.
- Cut the butter into thin pieces, or you can grate it with the large holes of your cheese grater, and add to the flour.
- Use a pastry blender or a fork to combine the flour, butter, and shortening. Press until you have pieces of the fat mixed in with chunks about the size of peas remaining.
- Add the cold water all at once, and stir to combine. The dough will come together nicely.
- Dump the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and use your hands to collect it all into one ball.
- Cut the ball in half, and flatten each half into a disc.
- Wrap each disc tightly with plastic wrap.
- Store in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before using, or up to 3 days before you make the pie.
- When you are ready to make the pie, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Add the chopped rhubarb and strawberries, sugar, vanilla, and flour to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Remove the pie crust from the fridge and roll one half out for the bottom of the crust into a 14 inch circle. Place circle into the bottom of a deep 9-inch pie plate.
- Stir the rhubarb mixture again and then add it to the pie.
- Roll the second disc of pie crust out into a 16 inch circle. Cut it into 10, 1-inch strips.
- Add 6 strips across the pie, spacing them evenly across the pie. Pull back pieces 1, 3, and 5 and place a pie dough strip near the edge of the pie crust. You are making a lattice crust.
- Replace pieces 1, 3, and 5 and pull back pieces 2, 4, and 6. Place another piece of pie crust close to the first one you laid down. Repeat with remaining strips until you’ve working your way across the pie and have use all the dough strips.
- Fold the pie dough that is over hanging the edge of the bottom crust up and into the edge of the latice and then crimp the edges.
- Brush the dough with water and then sprinkle with granulated or sparkling sugar.
- Place the pie on a foil lined baking sheet, and place it in the hot oven.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. without opening the door. Bake for an additional 1 hour. Check the pie after 30 minutes of cooking to see if the crust is getting to brown. If the crust is browning quickly, you can place a piece of foil gently on the top to prevent additional browning.
- When the pie is done, remove it from the oven. All the pie to rest for 2-3 hours before cutting so that the filling has time to set.
- Enjoy warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream on the side.
Notes
- You don’t have to lattice the pie, but I find that because rhubarb pie can be so wet, it helps to have a lattice crust so that some of the moisture can evaporate while baking. If you aren’t doing a lattice top and choose a traditional pie crust top, just be sure to cut generous venting holes.
- Ensure the dough is chilled for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out. This helps maintain the flakiness of the crust.
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- If you need more pictures on the lattice pie crust you can find a whole step by step article about that here.
- I highly recommend serving this pie with vanilla ice cream if you have some.
