Strawberry rhubarb pie absolutely delicious and one of my favorite things to make when fresh sweet strawberries come into season! In fact, this recipe is a big reason why I decided to plant my own rhubarb bushes right away when we moved into our house. The sweet red strawberries pair naturally with the tart rhubarb for a flavor that is unique and amazingly scrumptious!
Tidbits, Tips, and Tricks for this Recipe
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Pie Crust
I have a pie crust recipe that I am extremely happy with. I have dubbed it the very best pie crust recipe and the recipe for it can be found on my site. However, you can, of course, use your own pie crust recipe or even store-bought pie crust.
I personally like to use a lattice top on my strawberry rhubarb pie because it just looks so darn pretty. However, if you don’t feel like weaving strips of pie dough you can just top the pie with the second rolled out crust. Just make sure to cut some holes for vents.
A Note on Rhubarb
I really love rhubarb. It has a very delicious and unique acidic tart flavor. Depending on where you buy/harvest your rhubarb it may or may not have the leaf on the stalk. If you do have the leaf cut it off and throw it away. The acid content in the leaves is way too high to do anything with. For that same reason, you also can’t eat the stalks raw. The acid is too high and needs to be cooked before being consumed. Also if you try growing your own rhubarb and the stalks turn out more green then you were expecting, don’t fret it will still taste good. Most rhubarb that you purchase from the store will be a perfect ruby red, that hasn’t been the case for the plants in my back yard, but I still bake with it all the time.
Avoiding a Runny Mess
Strawberries have a lot of liquid to them. So they have the potential of being runny. That is why having an adequate binding agent like corn starch or Clearjell is so important. However, I always also recommend putting a cookie sheet under your pie pan as an extra insurance measure against spillage. Anyone who has ever had to scrub baked-on mess off of an oven knows it is not a fun task. Sugary pie filling is especially difficult to scrub off. Do yourself a favor, avoid the mess, and use the cookie sheet. You most likely won’t need but why take the chance.
Using Instant Clearjell or Straight Corn Starch
About two years ago I started using King Arthur’s Instant Clearjell in a lot of my pie fillings and have been really happy with this product. It is an absolute must for any pie that I want to photograph because it helps make the filling picture perfect. I especially like to use it on fruit pies that tend to be more on the wet side like strawberry rhubarb pie. That being said you can still make this pie without this more specialized ingredient. You will just need to increase the amount of cornstarch a bit, but it will still taste amazing. If you want to give Instant Clearjell a try though you can buy it on Amazon.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- 9 inch pie pan
Ingredients
- 2 pie crusts see recipe for very best pie crust
- 1 cup sliced rhubarb about ¼" slices
- 3 cups fresh strawberries about 1 ½ lbs.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- ⅔ cup sugar
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1 tbsp Instant Clearjell or substitute with 2 extra tbsps corn starch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°
- Roll out one of the pie crusts and lay it in the bottom of your pie pan. The edges should hang over the side.
- Slice the stalks of rhubarb and add to a medium sized mixing bowl. Hull (remove the stem) and quarter the strawberries and add to the mixing bowl as well.
- Add vanilla extract, lemon juice, sugar, cornstarch and Instant Clearjell (if using). Stir gently so that all the ingredients are well mixed, but the strawberries are not crushed.
- Pour the strawberry rhubarb pie filling mixture into the pie shell in the pan.
- Roll out the second pie crust and top the pie. If topping with a lattice top cut the top pie crust into long strips and weave them together on top of the pie. For a simpler top, you can just lay the second crust on top of the pie and cut holes for vents. For added effect, you can sprinkle the top of the pie with sugar.
- Crimp the edges of the pie crust with your fingers or a fork and cut away the excess. Wrap the edges of the pie with tin foil or a pie shield to keep them from burning.
- Bake at 400° for 20 minutes then lower the temperature to 350° and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes.
- Remove the pie from the oven and let cool for at least 1 hour before serving.
