Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is a dessert that floats in on the breeze of spring. Sweet and tart with a flakey crust that begs to be eaten on a warm front porch. Since it's that rare time where strawberry AND rhubarb season overlap it seemed like a good time to pull out this strawberry rhubarb pie recipe.
There are about 2 weeks in the year that rhubarb season and strawberry season collide. Rhubarb is just on its way out (you're supposed to stop picking rhubarb in June so it can replenish its strength for next year) and strawberries are just on their way in.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Strawberry Rhubarb pie is the kind of old timey, classic dessert that I love for two reasons. One of them I've already told you. It's old timey. Floral apron, cooling on an open windowsill, old timey. The second reason is ... and I'll need you to sit down for this ... I don't very much like sweet things. Desserts actually. That explains why, if given the choice, I'll always go Lemon Tart over Chocolate Caramel. I'll also go Strawberry Rhubarb over sickeningly sweet Pecan Pie. Every. Single. Time.
How to Make Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Firstly you have to decide if you have what's known in the baking world as "pastry fingers". Pastry fingers can be found on the ends of the hands belonging to someone who has a feel for pastry. I do not. I have a feel for power tools. And french fries. And pizza dough. So I used a food processor to do my pastry dough. Works like a charm. Don't know if you have "pastry fingers"? Trust me. Kind of like blobs of back fat, if you had them, you'd know.
If you do not have pastry fingers, use a food processor to make your pie dough. It works great. Just don't overwork the dough in it.
Once your dough is made and chilling in the fridge, go out and pick some rhubarb. Because you're old timey. Don't have a rhubarb patch? I hear you can also buy it. So go do that instead.
4 or 5 stalks should do it.
Cut the rhubarb into 1 inch lengths.
Hull the strawberries, then half or quarter them depending on the size. You might notice in the background the jars and jars of homemade strawberry jam. I used the leftover strawberries to make the pie. It's smart to buy extras of something delicious like strawberries. It's not smart to buy extras of something not delicious like rancid meat. Or sour milk. Because you won't eat them on account of their grossness. Just a little helpful tip.
Combine all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and mix 'er up. (don't include the egg yolk and water ... that's just for glazing the pastry).
Once your ingredients are mixed, grab your most favourite pastry board. Mine is an old marble tabletop. Roll out your dough on your most favourite pastry board. I used to have a favourite pastry board. Now I have a pastry counter and a butcher block counter. You can see my *new* kitchen here.
TIP:
Pastry likes to be COLD so marble and other natural stones are the best materials for working on pastry.
Pasta dough likes to be WARM so wood is the best material for working pasta dough.
Line your pie plate with the dough and then pour in your filling.
Add the pastry top, pinch the dough together, brush with glaze. You may notice the curious look of the top of my pie. It's a disaster. Note to readers: Do not attempt to roll out/make pastry when it is 172° outside with a humidity level of 117%. It does funny things to pastry.
Bake for 20 minutes at 400°. Then, reduce heat to 350° and bake for another hour. Cover the crust with tinfoil if it starts to brown too much.
And there you have a delicious, delicious Strawberry Rhubarb pie. That you can't eat until tomorrow.
The filling needs that time to properly setup. But once it DOES ... it tastes like a super-healthy Pop Tart.
Now, if you haven't heard, there are apparently only 4 true pies in existence. This was according to my ex-boyfriend's father. He believed this to be true with such ferocity that I once saw him turn his face completely inside out when someone offered him a piece of questionable pie in a restaurant. It was lemon meringue. Not a true pie. I know. With all due respect to him, since he died a few years ago I'm still going to have to call him a Weirdo.
He would appreciate that.
I would like at this moment, to challenge that list.
Yeah. That's right. You heard me. I am, right now, without warning or approval, declaring Strawberry Rhubarb Pie to be a true pie.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Ingredients
For crust
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
- ½ cup shortening or lard
- ¾ cup ice water
For filling
- 3 ½ cups ½-inch-thick slices trimmed rhubarb 1 ½ pounds untrimmed
- 1 16- ounce container strawberries hulled, halved (about 3 ½ cups)
- ½ cup packed golden brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg yolk beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon water for glaze
Instructions
Make crust:
- Mix flour and salt together.
- Cut the butter into medium sized cubes.
- Cut the butter into the flour using two knives or a pastry blender.
- Stop blending when the mixture resembles coarse meal with pea sized lumps in it.
- Add ½ cup of the cold water to mixture and work in. Add the remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough begins to form a ball.
- Divide the dough in half, form into discs and wrap each in plastic or put them in an airtight bowl to firm up in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour.
Make filling:
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine first 8 ingredients in large bowl. Toss gently to blend.
- Roll out 1 dough disk on floured work surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish.
- Trim excess dough, leaving ¾-inch overhang.
- Roll out second dough disk on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round.
- Transfer filling into crust. Place the second crust on top of the pie and crimp the edges.
- Cute vent holes in the top with a knife or pierce with a fork.
- Brush egg wash over the crust.
- Transfer the pie to a baking sheet (because this pie is going to bubble as it cooks and make a bit of a mess).
- Bake 20 minutes at 400°F. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake another 1 hour until the pie is gold and the filling has thickened.
- Cool on a rack.
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I've been reading through the comments here and I have to say that it nearly made my eyes bug out when I read a couple people say they didn't know what rhubarb is. WHAT?!? My heart is bleeding now!!! Ironically, I bought the makings for strawberry rhubarb pie just this afternoon. My mother and my grandmother both passed away within the last 2 1/2 years and it's the first time I've had the urge (and the courage emotionally) to make it. This year my adult soon saw me look at it longingly in the store and grabbed two bunches of rhubarb and silently put them in the cart. He kissed the top of my head and we continued on to the strawberries. What a great time to see your post. Now to find my great grandmother's recipe.
bree~❤️
I guess it depends on where you live. I live in Calgary. My rhubarb is up (I do not stop pulling it in June) but my strawberries are still flowers.
Looks divine, but I haven’t made it. Love rhubarb pie - my all time fave - and love strawberry pie. I just don’t like ‘em mixed. It’s nearly impossible to get enough rhubarb to make a pie where I live. My feeling is that the only reason to eat pie is the double crust!
I don't find a mention of the shortening in the instructions for making the pie dough. . .
There. Is 1/2 C shortening in the recipe.
Should be cut in with the butter, I think.
My Granny always said that you can pick rhubarb in any spring/summer month that doesn’t have a letter “R” in it, so May, June, July and August. You just have to keep pulling the seed pods and large stalks out, and dump a lot of manure around it in the fall, as it is a heavy feeder. I’ve done this for years with excellent results! So no worries about if the strawberry and rhubarb seasons will intersect…
I'm not really into pie crust. I know - yes, I'm a weirdo. So I wonder how it would be to make just the filling. Has anyone done that?
“Just the filling”is brilliant on yogurt or ice cream.
I am not into pie crust either- seems to me to be a waste of time and calories- not that I mind wasting calories on chocolate or wine- so I might make just the filling- but of course it wouldn’t take as long to cook. Probably doable on top of stove, although I definitely would not microwave. But there is a huge pie 🥧 following across North America, we will just have to keep true to ourselves.
PS- my name is Karen also, not the Karen whose website this is- I Love her website and IG- even though she doesn’t like wine . And I would like to know what are the 4 True Pies?
Hello
Off pie topic...did you raise butterflies this year?
An addition to the list of true pies eh? Well, it does have a roof but something tells me the “weirdo” would challenge it lol
I love pie. I'm good at pie. Yay!
I'm sure you were more diplomatic with fella's father than I would have been. WHERE did he get such a harebrained notion?? And I would have questioned "fella" closely about what notions of his father's he agreed with . . .