Aunt B's Strawberry Rhubarb Pie 🍓

What we love about this pie? 🥧 The tapioca thickens the juicy, crimson filling with no starchy gooey-ness, letting the bright, tangy strawberry flavor shine through.

Blackberry cobbler is another country fresh favorite!

Jump to:

• 🥘Ingredients
• 🔪 Instructions
• 💭 Tips
• Equipment
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘Ingredients

The simple ingredients in this pie mean that it's doubly important that everything be as fresh and ripe as possible!

• 🍓Ripe strawberries carry most of the flavor so try to get the ripest you can find.
• Rhubarb can be hard to find. You may be able to get frozen if you can't find fresh.
• Tapioca is the thickener. Use the minute tapioca not the old fashioned pearl tapioca.
• White sugar and brown sugar balance the tartness of the rhubarb beautifully.
• Salt helps to bring out all the delicious flavor. I used kosher salt so if you use table salt use a little less.
• Vanilla is a delicious addition. Very subtle.
• Pie crust can be homemade or refrigerated - you'll need a double. Check out my flaky all butter pie crust recipewith video!
• Butter helps to keep the fruit moist and delicious and adds flavor.
• Milk is brushed on the top just before baking. It helps the crust brown.

🔪 Instructions

This is such a simple pie to make.

1. Wash, stem, and slice the strawberries.
2. Stir in the rhubarb.
3. Mix the tapioca, sugar, brown sugar, and salt and stir into the fruit.
4. Let stand at least 15 minutes.
5. Fit the pie dough into the pie dish. Stir in the vanilla and add the filling to the pie crust.
6. Dot with butter.
7. Add the top crust and brush with milk.
8. Sprinkle with sugar and bake.
9. Let the pie cool before cutting and serving.

Expert Tip: Replace the tapioca called for in this recipe with an equal amount of cornstarch. The filling won't come out quite as thick and glossy but it will still taste amazing.

💭 Tips

I'm a little strange when it comes to strawberry pie because I like it to be a little runny and a little juicy.

I've seen tons and tons of information on how to keep them from spreading and seeping when you cut into the pie but for me that's part of the goodness of it all.

• If you want a firmer pie add about a teaspoon more of the quick cooking tapioca and let it cool completely before serving.
• If you've refrigerated it let it warm up a little or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds before serving.
• If you're buying rhubarb in the store the leaves will probably be removed. Sometimes they're left on when it's sold at farm stands and farmers' markets. Be sure to remove the leaves and discard them. The leaves are poisonous if they are eaten.
• Choose bright red, plump stalks with no obvious bruises or bad spots.
• The redder the stalk the sweeter the rhubarb.
• One pound of rhubarb is equal to about 3 cups sliced.
• Like celery, rhubarb sometimes has tough strings running through it. You can remove them just like you do with celery. If the rhubarb is young and tender you don't need to worry about it.
• Store fresh rhubarb in the refrigerator as it wilts pretty quickly.
• Thaw in a colander before using if it's been frozen.
• If you're using frozen rhubarb add an extra half tablespoon of tapioca.

How to freeze rhubarb

Rhubarb is not generally available all year. You can freeze fresh rhubarb easily, though, so that you can have it any time. Use it in stewed rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb pie, rhubarb crisp... you name it.

1. Slice it in ½-inch slices.
2. Blanch in rapidly boiling water for 1 minute.
3. Drain quickly and plunge into a bowl of ice water.
4. Leave in the ice bath for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Drain well and pat dry.
6. Flash freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
7. When solidly frozen remove the pieces of rhubarb to a freezer container.
8. Rhubarb keeps in the freezer about a year.
9. Thaw it in a colander before baking with it.

Equipment

A lot of people ask me about the various baking dishes I use. I really love baking in glass. I think the flavor is better (could be my imagination), the crusts are more golden, and the baking more even. I use vintage Corningware and Pyrex pie plates in a 9 or 10-inch size.

Do you love an old fashioned, country look as much as I do? If so you need a couple of these ceramic pie birds! They vent the steam out of the pie and are SO CUTE!

What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness!  Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!

I am told that when I was two I had my first bite of strawberry rhubarb pie, a memorable concoction that my aunt created in her farmhouse kitchen with bright red strawberries still warm from her garden and home grown rhubarb from her deep freeze. Apparently my eyes got big and I dove in to the rest of the pie all hands and head.

At this point in my life there is no one to confirm nor deny the story so I'll just assume it is true.

It wouldn't surprise me - there's just something about the sweet-tangy combination in strawberry rhubarb pie that dances the ChaCha across your tongue before the rich, buttery pastry finishes the bite with a slow waltz of flavor.

It's perfect with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream but just as nice on its own, as far as I'm concerned. I may be a bit jaded but  my aunt's original recipe is blue ribbon worthy - the best strawberry rhubarb pie recipe ever.

📖 Recipe

First published August 30, 2017. Last updated May 8, 2020 to include step by step images, video, and better readability.