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There’s nothing better than a slice of fresh strawberry pie on a hot day! This is the perfect dessert for Easter, July 4th, and summer barbecues!
Table of Contents
- The BEST Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe
- Fresh Strawberry Pie Ingredients
- How to Make Strawberry Pie with Jello
- Do I Have to Make a Homemade Pie Crust?
- Can I Use Frozen Strawberries Instead of Fresh?
- Can Strawberry Pie Filling be Frozen?
- How Long Will Strawberry Pie Last?
- Tips for Making the Best Strawberry Pie
- More EASY PIE RECIPES:
- Watch This Pie Tutorial!
- Fresh Strawberry Pie with Jello Filling Recipe
The BEST Fresh Strawberry Pie Recipe
This really is the BEST Fresh Strawberry Pie recipe, and I believe it’s the homemade pie crust and a secret ingredient in the strawberry pie glaze that make all the difference. Before we get into all of the questions, tips and troubleshooting let’s chat about what makes this fresh strawberry pie with Jello filling the best ever.
A fresh strawberry pie is NOT just a pie crust full of strawberries, I mean I guess it is, but there’s much more to it than just that. A fresh strawberry pie has to have a perfectly flaky pie crust, which will hold up to the glaze much better.
Now, there’s a secret ingredient that most people leave out of their strawberry pie recipe and I’m telling you, it’s so easy, but totally brightens up the pie in a way that you’ll never skip it again.
Are you ready?
It’s lemon zest.
Ahhh man, it’s a no brainer! I know, but still do it. I started noticing that while strawberry Jello really does make for a quick and easy strawberry pie recipe that sets up every time, it also tastes a little more store-bought than fresh. Adding the zest of just one lemon totally brightened things up without it tasting like lemon at all.
Fresh Strawberry Pie Ingredients
This fresh strawberry pie recipe has three main components: the homemade pie crust, the strawberry pie filling, and the stabilized whipped cream that gets piped on top.
Here’s what you’ll need to make all three parts of this easy strawberry pie:
- Homemade pie crust
- Fresh strawberries
- Granulated sugar
- Cornstarch
- Lemon zest
- Strawberry Jello
- Unflavored powdered gelatin
- Heavy cream
- Vanilla extract
How to Make Strawberry Pie with Jello
Making a fresh strawberry pie with a Jello filling is the easiest pie recipe to learn! Here are the basic steps to making homemade strawberry pie:
- Make the pie crust. It’ll need to bake and cool completely before making the strawberry pie filling. Head to our lemon meringue pie recipe for instructions on how to blind bake a pie crust.
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then set aside to dry off.
- Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat with the water, sugar and cornstarch.
- Turn off the heat and add the Jello and stir to combine until dissolved.
- Once it has thickened, remove from the burner to cool.
- Fold the strawberries into the glaze to ensure even distribution. Turn the strawberry pie filling into the prepared pie crust.
- Let it set up in the fridge and then top with stabilized whipped cream.
Do I Have to Make a Homemade Pie Crust?
If you’re in a hurry and can’t make a pie crust from scratch, I’d actually recommend you just use a graham cracker crust instead of a store-bought pie crust. A graham cracker crust will go soft faster than a pie crust, but I really haven’t found a pre-made pie shell that stands up to our homemade pie crust recipe. If you scroll down you’ll see that we link up to my mom’s fail-proof magic crust and trust me, anyone can learn to make that. Anyone.
If you go for the graham cracker crust, I encourage you to pour the glaze over the strawberries in the pie crust versus folding the berries in it, that way there’s less of a chance that a layer of glaze softens the crust.
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries Instead of Fresh?
No, this recipe is best when made as a fresh strawberry pie. Even if you thawed the frozen strawberries first, their texture would be much different than fresh strawberries and the pie wouldn’t set up right.
Can Strawberry Pie Filling be Frozen?
You can freeze the strawberry pie glaze in a ziploc bag for up to 3 months, but make sure you don’t add any strawberries or they won’t be the same once you defrost them.
How Long Will Strawberry Pie Last?
Fresh strawberry pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, but each day it will lose a little more of its vibrancy and texture so we try to eat it within 3 days.
Tips for Making the Best Strawberry Pie
We’ve only ever made the strawberry pie glaze with regular strawberry Jello, so we can’t speak to whether or not sugar-free Jello will work here. If you give it a go, please leave us a comment below telling us how your pie turned out!
For the best flavor, make this pie with in-season strawberries. You can certainly make this fresh strawberry pie in the middle of winter, but it’s best enjoyed in the spring and summer when strawberries are juicier and sweeter.
Note that making stabilized whipped cream is highly recommended since regular whipped cream isn’t thick enough to pipe. Regular whipped cream also deflates after a few hours, which isn’t ideal if you plan on serving this on a hot day.
More EASY PIE RECIPES:
- Homemade French Silk Pie
- Dulce de Leche Banana Cream Pie
- Dutch Mixed Berry Pie
- Lemon Jello Peach Pie
- Peach Blackberry Gallette
- The Perfect Razzleberry Pie
- Easy No-Bake Chocolate Pie
- Simple Blueberry Pie
- Strawberry Icebox Pie
- No-Bake Lemon Cream Pie
- ALL OF OUR PIE RECIPES!
Watch This Pie Tutorial!
Fresh Strawberry Pie with Jello Filling
Ingredients
Homemade Pie Crust
- [Mom’s Fail Proof Magic Pie Crust, tap this link]
Strawberry Filling
- 2 Cups Water
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 6 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 1-6 Ounce Package Strawberry Jell-O
- 3 Pounds Fresh Strawberries, hulled
Stabilized Whipped Cream
- 1/4 teaspoon Unflavored Powdered Gelatin
- 3/4 Tablespoon Water
- 3/4 Cup Heavy Cream, chilled
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, or to taste
Instructions
Make the Strawberry Pie:
- Prepare pie crust in a 9" pie plate according to the link above. Let cool completely before adding the filling.[Mom’s Fail Proof Magic Pie Crust
- Bring water, sugar, and cornstarch to a boil, stirring, until thick and clear, about 5 minutes.2 Cups Water, 2 Cups Granulated Sugar, 6 Tablespoons Cornstarch
- Turn off the heat; add lemon zest and strawberry jell-o.Zest of 1 Lemon, 1-6 Ounce Package Strawberry Jell-O
- Mix well and cool in a very large bowl.
- Fold in whole, hulled strawberries.3 Pounds Fresh Strawberries
- Pour into pie shell.
- Store in refrigerator until set; serve with stabilized whipped cream piped around the edges.
Make the Stabilized Whipped Cream:
- Sprinkle unflavored powdered gelatin over water in a microwave-safe bowl and let it stand for 3 minutes.1/4 teaspoon Unflavored Powdered Gelatin, 3/4 Tablespoon Water
- Microwave the mixture in 5-second increments until the gelatin is dissolved and liquefied.
- Whip chilled heavy cream, sugar and vanilla extract in a stand mixer, staying on low speed until small bubbles form and then increase the speed to medium.3/4 Cup Heavy Cream, 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar, 1/4 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- When the cream begins to thicken and beaters begin to leave a trail in the cream, slowly pour in the gelatin mixture and then increase the speed to high and continue to beat until soft peaks form.
- Place in a piping bag and pipe onto pie.
Recipe Notes
- The stabilized whipped cream and pie can be made an entire 24 hours prior to serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This certainly looks like a good Strawberry pie. But the best one comes from a pie shop in DeWitt, Michigan. Sweeti-Licious Bakery and Cafe. There during our strawberry season they make a strawberry cream pie that can’t be beat. Check out their FB site. You will see photos of their pie on their Facebook site!
Now I’m looking for flights to Michigan! That sounds amazing! Thank you so much Kathy!
This is the best strawberry pie I have ever made – and have been trying recipes for over 50 years. It never fails. Thank you so much!
You are the best Cheryl! Thank you so much for the feedback and the support!
I like your help with the stabilized whip cream, but think you should focus on less sugar. This has 60 gm sugar which only drives up the carbs. I have been trying stevia, strawberry Koolaid, and unsweeten gelatin.
Thank you for the feedback Cindy! You can definitely make alterations to fit your own dietary needs.
Is that one 6oz package or sixteen?
One 6oz package of Jello. Sorry for the confusion!
This stuff is the bomb!
I made this for my mom’s birthday and my parents praised the flavor constantly until the plates were cleared. It was great!
but yes i cheated, I didn’t have enough strawberries so I threw in raspberries and blackberries that I had too. I have only had this pie with that packet of glaze you buy but this was so easy and tasted great.
thank you for the yummmy recipe!!
I love to sound of adding the extra berries! Yum! So glad it was a hit in for your family!
I gave up on the recipe when I realized id have to read an entire story so I looked elsewhere
The recipe it self is always at the bottom of the post in a recipe card form. Here’s a direct link to this one: https://ohsweetbasil.com/the-best-fresh-strawberry-pie-recipe/print/
I just got my hands on 6 pints of strawberries and would love to make this recipe! However I wanted to know about the strawberry jello component. I’m not a fan of the sugar content and the artificial taste. Can you substitute sugar-free jello OR even better, unflavored gelatin (so you get the binding effect)? Will the pie still turn out?
Your recipe is confusing. Above where you talk about how to make this pie you say cook the cornstarch and sugar, cool, add jello and cook over med-high heat and cool again. But in the written recipe the jello is added to the thickened cornstarch, mixed and cooled in a large bowl, not cooked again.
I like the recipe and I’m going to make your pie, sugar free.
Thank you,
Julie
Sorry for the confusion Julie!! It has been fixed! Thanks for bringing this to our attention!
Fresh strawberry pie is one of my favorite desserts!! Looks SO delicious! 🙂
I’m obsessed with it!
I’m unable to make my pie crust from scratch now. I’ve found one that is as good, or better than most people can make. The brand is Wholly Wholesome. Where I live, they can be purchased at Market Of Choice, Natural Grocers, and think probably Whole Foods has them.
That’s such a great tip for others in the same situation. Thank you!