Celebrate spring with a gorgeous fresh strawberry lattice pie loaded with the fruit of the season.
One of my favorite childhood memories is of my parents taking me strawberry picking in Texas. No idea where…Corpus Christi? Houston? Unclear. All I know is that it was one of those places where the strawberry plants were grown stacked on top of each other, so the rows of plants (each plant loaded with ripe berries) towered over me. I remember thinking it was like being in a strawberry forest.
Now that I think about it, this is probably why I thought for the longest time that strawberries grew in trees or super tall shrubs. Buying strawberry plants at Home Depot as an adult was very confusing and disillusioning. 
The best part of our Texas strawberry picking adventure was that we were allowed to eat as many berries as we wanted while picking. Looking back, I think maybe you had to pay some sort of upfront fee to pick the fruit, and then separately paid by the pound for any berries you wanted to take home.
I couldn’t tell you how many bushels of berries we ended up picking and purchasing that day, but I do have a vivid memory of running up and down the rows of plants hunting for the biggest, reddest, juiciest berry on the vine, taking one big bite from the middle, savoring the sweet juices, then throwing the rest to the ground and reaching for the next fat berry. Children are….very wasteful.
I wonder if that’s why all-you-can-eat fruit picking isn’t really a thing anymore?
My friend Amy and I have been talking about going strawberry picking for years now, but we always manage to forget about our plans until after picking season (May-June) is over. But not this year! There’s still plenty of time left in the season, and this past weekend we drove out to a farm in Leesburg, VA to load up on strawberries.
And, as you can see, we brought the cutest little helper with us! Jack doesn’t love eating strawberries (he prefers blueberries, thank you very much), but he had lots of fun running up and down the rows of plants, occasionally stopping to hand “Tee Tee” a particularly nice berry that caught his eye. Between the three of us, we picked an enormous bucket of strawberries – all of which I got to take home for myself (along with half a dozen fresh homemade strawberry donuts, mmmm)!
Which brings me to today’s recipe. Going into last weekend, my plan was always to turn most of the berries we picked into pie. Specifically, strawberry rhubarb pie. However, for some reason the person who put together my Safeway grocery delivery order last week decided to substitute my order of rhubarb for a big ol’ rutabaga.
Rutabaga! Which I’m 99.9% sure is NOT the same thing as rhubarb. It is, in fact, a turnip! A root vegetable! Definitely not something that would taste great baked into a pie with strawberries.
So that’s why today’s recipe is for a fresh strawberry pie, and not a strawberry rhubarb pie. Kind of the same, but also kind of not…
One bucketful of strawberries might not seem like a lot intellectually, but one bucket = five pounds = holy crap, that’s a lot of berries. A lot of very ripe berries that were quickly becoming more and more ripe as the day went on. As I watched the strawberries darken and get slightly more bruised-looking by the minute, I legit started to worry that I wouldn’t be able to eat/cook all of the berries fast enough before they went south.
Fortunately, the aforementioned Safeway snafu saved me. The original strawberry rhubarb pie recipe I had planned to use called for 3 cups of chopped rhubarb and 2 cups of sliced strawberries. But, since I didn’t have any rhubarb, and I knew the berries would decrease in volume after soaking in sugar/draining + baking, I compensated for the missing rhubarb by tripling the amount of strawberries used. With that, I had one pretty deep-dish pie, and enough fruit leftover to roast one batch of berries for ice cream (recipe coming soon) and freeze another for smoothies. Voila, problem solved!
Guys…this pie was so good! Each bite was an explosion of perfectly sweet, juicy berries and flaky, buttery crust. I’m sure rhubarb would have been a great addition, but we honestly didn’t miss it. When served with scoops of vanilla ice cream, this pie is basically summer on a plate. And with Memorial Day and July 4th just around the corner, I’m thinking I need to get more strawberries and bake this pie again ASAP.
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Fresh Strawberry Lattice Pie
- Total Time: 75 minutes
- Yield: Serves 8
- Diet: Omnivore
Description
A classic summer dessert, this strawberry lattice pie is bursting with fresh berry flavor and a flaky crust. Perfect for a potluck or a special occasion!
Ingredients
- Double pie crust of choice
- 6-7 cups (1420-1670 ml) ripe strawberries
- 1/2 cup (118 ml) packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) granulated white sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) cornstarch
- 1 egg + 1 tbsp egg wash
- 1 tbsp butter
Instructions
- If making your own crust, divide the dough in two, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Roll out one piece of dough (or store-bought crust) and line a pie dish. Press the dough firmly along the bottom and sides.
- In a large bowl, combine chopped strawberries, both sugars, salt, and vanilla bean scrapings. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- Drain the strawberry mixture and discard the liquid.
- Add cornstarch and stir to coat the berries evenly.
- Spoon the filling into the pie dish, over the bottom crust.
- Cut butter into small pieces and sprinkle evenly over the filling.
- Roll out the second piece of dough (or store-bought crust) and cut into strips.
- Weave the strips over and under each other to create a lattice top.
- Press firmly on the edges to seal the strips.
- Brush the top crust with egg wash.
- Cover the pie with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes.
- Remove parchment paper and bake for another 20 minutes, until golden-brown.
- Let the pie cool for at least 3 hours.
- Slice and serve, or cover and refrigerate.
Notes
- For a richer flavor, use a combination of fresh and frozen strawberries; the frozen ones will help thicken the filling.
- To prevent a soggy bottom, pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes before adding the filling.
- Leftover pie can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 400
- Sugar: 30
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 20
- Saturated Fat: 10
- Unsaturated Fat: 8
- Carbohydrates: 60
- Fiber: 4
- Protein: 4
- Cholesterol: 50
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of strawberries should I use for this pie?
Use fresh, ripe strawberries for the best flavor. Look for berries that are bright red, firm, and fragrant, as they will provide the sweetest taste.
How do I create the lattice top for the pie?
Roll out your pie crust and cut it into strips about 1 inch wide. Arrange half of the strips horizontally across the pie, then weave the remaining strips vertically over and under the horizontal strips to create the lattice pattern.
What should I do if my strawberry filling is too watery?
If your filling seems too watery, mix in a tablespoon or two of cornstarch or flour before pouring it into the pie crust. This will help thicken the juices as the pie bakes.
