Filled with wonderfully sweet and juicy blackberries, and baked in the most perfect, flaky, buttery pie crust, this Easy Old Fashioned Blackberry Pie looks and tastes amazing! I have perfected this recipe so that you'll get an amazing pie every time, no matter whether you use fresh or frozen blackberries!
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Your friends and family are going to love you when you show up with this warm and freshly baked Old-Fashioned Blackberry Pie. This homemade blackberry pie recipe is incredible and so, so simple!
When blackberries are in season, they are unbelievably good. When we buy fresh, juicy blackberries at the local farmer's market, we just can't stop eating them! We often have a hard time setting them aside to actually make anything with them because we eat them before we can decide what to make!
I have tried to perfect this easy blackberry pie recipe, as I always found an issue when I tried to substitute fresh berries for frozen berries. While other recipes suggest that they are totally interchangeable, I always found that using frozen berries made my pie very soggy and messy. But I discovered a simple trick that helps combat runny pie filling when working with frozen berries.
If you love blackberries as much as we do you'll also love this Blackberry Nectarine Crumble, these Easy Blackberry Turnovers, and this amazing Blackberry Ice Cream!
Why We Love Homemade Old Fashioned Blackberry Pie
- It's made with simple ingredients!
- Customize your blackberry pie with warm spices or even other types of fruit.
- This easy recipe takes just over an hour to make.
Blackberry Pie Recipe ingredients
You are going to need a top and bottom pie crust for this pie. I recommend this Flaky Homemade Pie Crust with a Video Tutorial that I use in all my pies. It turns out amazing every time thanks to using both the butter for flavor and the shortening for a tender, flaky crust.
Scroll down to the recipe card below this post for the full recipe with ingredient quantities.
Pie Crust
- Flour - Use unbleached All-Purpose Flour for best results. Remember you'll need extra for the work surface too.
- Sugar - Granulated white sugar is fine for the pie crust.
- Salt - Table salt will work well in the pie crust to enhance the flavors and won't be too grainy.
- Vegetable Shortening - Use chilled shortening, it makes a light and flaky pie crust.
- Butter - Use cold butter or even frozen butter. It adds a great buttery flavor to the pie crust.
- Water - Cold ice water works best for making pastry.
Blackberry Pie Filling
- Blackberries - You can use fresh or frozen blackberries for this pie, check the notes below if using frozen.
- Sugar - Adds sweetness to counteract the tart flavor of the blackberries inside the filling and also on top of the pie.
- Cornstarch - To thicken the filling and give it more substance.
- Lemon Juice - For an added citrus flavor that compliments the blackberries well.
- Egg - You'll need an egg, lightly beaten, for the egg wash.
How to make Blackberry Pie
Pie Crust
- Make flour mixture. Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender or a food processor (affiliate link), cut the shortening and the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. One trick to make the process a little easier is to freeze your butter beforehand, then grate it into the flour mixture before cutting it in with the pastry cutter if not using a food processor (affiliate link).
- Add water. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the cold water over the mixture. Using a fork, gently stir the water into the flour mixture, then repeat with the remaining water, adding only 2 tablespoons at a time, just until the dough starts to come together.
- Chill dough. Divide the dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten them each into a thick disc with your hands. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Roll out dough. Bring the chilled dough out of the fridge and let it sit on the counter at room temperature to soften slightly for 10 minutes before rolling it out with a rolling pin (affiliate link).
Filling & Assembly
- Prepare equipment. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and lightly flour a clean and dry flat worktop space big enough for rolling out your pastry.
- Roll pastry. Roll out the bottom crust on a lightly floured surface. Gently line a pie plate (affiliate link) with the bottom crust. Brush with some of the egg wash to create a seal so that the juicy blackberry filling doesn't seep through to the bottom of the crust when baking.
Make blackberry filling.
- Using fresh blackberries: Toss the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Using frozen blackberries: Let the blackberries thaw at room temperature before you begin. Drain that beautiful, dark purple juice into a microwave-safe bowl and whisk in ½ tablespoon of the cornstarch along with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Microwave it for 45-60 seconds until it thickens up. Then toss your thawed blackberries with the remaining cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice and gently stir in the thickened blackberry juice mixture.
- Fill pie. Pour the blackberry filling into the prepared pie crust.
- Make top crust. Roll out the top pie crust and cut a circular hole in the center with a small biscuit or cookie cutter. Gently lay the crust on top of the blackberry filling. Trim the edges of the pie dough with a knife and crimp it in a decorative pattern using a fork. If desired, you could do a lattice crust or other decorative top. Brush the top crust with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake. Bake the blackberry pie for 45-60 minutes, until the filling is thick and bubbly and the crust is turning golden brown. If the edges of the crust begin to get too dark too soon, cover them with tin foil or use a pie guard so that they don't burn while the rest of the pie continues to bake.
- Cool. Once the pie is cooked, let it cool completely (at least 2-3 hours) so that the berry filling has time to set before slicing the pie. You can always reheat it just a bit if you like eating your pie warm. These steps are simple but they will save you the heartache of cutting into a beautiful-looking pie only to have it fall completely apart because the filling is soupy!
- Serve. Serve cold with a glass of milk, or reheat it and serve with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Best Blackberry Pie Recipe FAQs
Make sure you're using the correct amounts for ingredients - this will be different if you're using fresh or frozen berries. You also want to let the freshly baked pie sit for a while to cool down before slicing into it as this allows the filling to set up. It'll take at least 2-3 hours for a freshly baked pie to cool down.
Eat them raw - that's what we usually do! When we can contain ourselves enough to save some for making other things, we love these Blackberry Scones, Razzleberry Pie, and Blackberry Lemonade!
Store in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy hot or cold!
You can freeze blackberry pie but it's best to freeze it before you bake it. To do this, wrap the pie in plastic wrap and put it in a Ziploc bag and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Technically you can use fresh or frozen blackberries. Frozen just requires a little more effort by making sure they are thawed at room temperature before you begin making the filling.
There are a couple tips to prevent a runny filling. First use a thickener like cornstarch, instant tapioca, flour, or clearjel. My recipe uses cornstarch because it’s readily available and what I always have on hand. Clearjel is my next favorite although you usually have to find it at a specialty kitchen supply shop or order online. If you have some, just replace the same amount of cornstarch with clearjel.
Also, make sure you bake until the filling is thick and bubbly! Bake for at least 45-60 minutes. The cornstarch will react with the berry juices and create a nice thick filling that you should see bubbling up through the vents in the crust.
And last, always let your berry pie cool for 2-3 hours before serving to let the filling continue to set up. I know, I know it is really hard waiting that long to cut into a delicious pie but It will be worth the wait. If you want a warm piece of pie, just reheat the pie or single slice in the microwave or oven.
When you make a berry pie, the berries will release a lot of juices in the baking process so you want to make sure you have a good thickening agent or else your pie will be a “berry” juicy mess. Flour or cornstarch are the most commonly used but clearjel, tapioca, arrowroot, and potato starch can also help thicken your pie filling.
Tips for Success
- Mixing. Use a food processor to mix your pastry ingredients. It will only take about 10 pulses with a food processor but it's a bit more work by hand!
- Cutting pastry. Use a biscuit cutter or even a pizza cutter to cut out the hole from the pastry top for your pie.
- Use cold butter. Freeze your butter beforehand and grate it into the flour to mix it quickly if you don't have a food processor.
Keep in mind when using frozen blackberries, you will need to let them thaw first. That amazing juice from the thawed blackberries, keep it! Don’t throw it out! Make a delicious sauce to help thicken the pie filling. Drain that beautiful, dark purple juice into a microwave-safe bowl and whisk in ½ tablespoon of the cornstarch along with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Microwave it for 45-60 seconds until it thickens up. Then toss your thawed blackberries with the remaining cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice and gently stir in the thickened blackberry juice mixture.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use a Graham Cracker Pie Crust for the base if you prefer, or use a store-bought crust.
- Add warming spices like cinnamon, star anise, clove, or ginger for an added depth of flavor.
- Add some lemon zest to the berry mixture for an extra citrusy flavor.
- Add other berries to this pie. Cherries, blueberries, and raspberries taste great with blackberries.
- Use other fruits as well as blackberries. Plums, apples, and pears go well with blackberries.
- Do a Lattice Top for your pie instead of the hole in the middle.
Best Recipe for Blackberry Pie storage
If you want to make your pie in advance, it will keep well on the counter for 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap.
If you just want to assemble and bake on the day you plan to serve it, I recommend freezing the pie before baking. Freeze it before you bake it and wrap in plastic wrap and put it in a ziploc baggie and freeze for up to 1 month. Then you can bake it direct from frozen by just increasing the bake time by 15 to 20 minutes.
You can also make the crust 2-3 days in advance and store in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap or even freeze the pie crust dough for 2-3 months for use at a later time. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight, then roll out and fill with your blackberry pie filling.
More Amazing Fruit Pies You Will Love
- Southern Peach Pie Perfection
- Dutch Pear & Nutmeg Pie with Streusel Topping
- Salted Caramel Apple Pie
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Best Recipe for Blackberry Pie
Ingredients
Double-Crust Pie Crust
- 2 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour + extra for the work surface
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup vegetable shortening, chilled
- 12 tablespoons salted butter, cut into ¼-inch pieces and chilled
- 6-8 tablespoons ice water
Blackberry Pie Filling
- 6 cups blackberries, fresh or completely thawed if previously frozen*
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- Additional sugar for sprinkling on top
Instructions
Pie Crust
- Stir together the flour, sugar, and salt. Cut the shortening and butter into the flour with a pastry cutter or food processor until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. It is only about 10 pulses with a food processor but a bit more work by hand. One trick to make the process a little easier is to freeze your butter beforehand, then grate it into the flour mixture before cutting it in with the pastry cutter if not using a food processor.
- Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of the ice water over the mixture. Using a fork, gently stir the water into the flour mixture, then repeat with the remaining water, adding only 2 tablespoons at a time, just until the dough starts to come together.
- Divide the dough into two even pieces. Turn each piece of dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap and flatten each into a disc and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour, then allow the chilled dough to sit on the counter to soften slightly for 10 minutes before rolling out.
Filling & Assembly
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Roll out the bottom crust on a lightly floured surface. Gently line a pie plate with the bottom crust and brush with part of the egg wash before adding blackberry filling.
- In a large bowl, add blackberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice and gently toss to combine. If using frozen black berries, see notes about how to deal with the blackberry juice. Pour filling into the prepared pie crust.
- Roll out the top pie crust and cut a circular hole in the center with a small biscuit or cookie cutter. Gently lay the crust on top of the blackberry filling. Trim the edges of the pie dough with a knife and crimp it in a decorative pattern using a fork. If desired, you could do a lattice crust or other decorative top. Brush the top crust with the remaining egg wash and sprinkle with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes, until the filling is thick and bubbly and the crust is golden brown. If the edges of the crust begin to get too dark too soon, cover them with tin foil or use a pie guard so that they don't burn while the rest of the pie continues to bake.
- When the pie is done, remove it from the oven and allow the pie to cool for at least 2-3 hours before serving so the filling can continue to set up.
- Once cooled, you can slice and serve your pie. To serve hot, simply reheat either the whole pie or individual slices in the oven or microwave.
Notes
- *Using fresh blackberries: Toss the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and stir to combine.
- *Using frozen blackberries: Let the blackberries thaw at room temperature before you begin. Drain that beautiful, dark purple juice into a microwave-safe bowl and whisk in ½ tablespoon of the cornstarch along with 1 tablespoon of sugar. Microwave it for 45-60 seconds until it thickens up. Then toss your thawed blackberries with the remaining cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice and gently stir in the thickened blackberry juice mixture.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container or covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy hot or cold!
- Freeze: You can freeze blackberry pie but it's best to freeze it before you bake it. To do this, wrap the pie in plastic wrap and put it in a Ziploc bag and in the freezer for up to 1 month.
This pie sounds heavenly! And the photos are gorgeous, too!
Thank you, Mira!
What a gorgeous pie! I love blackberries and when they are in season I buy as many from the farmers as I can and freeze them so I can make great pies like this one!
Such a great idea, Jennifer! We love to pick them ourselves, too, when we get the chance!
That is a gorgeous pie! I love a good blackberry pie and yours look and sound spectacular.
Thank you, Nicoletta! It's one of my favorites too!
What a gorgeous pie! Your tip for making frozen berries work in pies make me excited because I generally only make pie during the summer when all of the fruit is in season. I miss it during the winter and almost always have frozen fruit on hand for smoothies.
Oh you should definitely give it a try then, Jenna! I don't feel like it works quite as well for blueberries, but for blackberries or raspberries this method is great!
Beautiful, Amy! Oh, this tugs at my heartstrings. We always had an abundance of berries on the farm I grew up on and my mother used to make the most AMAZING berry pies. Thanks for sharing and your photography is gorgeous!
Thank you, Carol! That sounds like heaven to have loads of fresh berries!
Fantastic trick for frozen berries, Even if I have berries in my garden, I like to keep a bag of frozen berries in the freezer during the winter, You will never know what you fancy in a rainy day.
I do the same thing!
Thanks for posting this. We are plagued with runny pies from frozen berries, so hope this advice will help. We recently learned about ClearGel, but even using that did not set up our pie made from frozen triple berry mix and elderberries. I have a suggestion though. I see after saying that many recipes call for "berries, fresh or frozen" , your recipe is worded exactly the same way. Maybe it would be better to say "fresh or thawed". Not everyone who encounters a recipe will read, or may have access to read, an article like this. Recipes get copied and handed down without these kinds of tips. If people would stop regurgitating "berries, fresh or frozen" without telling HOW to use frosen berries, this problem might one day be a rare occurrence. 🙂
Also, you could add an asterisk after the word "frozen" in the recipe, to lead down to your asterisked footnote at the bottom. 🙂 I sure hope this helps. I love elderberry pie (we grow them), elderberry soup-in-a-crust, not so much. 😉
Thank you for your thoughtful comment LG! Runny pies from frozen berries really are a problem that I was trying to address with this recipe so I appreciate you taking the time to share your advice! I'm going to edit the recipe with an asterisk after "frozen" to lead down to the footnote in hopes to help others avoid tossing completely frozen berries right into their crusts!
I love blackberry pie! I have to make one with the first big harvest off our berry patch each year. Sooooo good!
The pie looks both beautiful and delicious! I was wanting to ask your permission to use this recipe in a school project. We have to "build a city" and have a main attraction, ours is a pie shop, and we love this recipe and would like to use it for the "best selling pie". Thanks. Also cant wait to try my hand at baking this!
Of course! Please do! 🙂
I see none of these people actually tried the recipe.I did. I had to tell my guests that they were eating desert out of a glass, because it s a par-fey slurrpy.
I'm sorry this didn't work out for you! Did you let it cool completely? Because like many berry pies, this doesn't set all the way until the pie is fully cooled. One of the reasons I wanted to share this recipe is because I had problems with runny berries pies in the past myself and finally figured out how to make it without it turning out all soupy, so I'm sorry that yours didn't set up all the way! I've made this dozens of times now and it comes out great each time!
I just made the best pie crust ever (and I've been making pie for decades) using your the Double-Crust Pie Crust recipe for blackberry pie! I used the egg wash and sugar on the top crust, and it is flaky and beautiful! I used frozen Pacific Northwest little wild mountain blackberries (Rubus ursinus that my husband and I picked by our cabin on the Hoh River - they have an amazing flavor! The pie hasn't cooled yet, but I hope that following your recipe will make the pie less runny than it usually is. However, I couldn't wait to tell you how excited I am about the crust recipe! Thank you!
I'm so thrilled that the crust worked out well for you! That makes me so happy to hear!
Ugh! I made this pie tonight and while it’s absolutely delicious.. it was SO runny! I poured about 1/2 cup of juice out of the pie after cutting the first piece. I followed the directions and allowed it to cool for 3.5 hours. I wonder why it turned out this way??
Oh no! I have no idea why that would have happened as I wrote this recipe specifically to avoid that and it has worked for me every time since I figured out I needed to fully defrost the berries and microwave the juices with cornstarch to thicken before filling the pie.
Have you tried it using fresh berries? I used fresh so I skipped the frozen berry note. Maybe I'll try it again with frozen sometime. Hubby said that was the best pie crust he's ever eaten and I had to agree! SO GOOD!
I have made this pie a few times now, each time using our garden blackberries, frozen. Our blackberries are quite large, averaging a bit larger than a quarter coin. As such, they do not nicely fill a cup measure, so I end up using seven overfilled cups to get enough for a good pie. I also increase the sugar by 2-3 tablespoons to add sweetness. This seems to work for me, and I appreciate that you have given direction for using frozen blackberries. When they are in season, it is not unusual for me to pick two quarts from our bush each day, so freezing them is a must!
I made this pie the other night and followed the instructions to the T, using 1 bag of frozen berries and 2 pints of fresh. I boiled the juice of the thawed berries with the sugar and cornstarch as directed and added this at the end. This pie, although delicious, was still runny. I will make it again but will boil all the berries with the sugar and cornstarch FIRST. Then add to the pie. I do this with frozen blueberries and never have a runny pie.
My husband loved it, it was easy to make and we are now searching for local places that sell fresh berries! We never have enough on our property for a pie as our dogs eat them off the bushes as soon as they start to ripen!
We have a HUGE back berry bush with so many berries,we froze gal bags last year. Now I have more on the bush, and need to use up last year's crop. I have made the fresh pie, but was not sure what to do with the juice from frozen berries once they thawed. Thanks so much for the tip. Can't wait to try.
I realize this is late to the party but I just made this pie. Followed directions to the letter. Pie turned out great! I used very ripe, fresh picked berries. I would say I could have used less cornstarch and might have know to reduce that if I had ever made a pie in my life before this. Seriously. I am 60 and I just now made my most favorite pie. SO funny.
I did make sure that my fruit was bubbling for 10 minutes. Also cooked in a convection oven.
Thanks for the recipe!
I will be trying this recipe today. I have used tapioca in the past as the thickener but would like to try corn starch this time instead. We froze fresh berries a couple weeks ago so we'll use those too. Thank you for your work and those images in the blog are SO GOOD!
Thank you! I hope you like it!
Best pie ever. Just made it for my husband's birthday. He requested a blackberry pie. He is from the south so he grew up picking fresh blackberries. I bought mine at the local grocery store, and they made a delicious pie.
This worked for me. I used my own crust and took some of the sugar out and it still holds together just fine. The stuff out of the microwave was like glue, in case that helps anyone.
Just a quick comment before I begin. Your information it's much appreciated... especially the part about thawing frozen blackberries... makes perfect sense. Thanks again for the great article.
You're welcome! Have a wonderful holiday!
I followed your recipe using frozen berries. This is it! Finally found out the secret to not having pie soup! And it was so tasty too. So many compliments. Thank you!!!
I'm so glad this worked out so well for you! That's how I felt when I figured out this method!
Very good recipe, made it for thanksgiving this year and everyone loved it. It set up just fine even using frozen berries.
Made this pie twice in 2 weeks. My husband and daughter both said it was the best pie crust they ever had and to always make it this way. I used fresh berries and it was the perfect filling. Thank-you for the recipe
You are so very welcome! I'm so glad you loved it!
Wonderful pie! Made it with fresh picked blackberries from our garden. My husband doesn't care for blackberry pie, he ate two slices the first night. No better recommendation then that.
I have picked some blackberries and want to make a pie. I am in a remote area and do not have a way to get corn starch. Would flour work? If so, would the measurement of four Tbsp. remain the same, as with the cornstarch?
I haven't tried this one with flour, but yes, typically you can use twice as much flour as you would use cornstarch to thicken pies.
This is an amazing recipe. Everyone loved it.
Will be my go to every blackberry season!
Made this pie yesterday for a Memorial Day BBQ and it was a huge hit! Crust was easy and so good too. Followed the excellent directions exactly as written. I used frozen berries and followed the directions for them, in the note section. Crust was easy to work with and roll out. Pie was thickened perfectly! Thanks for the recipe!
Amy, How much BlackBerry juice is too much juice to use in this pie From frozen blackberries? I ended up with 4 and a 1/2 cups and I hope To hear from you before I start this pie today! Perhaps this is the reason some people end up with running pies Using your recipe.
That's a good point and you might be right because I don't think I have ever had that much liquid from thawed blackberries. I would either only use probably 1 1/2 to 2 cups of that liquid at most OR the alternative would be to go ahead and cook your blackberry filling on the stovetop first so you could be sure it thickens up. I would add the blackberries, juice, sugar, and cornstarch to a large pan, then cook it over medium to medium-high heat until it thickens. Maybe start with 2 cups of the liquid and see how it goes? If the mixture doesn't thicken you can add additional cornstarch by whisking it with a few tablespoons of cold reserved liquid to make a slurry that you can drizzle in. Then you would want to let the filling cool completely before adding it to your crust and baking the pie. Now I feel like I need to make this again and measure the exact amount of liquid that comes off my blackberries.
Someone gave me a ton of fresh blackberries and I made this pie. It was delicious. Perfectly sweetened. Not runny AT ALL!
I made it Saturday morning and we had it for dessert Sunday afternoon. Rave reviews. Thanks for the recipe