This really is the best Strawberry Rhubarb Pie recipe made with a sweet-tart ruby-hued filling in a flaky, buttery homemade pie crust! It’s fantastic all on its own or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
I love the combo of strawberry and rhubarb in desserts. In fact, one of the first recipes I ever posted here on House of Nash Eats was for these delicious Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Bars that I made on the tail end of rhubarb season, which typically runs between April and May.
Rhubarb is this crazy vegetable with poisonous leaves and insanely sour/tart stems but if you add a some sugar and mix them with berries in a pie crust, they create the most wonderful sweet-tart pie that you can possibly imagine. The kind of pie that wins awards in pie baking contests.
Since the season is short and I love rhubarb so much, I always buy extra rhubarb stalks to take home and chop up to freeze for off-season use. You also might like my strawberry rhubarb coffee cake!
We love all things rhubarb! When it’s in season we freeze it to have plenty year-round and we use it to make Rhubarb Crisp, Rhubarb Crumble Ice Cream, and this wonderful Easy Rhubarb Breakfast Cake.
Why you’ll love this Old Fashioned Rhubarb Pie
- The filling is made with equal parts strawberries and chopped rhubarb with a just a little cinnamon for warmth and depth, lemon juice and zest for brightness, and tapioca for thickening.
- It’s the perfect pie for a lattice-top pie crust, which never fails to impress, since the holes in the lattice allow moisture from the juicy berries and rhurbarb to escape while the pie bakes so it’s not soggy.
A memory from when I originally posted this recipe back in 2017 when my girls were 5 and 3 years old:
“I dished up a slice of this strawberry rhubarb pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for a treat one afternoon and sat on the back step to watch the girls play in the yard while I ate it. Except I couldn’t even get a bite to a myself because Rose and Clara hovered right next to me and devoured the whole thing spoonful by spoonful while making happy “mmmmmmm” sounds.”
Rhubarb Strawberry Pie Ingredient Notes
- Rhubarb: This vegetable can vary from brilliant pink to a muddy green-ish color. Both taste the same and work in this recipe so there is no need to hunt down pink rhubarb, unless the color is important to you. You could always add a drop or two of red gel food coloring (affiliate link) to your filling if you only have the greenish kind.
- Strawberries: This is a great way to use up strawberries that are looking a little past their prime or aren’t quite as sweet. Nobody will notice slightly bruised strawberries once they are baked into a pie! Just cut off any bad parts.
- Tapioca: Instant tapioca makes a fantastic thickener for fruit pies. The perfect pie should be on the juicy side but still sliceable.
How to make Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Start by making your pie crust. I have a whole post on how to make the best pie crust with all my best tips and tricks! I even have a video tutorial on my YouTube channel that helps show you how. It makes enough for both a top and bottom crust and freezes great so you can always have crusts on hand in the freezer for whenever you want to make this strawberry rhubarb pie recipe.
- Roll out the bottom crust until it is slightly larger than your pie plate (affiliate link). I use a 9-inch standard pie plate. Carefully roll the pie crust onto your rolling pin, then transfer it into the pie plate and set aside.
- Wash and hull the strawberries, then slice them into quarters or halves. Wash the rhubarb well and discard any leafy ends, which are poisonous. Chop the stalks into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Add the strawberries and rhubarb to a large bowl with the sugar, tapioca, flour, cinnamon, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Toss to distribute everything evenly, then dump the strawberry rhubarb pie filling into the bottom pie crust.
- Dot with small pieces of butter, which will add richness to your filling (I forget to do this half the time and the pies still always turn out fantastic, but it really does take your pie to the next level).
- Roll out the top crust and cut it into strips. Carefully lay half of the strips going one direction across the pie filling, then gently fold back every other strip about half way. Lay another strip going perpendicular across the other strips, then return the folded back strips to their place and fold back the alternating strips. Repeat this process, adding more strips to form the lattice crust on top of the pie.
- To create a finished look, trip away excess overhanging pie crust and tuck the edges under. Use your thumb and forefingers to crimp the edges in a decorative fluted pattern other other finish.
- Brush the top of the pie crust with an egg wash and sprinkle with granulated sugar and a little coarse demerara sugar. The granulated sugar will melt while baking to form almost a crackly glaze while the large granules of demerara sugar will hold their shape and add sparkle and crunch to the top of the pie crust.
- Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees F, then drop the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for another 45-50 minutes (about 60 minutes total bake time) until the crust is golden brown on top and the filling is bubbling. You may want to bake the pie on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil for easier cleanup because it has a tendency to bake over in the oven.
- Cool completely, usually about 4 hours, before slicing and serving.
How do you know when a strawberry rhubarb pie is done?
You can tell when your strawberry rhubarb pie is done by looking at the color of the pie crust which should be a nice golden brown color. The filling should also be bubbling up through any slits or lattice for venting the pie.
Serving Suggestions
We suggest serving this pie with a scoop of your favorite ice cream or a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Or if you have a slice leftover and really want to take things to the next level, add it to a blender along with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream and milk to make an incredible pie milkshake!
Storing this recipe for Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
To store any uneaten pie, keep it covered with plastic wrap on the counter at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or you can store it for up to 5 days in the fridge.
Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe FAQs
I use frozen rhubarb all the time to make this pie recipe. The best way to use it is to thaw the rhubarb on the counter for a few hours and discard any liquid. You can get away with using it straight from the freezer, but it will increase your bake time by as much as 20-30 minutes, which can cause the crust to get too brown on top unless you cover the whole thing. You will need to judge doneness by checking to see if the filling is bubbling and thickened in the center of the pie, not just the edges. You can also use frozen strawberries, but they don’t do quite as well as the rhubarb since they will be mushier when thawed and release more of their liquid.
Yes, you can assemble this pie and then freeze the whole thing before baking. I recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap, then again in foil. Freeze for up to 3 months and bake straight from frozen, adding an additional 20-30 minutes to your bake time.
If you have leftovers, you can freeze individual servings and reheat in the oven or microwave. They won’t be quite as good – the crust loses some of its texture – but it’s still pretty delicious warmed up with a scoop of ice cream on top.
Yes, cornstarch is another good pie thickener and I use it often to make pies. You can replace the tapioca with an equal amount of cornstarch. I find I get more consistent results with this pie using tapioca, but both will work.
The filling for this strawberry rhubarb pie recipe uses tapioca and a small amount of flour to keep it from being runny without setting the pie so firm that it tastes gummy. Be sure to also let the pie cool completely before slicing so it has plenty of time to set up. If you slice a fruit pie too soon, the filling will always be runny no matter how much thickener you use!
No, there is no need to cook the rhubarb before baking this pie. It has plenty of time to break down in the oven to create a soft, juicy, and delicious filling.
My strawberry rhubarb pie tastes sweet and tart and intensely fruity because we keep other flavor additions like a tiny amount of ground cinnamon and lemon juice and zest to a minimum. I have found from years of experimenting with this pie that the simplest approach is really the best so that the bright, sunny flavors or strawberries and tart rhubarb can really shine through.
My top recommendation for preventing a soggy pie bottom is to use a metal or glass pie plate instead of a ceramic one. They do a better job of transferring heat and letting the pie crust cook all the way through. But also, be sure to watch for tears in your pie crust that would allow juice to leak through. And if soggy crusts continue to plague you, try brushing the bottom crust with egg wash after laying it in the pie plate, before filling it with your pie filling.
Best Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Tips
- Be sure to freeze rhubarb while it is in season so you can enjoy this pie all year long!
- Don’t chop the strawberries up too small. They will break down a lot while they bake, so you really just want to quarter them, unless they are really large strawberries. If they are small, you may only need to halve them.
- A homemade pie crust makes such a difference! I really recommend trying one if you haven’t in a while, but you can always use a frozen or refrigerated pie crust to make things easier.
- Let the pie cool COMPLETELY before slicing into it. It takes at least 4 hours for a fruit pie like this to cool all the way so it has time to set up.
More Pie Recipes for Homemade Pie Lovers
- Best Homemade Cherry Pie Recipe
- Fresh Strawberry Pie
- Southern Peach Pie Perfection
- Best Key Lime Pie Recipe
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 Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Recipe
Equipment
- Pie Pan (my favorite one!)
Ingredients
- 1 recipe double-crust pie crust
- 2 1/2 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
- 2 1/2 cups strawberries washed, hulled and cut into pieces about the same size as the chopped rhubarb
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons minute tapioca
- 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1 beaten egg
- 1 teaspoon water
- Extra sugar for sprinkling on top of crust
Instructions
- Prepare double-crust pie crust recipe. Roll out one half of the crust and cover the bottom of a pie dish, while reserving the other half of the dough for the top crust.1 recipe double-crust pie crust
- Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, tapioca, flour, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon, and vanilla together in a large bowl and pour out into prepared crust. Slice the butter into small chunks and place them around the top of the strawberry rhubarb filling.2 ½ cups rhubarb, 2 ½ cups strawberries, 1 cup granulated sugar, 3 Tablespoons minute tapioca, 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon lemon zest, ½ teaspoon lemon juice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 3 Tablespoons salted butter
- Roll out the remaining half of the pie crust and gently place it over the filling either as a solid crust with slits cut into it for ventilation or by cutting into strips and laying them out in a lattice pattern. Crimp to seal edges.
- Make an egg wash by beating the egg with 1 teaspoon of water in a small bowl, then brush it over the top of the pie with a pastry brush and sprinkle the top of the pie with a teaspoon or two of sugar.1 beaten egg, 1 teaspoon water, Extra sugar for sprinkling on top of crust
- Loosely cover the edges of the pie with foil and bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes. Decrease temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is a golden brown.
- Let the pie cool for at least 2 hours before cutting and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in April, 2017. The photos and content were updated in November, 2021.
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Great tasting pie!!!
Can I make the same way but make individual had pies instead?
Sure!
Easy to follow,clear, concise and YUMMY
Loved this pie!!!!!
This is the best strawberry rhubarb pie I have ever eaten. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and tangy and goes perfectly with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. I substituted the tapioca for corn starch and it wasn’t too runny. Pure perfection, I am not looking for another recipe!
Oh wow thank you! This pie is to die for and I am so glad you love it!
Hello Amy
I am a baker and never made a Strawberry Rhubarb pie before right now.i know it is going to taste so awesome! It is in the oven and looks just wonderful Thank you so much for the recipe!
You are going to love it! This is my favorite pie!
I’m making this for my husband’s birthday, but have a question. Is it tapioca pearls or tapioca starch? I have pearls in the cupboard, do you think that would work?
It depends on what size the tapioca pearls are… I would worry it might change the texture of the filling if the pearls are larger. You can also use corn starch as a filling thickener. Just use the equivalent amount of cornstarch as instant tapioca.
Could you use canned pie filling for strawberries?
Hmmm I have never tried that with this recipe. I honestly don’t know how it would turn out because I love using fresh strawberries. I would assume you would need to decrease the sugar because the strawberry pie filling is already sweet? This one might just have to be a trial and error situation on seeing how it would turn out.
Just made this for the family dinner Sunday. I used commercial crusts, and skipped the sprinkling of sugar on the crust. Again and again I heard how good the pie was, and totally agreed! Best Strawberry, rhubarb pie I’ve ever had!!!
A coworker with a garden gave me some fresh rhubarb and I decided to make my first rhubarb pie. Much easier than I thought it would be. The directions were spot on. The flavor was wonderful, the perfect balance of tart and sweet. It made me so happy!
Oh great! How lucky to get fresh rhubarb!
My first time making anything Rhubarb. Great tasting pie. I have a friend that has a lot of rhubarb plants so I thought I’d give it a try. I doubled the filling as my husband and I love pies chucked full of fresh fruit. I also used your pie crust recipe and this is my new go to recipe. Everything super tasty.
Thank you!!
Outstanding pie. I can see why it has won award(s) !
It’s one of my favorites!
Is it tapioca flour?
Minute tapioca or instant tapioca is a little different than tapioca flour. Minute tapioca is a crushed tapioca into a finer bead like the size of a large grain of sand. It cooks quickly and has a subtle texture which is why it is great for pie. Tapioca flour is used more for a gluten free flour replacement. But I am sure you can also use it for the pie filling if that is all you have. Cornstarch is also another good pie thickener. I just prefer using the “minute” tapioca brand and find I get more consistent results with the tapioca.
I made this today, and it is AMAZING!
I make my own pie crust on the thicker side. I like a pie with lots of filling so I did one and a half times the filling. It is beautiful and DELISHIS!!
This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Oh I do love this pie so much. And there is nothing wrong with a thicker crust! I love crust! Thank you for making this wonderful pie!
Amy, thanks so much for sharing this amazing recipe! Both the filling and the crust are perfectly delicious 👍 I’ve been gluten free for about 12 years and had given up on making pie after numerous failed attempts. I’m thrilled to be making pie again with your fabulous recipe- it’s easy to work with and yummy!
What a great pie to make! This is one of my favorites. Did you make it gluten free?
This really is the BEST strawberry rhubarb pie recipe ever! I’ve never tasted a better pie!
Thank you so much!
Can you used canned rhubarb? I cannot find any fresh or frozen.
Hmm I have never used canned rhubarb so I can’t tell you if it would work or not. I worry it would have too much liquid in the pie filling with the canned rhubarb. I am sorry you can’t find rhubarb. Fresh rhubarb is best found in spring and early summer. Unfortunately, it is hit and miss finding frozen rhubarb in stores. Whenever I find some I stock up! I like to always have some in the freezer!
Can I freeze the filling?
Are you freezing it to use for later? I’m sure that would be fine.
I just realized I forgot to add the butter to the filling before I froze the pie the unbaked pie!!!! When i cook it from frozen will it still be ok? Is there anything I can do at this point?
Please help!!
Thanks! Celeste
Yes you will be totally fine! I’ve forgotten butter before and added it after it started baking, turned out totally fine. Or you can leave it out entirely! The pie will not be ruined and will still taste amazing!
Can I use frozen rhubarb and strawberries to make this?
How would I amend the recipe?
I use frozen rhubarb all the time to make this pie recipe. The best way to use it is to thaw the rhubarb on the counter for a few hours or set it in some warm water and discard any liquid. You can get away with using it straight from the freezer, but it will increase your bake time by as much as 15-20 minutes, which can cause the crust to get too brown on top unless you cover the whole thing. You will need to judge doneness by checking to see if the filling is bubbling and thickened in the center of the pie, not just the edges. You can also use frozen strawberries, but they don’t do quite as well as the rhubarb since they will be mushier when thawed and release more of their liquid. Be sure to also let the pie cool completely before slicing so it has plenty of time to set up.