Active Time
40 minutes
Total Time
2 hours
When former BA food editor Rick Martinez first posted a slice of his homemade blueberry pie on social media, the recipe proved to be something of a love potion. “Men I knew well, men I had dated, significant exes, total strangers, everyone messaged me they ‘needed that pie right now’ and would do whatever it takes to get it,” he writes. The dessert scored him a few “9-inch pie and chill” situations. It’s that good.
Rick’s trick? It’s all about showcasing perfect summer berries (though even ho-hum out-of-season blueberries can shine here) and achieving the right crust-to-filling ratio. You’ll need a deep-dish pie pan, which allows you to cram 8 cups of blueberries into the pie filling. If you take your fruit pies with little spice, you can add up to ½ tsp. cardamom or coriander to enhance the berries’ fruitiness, or 1 tsp. ground cinnamon or ginger for a touch of warmth.
As for Rick’s pie crust recipe: It makes for a dough that’s so flaky, some mistook it for puff pastry, a texture achieved through fraisage (a.k.a. smashing the butter into thin sheets with your hands, see a demonstration in Rick’s apple pie video). To decorate the pie, you can’t beat an intertwined lattice top—but, if you prefer a solid top crust, be sure to cut a few vents in the dough.
The bubbling filling needs time to settle before you slice in, so let your blueberry pie rest for at least four hours before serving it—perchance to a date.
Ingredients
8 servings
Pie Dough
3½
2
1½
1½
¼
2
Blueberry Filling and Assembly
4
5
1
2
¼
¾
1
Special Equipment
Preparation
Pie Dough
Step 1
Whisk 3½ cups (437 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tbsp. (25 g) granulated sugar, and 1½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a large bowl. Toss 1½ cups (3 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces, in dry ingredients with your fingertips to evenly coat. Working quickly and aggressively, rub butter into dry ingredients with your fingertips and palms to smash butter into flour and incorporate completely, creating some pieces that are flat and thin and some that are pea-size and irregular.
Step 2
Stir ¼ cup chilled vodka, 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, and ¼ cup ice water (vodka makes a flakier, more tender crust; if you’d rather leave it out, use ½ cup ice water) in a small bowl. Drizzle over dough, then mix with a fork until shaggy pieces form. Knead in bowl with your hands a couple of times until a shaggy dough forms (it will look quite dry, which is exactly what it should look like). Transfer large clumps of dough to a work surface. Drizzle 1 Tbsp. ice water over remaining smaller bits of dough in bowl and knead again to bring it together. Add to dough on work surface.
Step 3
Divide dough in half. Working with one half, press it together into a single mass, incorporating dry bits, then pat down to make a ¾"-thick block. Using a bench scraper or knife, divide block into 4 pieces. Stack pieces on top of one another, tucking any unincorporated dry bits in between layers, and press down to combine, flattening into one mass again. Form dough into a ¾"-thick disk and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Keeping dough wrapped in plastic, use your fingertips and the heels of your palms to press in any rough spots or remaining dry bits of dough around edges. Chill at least 2 hours, or preferably overnight.
Do ahead: Dough can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled, or freeze up to 1 month.
Blueberry Filling and Assembly
Step 4
Toss 4 pt. fresh blueberries, rinsed, drained, 5 Tbsp. (35 g) cornstarch, 1 tsp. finely grated lemon zest, 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice, ¼ tsp. kosher salt, and ¾ cup raw sugar (139 g) or granulated sugar (150 g) in a large bowl. Let blueberry mixture sit 30 minutes to soften berries and extract juices.
Step 5
Meanwhile, let dough sit at room temperature 5 minutes to soften. Working one at a time, roll out disks on a lightly floured surface to ⅛" thick (about 16" in diameter) with a rolling pin. Transfer one round to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet and chill while you make lattice. Cut remaining round into twelve 1" strips. Place another piece of parchment over whole round on baking sheet, then transfer strips to parchment and chill.
Step 6
Position oven rack in center of oven; preheat to 425°. Line another rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and place in oven.
Step 7
Carefully transfer whole dough round to pie dish (make sure it’s a deep pie dish—super critical). Lift up edges and allow dough to slump down into dish (if it’s too cold to be pliable, let it warm up slightly first). Gently press dough into edges of dish, if needed. Trim, leaving about a ½" overhang. Gently scrape in blueberry filling and smooth top.
Step 8
Beat 1 large egg with 1 tsp. water in a small bowl. Lay 6 dough strips vertically across filling so that they are parallel to each other, leaving about ½" between them. (Tip: It’s easiest to start in the middle and work outward.)
Step 9
Rotate pie plate about 15° (if the top of the pie is the 12 o’clock mark, turn it to 2 o’clock). Lay another 6 strips vertically over first set so that they create a tight angle, or narrow “X” pattern, at the points where they cross. Very little filling should be visible; the dough will shrink, and these gaps will widen as pie bakes. Advanced bakers (you know who you are): weave the lattice, if desired. Trim dough ends so strips overhang bottom round by ½". Working around edge of pie plate, fold loose ends under bottom round, pinching each gently to seal. Crimp edges decoratively, if desired. Brush edges and lattice lightly with egg wash, then sprinkle surface with raw sugar.
Step 10
Transfer pie dish to freezer and chill 10 minutes. Transfer pie dish to preheated baking sheet. Bake pie 5 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 375°. Continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown and juices are thick and vigorously bubbling, 75–90 minutes (check at the 60- and 75-minute marks and loosely tent with foil if it seems to be overbrowning; the juices will start to bubble at around 75 minutes but will thicken and bubble faster in the last 15 minutes of cook time, so don’t be tempted to pull it out until the bubbles are really going). If using a clear pie dish, check underneath to make sure bottom crust is evenly browned.
Step 11
Transfer pie to a wire rack and let cool at least 4 hours before serving. Yes, it smells amazing, and yes, people love warm pie. But if you don’t give it time to set up properly, the filling will be runny when you cut into it. Serve with vanilla ice cream (if using).
Do ahead: Pie can be made 1 day ahead. Let cool, then cover with foil and store at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This blueberry pie recipe was originally published in July 2017 as part of BA’s Best, a collection of our essential recipes. Head this way for more great berry pie recipes from our friends at Epicurious →
Leave a Review
Reviews (36)
Back to TopI've been making a blueberry pie similar to this for a couple of years. I add a couple of tablespoons of orange juice and most importantly 2 tablespoons of Grand Marnier to push it over the top and make it taste fantastic!
Anonymous
Anacortes WA
7/30/2023
Oh, and another thing. I prefer fruit pies with vanilla gelato vs. ice cream. Fruit pies are heavy and complemented by the lightness of gelat. Plus, say you make a little boo-boo in the recipe. Well, a bit of heavenly vanilla gelato is a great foil for a little boo-bob this or little boo-boo that.
Kathleen Burke
Albuquerque, NM
8/23/2022
Yes, it's exquisite. I added one extra T cornstarch and used pink mineral salt/sea salt combo in the crust. We raved all the while enjoying it. It's a keeper! The highly detailed instructions...much appreciated.
Kathleen B.
Albuquerque, NM
8/22/2022
So satisfying, relatively easy if you don’t overthink it, and delicious! I made this as a half blueberry, half Granny Smith apple pie using 4 cups of each (apples sliced into slivers so that in proportion w/ blueberries). Used salted butter and therefore reduced salt to 1tsp in the dough. I used food processor for dry ingredients and then added butter and liquids to processor and the dough came out beautifully. The amount of dough is plenty sufficient for a deep dish 9” round glass pie plate (with a bottom and full top, not lattice, pie crust). Instead of an egg wash, I lightly basted with milk (non dairy) and dusted top of crust with some sugar. This pie is even better on day 2! Of course it’s great w/ a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but it doesn’t even need it.
Cheryl M.
Boulder (made pie in Rhode Island)
8/1/2022
Wonderful recipe, turned out well. The filling isn't overly sweet and the crust is lovely and flakey. My guests kept going on about what a delicious pie it was. Definitely a keeper.
Anonymous
St. Paul, MN
5/30/2022
Taking advantage of the blueberry season in my area (Lawrence KS-Wohletz Farms) July 2021, I found this recipe for blueberry pie on the bon appe'tit website - I picked fresh in the AM and prepared that evening - I returned the next week for the UPick finale and made the pie a second time - by a very long shot, this is the best pie recipe in my universe. I have since baked this pie several times again, today incorporating some strawberries in the blueberry filling. I have impressed my best of aficionados/connoisseurs/ fellow bakers and they have all raved of its stupendous results. I did not find it complicated - i really enjoy the texture of the dough, but my lattice work could use some practice - i took the easy suggestion made in the article and alternated the strips/added cut out leaves and berry shapes i dropped onto the leaves - its award winning - thank you Bon appe'tit !!
Jennifer B
Lawrence, KS
7/22/2021
I have made many, many blueberry pies but this was the first time I tried this recipe. The dough recipe alone requires twice as much flour and butter as other double-crust recipes I have used and sure enough there was enough dough left over for another pie. To save time & also wear & tear on my wrists and knuckles, I pulsed the butter and flour in the food processor, then drizzled in the water/juice/vodka mix. Chilling the dough in the fridge after rolling it out makes it easier to braid the lattice topping. The instructions are more complicated than they need to be.
Baba
Detroit
1/22/2021
How are you supposed to measure a pint of blueberries?
Sunnie
Austin, Texas
1/20/2021
This has to be the most poorly written, intentionally confusing recipe I have ever seen. "Knead in bowl with your hands a couple of times until a shaggy dough forms"? WFT does this even mean? Shaggy? What is "shaggy" dough? You do realize your previous instruction was to use 3 COLD STICKS of butter, RIGHT? Do you think you can "kneed three sticks of cold butter a couple times" to make a dough? "Transfer large clumps of dough to work surface"? WHAT? All the dough? Some of the dough? What is the exact definition of "large clumps"? "Divide dough in half. Working with one half, press it together into a single mass...." AT NO POINT DOES THIS RECIPE ARTICULATE WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SECOND HALF OF THE DOUGH! The best part is after the recipe tells you to chill the dough for two hours or best over night it then tells you to WARM IT UP, then it tells you that YESTERDAY you should have divided the dough into TWO SEPARATE PIECES. I used to own a bakery. I have baked tens of thousands of pies. This recipe is clearly an attempt to make something as simple as making a butter based pie dough look like some kind of magical undertaking only a "skilled baker" could possibly undertake. Pretty sure no on at BA actually even reviewed this recipe let alone made it.
Johannes di Silentio
New York
11/25/2020
Overall delicious recipe! Beautiful and perfectly buttery crust. I love my desserts on the less sweet side so only used 1/4 c sugar in the filling and it turned out great - not too tart but really let the fruit shine through. Also had to replace 1/3 of the blueberries with blackberries, which worked really well. Only thing I would change is how to fold the crust - recipe says to fold the top crust strips under the bottom (as opposed to most recipes I’ve seen where you fold the bottom up over the top) and I think this might have contributed to the edges of my crust falling off during baking.
Anonymous
New York, NY
8/14/2020
This recipe was pretty great! It was my first time making homemade pie dough and it turned out really well. I’ve made this a few times, but I’ve tweaked the recipe a little to my own liking. The taste was perfect, but the first few times I made it, the filling always ended up too runny; to fix that I added a few more table spoons of cornstarch. I also let the blueberries macerate for about double the time required and it turned out just perfect. I did really enjoy this recipe and will be continuing to use it.
Tyler P.
Washington, IL
5/11/2020
Incredible recipe! I've never baked a pie before (always too scared of messing up the dough), but with this recipe the whole experience was amazing. I ended up with a sweet, but not too heavy or cloying dessert with flaky golden pastry and perfectly cooked filling. 10/10 my go to recipe now.
JordsieBrinkMurray
Cape Town, South Africa
5/11/2020
I really really liked the crust recipe but ended up with a runny filling. I imagine I did not bake it long enough, because the outside edges are nicely set but the middle is not. My fault, not the recipe. Still a very good recipe that I will use again! I would suggest maybe cooking down the filling in a saucepan for a few minutes before pouring it in the crust if you are prone to underbaking like me because the filling is very good (did not have issues with being too tart like other commenters). Also, peaches and strawberries are a very tasty addition if you don't have four pints of blueberries on hand.
Anonymous
3/15/2020
For some reason blueberries have been mutiplying in the fridge till they either needed to be eaten, made into a huge smoothie, fermented into wine or make blue liqueur. Opted to make a pie with my son's. Michael stumbled upon this recipe while I went shopping to make a dinner of huevos rancheros with carnitas. Came out good. We then embarked on the pie finishing late. Gregory made the egg wash, but was wondering why he couldn't get it to peak like for merengue. Second eggs wash was better. On my way to work, cut a big slice, first piece made a mess, so I "needed" to cut another piece. We all loved the pie. The filling was wonderful and the crust was flakey and held up well. I read some of the negative reviews. Perhaps the complaint about being to tart was the fault of sour berries. Comments about cooking for 2.5 hours was a misunderstanding of the recipe. About taking so long, we started at 8 and the pie was out at 12:30, and we ate dinner, wasted some time. This is a great pie and easy for a Dad and two sons to make.
HGV
San Francisco, CA
9/24/2019
Just made this today! I'm already excited to make it again. My filling didn't quite set, although I honestly think my oven might be a little on the low-temp side, so I'm buying an in-oven thermometer to see if that helps. The crust got golden brown for me right at about 90 minutes (when I pulled the pie out), which I why I think my oven might not be getting hot enough. That said, the filling is delicious. If you're sensitive to things on the sweeter-side, I think you could decrease the sugar slightly. I used my own pie crust recipe (just butter, AP flour, salt, sugar, and ice water) - and it came out great, although it didn't brown quite like I would have liked on the bottom. All in all, I think I could have left the pie to cook for 2 hours and it would have turned out better.
Anonymous
Grand Rapids, MI
8/25/2019