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close up of homemade blueberry filling in a clear jar with a spoon
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Blueberry Pie Filling

How to make the best homemade thick blueberry filling in just 30 minutes. Perfect for blueberry pie, hand pies, cheesecakes, and even cake filling!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 4 cups
Calories 344kcal

Equipment

  • 1 medium saucepan

Ingredients

Blueberry Filling

  • 32 ounces blueberries fresh or frozen (no need to thaw)
  • 2 ounces unsalted butter
  • 12 ounces water or lemon juice
  • 4 ounces white sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 ounces Clear Jel (or 2 oz cornstarch)
  • 2 ounce cold water for the Clear Jel
  • 4 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest optional

Instructions

Making the Blueberry Pie Filling

  • Whisk water and Clear Jel (or cornstarch) together in a small bowl to make a slurry and set it aside.
  • Place the blueberries and butter in a large pan over medium high heat and cook for about 1 minute. Pro tip - I like using frozen blueberries because they are always very ripe and tasty, and there’s no need to defrost them.
  • Add the sugar, water, and salt to the pan and stir them together. 
  • Pour the Clear Jel (or cornstarch) mixture into the pan and cook on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken.
  • Cook for 1 more minute to make sure the Clear Jel is fully cooked. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest. Pro-tip – Cornstarch doesn’t like acid, so it’s best to add the lemon after your cornstarch has cooked out a bit.
  • Once it has thickened, remove the filling from the heat and pour it into a cake pan or heatproof bowl and cover with plastic wrap to avoid forming a skin. Store the blueberry filling in an airtight container for about 2 weeks in the refrigerator or freeze it for 6 months. Clear Jel will continue to thicken as it cools.
  • Use this recipe to make a 9" pie, make hand pies, or cut the recipe in half to use it as a cake filling.

Making Blueberry Pie

  • If you would like to use this filling for pie, make sure the filling has cooled and your pie dough is prepared and ready to use. This recipe is enough to fill a standard 9-inch pie shell.
  • For fruit pie or berry pies I prefer to use my flaky pie crust recipe, it's my favorite pie crust, and I use the mealy dough for custard-style pies.
  • Roll the prepared dough to about ¼" thick and line your pie plate, dock the dough lightly to avoid bubbles while baking.
  • Fill the lined pie plate with the cooled blueberry filling.
  • If desired, cover the pie with a full top crust and cut vents or designs in the top. You can learn how to make a lattice crust in my pie crust video. 
  • Bake the pie at 425°F for 15 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for another 30-40 minutes. The crust should be golden and the filling bubbling. Pro-tip: Bake your pie on a baking sheet or a piece of foil to prevent the filling from spilling over.
  • Allow your blueberry pie to cool completely before serving, about 2-3 hours, or your filling will be runny. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top!

Video

Notes

Important Things To Note Before You Start
  1. The best investment you can make when you’re getting started with baking is a digital kitchen scale
  2. Using a kitchen scale for baking is super easy and gives you the best results every single time. 
  3. Practice Mise en Place (everything in its place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
  4. If you want extra shiny, beautiful filling, use Clear Jel instead of cornstarch. This is what bakeries use in their fruit fillings. 
  5. Make sure to cook your filling for 1 minute after it begins to bubble to ensure it's fully thickened and the Clear Jel is cooked.
  6. Cornstarch doesn't like acid, so it's best to add the lemon after your cornstarch has cooked out a bit.

Nutrition

Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 344kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 390mg | Potassium: 196mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 478IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg