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Have you ever made a berry pie using frozen fruit? Using frozen fruit in a pie is great in a pinch and is quick and easy to whip up. It’s a fun way to clean out your freezer where lots of bags of bits and pieces of frozen fruit stay hidden. Simply add your odds and ends of frozen berries into a homemade pie crust and voila you have dessert! I like to add fresh apples to my berry mix as well. This also helps if you don’t have enough frozen berries to fill a whole pie.
This pie uses my classic pie pastry which is a buttery pie crust, that is flaky and crumbles with each bite! Make your pie as juicy or as thick as you like! There are no rules, play have fun and customize this pie just how you like it! I’m a big fan of a runny pie.
Ingredients
It doesn’t get any simpler than this! The best part about using frozen fruit for a pie is anything goes! Empty out your freezer of all that leftover frozen fruit for your smoothies and add them to a pie!
- Frozen fruit; mixed berries
- Granny Smith apple
- Granulated sugar
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted butter
- Pie Pastry; flour, salt, unsalted butter, shortening
- Milk
Variation
You can also add fresh berries to your pie and lemon zest too. If you’re making your pie in the summer time you may have a mix of berries that are fresh from the market. This is the perfect excuse to whip up that pie! Although I’m a big fan of using my homemade pie pastry, in a pinch you can use a pre-made pie crust too.
Tips on Making A Pie Using Frozen Fruit
- Use any frozen berries you like! Try and make sure they are around similar sizes so they bake evenly. i.e. cut big strawberries in half.
- Make sure you rest your pie dough in the fridge before rolling it out. Your pie dough will last up to two days in the fridge and two months in the freezer.
- If your pie dough cracks when rolling it means it’s too cold to handle. Let it sit out at room temperature for approx. 10-15 minutes and try again.
- The colder your dough before baking the flakier the crust! It’s a good idea to pop your unbaked pie in the freezer for 10 minutes before baking!
- Add as much or as little apple to help ‘fill’ your filling. Make sure you cut the apple into similar sizes as your berries or they will bake unevenly in the pie.
- Add as little or as much flour to the filling to thicken the berry juices. When using frozen fruit you’ll have extra liquid and this can make for a much juicier pie. If you want a thicker pie, simply add more flour!
- Always let a freshly baked pie cool before slicing or removing it from the pan. Hot pastry falls apart very easily and as the filling cools it will also set.
How To Make a Berry Pie Using Frozen Fruit
Step One: Make your pastry by either using a pastry cutter or a food processor. Wrap the pastry in plastic wrap and let rest in the refrigerator for approx. 30 minutes.
Step Two: Wash the fruit to get rid of all of the frozen ice that gathered around the berries. You may end up with less fruit once you wash away the ice.
Step Three: Add more flour than you usually would, since the berries are frozen they have a lot of extra water and juices. This is just a preference and is different for everyone. I ended up with no juice, which kind of backfired because I like my pies to be a little runny.
Step Four: Roll out your pastry and fit into a small pie plate. Use any extra pastry scraps to make a lattice top. It doesn’t need to be perfect and is fun to make the strips in different sizes too. Fill the pie shell with your filling and make your lattice top. Brush the top of the pie with milk or egg wash. Bake until browned and the filling bubbles.
Berry Pie using Frozen Fruit
Here is a simple pie recipe using frozen berries. This is a quick and easy dessert that can be used with all of your favourite fruits or berries. For a deep-dish pie double the pastry recipe (you will need to add extra fruit). For a small pie, you can get away with a single pastry recipe.
- Prep Time: 50 mins
- Cook Time: 65 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Yield: 9-inch pie 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Canadian
Ingredients
- 1 pie pastry recipe
- 5–6 cups assorted frozen berries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries (I used cranberries too)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Milk to brush the top of the pie
- Coarse sugar to sprinkle on top of the pastry (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Make pastry from pastry recipe. Let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Set out a 9″ pie dish.
- Meanwhile, rinse frozen berries (if ice has started to form around berries), drain. Combine berries in a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, and berries together. Set aside.
- On a prepared work surface roll the dough out into a circle larger than your pie dish (approx. 13 inches), and 1/4 inch thick. Gently lay the dough into a 9-inch pie dish.
- Trim the edges around your pie pan and reserve the dough to use for your lattice.
- Prick the bottom of the pie several times with a fork.
- With the extra pastry re-roll and cut into strips (you’ll need 9 or 11 strips).
- Fill the pie with the berry mixture and make your lattice on top. Trim the extra edges and press the pastry edges together. Don’t worry about the lattice being perfect, just have fun!Â
- Brush the top lattice with milk and sprinkle with coarse sugar. Add butter dollops in the holes of the lattice.
- Place in the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 450ËšF.
- Place the pie in the middle rack, with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any pie drippings. Bake for 10 minutes at 450ËšF. Reduce the heat to 350ËšF and continue to bake for another 60-65 minutes until crust is brown and filling is bubbling (check your pie at 50 minutes). Keep an eye on the crust if it’s browning too quickly cover it with a pie shield or tin foil.Â
- Let pie cool for 10 -15 minutes before serving.
Notes
I did not have enough frozen fruit in my freezer so I added 2 Granny Smith apples to add as a filler. If doing this make sure to cut your apples into small chunks, around the same size as your berries for even baking. You can also add fresh fruit as well.Â
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 of 8 servings
- Calories: 298
- Sugar: 13.5g
- Sodium: 85mg
- Fat: 13.2g
- Saturated Fat: 5.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 41g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4.8g
- Cholesterol: 7mg
FAQ’s
There are two ingredients you can use to thicken pie filling if you don’t like it super juicy. Both flour and corn starch work as a thickening agent in baking. Mix an extra tablespoon of either all-purpose flour or corn starch into your fruit mixture with all of the juices. As the pie cools after baking the juices will thicken up.
Yes, frozen fruit works well in a pie and is a great way to use up leftover fruit from the freezer.
You can freeze a berry pie before or after baking. But the best method is to freeze the pie before baking so you have fresh hot out of the oven pie. Make sure to bake the pie from frozen. Do not let the pie come to room temperature or defrost as this will cause a soggy crust.
Place your unbaked pie on a baking sheet and place in the freezer until firm, approx. 3 hours. Next, tightly wrap in plastic wrap and then foil. If you have a round airtight container add the wrapped pie into the container and seal it tightly.
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Leave a Rating and Comment!
I love hearing from you! Leave a comment with any questions or how your recipe turned out (your email address will not be published)!
Delicious! I made this using pre-made pastry and frozen mixed berries. I cooked this for almost an hour and the last five minutes I broiled to get the top golden brown. After about 45 minutes I covered the edge of the pie (crust) so it wouldn’t burn. Pie was juicy but not runny as one would think when using frozen fruit. Would definitely make it again!
Love how simple this recipe is, my pie turned out runny and delicious and that pastry is soooo flakey!
Hi Stephanie, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it. The baking time may have differed since you used a pre-made crust, it’s a good thing you were on top of it! Happy holidays and happy baking!
Oh, that’s so nice to hear! Glad you were happy with the recipe Jenny! xo
Can i use thawed strawberriesina pie
Hi Ghislanie, I’m sorry I’m not completely sure what you are referring to?
I made this pie yesterday and it turned out perfect. I used frozen rhubarb, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Used the same amount of flour and used Splenda for my sweetening. I will definitely be making this again so I can use up all of my frozen fruit. My husband loved it also. Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Carol, thanks for taking the time to write a review. I’m so happy to hear you like the recipe and love the fruit combo you used. xo Alie
Can I use Minute Tapioca as a thickener? If so, how much for 1 pie ?
Hi Edna, yes you can use Minute Tapioca as a thicker instead of the all-purpose flour. It will really depend on how thick or juicy you like your pie. But as a rule of thumb, use 2 teaspoons tapioca for every 1 tablespoon of flour. Hope that helps, enjoy the pie!