Our House Favorite Strawberry Pie!
A text I got from my neighbor last week:
I asked my husband and kids to vote on several desserts that I’ve been making lately – “which one of these should be the July Family Dessert Night recipe?”
This strawberry pie was the unanimous winner.
Everyone in our house LOVES this pie.
It’s basically a bountiful platter of fresh strawberries, cold and juicy and sweet, held together inside a salty-sweet graham cracker pie crust, and dolloped with a cream cheese whipped cream. My mom and my grandma have been making this pie for years, so it’s my turn to get in on it!
I’m one of those people who thinks a homemade graham cracker crust is one of the best tasting things on the whole planet Earth (like, the BEST thing), so that’s what I use for mine! If you find yourself really wanting a regular pie crust – make it exactly the same, using a fully baked pie shell!
A noteworthy thing I love about this pie: it’s the PERFECT hands-on recipe for kids to help with. I set up an assembly line for my girls and put them to work on the berries, and then had them help me whisk and pour in the filling. A+ for kid participation on this one!
Happy summer-ing! Wishing you a really joyful moment of walking this cold, juicy, towering pie out to the table for your people. Best feeling ever!
P.S. More of my favorite summer desserts are here!
Easy Strawberry Pie
Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
Yield: 8 large slices 1x
Description
The easiest homemade strawberry pie with a graham cracker crust and dolloped with a cream cheese whipped cream! Perfect summer dessert!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Crust:
- 12 full sheets graham crackers, crushed (1 1/2 cups of crumbs)
- 5 tablespoons sugar
- 7 tablespoons salted butter
Filling:
- 1/2 cup sugar (use 3/4 cup if your berries are less sweet)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups cold water
- 3 ounces dry strawberry Jell-O powder (half a box, or 5-6 tablespoons)
- 4–5 cups fresh strawberries
Whipped Cream Cheese:
- 3/4 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounce cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Instructions
- Graham Cracker Crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix crust ingredients and press into a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
- Prep Strawberries: Wash the strawberries well and blot them dry with a paper towel. Cut off the tops. If they are large, cut them all in half. If they are small, you can leave them as-is or just cut some of them in half.
- Make Jell-O: In a small saucepan, whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and cold water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until it begins to thicken. Once it starts bubbling, cook it for another two minutes. Add Jell-O and stir till dissolved. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
- Assemble Pie: Arrange half of the berries in your prepared pie crust. Pour some of the cornstarch mixture over the berries and jiggle it around a bit to make sure the mixture goes in and around all the berries. Repeat with the remaining berries on top, and cover with just enough of the cornstarch mixture to coat the berries and hold them in (you’ll have a bit of cornstarch mixture left over). Press the berries in so they are real cozy with each other, and brush the top with the cornstarch mixture to make the top glossy.
- Refrigerate Pie: Refrigerate for 4-6 hours. (I refrigerate uncovered until it’s mostly set, then cover with plastic. This is best served within 24 hours, because the strawberries will start to soften and release juices.)
- Cream Cheese Whipped Cream: Using a hand mixer, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. In a separate bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Slowly beat in the maple syrup with the cream cheese until it is loose and creamy. Fold the cream cheese mixture into the whipped cream.
- Serve: Serve the pie slices cold, with a dollop of the whipped cream cheese on top!
- Prep Time: 6 hours
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: strawberry pie, easy pie recipe, summer pie, summer dessert
