How to Make a Pie: Any Kind of Fruit, One Easy Recipe
Updated Oct 10, 2025
Learn how to make a pie perfectly with any kind of fruit using one magical ratio + amazing secret tricks from my science degree in food.
Pie combinations happen to me mostly by accident. I tend to hit the farmer’s market and buy ALL the berries (and cherries, and apricots, and peaches). I munch most alongside my kiddos straight out of the cartons and then I toss whatever’s left into a buttery pie, without a specific recipe.
How to make a pie, any fruit pie, using one recipe.
Start with my simple recipe for pie crust without a food processor (or if you’re doing a single-crust pie, you could use my super simple Press-In No-Roll Pie Crust).
The secret is, you can apply the same easy proportions to any fruit. Here’s what you need:
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 6 cups of fruit
- 1/4 cup flour
And before you get mad at me for promising simple then offering a sugar range, read on, I’ll explain.
How do I know exactly how much sugar to use in the pie?
Let me walk you through the whole process.
- De-Chill Your Pie Dough: Start by pulling your pie dough out of the fridge or freezer (because chilling your dough is non-negotiable if you want a tender pie that holds its shape and doesn’t shrink).
- Start the Filling: As the pastry dough comes up to a workable temperature, prep six cups of fruit (chopping/peeling depending on your choice) and toss it with 1 cup of sugar to start.
Let this fruit filling stand at room temperature while you roll out and re-chill the pastry for the top and bottom crusts (fit the bottom one into the pie plate before you return it to the fridge). - Taste the Filling for Sweetness: At this point, the fruit will have leaked some juices and the sugar will have dissolved into them. Give the fruit a big stir, then take a small spoonful and taste.
If you imagine a sweetness scale where 1 is the fruit with no sugar added and 10 is jam, I personally aim for about a 7-8. - Adjust if Needed: Add up to 1/4 cup more sugar depending on the type and ripeness of your fruit and your personal tastes. Rhubarb needs the upper end. As do sour cherries.
Berries can vary wildly in their sweetness so taste and add more by tablespoonfuls, stirring well between each addition, until you hit the sweet spot (ba-dum tssss).
Don’t stress about this part if you’re not an avid pie-baker. When in doubt, stick with the 1 cup or sugar, erring on the side of less sweet, because with any kind of fruit, this’ll be enough to make a tasty pie.
You can deliciously remedy a not-too-sweet slice with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.
But in any case, this 1 to 1/4 cup range is narrow enough that you really can’t mess it up in either direction.
Add the starch.
Once you’ve gotten the sweetness where you like it and are done taste testing, stir in the flour.
Add the flour only after you’ve adjusted to taste because there’s a potential food safety issue with raw flour (and many brands have been recalled for e-coli in the past few years, yuck).
Fruit also varies in the amount of moisture it contains and how juicy the final pie will be. Don’t stress about this either. The raspberry-blueberry pie in the first image was on the far end of the juicy spectrum, but I think the peek-a-boo puddles are lovely and it was delicious.
The raspberries were so ripe straight from the market that they were practically a puree. A peach pie would not have burst so enthusiastically from its pastry.
This juicy pie pictured thickened up to perfect, tidy slice-ability once cooled.
What’s the best thickener for pie?
Stick with flour as your thickener. It’s always on hand, works reliably, is never too thick, and doesn’t go gummy (as some thickeners can).
Use 1/4 cup of it per 6 cups of fruit. Keep it easy, folks.
How to substitute cornstarch for flour in pie.
If, for whatever reason, you want to use cornstarch instead of flour in any pie recipe, use half the amount called for.
So when 1/4 cup of flour is listed, use 1/8 cup of cornstarch as a substitute.
Assemble and bake.
- Take your rolled-out pastry crusts out of the fridge. (Keeping the dough cold like this ensures a flaky pie crust)
- Dump your pie filling into the bottom crust, which you’ve already positioned into the pie plate.
- Place your top crust on top and trim the edges to leave a 1 1/2″ overhang.
- Tuck the top crust under the bottom crust and pinch or crimp decoratively to seal.
- Cut a few vents on top using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife and brush with an egg wash (egg beaten with cold water) for a beautiful golden brown crust.
- Refrigerate pie for 20 minutes minimum before baking (again, so it holds its shape and doesn’t shrink).
- Preheat your oven to 450ºF with a parchment-lined baking sheet placed on the bottom rack.
- Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 375ºF and bake for about 60 minutes more, covering the pie (or just the edges) with parchment or aluminum foil when the crust is getting dark.
How to tell if a pie is done.
Any pie is done when the filling starts making slow bubbles toward the centre.
If you’ve cut air vents (or used a lattice top) you’ll be easily able to see with just the oven light.
Thick, slow bubbles mean the fruit has properly cooked down. It’s better to give a pie 10 minutes too long than 10 minutes too little.
You want a deeply browned bottom crust and fruit that has not only released juices but thickened up to a luscious, glossy consistency.
Happy making pie from scratch!
Favorite Pie Recipes I Love
Pie Crusts:
Forget store-bought crusts and grab a bowl. The flavor of these easy homemade versions are so good and they require only a few ingredients.
- Classic All Butter Pie Crust without a Food Processor (and with no shortening!)
- No-Roll Homemade Pie Crust Recipe (leave your rolling pin in the drawer with this easy press-in mixture)
Yummy Pie Fillings:
- Pumpkin Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Easy Lemon Tart Recipe (with a simple filling using fresh lemon juice and whipped cream instead of meringue)
- Peanut Butter Pretzel Pie
- Easy Apple Pie Recipe or my Chai Apple Pie (I think granny smith are the best apples, do you agree? So good with cinnamon, nutmeg and a sprinkle of other spices.)
- Classic Blueberry Pie
- Rhubarb Hand Pies
How to Make a Pie (Easy Recipe with ANY Fruit!)
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups sugar use 1 cup to start
- 6 cups fruit peeled and chopped if needed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- Dough for a double-crust pie
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tsp cold water
Instructions
- Start by removing the pie dough from the fridge and letting it come to a workable temperature.
- While the dough softens, prep 6 cups of fruit. Depending on the type of fruit, you may need to peel, pit, or chop it. Toss the fruit with 1 cup of sugar and let it sit at room temperature while you roll out the dough.
- Roll out half of the dough into a 12-inch circle and drape it over a 9-inch pie plate. Place the pie plate back in the fridge to chill.
- Taste the fruit mixture after about 10 minutes. If it’s not sweet enough (aiming for a sweetness level of 7–8 on a scale of 1–10), add more sugar, up to ¼ cup, stirring between additions.
- Once the sweetness is right, stir in the flour to thicken the filling.
- Roll out the remaining dough for the top crust. Pour the fruit filling into the chilled bottom crust, spreading it evenly. Lay the top crust over the filling and trim any excess dough. Tuck the top crust under the bottom crust and crimp the edges to seal.
- Use kitchen scissors or a knife to cut a few small slits in the top for steam vents. Brush the top crust with the beaten egg and chill the assembled pie in the fridge for 20 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a parchment-lined baking sheet on the bottom rack to preheat for at least 10 minutes.
- Place the pie on the preheated baking sheet and bake at 450°F for 10 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. Continue baking for 60 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown. If the crust darkens too quickly, cover it with foil.
- Cool the pie for at least 2 hours before serving to let the filling set.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Followed your directions to the letter and the resulting (just-picked) rhubarb pie was INCREDIBLE! What an easy formula for perfection!
I did macerate the rhubarb first to eliminate some juice, and your ratio was spot on.
Hello Jen
I came across your website when I looking to see what I could do with a lot of frozen fruit I have from my garden and looking at your recipes makes me want to have a go at them all, I have been looking for ideas as I do all the cooking now since my wife has dementia, I do not like to use all these ready-made foods too much.
I notice you put flour in your fruit pies, is that to absorb the juice? I have never heard of it before.
Dave
Hi Dave, I’m happy you found my website, but I am sorry to hear about your wife, that is hard. Yes, the flour is to thicken up the juices in the pie. Some people use another kind of starch but I like flour to keep it simple.
Fresh apple pies have no juice but will have as it baked so my Mom always put the 1/4 c ir a little more onus butter in the apple slices.
My question is fresh strawberries it any fruit with no juice do you prepare it the same way you would with canned fruit with juices??
Canned fruit with juices might typically have sugar already added and have released their juices already (because they’re cooked in the can). I’d recommend using frozen fruit over canned fruit, or look for a recipe specifically tested with canned fruit.
BRILLIANT. I have been on a mission to perfect my pie-making skills, and I did so yesterday after following your directions with peaches. I poured the sugared juices into a pan after letting the peaches rest with the sugar and reduced the juices with a few pats of butter. Poured it on top of the peaches in the pie and then baked. PERFECTION. I have been longing for this sort of guidance, and you did not disappoint!
Hi Rachel, thank you so much for this super lovely comment!
Thanks for the tips for making pie from scratch without looking up a recipe every time. That’s my favorite way to cook/bake – led by intuition (and ratios)! I can’t wait to experiment. Will try to come back and post about my results.