You Can Make Fruit Pies Without Much Baking

You’re doing summer right if you’re enjoying all the fruit pie you can get your hands on. Heaps of fruit are often cooked down to make a flavorful sauce from the juices, but it’s not without a downside. The texture of the fruit is forever changed, and sometimes it gets downright mushy. Luckily for us, there’s the fresh fruit pie. It’s a way to enjoy the original texture of the raw fruit, but it still gets pie crust, has a sauce, and significantly reduces oven time on these hot days.

What is a fresh fruit pie?

A fresh fruit pie is prepared by coating large or whole pieces of fruit in a thin layer of pectin-heavy fruit sauce, heaping the fruit into a pre-baked pie shell, and letting it set in the fridge for an hour. The pectin will set firmly, giving the large fruit chunks something to cling to, adding flavor and sweetness, and making it easier to slice later. That’s it. A few steps, and the rest is chill time. It’s almost like the “opposite day” version of every other sort of fruit pie.

The flavor of the pie is incredible. I made a strawberry pie, and the puréed strawberry sauce makes the fresh fruit taste like a candy version of itself, in the best way possible. It highlights all of the fruit’s robust natural flavors. While I wouldn’t say this pie is “easy” to eat–the crust crumbles easily because there’s not a cohesive filling to hold onto, and the fruit has all of its firm texture, so it needs to be cut into bite-sized pieces–it was worth the mess on my plate and I would do it again.

How do you make a fresh fruit pie?

I used America’s Test Kitchen’s recipe as my guide. Their online recipe is subscription locked, but it’s the internet. So, ahem, it’s out there for free if you try–even a little. To make the sauce, purée a small amount of the raw fruit. In a small pot, add sugar, salt, cornstarch, and pectin powder. The cornstarch will thicken the sauce and the pectin will help it gel without gelatin. America’s Test Kitchen recommends using SureJell for low to no-sugar recipes. My grocery store doesn’t carry that brand, so I bought a box of Simply Delish peach flavored “plant-based jel” (we need more clever names for this stuff) which doesn’t include pectin, but it worked nonetheless with the same measurements.

Pectin options for your fresh fruit summer pies:

Whisk the dry ingredients in the pot together to distribute the cornstarch. Add the fruit purée, and whisk the mixture thoroughly. Now you can turn on the stove. Over medium-low heat, cook the fruit mixture while whisking constantly. After about five minutes the mixture will start to thicken noticeably and bubble. Once the mixture is bubbling vigorously in the center of the pot, about a minute later, take it off the heat and mix in the lemon juice. Pour the thickened sauce into a large bowl to cool for about 10 minutes.

The purée mixture just after cooking.Photo: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Once the mixture has cooled a bit (it’s okay if it’s still warm-ish), add the cleaned, dried, raw fruit pieces and stir them until they’re completely coated in the sauce. Add the fruit to a pre-cooked pie shell and arrange the fruit attractively. Pop it in the fridge for an hour, then serve.

Fresh strawberries added to the thickened purée mixture.Photo: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Strawberries seem to be the primary candidate for this type of pie, but any fruit that doesn’t spew an incredible amount of water will work. Stay away from cut melon, but most berries will be fine. In fact, berries are great because you don’t really need to cut them at all unless they’re gargantuan. You can split those in half. This pie is best served day-of, so make sure you have enough friends and family around to make quick work of this peak-summer treat.

Fresh Strawberry Pie (adapted from America’s Test Kitchen)

Ingredients:

Hull, rinse, and dry all of the strawberries. Leave them whole if possible, but you can cut the jumbo ones in half. Take about 5-6 of the most messed-up ones and purée them. You need about ¾ cup of the fruit purée.

In a small pot, add the sugar, cornstarch, pectin powder, and salt. Whisk this mixture thoroughly to disperse the cornstarch. Add the purée and whisk to dissolve the cornstarch. Heat the mixture over medium-low, whisking constantly, but no need to be frantic. After about five minutes the mixture will bubble. Keep whisking and cooking until the mixture is thick and vigorously bubbling through to the center. Turn off the heat, stir in the lemon juice and pour the mixture into a large bowl. Let it cool for 10 or 15 minutes.

Add the strawberries and mix to coat. Pour the strawberries and sauce into the pie shell and arrange the berries so they are mostly cut-side down and look pleasing. Place the whole pie in the fridge for an hour to set before serving.