When you’ve made enough fruit cobbler recipes and typical pie fillings, I’ve got a different idea for you: Bluebarb Pie.
Who can resist a homemade pie recipe? This is the only math I enjoy:
Bluebarb = blueberries + rhubarb
Clever, right? I can’t take credit for it. I discovered this blueberry and rhubarb pie recipe in “Best of Country Pies: Over 200 Down-Home Favorites from the Best Cooks in the Country“ (2001) by Taste of Home Books.
Use the Table of Contents below to jump to the recipe below or stick around for a little cookbook chatter.
A Fruit Pie as Pretty as a Picture
I know I’ve served this blueberry and rhubarb pie for 20 years. It was the first pie I served guests after buying my first house way back when. I remember how proud I was when I dished it out.
Even my hyper-critical guest liked it.
For everyone who tucked last season’s fresh rhubarb into their freezer, this pie is for you. For everyone who lacks frozen rhubarb, keep an eye out at your local store and farmer’s market. You’ll want to bookmark this blueberry rhubarb pie recipe to make this season.
Rhubarb and blueberries are fun to bake independently, but combining them creates a unique and visually appealing dessert. The tart rhubarb’s reds, pinks, and greens look lovely against the blueberries. It’s a particularly eye-catching slice of pie.
Did I mention this fruit pie tastes great, too?
You won’t have to futz with tapioca, brown sugar, lemon juice, or lemon zest for this rhubarb pie recipe. Yes, you will still want to use an egg wash on the unbaked pie crust to produce that lovely golden brown color. If you skip the egg wash, it’s fine, it just won’t bake up as golden brown as it could have.
An egg wash is one egg plus one or two Tablespoons of water. Brush it over the pie with a pastry brush. Ta da! Done.
Tip: I think sprinkling a little coarse sugar over the top is pretty. It adds a little sparkle.
Baking a Blueberry and Rhubarb Pie
Rhubarb means spring. Strawberry rhubarb pie was my favorite as a kid, and it was always my birthday pie choice. Yes, I had a birthday pie. My birthday is December 26, and my Aunt Jane used to bring a slew of pies from Baker’s Square on her way over for Christmas.
Even now it’s a little strange for me to eat cake on my birthday — although I am a fan of the birthday candles.
I’ve always loved strong flavors: green olives, feta cheese, vinegar salads, and lemon juice, (yes, lemon juice, all by itself). So, it’s not really that big a surprise.
But this pie? This pie is a fun change of pace.
Head to your local farmer’s market and you may see a bundle of the bright red and green fresh rhubarb stalks. Sometimes, you can even find rhubarb in the grocery store. Otherwise, look for roadside fruit and vegetable stands near you.
. . . But maybe you’ve heard that rhubarb is only in season from late May to early June, so there’s no use buying it after early July.
While that is partially true, there’s sometimes another harvest of rhubarb that doesn’t hit markets until late July or even August. So, ask your local farmer if the rhubarb is from that second harvest.Failing that, you can always learn to spot good rhubarb on your own: If the stalks appear firm and shiny, then you’re good go.
Nikita Richardson, How to Buy Rhubarb Like You’re Some Kind of Rhubarb Expert, Bon Appetit, April 4, 2017, Accessed March 17, 2024.
For everyone who can’t find rhubarb, it could lurk in your grocer’s freezer section. Yes, you can use frozen fruit in this pie. Thaw and drain the frozen fruit. Then, follow the recipe directions.
If you have leftover fresh rhubarb, you can store it for a little while before it turns limp.
At home, you can store rhubarb unwashed, in the refrigerator for up to one week tops.
Try loosely wrapping stalks of rhubarb in aluminum foil, place them in an open plastic zip-top bag, or you can use reusable food wraps . . .
Kelli Foster, What Is Rhubarb? Here’s What You Need to Know About This Spring Ingredient. The Kitchn, Updated March 2, 2023, Accessed March 21, 2024.
Inside the “Best of Country Pies” Cookbook
Some of my cookbooks aren’t wearing well with age. Open the book, browse the pages for a hot minute, and you can’t miss the spatters and spills. Flour cakes between the pages, making a mess every time I scoot the book around the counter.
I’ve been making this recipe from the “Best of Country Pies” cookbook for over a decade. I don’t know how long I’ve owned this cookbook. I would guess it’s been since the early 2000s at least.
I’ve had this book for two decades (if not a little bit longer than that) — I still use this pie-themed baking book today. If that isn’t high praise, particularly given the number of quality cookbooks that make up my cookbook collection, then I don’t know what is.
The editor was Jean Steiner, food editor was Janaan Cunningham, and it was published by Reiman Publications, LLC. in 2001.
Chapters inside “Best of Country” Pies include:
- Pie Pointers
- Fresh Fruit Pies
- Custard, Pudding, and Crem Pies
- Cool Refrigerator Pies
- Freezer and Ice Cream Pies
- Crisps and Cobblers
- Tempting Tarts
- Recipe Index
This cookbook contains some of our favorite pie recipes. In addition to the rhubarb blueberry pie recipe, there’s Candy Bar Pie (made with chopped Butterfinger bars). My sons have requested that pie for their birthdays multiple years in a row.
I plan on making the Vanilla Cream Fruit Tart real soon — at least when I can find great fresh fruit at the store. Otherwise, I’ll wait for my local farmer’s market to open up. I have a tart pan ready and raring to go.
Recipe for Blueberry and Rhubarb Pie
As you’ll see in a moment, this is a simple fruit pie. It’s easy and fast to throw together. I like to serve blueberry rhubarb pie warmed. If you have vanilla ice cream leftover from when you made shoofly pie, it would be a super great accompaniment here, too. No worries if you don’t.
This fruit pie stands just fine on its own.
I’ve included a recipe from “The Complete Guide to Country Cooking” (1998) for the pie dough. Use your favorite pie dough recipe or give this one a whirl. Funny thing, I grabbed the cookbook for my pie shell, copied it down, and then realized that THIS cookbook includes the same recipe. How silly.
Use your own pie crust recipe or not. Everyone has their favorite. Yes, mine uses shortening. Butter adds flavor, shortening adds flakiness. You do you.
Either way, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by this rhubarb blueberry pie.
Bluebarb Pie (Blueberry and Rhubarb Pie) Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9" Pie Plate
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb Cut into 1/2" pieces.
- 1 1/2 Cups Fresh or Frozen Blueberries
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1 Recipe Pie Dough for a Double-Crust Pie
- 2 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter I use Salted Butter
Pie Shell Recipe
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3/4 teaspoon Salt
- 2/3 Cup Shortening I use regular shortening, not butter flavored.
- 6 to 7 Tablespoons Cold Water
Egg Wash
- 1 Large Egg Beaten
- 1 – 2 Tablespoons Water
Instructions
For the Pie Crust (if using this recipe and not your own pie shell recipe, then when you get to assembling the pie, skip over irrelevant sections)
- Combine the all-purpose flour and salt in a large bowl.
- Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly.
- Add the cold water and toss the mixture with a fork until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Divide the pie dough into halves, with one half a bit larger than the other. The larger dough ball will serve as the pie shell to line your pie plate. The other half will become the lattice crust to top the pie filling.
- Roll out the larger size with a rolling pin so it fits into your 9" or 10" pie plate.
- Place the rolled out pie dough into the pie plate.
- Trim the pie pastry so it is even with the edge of the pie pan.
- Make the filling and finish the pie pastry as shared below.
To Make the Pie (if you are using your own pie dough recipe, follow the steps below)
- Set oven temperature to 450*.
- If you are using frozen rhubarb or frozen blueberries, thaw the fruit and drain before combining it with the rest of the ingredients.
- Combine the fresh blueberries and rhubarb in a large bowl.
- Combine the granulated sugar, all-purpose flour, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the dry ingredients: the granulated sugar, the all-purpose flour, and the salt, to the fruit and gently stir to combine.
- Grab your favorite 9" pie plate and line the prepared pastry in the pie plate.
- Add the rhubarb and blueberry mixture to the prepped and ready pie pan.
- Make the lattice crust and cover the pie plate.
- Trim off any excess dough, seal, and make the edges of the pie crust all pretty (do the best you can. People will be thrilled you made pie. No one but you will care about imperfect edges).
- Make an egg wash, if desired. It is fast to do but optional. It is what gives pies a deep golden color. Combine one egg and one to two Tablespoons of water. Brush over the unbaked pie dough well.
- Bake the rhubarb blueberry pie at 450* for 10 minutes. Some people like to put a baking sheet underneath a baking pie to catch any drips from the pie filling.
- Without opening the oven door, reduce the heat to 350* and bake the pie for 30 to 35 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown, the pie filling is bubbly, and the blueberry rhubarb pie looks done.
- Set the baked fruit pie on a wire rack to cool. Serve gently warmed or at room temperature. Serve each slice with a little vanilla ice cream, if desired.
Taste of Home Pie Cookbooks
I’ve written and shared a host of pie cookbooks. Check that article for a range of publishers. The cookbooks below are all from Taste of Home. Enjoy!
Best Of Country Pies: 200 Down-Home Favorites From The Best Cooks in the Country (2001) by Reiman Publications
Taste of Home: Best Loved Pies (2010) by Reiman Publications
Taste of Home Cookies, Cakes & Pies: 368 All-New Recipes (2016)
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