Blueberry Crumb Pie

This Blueberry Crumble Pie has it all—jammy, crispy, crunchy, flaky, and sweet. It combines the best of blueberry pie and blueberry crumble. This pie is packed with fresh blueberries and features a deliciously sweet and crunchy oat topping. Why choose between a crumble and pie when you can have both with this Blueberry Crumb Pie?!

I’ve been developing pie recipes for years. One of my first assignments as an Assistant Editor at Cuisine at Home Magazine was this Pecan Pie and since then I’ve developed numerous types of pie crusts, pies, galettes and tarts.

If you like a balanced dessert, than this is for you. I find most desserts to be unnecessarily too sweet. And the only reason for using WAY too much sugar is because it’s easy.

High amounts of sugar makes for easier baking. What’s more challenging is creating a great dessert that relies on technique, not sugar, to create something impressive and delicious. So if you like quality dessert recipes, you’re in the right place!

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This recipe article was originally published in August of 2021. It has since been updated with more tips, clearer instructions and step-by-step photos.

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Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Blueberry pie that tastes like cobbler. You can have it all, a flaky pie crust with a crunchy topping.
• Highlights peak summer berry season with no added sugar. The filling of this pie uses no sugar, only fruit! You won’t miss it.
• Great dessert to make in advance for a crowd. It’s one of those pies that needs to rest, so be sure to make it well before entertaining a crowd. Best part, you don’t have to worry about dessert.

Ingredients for Crumble Top Blueberry Pie

• Flour: you’ll need both all-purpose flour and whole-wheat flour.
• Spices: kosher salt, ground ginger and nutmeg
• Butter: I prefer unsalted. If you’re using salted, use only ¼ teaspoon salt in the crust and skip any added salt in the oatmeal crumble topping.
• Old-fashioned oats: the base of the crumb topping for the blueberry pie.
• Sliced almonds: adds a nutty, crunchy bite to the crumble topping. Add them raw since they will toast up during baking.
• Brown sugar: or coconut sugar to keep this completely naturally sweetened.
• Blueberries: you’ll need 2 pounds fresh blueberries.
• Lemon: the juice and zest is used in the filling.
• Granny Smith apple: adds natural sweetness to the filling as well as fruit pectin which helps thicken the fruit filling.
• Instant tapioca: I prefer this over cornstarch because it has better thickening power and it makes a glossier filling. You’ll need to grind it into a powder using a spice or coffee grinder.

How to Make Blueberry Crumble Pie

Pie Crust

1. Process the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour and  salt in a food processor. Scatter butter over top and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, 7–12 pulses. 

Whole-wheat flour is develops less gluten during baking, so by replacing some of the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat you’re creating a more tender crust.

2. Drizzle water over flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles wet sand and forms a dough when pinched, 5–10 pulses. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill until firm.

3. Roll out the chilled dough on a lightly floured surface into a 13-inch circle. Depending on how long the dough chilled, you may need to let it sit out for a bit before it’s warm enough to roll out.

4. Fold the dough into quarters (this makes it easier to move to the plate) then unfold in the pie plate. 

5. Crimp the edges using your fingers. Freeze the dough-lined pie plate until it’s set, this will take about 20 minutes.

6. Prick the dough with a fork, then line the crust with foil and prick through the foil as well. Freeze again for 30 minutes. (All this chilling might seem annoying, and maybe it is, but it’s key for creating a crisp and flaky pie crust).
7. Blind bake the crust at 400ºF on the lowest rack (this ensures the bottom of the crust is cooked through and flaky, not stodgy for 25 minutes. If the crust and foil puff up, press it back down with an oven mitt.

8. Remove the foil and continue to bake the crust just until it begins to color, about 10 minutes.
   

Crumb Topping for Blueberry Pie

1. To make the crumble top, combine ¾ cup oats, ⅓ cup sliced almonds, ⅓ cup packed brown sugar, ⅓ cup flour, 6 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon ginger, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon salt until a stiff dough comes together.
2. Cover and chill until needed. (This can be made up to 3 days ahead of time.)
   

Blueberry Filling

The blueberry filling for this blueberry crumble pie is just sweet enough (and completely naturally sweetened). Because of that, I recommend making this pie with in-season ripe blueberries. 

1. Place 3 cups and blueberries and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring and mashing occasionally with potato masher, until half of blueberries are broken down and mixture measures 1½–1 ¾ cups, about 10 minutes.
2. Off heat, stir in 2 teaspoons lemon zest and ¼ teaspoon salt; let cool.

3. Grind the tapioca into a fine powder using a spice grinder.

4. In a large bowl, stir together remaining 3 cups fresh blueberries, cooled cooked blueberry mixture, shredded apple, and ground tapioca until thoroughly combined.

Assemble and Bake

1. Transfer blueberry mixture to warm pie crust.

2. Pinch crumble topping into ½-inch pieces and sprinkle evenly over filling.

3. Set pie on a baking sheet and bake on lowest rack at 400ºF (204ºC) until crust is light golden brown, 15–18 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350ºF (177ºC), rotate sheet, and continue to bake pie until crust and topping is deep golden brown, about 25 minutes more.
4. Let pie cool on wire rack until juices have thickened, about 2 hours. Serve with vanilla bean ice cream, optional.

Storing and Reheating Blueberry Pie with Crumble Top

According to the USDA, fruit pies do not need to be refrigerated due to their high sugar and acid content (both of which slow the rate of bacteria growth).

Store any leftovers on the counter covered for up to 3 days. You can reheat gently in the microwave if desired or place the pie plate in a 300ºF (149ºC) oven for 5–10 minutes until warmed through and the topping is crisp.

Freezing Information

To freeze this pie, place the prepared pie (crust filled with blueberry mixture and topped with crumble) on a baking sheet and transfer to the freezer until frozen solid. Once frozen, wrap the pie tightly in a piece of plastic wrap followed by a piece of foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. 

To bake the frozen pie, remove the foil and plastic wrap, place on a baking sheet and bake on the bottom rack according to recipe instructions. I would increase the bake time at 400ºF (204ºC) to 30 minutes before decreasing the oven temperature to 350ºF (177ºC). Do not thaw the pie before baking.

Blueberry Crumb Pie FAQs

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