Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie
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Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie
Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie recipe is a showstopper with perfectly cooked blueberries crowned by a buttery oat topping. If you’re heading to a summer potluck and need a dessert that feeds a crowd, this blueberry crumble is your go-to. It’s delicious, kid-friendly, easy to make + sure to impress! Gluten-free + Vegan Options.
I’ve whipped up plenty of blueberry desserts ---- And decided to make a pie that was practically bursting with blueberries. Haha. When my son took a bite and called it his all-time favorite dessert, I knew it had to be named Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie. This pie is all about that luscious blueberry goodness topped with a buttery oat crumble—perfection!
How could I forget the buttery, flaky cinnamon crust? It really rounds out the whole pie, and I love finishing it off with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for that extra touch of indulgence. This quick + easy summer dessert is perfect for any occasion, and you can use fresh or frozen blueberries year-round. It’s also versatile enough to be vegan, dairy-free + gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy it.
If you’re a blueberry lover, don’t miss out on my Lemon Blueberry Olive Oil Cake, Roasted Blueberry Lemon Olive Oil Bread, Lemon Blueberry Doughnuts, or Blueberry Pie Cinnamon Rolls for more blueberry goodness!
Jump to:
- What is Crumble Pie?
- What You'll Love Most About this Blueberry Crumble Pie
- Ingredients For Blueberry Crumble Pie
- Tips For Making the Flakiest Pie Crust
- How to Thicken Blueberry Pie Filling
- How to Bake Blueberry Crumble Pie With A Pre-made Crust
- Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
- What Other Fruits Can I Use Besides Blueberries?
- Can I Use A Food Processor For The Dough?
- Blueberry Crumble Pie Q + A's
- Delicious Blueberry Recipes to Try Next!
- MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
- Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie
What is Crumble Pie?
Basically, crumble pie is the fusion of both a traditional pie which has a crust that is then generously filled with a juicy filling, and a standard fruit crumble which consists of no crust, but just cooked fruit that is topped with a crumble-like topping. Seriously, the best invention!
What You'll Love Most About this Blueberry Crumble Pie
- It has an ultra-buttery, flaky crust.
- Has a rich, perfectly packed blueberry filling that balances sweet + tart flavors.
- Comes with a dairy-free, vegan, + gluten-free option for everyone to enjoy!
- Comes topped with a delicious brown-sugary buttery, oat crumble.
- Goes together well with a generous scoop of ice cream or whipped cream.
Ingredients For Blueberry Crumble Pie
This blueberry pie consists of three components: the crust, the blueberry filling, and the crumble topping.
CINNAMON CRUST:
- All-purpose flour. For the gluten-free option, use high-quality GF flour from Bob's Red Mill or King Arthur. (You can use a store-bought crust as well)
- Cane sugar. I use organic sugar. Feel free to substitute with organic brown sugar or coconut sugar.
- Ground cinnamon. A pinch of cinnamon adds a little flavor to the crust.
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Unsalted butter. VERY COLD + cubed or grated.
- Almond milk. VERY COLD! Unsweetened (You can use dairy milk, if preferred)
- Apple cider vinegar. To make 'buttermilk'.
FILLING:
- Blueberries. Fresh if possible, but you can also use frozen blueberries!
- Cane sugar. This helps to balance the tart flavors.
- Spices. Ground cinnamon, nutmeg, sea salt + ground allspice.
- Vanilla extract. Use pure vanilla extract for the best vanilla flavor.
- Cornstarch. This is a great thickener for the filling since there is moisture involved during the baking process. You can also use tapioca flour, arrowroot, or more flour instead.
- Lemon zest. For a zesty flare.
- Unsalted butter. Cut into small pieces
CRUMBLE TOPPING:
- All-purpose flour. I use all-purpose flour for the creation of the topping.
- Brown sugar. Light or dark.
- Rolled oats. Use GF-certified, if needed! My fave is Bob's Red Mill
- Ground cinnamon.
- Unsalted butter. Partially melted.
SHOP MY FAVORITE BAKEWARE ITEMS AND ACCESSORIES!
Here, I’ve curated a list of bakeware essentials that I use to achieve my favorite baking treats, especially with this Blueberry Crumble Pie recipe. Everything from my fave skillets, mixing bowls, and more. SEE THEM HERE!
Tips For Making the Flakiest Pie Crust
- The butter is SUPER important. When it comes to the butter, ensuring that they are COLD and of course from a great brand is key! Of course, you can also use salted butter and omit the actual salt, if you'd like.
- Fridge time is an important time! Chilling your dough for an hour at a minimum is so imperative to a flaky crust. Even slightly longer makes for a great advantage.
- SLOWLY pour in water (or milk), don’t dump it! Gently pouring in the water/milk-ACV mixture is so imperative. I pour ¼ cup at a time and work the dough with my hands to eyeball how wet or dry everything is.
- The dough can be made in advance, too. If making your crust ahead, you can always store it in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. No longer!
- Not too thick or thin. Ensuring that you roll out a good enough crust is of course a must. Most go by the rule of thumb being ⅛ of an inch thickness or even slightly thicker. This helps your crust to the perfect thickness to carry the weight of your filling without compromising flakiness.
How to Thicken Blueberry Pie Filling
To thicken your peach pie filling is very simple. If you don’t have or don’t want to use Cornstarch starch (as in this recipe), you can always use Tapioca Flour, Arrowroot, or flour instead. Either substitution will help to thicken the mixture just fine.
How to Bake Blueberry Crumble Pie With A Pre-made Crust
OK, so if you're thinking about making this blueberry pie using a store-bought pre-made crust instead of making your own from scratch---that's totally fine. Sometimes we find ourselves pressed for time, not in the mood to go through the process, or just simply make things easier and this all works! Since most store-bought crusts don't require that you bake it first, you'll simply remove the crust directly from the freezer (unless instructed otherwise on the packaging) and go straight to the steps of creating your filling and crumble and then assemble.
Once assembled fully, you'll bake your pie for around 50 minutes. You'll still want your filling to bubble nicely and the topping to become golden.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
I love using fresh blueberries for a lot of my recipes, especially with this pie. But, frozen blueberries are also great and the flavor is more concentrated, plus they’re more affordable.
However, note that if you’re using frozen blueberries, lightly toss them in 1 tablespoon of flour or arrowroot starch before adding them to the mixture with the other ingredients. This helps absorb excess water and prevents the berries from making the pie soggy or hard to bake through.
What Other Fruits Can I Use Besides Blueberries?
Whether you make this blueberry crumble pie a few times or you just want to switch things up, you can totally substitute the blueberries for other fruit like blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, apples + peaches.
Can I Use A Food Processor For The Dough?
Yes! If using a food processor to incorporate water to flour/butter mixture, ONLY ADD ¼ cup of water (or milk) AT A TIME to your dough, keeping it on “pulse” to avoid the dough from breaking down too much and it becoming “watery”. With this method, you may not need the entire ½ cup of water (or milk).
Blueberry Crumble Pie Q + A's
Keep leftover pie tightly wrapped with heavy-duty plastic wrap or foil and refrigerated for 3-4 days. Re-heat each slice when serving.
To make the crust entirely gluten-free, simply substitute the flour with a great Gluten-Free flour option like Bob's Red Mill's GF 1-to-1 baking flour or All-purpose flour. If using any other flour, ensure that it has Xanthan Gum included or add 1 teaspoon in with any flour that doesn't. For the remaining ingredients, just make sure that you use arrowroot starch which is very GF-friendly.
To make this pie vegan, simply substitute the butter with vegan butter and ensure that you use a dairy-free milk. See my Sweet Potato Pie recipe for the vegan crust ingredients.
Basically, cornstarch or arrowroot is used to help thicken the filling and ensure that it doesn't come out too runny.
Not at all! A matter of fact it's said to not grease or flour your pie pans because the pie dough has enough butter to prevent sticking. Extra grease will change the texture of the crust.
Basically, it's all about the temperature! Too-cool of an oven will cause the crust to come out soft and dough-like, so it's important to have your oven at the correct temperature from the start.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes to start. The peach layer should be bubbling and the surface of the crumble should be an even medium golden brown. If you are using a shallower, slightly larger baking pan like a 9x9, watch it closely, the crumble may be done in 5 or 10 minutes less time
You can always substitute the unsalted butter with salted butter. When doing so, you can omit the salt as an ingredient.
Delicious Blueberry Recipes to Try Next!
Now that you're on a baking kick with Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie recipe, give these recipes a try next:
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Chia Pancakes
- Lemon Blueberry Olive Oil Cake
- Vegan Blueberry Blackberry Jam Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Doughnuts + Sprinkles
- Homemade Blueberry Vegan Pop-Tarts
- Protein Loaded Blueberry Overnight Oats
- Blueberry Spinach Smoothie
- Healthy Vegan Blueberry Donuts
- Dairy-Free Almond Blueberry Pancakes
- Easy Dairy-Free Blueberry French Toast
MADE OUR RECIPE(S)?
If you tried this Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. And don't forget to tag @orchidsnsweettea_ on Instagram and hashtag it #orchidsandsweettea! I love hearing from you!
Kam’s Fave Blueberry Crumble Pie
Ingredients
CINNAMON CRUST:
- 1 ½ cups organic all-purpose flour (You can use a store-bought crust as well)
- 2 Tbsps organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, VERY COLD + cubed or grated (See Notes!)
- ⅓ cup VERY COLD Almond milk, unsweetened (You can use dairy milk, if preferred)
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
FILLING:
- 4-5 cups organic fresh blueberries
- 1 cup organic cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- Pinch of ground allspice
- 2 tsps vanilla extract
- 3 Tbsps cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 Tbsps unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
CRUMBLE TOPPING:
- 1 cup organic all-purpose flour
- ½ cup organic brown sugar, light or dark
- ¼ cup organic rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 Tbsps unsalted butter, partially melted
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CINNAMON CRUST:
- In a measuring cup, add the milk and apple cider vinegar, stir and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, sea salt, cinnamon, and cane sugar, whisking them all together.
- Add the cubed or grated butter and using a pastry blender, blend butter into dry ingredients until the mixture becomes “peas-like” and crumbly.
- Pour the cold apple cider vinegar-milk mixture (slowly) and stir (working it together with one hand) until the dry ingredients are moistened. NOTE: If the ingredients feels a little too dry, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time, until it’s moistened BUT not too wet!
- Once you’re able to form it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour (minimum), up to 1 and a half hours or of course overnight.
- In the meantime, make the Pie Filling.
TO MAKE THE FILLING:
- In a bowl, add the blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, lemon zest, vanilla, and salt, stirring everything together until combined and the blueberries are completely coated.
TO MAKE THE CRUMBLE:
- In a bowl, add the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon, stirring until combined. Add the partially melted butter and using a spatula, mix until combined and 'crumbly-like'.
PRE-BAKE (IF USING HOMEMADE CRUST):
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set a standard (9") pie dish aside after lightly greasing it.
- Remove dough ball from the refrigerator and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out dough ball using a rolling pin (not making it too thin), about ½-inch thick and gently placing it in your pie dish; working it around evenly. Be sure to do any folding or tucking of any excess pie crust.
- Once complete, poke tiny holes around the bottom of the crust using a fork, add parchment paper to the center of the crust and add "pie weights" atop it and pre-bake the crust for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven.
ASSEMBLY:
- Spoon the coated blueberries into the center of the crust and re-arrange berries to fit until completely filled to the top of the crust. Tuck the pieces of cut butter in between the blueberries. Finally, top with crumble topping mixture until completely covered.
FINAL BAKE:
- Bake for about 40-45 minutes or until apple filling begins to bubble "out", and the crust + topping are golden brown. NOTE: To avoid the topping from getting too brown, during the last 15 minutes, add foil paper atop crust loosely. Then remove it for the final 5 minutes or so.
- Once done, remove from the the oven and let cool completely, about 1-2 hours. When cooled, place the pie in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving and slicing. NOTE: Overnight is best.
- To serve, add whipped cream or your favorite ice cream and enjoy!
- Bon Appetit!
Tips & Tricks
- STORAGE: Keep leftover pie tightly wrapped with heavy duty plastic wrap or foil and refrigerated for 3-4 days. Re-heat each slice when serving.
- FLOUR: If you don’t have Pastry Flour available for your pie crust, simply substitute for All-Purpose Flour.
- TIPS FOR THE PERFECT PIE CRUST: Be sure to check out my article on How to Make the Perfect Pie Crust!
- GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: To make the crust entirely gluten-free, simply substitute the flour with a great Gluten-Free flour option like Bob's Red Mill's GF 1-to-1 baking flour or All-purpose flour. If using any other flour, ensure that it has Xanthan Gum included or add 1 teaspoon in with any flour that doesn't. For the remaining ingredients, just make sure that you use arrowroot starch which is very GF-friendly.
- CORNSTARCH: If you don’t have cornstarch, feel free to substitute with regular arrowroot starch, tapioca flour, or all-purpose flour, which all act as a thickening agent.
- SALTED VS. UNSALTED BUTTER: You can always substitute the salted butter with unsalted butter. When doing so, you can omit the salt as an ingredient.
- FROZEN BLUEBERRIES: If you’re using frozen blueberries, lightly toss them in 1 tablespoon of flour, cornstarch, or arrowroot starch before adding them to the batter. This helps absorb excess water.
- FOOD PROCESSOR FOR CRUST: If using a food processor to incorporate water to flour/butter mixture, ONLY ADD ¼ cup of water (or milk) AT A TIME to your dough, keeping it on “pulse” to avoid the dough from breaking down too much and it becoming “watery”. With this method, you may not need the entire ½ cup of water (or milk).
- VEGAN OPTION: To make this pie vegan, simply substitute the butter with vegan butter and ensure that you use a dairy-free milk. See my Sweet Potato Pie recipe for the vegan crust ingredients.
Nutrition
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This recipe was phenomenal. Blueberry pie with some vanilla ice cream is legit. God bless!!