This strawberry rhubarb pie with honey is naturally sweetened and perched on a wonderfully flaky whole grain crust. See my tips on how to easily make it gluten free, and take advantage of rhubarb season to enjoy this beautifully tart-sweet dessert!
If summer is a pie, then a strawberry rhubarb pie with honey encapsulates the best of the days of long light, garden produce, lazy afternoons, glasses of cold lemonade, and desserts served al fresco. Bright summer strawberries are married with tart rhubarb and swirled wtih honey for a beautifully colored tart-sweet pie folded into a flaky crust made with whole grain flour and almond flour. Bonus: When strawberries and rhubarb cook together they'll infuse your kitchen with a sweet, almost buttery aroma that is utterly irresistible. See my tips below to handily turn this pie gluten free, and enjoy it while the season lasts.
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Make This Pie!
I love celebrating summer with a strawberry rhubarb pie with honey, and I have a feeling you will love it, too! Here are a few highlights of this recipe:
- Crisp crust - You'll start the pie baking at a higher heat to blind bake the crust after it's been filled, then lower the heat so that the filling cooks into jammy perfection and the crust turns wonderfully crisp and flaky.
- Honey-sweetened - I love using natural sweeteners when possible. Honey is a perfect addition to this strawberry rhubarb pie because it plays up the sweetness of the strawberries while tempering the tartness of the rhubarb with its unique flavor.
- Tastes like summer - Rhubarb has a short season and I look forward to it all year long. When you add strawberries you'll find that each bite delivers summery sweetness.
Ingredient Notes
Take a look at my notes for the ingredients in this pie before you make it to get an idea of what you'll need. The full ingredient amounts and detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
For the Crust
- Butter - Use unsalted butter so that it doesn't compete with the sweetness of the pie filling, and make sure it is very cold.
- Whole wheat pastry flour - You can also use whole wheat flour, or substitute all-purpose flour if needed.
- Spelt flour - This is a wonderful, whole grain flour that is fantastic blended with whole wheat flour or on its own.
- Almond flour - If you can't eat almonds, substitute the same amount of whole wheat flour for the almond flour.
- Granulated sugar - A little sugar adds a touch of sweetness to the pie dough. I also use maple syrup to keep this pie completely refined and sugar-free.
- Salt - I always use fine sea salt in my recipes!
- Buttermilk - Make sure the buttermilk is cold and shake it well before adding it to the crust ingredients. Or, use ½ cup of milk mixed with 2 teaspoons of vinegar to make a buttermilk substitute.
For the Filling
- Rhubarb - Choose rhubarb that is firm and unblemished. It can be found in red, pink, or green.
- Strawberries - You can use fresh or frozen strawberries in this pie, although I prefer fresh if possible!
- Honey - You'll need about 1 cup of honey to sweeten the filling. Swap in granulated sugar if needed or do a mix of ½ cup sugar and ½ cup honey.
- Lemon juice - Freshly squeezed lemon juice adds a bit of natural pectin to the filling to help the fruit thicken into that fantastic syrupy pie interior.
- Salt
- Tapioca flour - Pie filling typically needs a binder to help the fruit gel together, and tapioca flour is one of my favorite ingredients to accomplish this. If needed, substitute half as much cornstarch for the tapioca.
Can I Use Frozen Strawberries?
You can certainly use frozen berries to make this strawberry rhubarb pie, and there's no need to defrost them before adding them to the filling. However, you'll want to pick up sliced strawberries to keep your life easier. I do love the juicy sweetness of fresh strawberries, though, so if you can get them, please do tuck them into the filling.
When Can I Get Ruharb?
The rhubarb in my garden grows all spring and summer long, but I live in Northern California with a mild and long growing season. Typically, rhubarb is found in late spring into early summer in grocery stores, and maybe a bit longer at farmers' markets or produce stands. Rhubarb is naturally very, very tart, which is why it's often paired with a sweeter fruit, like strawberries, or augmented with a lot of sugar.
Make a Gluten Free Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
This is a beautifully easy pie to make gluten free, and you have several options if you wish to make the crust gluten free:
- Use all-purpose gluten free flour: Substitute 2 ½ cups of your favorite gluten free flour blend for the mix of flours in the crust.
- Swap my flour blend: You can also use my homemade gluten free flour blend for the combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flours. Use 3 cups of gluten free flour for the flours in the crust.
- Try oat flour: I love a straight swap of oat flour in pie crust! You can use 2 ½ cups of oat flour for the whole wheat pastry and spelt flours, or use 3 cups of oat flour for the wheat flours and almond flour combination.
A Few Recipe Tips
- Use real buttermilk - Yes, you can use a DIY buttermilk substitute as mentioned in the ingredient notes. But, I really prefer using real buttermilk because it adds a tenderness to the dough you won't get from making it yourself. If you are able to incorporate buttermilk, make sure to shake it well before stirring it into the dough, and keep it very cold.
- Rest the dough - Pie dough needs at least 30 minutes to chill before it's rolled out, so don't skip this step. You can also make the crust in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost the crust in the fridge before using.
- Make a lattice crust - Strawberry rhubarb pie is often made with a latticed crust rather than a whole top crust. To make a lattice crust, roll out the dough for the top half of the pie, then cut it into strips. Place the strips of dough on the top of the pie filling, then layer them over and under one another to create a basket weave design.
- Do a crumble topping: Make half of the recipe for the pie crust, then do a simple crumble topping by whisking 1 cup flour with ½ cup sugar, then rub in ¼ cup of unsalted butter, and spread it evenly over the top of the pie.
- Use sugar - If you wish, swap ¾-1 cup of granulated sugar for the honey. You may also wish to add up to 1 cup of honey to the filling if you like your pie a bit sweeter.
- Let the pie sit - It's equally important to let the pie sit after it's fully baked. I prefer to let the pie cool completely to room temperature, for at least 2 hours, to allow the filling to set. Let's avoid a watery pie filling!
Serving Ideas
Of course, my first choice for how to serve a piece of strawberry rhubarb pie with honey is slightly warm and topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream! You can also make homemade sweetened or unsweetened whipped cream to go alongside. Enjoy pie for dessert, or justify it as a morning snack with a hot cup of coffee or tea.
How to Store & Reheat This Pie
Store any leftover pie in the pie pan, tightly covered with plastic or foil, in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can place the pie in the oven to reheat the entire pie, or place individual slices on a baking sheet and heat them at 350℉ until warm.
To freeze, wrap the unbaked pie tightly in a layer of plastic, then a layer of foil, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake the pie, unwrapped, directly from the freezer, noting that it will take a bit longer to bake if it has been frozen. Or, freeze the baked pie, wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge before eating or reheating.
More Pie Recipes
Strawberry Rhubarb Honey Pie
Ingredients
For the Crust
- ½ cup unsalted butter , very cold
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ cup spelt flour
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
For the Filling
- 3 ½ cups untrimmed rhubarb, in ½-inch thick slices , about 1 ½ pounds
- 3 ½ cups strawberries, hulled and sliced , about 1 pound
- ¾ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup tapioca flour
Instructions
Make the Crust
- Cut the butter into 1-inch pieces and place in the freezer to chill for 15 minutes.
- Sift together the flours, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Take the cold butter from the freezer and rub it into the flour mixture with your hands until it forms a coarse meal. Add the buttermilk and very gently gather and knead the dough together with your hands until it forms a ball. Divide in half, flatten each ball into a 6-inch disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and let rest in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
For the Filling and Bake the Pie
- Heat oven to 400℉. On a well-floured counter or cutting board roll half of pie dough into a 12-inch circle and carefully transfer to a 9-inch pie plate.
- Stir together rhubarb, strawberries, honey lemon, salt and tapioca in a large bowl. Mound filling inside bottom pie crust. Roll out the second half of pie dough into an 11-inch circle and transfer it to center over the pie filling. Trim top and bottom pie dough so that their overhang beyond the pie plate lip is only ½-inch. Tuck rim of dough underneath itself and crimp it decoratively; cut a few air vents (I like to do 4) in the center of the crust.
- Transfer pie to a baking sheet and place in oven. Bake for 20 minutes then reduce temperature to 350℉ and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, until the pie is golden and the juices are bubbling.
- Remove from oven and place pie on a wire rack to cool. Let fully cool so the juices gel a bit.
Notes
- Use all-purpose gluten free flour: Substitute 2 ½ cups of your favorite gluten free flour blend for the mix of flours in the crust.
- Swap my flour blend: You can also use my homemade gluten free flour blend for the combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flours. Use 3 cups of gluten free flour for the flours in the crust.
- Try oat flour: I love a straight swap of oat flour in pie crust! You can use 2 ½ cups of oat flour for the whole wheat pastry and spelt flours, or use 3 cups of oat flour for the wheat flours and almond flour combination.
- Use real buttermilk - Yes, you can use a DIY buttermilk substitute as mentioned in the ingredient notes. But, I really prefer using real buttermilk because it adds a tenderness to the dough you won't get from making it yourself. If you are able to incorporate buttermilk, make sure to shake it well before stirring it into the dough, and keep it very cold.
- Rest the dough - Pie dough needs at least 30 minutes to chill before it's rolled out, so don't skip this step. You can also make the crust in advance and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost the crust in the fridge before using.
- Make a lattice crust - Strawberry rhubarb pie is often made with a latticed crust rather than a whole top crust. To make a lattice crust, roll out the dough for the top half of the pie, then cut it into strips. Place the strips of dough on the top of the pie filling, then layer them over and under one another to create a basket weave design.
- Do a crumble topping: Make half of the recipe for the pie crust, then do a simple crumble topping by whisking 1 cup flour with ½ cup sugar, then rub in ¼ cup of unsalted butter, and spread it evenly over the top of the pie.
- Use sugar - If you wish, swap ¾-1 cup of granulated sugar for the honey. You may also wish to add up to 1 cup of honey to the filling if you like your pie a bit sweeter.
- Let the pie sit - It's equally important to let the pie sit after it's fully baked. I prefer to let the pie cool completely to room temperature, for at least 2 hours, to allow the filling to set. Let's avoid a watery pie filling!
Angie says
Love the new format of your blog!
nicole says
Thanks so much!