Blueberry pie (3 variations)
Three baked, grain-free blueberry pies in one post, each with its own personality.
The Blueberry Cream Pie is gentle and elegant, topped with a cloud of coconut whipped cream.
The Blueberry Custard Pie is lemon-bright and silky, made with grass-fed cream cheese or traditional farmer cheese.
And the Classic Blueberry Crumble Pie is the deep, jammy showstopper for a summer dinner party.
All three have almond flour crusts, and all are refined-sugar-free, gluten-free, and grain-free. Make whichever suits the moment.
Yield: One 9-inch pie each (8–10 slices) · Active: 30–45 min, depending on the pie · Total: 1–4 hours · Best in North America in summer, during blueberry season (June–August); frozen wild blueberries work year-round · Best eaten: afternoon
A Note from the Kitchen
Three pies in one post, because the right one depends on what you’re after:
The Blueberry Cream Pie is the gentlest: a baked almond flour crust, a glossy cooked blueberry filling, and a generous cloud of coconut whipped cream. Dairy-free, summery, and elegant, it’s the pie to make when you want something pretty for an afternoon gathering.
The Blueberry Custard Pie is the most surprising: a baked custard of grass-fed cream cheese (or traditional farmer cheese, for a more rustic version), brightened with lemon, with whole blueberries throughout. It’s light and lemony, almost a cheesecake-pie hybrid. The Eastern European farmer cheese version is one of the great heritage desserts.
The Classic Blueberry Crumble Pie is the showstopper: an almond flour crust, a deep wild blueberry filling with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a honey-toasted nut crumble on top. It’s the pie for a birthday, a summer dinner party, or a holiday table.
All three honor what blueberry pie is meant to be: deep, ripe summer berries, real fat (butter or coconut oil), real sweetness (raw honey or maple syrup), and a real almond flour crust, baked gently and served warm or cool.
For another variation, see my Blueberry Cream Pie with Vanilla Mascarpone Custard and Warm Wild Blueberries.
About the Crusts
Each pie uses a slightly different almond flour crust: the cream pie a sweeter, cookie-like crust, the custard pie a simple pressed crust, and the crumble pie a sturdier butter crust that rolls and patches easily. They’re all built from the same few ingredients (almond flour, fat, a sweetener, and salt), in slightly different proportions, so each recipe includes its own.
Pie #1: Blueberry Cream Pie
A baked almond flour crust, filled with a glossy, arrowroot-thickened blueberry filling, and crowned with a cloud of coconut whipped cream. Dairy-free, gentle, and summery, and the most approachable of the three.
Yield: One 9-inch pie (8 slices) · Active: 30 min · Total: 4 hours, mostly chilling (plus chilling the coconut cream overnight)
Crust
2½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
¼ cup virgin coconut oil, melted
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Blueberry filling
4 cups fresh or frozen wild blueberries (thawed, if frozen)
Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tbsp)
3 tbsp maple syrup
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
2½ tbsp arrowroot, whisked with 3 tbsp cold water
Optional: ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
Coconut whipped cream
2 cans (13.5 oz each) full-fat coconut cream, refrigerated overnight
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
To finish: a small handful of fresh blueberries, lemon zest, and fresh mint (optional)
The day before, chill the coconut cream. Refrigerate the cans overnight, so the thick cream separates from the liquid. You’ll whip only the solid cream.
Make the crust. Heat the oven to 350°F. Whisk the almond flour and salt, then stir in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla, until a sticky dough forms.
Press it in. Press the dough evenly and firmly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate, using damp fingers or a piece of parchment, so it holds together when sliced.
Bake the crust. Line it with parchment, fill it with pie weights or dried beans, and bake 15 minutes, until the edges just start to turn golden. Remove the parchment and weights, and bake 5 minutes more, until evenly golden. Let it cool completely.
Cook the filling. Put the blueberries, lemon juice, maple syrup, and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, and stir gently for 4–5 minutes, until the berries soften and release their juice.
Thicken. Stir the arrowroot slurry into the simmering berries, and keep stirring gently for 2–3 minutes, until the filling turns thick and glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Don’t let it boil hard, since long, vigorous boiling weakens arrowroot’s thickening power. Take it off the heat, stir in the vanilla (if using), and let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 1 hour, until firm.
Whip the cream. Scoop just the solid white cream from the cans into a chilled bowl (save the liquid for smoothies or curries), add the salt, and beat on high for 2–3 minutes, until soft peaks form. Beat in the maple syrup and vanilla until smooth and pillowy, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Assemble. Spread the cooled filling into the cooled crust, then pile the coconut whipped cream on top in soft, swooping peaks.
Chill at least 30 minutes, then top with fresh blueberries, lemon zest, and mint just before serving.
Pie #2: Blueberry Custard Pie (Lemon-Bright)
An almond flour crust filled with a baked lemon custard of grass-fed cream cheese (or traditional farmer cheese, for an Eastern European version) and pasture-raised eggs, with whole blueberries throughout. Light, lemony, and almost a cheesecake-pie hybrid.
Yield: One 9-inch pie (8 slices) · Active: 20 min · Total: 4 hours, including cooling and chilling
Crust
1½ cups blanched almond flour
¼ cup cold grass-fed butter, cut into pieces (or virgin coconut oil, for dairy-free)
¼ cup raw honey
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Custard
3 large pasture-raised eggs
8 oz (1 cup) grass-fed cream cheese (raw, if available), fully softened (or farmer cheese; see below)
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup raw honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Blueberries: 2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
To finish: fresh blueberries, lemon zest, and a drizzle of raw honey
Soften the cream cheese. Take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour ahead; it must be fully soft, or the custard will be lumpy.
Make the crust. Heat the oven to 350°F. Pulse the almond flour, cold butter, honey, and salt in a food processor 15–20 times, until it looks like coarse crumbs and just starts to come together.
Press it in. Press it evenly and firmly over the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate.
Bake the crust 10–12 minutes, until just starting to brown at the edges. (No pie weights are needed; almond flour crusts hold their shape.)
Make the custard. Blend the eggs, cream cheese, lemon juice and zest, honey, vanilla, and salt in a blender or food processor for 30–45 seconds, just until completely smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.
Assemble. Scatter the blueberries over the bottom of the crust, and gently pour the custard over them. They’ll rise and spread through the custard as it bakes.
Bake 40–50 minutes, until the edges are deep golden and the center is just barely set, with a slight jiggle (it firms as it cools).
Cool at least 1 hour on a rack, then refrigerate at least 2 hours, until fully set.
Serve each slice with a few fresh blueberries, a little lemon zest, and a drizzle of raw honey.
Farmer cheese variation: For a more rustic Eastern European version, use 1 cup traditional farmer cheese (or its Russian cousin, tvorog) in place of the cream cheese. Farmer cheese is a fresh, slightly grainy, lightly cultured cheese with less fat than cream cheese, so the pie is lighter and more delicate, much like the traditional fruit-and-cheese pies of Eastern Europe.
Pie #3: Classic Blueberry Crumble Pie
The showstopper: an almond flour crust, a deep, jammy wild blueberry filling with cinnamon and nutmeg, and a honey-toasted nut crumble on top. One of the great American summer desserts.
Yield: One 9-inch pie (8–10 slices) · Active: 45 min · Total: 2 hr 30 min, plus chilling the filling
Crust
2 cups blanched almond flour
¼ cup cold grass-fed butter, cut into pieces
3 tbsp raw honey
1 large pasture-raised egg, beaten
⅓ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Pinch of baking soda
Blueberry filling
8 cups frozen wild blueberries, divided (7 cups for cooking, 1 cup reserved)
¼ cup raw honey
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
⅓ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon
A pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
Honey-toasted nut crumble
⅔ cup raw nuts, roughly chopped (pecans and walnuts are classic)
1½ tbsp raw honey
2 tsp grass-fed butter, melted
¼ tsp ground Ceylon cinnamon, plus 1 tsp for the crumble
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
About ⅓ cup leftover crust scraps, frozen
3 tbsp blanched almond flour
Make the crust. Process the almond flour, cold butter, honey, egg, salt, and baking soda in a food processor for 30–45 seconds, until it forms a ball. Small visible bits of butter are good; they make the crust flakier.
Chill. Shape the dough into a flat disc, wrap it, and refrigerate 30 minutes (or freeze 15 minutes), until firm.
Roll it out. Let the dough soften 5 minutes, then roll it between two sheets of parchment into a circle large enough to line a 9-inch pie plate. If it tears, don’t worry; almond flour crusts are forgiving, so just patch it together in the plate with damp fingers. Save the scraps in the freezer (you’ll need about ⅓ cup for the crumble).
Bake the crust. Heat the oven to 300°F, and bake the crust 20 minutes, until cooked through and light golden. Let it cool completely.
Cook the filling. Meanwhile, bring 7 cups of the blueberries, the honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt to a gentle boil in a large heavy pot over medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring often, until noticeably thickened and reduced. It will still look a little loose, but it sets as it cools.
Chill the filling in a heatproof bowl at least 2 hours, or overnight, until thick and jammy.
Toast the nuts. Heat the oven to 325°F. Toss the nuts with the honey, melted butter, ¼ tsp cinnamon, and salt, spread them on a parchment-lined sheet, and bake 8–10 minutes, stirring once, until deep golden. Let them cool; the honey hardens into candied clusters.
Make the crumble. Grate the frozen crust scraps into small flakes, then rub them together with the candied nuts, almond flour, and 1 tsp cinnamon into rough, uneven crumbs.
Assemble. Heat the oven to 300°F. Fold the reserved cup of frozen blueberries into the chilled filling (it helps the filling stay thick as it bakes), and spoon it into the crust, mounding it slightly in the center. Scatter the crumble over the top, covering the filling completely, or leaving some berries peeking through.
Bake 30 minutes, until the crumble is deep golden and the filling bubbles slightly at the edges.
Cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve it slightly warm, with a dollop of crème fraîche or coconut whipped cream, or let it cool completely, for cleaner slices.
For an 11-inch pie: Multiply all the ingredients by 1½.
Variations (for All Three Pies)
Mixed berry: Use up to half raspberries, blackberries, sliced strawberries, or wild huckleberries, whatever is at its peak.
Cardamom: Use ½ tsp ground cardamom in place of the cinnamon in the crumble pie, for a Scandinavian-inspired version.
Lemon zest: Add it to any of the three, for a bright citrus note.
Plain toasted nuts: Skip the honey coating, and simply toast the nuts at 350°F for 8 minutes, for a simpler crumble.
Dairy-free: Use coconut oil in place of butter in any of the crusts, and the coconut whipped cream from Pie #1 in place of dairy toppings.
Mini pies or hand pies: Press the crust into mini muffin tins, or fold it into hand-pie pockets, and bake about half as long.
Make ahead: All three pies can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. The custard pie is even better on day 2, once the flavors meld and the texture firms.
Storage
Refrigerated: All three keep up to 4–5 days, covered. The cream pie is best within 2 days. The custard pie is even better on day 2. The crumble pie holds beautifully for 4–5 days.
Frozen: The crumble pie freezes well up to 2 months, wrapped tightly; thaw it overnight in the fridge. The cream and custard pies don’t freeze well (the whipped cream loses its texture, and the custard can weep).
To serve from the fridge: Let slices sit at room temperature for 20 minutes, or warm them in a 250°F oven for 5–8 minutes.
A note on honey: The honey in the baked crusts, fillings, and crumble is no longer raw, but the honey drizzled on top stays raw. Honey shouldn’t be given to babies under 12 months.
Nourishment Notes
Wild blueberries are smaller and more intensely flavored than cultivated ones, with more anthocyanins per berry, the deep blue pigments studied for brain and heart health. They also bring vitamin C, vitamin K, manganese, and fiber.
Almond flour — vitamin E, magnesium, protein, and monounsaturated fats.
Pasture-raised eggs — complete protein, choline, and vitamins A, D, E, and K2.
Grass-fed cream cheese and farmer cheese — protein, calcium, and vitamins A and K2. Cultured dairy brings a gentle tang. Baking heats the cream cheese past pasteurization temperature, so even raw cream cheese isn’t raw once baked, but its fat-soluble vitamins remain.
Grass-fed butter — vitamins A and K2, CLA, and butyrate.
Coconut cream and coconut oil — lauric acid, a medium-chain fat.
Arrowroot — a gentle, easily digested starch from the root of the Maranta plant, used long before modern cornstarch.
Pecans and walnuts — vitamin E, manganese, zinc, and ALA omega-3s from the walnuts.
Lemon — vitamin C and d-limonene.
Ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg — warming spices; cinnamon helps moderate blood sugar.
Raw honey and maple syrup — unrefined sweeteners with trace minerals.
As a circadian treat, these pies are best enjoyed in the afternoon, when your body handles natural sugars most gracefully.
For your cycle: The blueberries’ anthocyanins and vitamin C make these lovely in the follicular and ovulatory phases, and the custard pie’s eggs and dairy bring protein and calcium to the luteal phase.
Sourcing
Blueberries — organic, fresh and local in summer, or frozen wild blueberries (often from Maine or Canada) year-round
Almond flour — organic, finely ground, and blanched (keep it in the fridge)
Eggs — organic and pasture-raised, from a local farm (ask about the hens’ diet and time outdoors)
Cream cheese — full-fat, grass-fed, with just cultured cream and salt (a little carob bean or guar gum is fine), raw from a farmer you trust, or from a small creamery like Kalona SuperNatural
Farmer cheese or tvorog — fresh, full-fat, with just milk, cultures, and salt, from an Eastern European deli (look for “tvorog,” “twaróg,” or “farmer cheese”). Or make your own: strain full-fat yogurt or kefir through cheesecloth in the fridge for 24 hours, until very thick.
Grass-fed butter — organic, cultured butter from 100% grass-fed cows, from a local creamery when possible
Coconut cream — organic and full-fat, in BPA-free cans, made with just coconut and water (a little guar gum is fine), with no carrageenan or gellan; coconut “beverages” and creamers won’t whip
Coconut oil — organic, virgin, and unrefined
Arrowroot — organic, labeled just “arrowroot powder” or “arrowroot starch” (not tapioca, which is a different starch), stored airtight. If using cornstarch instead, choose organic, since conventional cornstarch is usually made from genetically modified corn.
Nuts — organic, raw, and unsalted, kept in the fridge or freezer; they should smell sweet, never musty
Nutmeg — whole, organic, non-irradiated nutmeg, grated fresh (from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, or Grenada)
Raw honey and maple syrup — organic, local, unfiltered raw honey; organic Grade A dark maple syrup
Lemons — organic (you’re using the zest)
Vanilla and Ceylon cinnamon — organic pure vanilla extract; organic, non-irradiated Ceylon cinnamon
Crème fraîche (optional, for serving) — raw or organic, grass-fed, with just cultured cream. Or make your own: stir 1 tbsp cultured buttermilk or kefir into 1 cup grass-fed heavy cream, cover loosely, and leave at room temperature 12–24 hours, until thick. Refrigerate; it keeps about 1 week.
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
Pairs Well With
At the table: a cup of herbal tea (chamomile, rooibos, lavender, lemon balm, or peppermint), sparkling water with lemon and a few muddled blueberries, fresh-pressed lemonade with mint, or homemade lemon-blueberry kombucha.
The cream pie: a cup of matcha or pour-over coffee, whose bitterness balances the gentle sweetness of the coconut cream.
The custard pie: rooibos or chamomile tea, which echo the lemon and honey, and a dollop of crème fraîche or fresh cream.
The crumble pie: the dinner-party pie. Serve it warm with crème fraîche or coconut whipped cream and a sprig of mint; the tangy cultured cream is wonderful against the sweet, candied crumble.
For a blueberry dessert table: Serve any of these pies alongside my no-bake Blueberry Cheesecake Two Ways, for a complete summer blueberry spread.
Why These Pies
The conventional supermarket blueberry pie has become something the body barely recognizes as food: bleached wheat flour, hydrogenated shortening, white sugar (often more than a cup per pie), modified cornstarch, and “natural flavors” doing the work real fruit should do.
These are the same beloved dessert, rebuilt: almond flour for the crust, grass-fed butter or coconut oil, raw honey or maple syrup, fresh or wild blueberries, pasture-raised eggs, grass-fed cream cheese or farmer cheese, arrowroot, and real cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest.
Three pies, three techniques, three occasions. Choose the cream pie when you want something gentle and elegant, the custard pie when you want something light, bright, and surprising, and the crumble pie when you want the showstopper for a summer dinner party.
Honor the ingredients. The rest takes care of itself.
— Anna aka Food Marshall