Easy Blueberry Slab Pie

Blueberry slab pie is so beautiful with the lattice top and its easy preparation makes it perfect for any level of baker.

Slab pie is perfect to serve for a crowd and you can portion out the sizes as big or as small as you want. 

It takes about an hour to make from start to finish and that includes making the homemade blueberry filling and the baking time. 

Serve it plain or with some vanilla ice cream and everyone will think you are a master baker!

You can make all kinds of varieties of slab pie, which is basically a pie made in a baking sheet pan like a quarter sheet pan. It would be wonderful made with cherry or peach pie filling, or even apple! 

I use store bought pie crusts to keep things simple and you don't even need a rolling pin! 

Suggested Kitchen Tools for Slab Pie

• quarter sheet pan (13x9) or half pan if you want to double the recipe
• pizza cutter or a roller style pastry cutter (the one I use is no longer available)

Ingredients & Substitutions

You can use canned blueberry pie filling, but it only takes about 5 minutes to make your own and you can find that recipe right here: Homemade blueberry pie filling

Pie Crust

You will need a total of 3 standard-size pie crusts for this recipe. Two go on the bottom of the sheet pan and one is used for the lattice strips that go on top. You can absolutely make your own pie dough, but I found that using the store bought pie dough works great. The thickness of the refrigerated pie dough is perfect right out of the package, so you don't even have to roll it out. 

If you want to make your own pie crust, I recommend making a mealy pie dough for the bottom, which is a pie dough that is not quite as flaky and is great for wet fillings like the fruit filling used in this recipe. You can certainly use your favorite flaky pie crust for the top! 

Blueberry Filling

I use a combination of my homemade 5-minute blueberry pie filling and fresh blueberries mixed with some powdered sugar, corn starch, lemon juice, cinnamon, and vanilla.

The combination of the syrupy pie filling along with the fresh blueberries creates the best texture for your blueberry slab pie. You can use 1½ batches of the blueberry pie filling, but you may end up with a pie filling that is too wet, which leads to a soggy bottom crust.

If you want to use store-bought canned blueberry pie filling, you will need 3 cups total if you plan on also using fresh blueberries. You will need about 5 cups if you only want to use the canned filling.

You can use regular blueberries or wild blueberries in this recipe, but since wild blueberries are smaller in size, you will want to increase the amount of fresh blueberries from 1½ cups to 2 cups.

You can also substitute the blueberries for another type of fruit to make different flavor of fruit slab pie.

How to Make Blueberry Slab Pie

Even if you have never baked a pie before, you can make this pie and it will be outstanding! Simply follow my step-by-step instructions and even the lattice top will be a breeze.

Don't worry though, if you really don't want to tackle the lattice, you can simplify the blueberry slab pie even more and I will give you all those tips, tricks and substitutions in the Variations Section below this one.

Mise En Place (Prep for Recipe)

When you get ready to make your pie, there are 2 things to remember to do about 30 minutes before you get started.

1. Take the refrigerated pie dough out of the fridge to let it warm to room temp. This will make it easier to work with.
2. Make the homemade blueberry pie filling and for a quick chill, use frozen blueberries instead of fresh: (click this link to get the recipe: Easy blueberry pie filling)

Preparing the Bottom Pie Crust

Take two standard pie crust rounds that are about 11-12" in size. The size of the refrigerated pie crust that comes rolled and two to a box is the perfect size.

Unroll the pie crust and place it just slightly over the end (the 9" side) of the 9x13 sheet tray. It will cover just about ⅔ of the tray.

Take the second pie crust and unroll it and place it slightly over the opposite end. Stretch the pie crust in the middle where they don't quite cover the long edges of the baking tray and make sure you have a little bit of pie crust resting on the entire edge.

Gently press down the pie crust and where it comes together in the "center;" press the seam until you barely see it.

Making the Blueberry Mixture and Assembling the Pie

You may notice the instructions for combining the blueberry pie filling (already prepared and room temperature) with the fresh blueberry mixture is a little different from the recipe video and the photos below.

You can assemble the pie either way, but I thought these instructions were more straightforward.

• If you haven't already made the (click the link to get the recipe) homemade blueberry filling and let it cool down to at least room temperature, do that now. You may want to refrigerate the tray with the pie crust while you make the filling.
• Measure out ½ cup of powdered sugar and sift it into a large bowl. Sifting is optional but it helps to avoid clumping in the pie.
• Mix in the cornstarch so it evenly distributes through the sugar.
• Add the fresh blueberries to the bowl and zest one lemon over them (this is optional).

• Add the vanilla paste, cinnamon, and the juice from ½ lemon. Mix to coat the blueberries with the sugar
• Add more lemon juice if needed. You only need enough to dissolve the powdered sugar which should not be more than the juice from 1 lemon. You don't want the mixture to be wet.

• Here is where the directions differ from the video and photo below. Add the fresh blueberry mixture to the prepared pie filling and gently fold it in.
• Pour the filling containing both the fresh mixture and the prepared filling into the prepared pie crust. In the pictures below, I poured in the prepared filling and then topped with the fresh mixture which works fine, but I think it is easier to fold them together and then pour all once into the pie crust.

Put the Lattice Pie Top on and Bake

If this is the first time you have done a lattice top, please don't be nervous or worry about messing it up.

No matter what mistakes you may make, it will be fine. And, if you get to the point where you are frustrated and don't want to bother with it, then don't. No judgement here! Simply place various lengths of the strips you cut over the pie filling in any fashion (make an art deco design) and bake your pie. It will still be beautiful and taste great.

Cut the last pie crust into 1" strips. I have found that one pie crust is enough to cover the entire tray with a lattice top, but you can always use two pie crusts cut into strips if you want extra in case of a mistake.

Don't worry if the strips aren't even, it's going to be fine.

Begin by placing a short strip over the corner that is further away from you (right or left is fine) and then lay the strips about 1-1½" apart in a diagonal across the pie from corner to corner.

Starting with the second strip of dough in the corner closest to you, pull back every other strip of dough to the opposite corner.

Lay a shorter strip of dough down in that corner and replace the strips that you just folded back.

Starting with the first strip of dough in the same corner as before, pull back every other strip and lay down another new strip of dough going in the opposite direction about 1-1½" away from the first one you put down.

Pull the strips of dough back towards you. You will repeat this until the lattice work is done.

You will notice in the pie above, I made one area too far apart and my spacing sure isn't even. It doesn't matter, the pie still looked beautiful and tasted great. Do not stress if you mess up.

I remember the first few times I did a lattice top and it wasn't pretty. The first time I balled up all the strips and threw them in the trash and put a crumb topping on! For some reason I just couldn't get it straight in my mind and you may find that written descriptions of how to do it just aren't the best. Here is a short video that goes over how to create the lattice top.

Baking Blueberry Slab Pie

Preheat your oven to 425℉/220℃. I recommend having the oven rack in the middle of the oven for even baking.

I like to apply an egg wash to the top of the pie, but this is optional. I also sprinkle with coarse sugar but that is also optional.

To make the egg wash whisk one egg (size doesn't matter) with 1 Tablespoon of water and lightly brush or dab over the pie dough on top.

Sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. This adds a little shine and glitter to the crust.

Bake the blueberry slab pie in a preheated oven on 425℉/220℃ for 25-30 minutes or until the top crust is golden brown.

Ovens may vary so you may have to increase or decrease the temperature if you notice the pie crust is not browning enough or browning too much.

Once the pie crust is a golden brown color, remove it and allow the pie to cool in the tray for at least 30 minutes.

It is best to wait 60 minutes before cutting the pie if you want to serve it at room temperature. You can also refrigerate it after 30 minutes if you want to serve it cold.

When you are ready to serve the pie, use a sharp edge tool to cut out the first slice. The first piece is always the hardest to remove cleanly. Remember to get under the bottom crust to lift it out.

The amount of servings you will get depends on the size of pieces, but I usually get about 16 good size servings from one slab pie.

Serve plain or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Variations of Slab Pie

There are so many different variations of Slab Pie that you can make with or without a top crust. Here are just a few that come to mind.

Cherry Slab Pie: Simply use homemade or store bought cherry pie filling instead of blueberry. The baking instructions will be the same.

Apple Slab Pie: Use about 5 cups of your favorite cooked apple pie filling. The baking instructions will be the same.

Crumb Top Slab Pie: Instead of using a pie crust (lattice or plain)on the top, make a crumb topping instead. You may need to reduce the baking temperature or time.

Cookie Slab Pie: Use a shortbread dough or sugar cookie dough for the base of the pie and par cook it so it sets. Use your favorite pie filling and then top with cut out shapes from cookie dough and let those bake on top. You will want the filling to be completely cooked for this variation because you want to bake the cookie slab pie at 350℉/175℃ for 8-10 minutes or until the cookies on top have baked.

Storage & Reheating Instructions

How to Store Leftover Slab Pie

I like to store leftovers in an airtight container on the counter at room temperature for up to 2 days. Longer storage should be in the refrigerator or freezer.

How to Reheat Blueberry Slab Pie

Oven

Slab pie is great served cold, room temperature or warm. If you want to warm up leftover pie, I would wrap in foil and warm the pieces in a 300℉/150℃ oven for about 8-10 minutes and remove the foil from the top the last few minutes of baking to crisp up the crust.

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Whether you are entertaining a large crowd or have an intimate dinner planned, these desserts are easy to make and stunningly beautiful!