Straight-Up Rhubarb Pie

This is classic, Straight-up Rhubarb Pie like grandma used to make. No fruity distractions - just tangy, sweet-tart rhubarb and tender, flaky pastry.

Jump to:

• What's the Story on Rhubarb Pie?
• Rhubarb Pie Ingredients
• How to Make this Old-fashioned Rhubarb Pie Recipe
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tip
• FAQ
• More Sweet Pie Recipes
• How to Serve Rhubarb Pie
• Straight-Up Rhubarb Pie

What's the Story on Rhubarb Pie?

My mom always kept a rhubarb plant in a shady corner of our garden. Each year, about the time she started planting the tomato starts, her rhubarb would fill out with big green leaves and bright red stalks, boldly proclaiming the arrival of spring. "Don't eat the leaves! They're poisonous!" she'd always warn me. For years, I was afraid to even touch a rhubarb plant. (FYI: Rhubarb stalks are totally safe, raw or cooked. The leaves, however, are toxic to people and animals.)

Uncooked rhubarb tastes sharp and extremely sour. It grows like celery, and has a similar crunchy texture as well. Bite into a raw rhubarb stalk and your mouth will pucker like you just took a bite of a lemon while brushing your teeth.

The magic happens when you add a little sugar and cook it down. Cooked rhubarb softens to a texture much like well-cooked apples, and the flavor mellows from sour to sweet-tart. Rhubarb is most often paired with other fruits to tame its tartness. It makes into delicious pastries, jams, chutneys, salsas, and marinades.

This old-fashioned rhubarb pie recipe doesn't call for strawberries, cherries, or any other fruits - it is what is known as a Straight-up Rhubarb Pie. Nothing to divert attention from the fundamentals: just sweet-tart rhubarb and tender, flaky pastry.

Rhubarb Pie Ingredients

The filling for straight-up rhubarb pie takes just five simple ingredients.

• Rhubarb: You will need 9-10 cups (3½-4 pounds) of rhubarb for one deep dish pie or two standard pies. You will need 4-6 cups (1-1½ pounds) for one standard pie.
  • Fresh Rhubarb: (Recommended) I prefer to use fresh rhubarb. To prepare fresh rhubarb, first remove all the leaves and ends and put them in the compost pile, and then cut the stalks into ½ to ¾-inch pieces.
  • Frozen Rhubarb: You can use frozen rhubarb if need be. In fact, only one of the three pies pictured here was made with fresh rhubarb. (Can you guess which one?) Frozen rhubarb should be fully thawed and room temperature before you start the pie.
• Sugar: Use granulated white sugar for this pie recipe.
• Flour: The flour in the rhubarb mix acts as a thickener. We use all-purpose flour, but for the pastry and the filling.
• Instant tapioca: Tapioca also acts as a thickener in the filling. Use instant tapioca, not the larger tapioca pearls.
• Butter: We use salted butter, but unsalted butter is fine too.
• Pie crust: You will need one 9½-inch double-crust pie shell, or two standard 8-inch double-crust pie shells. You can use a homemade pie shell, or prepackaged refrigerated or frozen pie crust.

• Egg (optional): The egg is for an egg wash for the top of the pie: it is totally optional. The purpose of an egg wash is to give the pastry a golden, slightly shiny finish. An egg wash can make your pie look finished. (I often skip the egg wash and no one has ever complained.)

How to Make this Old-fashioned Rhubarb Pie Recipe

Pie Shell

You can use any pie crust you want for this pie. However, if you want to make your own dough (and I strongly encourage you to do so), our sweet pie dough recipe is tender, flaky, and easy to make.

Homemade Pie Dough

Chill pie plate in refrigerator for 30 minutes before beginning.

Take the pie plate, along with one half of your pie dough out of the refrigerator. (Continue to chill the other half.)

Roll out bottom crust and line pie dish, leaving at least 1½-inch overhang of dough on the edge.

Put rolled bottom crust in freezer for 5 minutes before proceeding.

Hint: I usually use about 60% of the pie dough for the bottom crust, and 40% for the top. That way, I can make the bottom crust ample enough to fold over the lattice to finish the pie.

Frozen Pie Shell

Leave the bottom pie shell in the freezer until you are ready to fill it. Put the dough for the top in the refrigerator.

Fill & Bake

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Place the oven rack in the lowest or next to lowest position in the oven. Remove any racks above that may get in the way of the pie.

Remove any leaves and the root end of the stalk. Rinse under cold water to remove any dirt. Cut the stalks into ½ to ¾-inch pieces. Measure out 8-10 cups of cut rhubarb and set aside.

Whisk together the flour and sugar in small mixing bowl.

Take the prepared pie shell out of the freezer and sprinkle ½ cup of the sugar-flour mixture over the bottom.

In a large bowl, toss together the cut rhubarb with 2 cups of the sugar-flour mixture and the tapioca. (For frozen rhubarb, include any liquid.)

Heap the rhubarb mixture into the pie shell. Sprinkle the remaining sugar-flour mixture over the top, and dot the top with butter.

Pie Crust PRO TIP: Cut the bottom crust larger enough so that, after you add the top crust, the bottom edge can be folded up over it and sealed, as shown in the image above. In my experience, this significantly cuts down on pie shell leakage around the edges. 

Remove dough for top crust from refrigerator, and roll it out on a lightly floured board.

Add a top crust to the pie as desired. A lattice top works well for rhubarb pie: if you use a solid top crust, be sure to cut some good-size vents.

Fold the 1½-inch dough overhang up and over the top crust or lattice, and crimp the edge to seal. (Sealing the edge this way will alleviate some of the boil-over drips for which rhubarb pie is famous.)

If your pie dough seems saggy or too warm when you get done adding the top crust, put the whole thing back in the freezer for 5 minutes.

Optional egg wash: Use a fork to whisk together one large egg and one tablespoon of water. Use a pastry brush to gently apply the egg wash to the top of the pie.

Baking Times

Bake the pie on the lowest or next to lowest oven rack position, at 425°F (218°C) for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for 40-45 minutes (deep dish) or 30-40 minutes (standard), or until the crust is golden and the filling is bubbling.

Rhubarb pie is done baking when the crust is light golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Allow the pie to cool before serving.

Baking times will vary somewhat, depending upon your pie dish, oven, and depth of filling.

Keep an eye on your pie after the first 30 minutes of baking to avoid burning. If the crust looks like it is browning too much before the pie is done, gently lay a sheet of plain, flat aluminum foil over the top of the entire pie to avoid over-browning the top. Do not press down or otherwise form the foil: just lay it gently, like a feather.

Hint: If you want to be sure it's done, use an instant-read thermometer and check that the filling reaches an internal temperature of 213°F (100°C).

Variations

Spiced Rhubarb Pie: Warm spices can add a little something special to rhubarb pie. Try adding a half-teaspoon of cardamom or ground ginger, or a teaspoon of cinnamon, to the flour-sugar mixture.

Fruity Rhubarb Pies

There are so many fruity variations to rhubarb pie! Here are just a few:

• Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
• Raspberry Rhubarb Pie
• Blueberry Rhubarb Pie
• Sour Cherry Rhubarb Pie

Equipment

After decades of pie-making, my recommendation for the best pie plate is either a Pyrex basic deep dish or Pyrex fluted deep-dish pie plate.

The transparent Pyrex allows you to visually check the crust for doneness, and its even heat conduction yields a crisp, uniform crust. The durable Pyrex material can be cut without scratching the dish, and slices release neatly from the pan.

Storage

Leftover Pie: Cover leftover pie with plastic wrap or in an air-tight container. Rhubarb pie can be stored at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezer

Rhubarb pie freezes very well. My mom used to make a tart-cherry rhubarb pie that Mr B loved, and when we were young, she always kept an unbaked cherry rhubarb pie ready in the freezer so she could make one for him whenever he visited.

Baked Pie: When properly stored, fully baked rhubarb pie can be frozen for up to 3 months. To do this, first allow the pie to cool completely, then wrap it in plastic wrap and again in aluminum foil.

Unbaked Pie: Add ¼ cup of additional flour to the filling mix. Assemble the pie completely. Wrap in twice in plastic wrap and then again in aluminum foil. Unbaked rhubarb pie can be frozen for up to 6 months.

To bake, thaw in the refrigerator, and then bake as instructed.

Top Tip

Ratios for Sugar & Thickeners

You can adjust the amount of thickener and sweeteners in the pie filling based on how much rhubarb you use.

For each cup of rhubarb, use:

• 2 tablespoons of flour, or
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, or 
• 1 tablespoon of instant tapioca

For every 5 cups of rhubarb, use:

• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1¼ cups granulated sugar

You can adjust the amount of sugar based on the tartness of the rhubarb you use and your personal tastes. Add up to an additional ⅓ cup sugar if your rhubarb is very tart, or if you prefer your pies very sweet. 

IMPORTANT: Rhubarb used for filling must be room temperature. Never use chilled rhubarb, or your filling will take too long to cook and your pie shell will burn before the filling is done. 

FAQ

More Sweet Pie Recipes

Pastry roses are ridiculously easy to make, and are an easy way to up your pie-making game!

How to Serve Rhubarb Pie

Rhubarb pie is delicious warm or cold, as is or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side.

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