Nothing says summer like fresh strawberry Jello pie. I’ve been making this for nearly 50 years—sweet fresh strawberries, a simple Jello glaze, and a store-bought crust. It’s easy to make, hard to mess up, and always a hit.
Jump To (scroll for more)
- Why You'll Love This Easy Strawberry Pie
- 🍓Ingredients You Need
- 🍓The best strawberries to use
- 🥧What pie crust to use
- 🥣Homemade strawberry glaze
- 📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
- ❓FAQs and Troubleshooting
- 🍓Picking the best strawberries
- 😊Pie and pie-like dessert recipes
- ❄️How to store a fresh strawberry pie
Featured Comment by M. Bartlett:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"This pie was easy to make and turned out well. We all loved it. A very good recipe."
Why You'll Love This Easy Strawberry Pie
- This beginner-friendly, easy strawberry pie with Jello is nearly fool-proof.
- Easy to make in 25 minutes with just five ingredients.
- Uses fresh strawberries and a quick homemade Jell-O glaze.
- Always a crowd-pleaser at family meals, cookouts, and potlucks. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
- Kitchen proven for almost 50 years.
🍓Ingredients You Need
🍓The best strawberries to use
Use fresh ripe berries. Wash and dry the fresh strawberries, then trim. You can leave them whole, but it is easier to enjoy your pie if you cut them into smaller pieces. See the section below for more tips on choosing the best strawberries.
🤔Pro Tip: Prepare the berries early in the recipe. Pat dry with a paper towel and spread the out to air dry. The glaze will adhere better to dry berries, making it easier to eat and will help it store longer.
🥧What pie crust to use
You can make your crust, but commercial refrigerated or frozen crusts are convenient and perfect for this simple classic pie. Pillsbury refrigerated crusts, a no-bake graham cracker, or frozen shells are good choices.
I prefer a refrigerated crust, blind-baked to a golden brown according to the producer's instructions.
📅Make-ahead tip: Bake your crusts a few days ahead and store, covered tightly, in the refrigerator. Or frozen for 3 months. The other ingredients should be made the day of assembly.
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🥣Homemade strawberry glaze
Commercial glaze is available, but it contains many chemicals and has a poor taste. The easy homemade version, made with cornstarch, white sugar, water, and strawberry Jell-O, is cheaper and vastly superior in flavor.
🤔Pro Tip: You can add the berries to the baked crust and then add the filling, but the glaze must coat the berries to preserve the pie. For the best coverage, mix the sliced berries into the Jell-O mixture after it has cooled, and then add it to the crust.
⬇Don't miss more pro tips and options below the recipe card!⬇
📖The Recipe Card with Step-by-Step Instructions
Fresh Strawberry Jello Pie (Easy & Reliable)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust - refrigerated and baked
- 1 pound strawberries - or a bit more
Homemade Jello Glaze
- ¼ cup corn starch
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ cup water
- 3 oz strawberry Jell-O® - one small package
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the crust
- Bake a refrigerated pie crust according to the package instructions in a 9-inch pie plate. Other crusts may be used.
Wash, trim, and dry the strawberries
- Wash, trim, and slice one pound (or a little more) of strawberries. Dry with a paper towel and set aside to let them air dry while the glaze cools. The glaze sticks better to dry berries.
Make the simple Jello glaze
- In a larger saucepan, add 1 cup sugar to 1½ cups water over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in ¼ cup of cornstarch slowly while stirring.
- The mixture will turn cloudy. Stir continuously over medium heat and bring to a light boil. In about 3-4 minutes, it will start to clear and thicken. When the thickening is complete (about two minutes after it starts to clear), remove it from the heat. Add a 3-oz package of Strawberry Jell-O® to the mixture and stir until completely dissolved.
Assemble and Chill
- Mix the berries into the cooled glaze before pouring it into the crust for the best coverage and sliceability.
- Pour the berry mixture into the pie crust. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours (preferably 3 hours or more) before cutting. Serve with whipped cream or vanalla ice cream.
Storage
- This is great on the first and second days. By the third day, the berries start to deteriorate.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- You can make your pie crusts, but this pie is fine with a frozen or refrigerated crust. A 9-inch crust is just right.
- Pick nice ripe strawberries.
- We like to add a few more berries. "Crowd the pan," so to speak.
- You can purchase glaze, but we recommend making your own. It's easy and tastes much better.
- Some people prefer to use whole berries with the point facing up. All for looks, and makes the pie harder to cut and consume.
- Dry the berries. The glaze does not stick well to wet berries.
- It is good for two days in the refrigerator, but not too good on the third day. It will not freeze well.
- Make two at once; the work is about the same, but you'll receive double the reward if you're having a party.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
❓FAQs and Troubleshooting
Preheat a baking sheet in the oven and place the pie on it. This helps set the crust quickly by melting the fat and creating a barrier that prevents the filling from soaking in.
The most common reason is undercooking the cornstarch mixture, which occurs when it is not cooked for long enough.
Bring it to a gentle boil and continue cooking for a few minutes after it starts to clear. It should thicken noticeably before it's done. It’s better to cook longer than you think rather than too short.
Also, dissolve the cornstarch completely—add it gradually while whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
No. Frozen berries will release excess fluid and ruin the texture of the pie.
Yep, it's a very nice combination. You can buy premade graham cracker crusts or make your own.
🍓Picking the best strawberries
The freshest strawberries are freshly picked during the season from your garden or at the farmers' market. But excellent berries can be obtained at supermarkets year-round.
👍Good
- The color should be deep, vibrant red
- Firm and plump with a taut skin
- Sweet and fruity smell
- The green caps should be bright green and not wilted.
👎Not Good
- Unripe berries with white or green tips
- Discoloration
- Soft and mushy berries or with soft spots
- Moldy
- Wilting green cap
:
😊Pie and pie-like dessert recipes
Don't miss these other quick and easy fruit dessert recipes, like Blueberry Crumble Pie, Apple Crumble Pie, Apple Crisp, and Apple Berry Crumble.
❄️How to store a fresh strawberry pie
Store in the refrigerator covered with plastic wrap. It will not freeze well.
❄️Storage tip: This pie keeps well for the first two days. By the third day, the berries will begin to deteriorate.
Publisher's note: This recipe was originally published on June 23, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
M. Bartlett says
This pie was easy to make and turned out well. We all loved it. A very good recipe.
Tonya says
Strawberry pie is my most favorite pie! If I may be so bold to make a suggestion: replace 1/2 cup of water with 7up Soda when making the glaze. It makes a huge difference! Several years ago I discovered this tip and made 4 pies for a family function. Two with the 7up added and two without. Everyone wanted to know why two of the pies were so much more flavorful. Have been using 7up ever sense. Enjoy!
Pamela says
My mom mad it like that too. Rip. She was a wonderful cook
Natalie Paret says
I, too, have been making a very similar strawberry pie for decades. Mine is an old Air Force Women's Club recipe. Decided to try this one and was not disappointed and, in fact, will do this one in the future. Thank you, Dr. Dan for bringing back an old but very sweet (pun intended) memory. Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend.
S says
Didn’t find any question about pie plate size. 9”? 10”? Makes a difference with amount of ingredients!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
The standard 9 inch is fine. The frozen 8 inch is a bit small. I haven't seen a 10 inch one for years but it would be about 20% more volume. So you could increase ingredients by 20% or just make it a bit thinner.
I added some wording in the notes.
Dan
gayle says
Excellent with two modifications. I used 3 T cornstarch and whisked that together with the sugar before adding to the water. I used cookingwithk homemade butter shortbread pie crust and this was superb combination.
I wish good intentioned people would make it before they comment.
Sue says
Mixing the sugar and cornstarch together before adding the water lets you make sure there are no lumps in the cornstarch.
Martha Worley says
Well, this city has no strawberry jello! Maybe everyone is making your strawberry pie for Easter! I got jello brand strawberry-banana because that’s what they had! So what if it has a little banana flavor!! (Hmmm, guess I could stick a few banana slices in it!)
Happy Easter to Dr Dan & family.
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Martha,
I think the banana will be ok although I have never had to resort to that. We do love our strawberry pie.
Thanks for the note and rating. Have a good holiday.
Dan
colleen says
I have this pie several times and it is always good. Also I have used it with peach jello and fresh peaches and it is awesome. My question is can you freeze jello based pie?
DrDan says
Hi Colleen,
I love the peach idea. I will try that.
Freezing not recommended. The jello will loose it's texture and be somewhat disgusting and the fruit will also thaw with a frozen fruit texture.
Dan
Dori S. says
This pie was so easy and delicious, everyone loved it. I really appreciate the detailed instructions and tips. Followed the recipe as written, using a store bought crust. It was a good tip to dry the berries a little...will be making this again. Thank you for posting.
Christine Koenig says
I just buy the glaze! It’s all ready, no mess, no fuss and it tastes great! Yes, I do use Pillsbury Pie crusts, as shown in the picture! 😋 it all comes together in a blink of an eye, well almost...😉
Lisa says
I always used to buy the premade glaze too. Then one day, I ate a strawberry pie slice that was made with strawberry jello like this recipe. Oh my goodness! The homemade glaze had so much more strawberry flavor than the store bought glaze! I highly recommend trying it.
DrDan says
Hi Lisa,
I so agree with you, I think this is so much better then the pre-made I have tried in the past. There may be some variation but this is always good.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Robin McCown says
I've made this for years. I recall my mom making it at least 20 years ago. Where did you get the recipe?
DrDan says
Handed down through my wife's family. They "stole it" from a family friend probably 60 yrs ago. It's a long story. But there are similar ones on the internet.
Leslie says
I love this strawberry pie, great recipe I plan to use often!. I have not been receiving your new blog updates for about 4 weeks. Do I need to sign up again? Thank you Leslie
DrDan says
We do love our strawberry Pie... I need to do one soon. Go ahead and sign up again... if the signup widget shows up... I have a war between the ads and the widgets this weekend and tech support is not available until Monday. Yagou might want to wait until Tuesday. A major change in format of the site is coming soon and we will see if I can break even more things.
Dan
Krystal Shearer says
Oops, by teaspoons*, just a little cold water as necessary (for anybody else who could possibly have the strange troubles that I have in the kitchen. Bah!)
Krystal Shearer says
I got it to work!!! I'd never used cornstarch in a recipe before so I had to Google around a bit as well :) I used 1/4 cup cornstarch and then I added cold water to it by tablespoons until it wasn't oobleck anymore, then added THAT to the sugar water. Worked like a charm. Possibly I should have cut down on the content of water in the pan in the first place, as it was replaced, but that's okay - we'll see if it sets up correctly. Thanks for the recipe! :)
Dr Dan says
It hasn't been a problem for me. Corn starch needs to be powder and if it is in lumps, maybe it has got moisture in it in the past and you need new???? Otherwise, I just keep sturring while I slowly add the corn starch. If a glob goes in, smash it against the side and keep sturring. Another option I have seen in other recipes is to mix the corn starch with the sugar first. Give that a try...
Krystal Shearer says
I had an awful time making the cornstarch break apart in the water/sugar - first step!!! I tried just stirring, I whisked it, I tried breaking them apart....how did it get like this? It's so strange. It's just like gloppy water/sugar with corn starch chunks everywhere. Sad day :(
Linda says
I always add the sugar and cornstarch together mix well and then slowly add the water while stirring. Works every time
Chris says
This makes me want to get some Plant City strawberries, great pie.