Strawberry Pie Filling
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something. I only include links for products and services I love and believe in. Please check out my disclosure policy for more details!The first time I posted about making this strawberry pie filling was in 2014! I can’t believe how long I’ve been canning and trying new things, but I always come back to the classics.
I tend to make pie filling when I feel like I have way too much of a fruit and just want to get rid of it but use it in something productive. I tend to choose one fruit to turn into pie filling each year, sometimes two. One of the easiest and best pie fillings to make is strawberry! The prep isn’t too hard – all you have to do is wash and hull the strawberries. The weirdest part is waiting for the Clear Jel to be ready. If you haven’t used it before, there’s a bit of a learning curve, but because I care about you and your canning safety, I’m going to refer you to an outside resource for this recipe.
Here’s my best practice for strawberry pie filling (and all other canning) instructions
You’ll notice this on all of my canning posts, at least for now. I’m not yet a master food preserver, but I hope to be someday! Until then, I will be sharing resources I find helpful when I’m looking to can safely at home. Even though I’ve been doing this for more than 10 years, I still feel like a beginner. Extension specialists and folks in the canning subreddit are great resources for the latest in food safety! I also have a few of my favorite canning books on my Bookshop list – I particularly love Blue Ribbon Preserves.
Strawberry Pie Filling
Description
The ingredients and some basic notes below are for this recipe for strawberry pie filling.
Ingredients
- 6 qt strawberries fresh or thawed
- 6 cups granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups Clear Jel
- 7 cups water
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
Instructions
I always start my canning process by getting my water boiling in the canner and washing my jars. For quarts like this, you need to make sure you have enough headspace when preserving (it’s more room than you think you need) and enough water above each jar to ensure a proper seal. Sometimes, you may have some pie filling leak out, but as long as you have a strong seal after 24 hours, you can still store the pie filling at room temperature!
Using a strawberry huller makes the prep work a lot faster – I recommend this one from OXO.
Clear Jel is a really weird product when you use it the first time. It’s great because it starts as a chalky starch and cooks clear – thus the name. However, it will look like it’s doing nothing until it comes together suddenly. You need to be constantly stirring it because once it sets, it moves fast. It will also really give your arm a workout!
This recipe should make 7 quarts of strawberry pie filling. Happy picking and canning!
Notes
Here are some supplies you may need:
