This American Flag Slab Pie is a fun baking project that is much easier than it looks, using store-bought pie crust! Filled with sweet blueberries and strawberries, it's a perfect 4th of July dessert recipe that will feed the whole family. Serve with vanilla ice cream for a red, white, and blue treat. Totally vegan!
4th of July is usually one of my favorite holidays. It's a day off of work that usually involves a fun celebration with friends and family, cooking outdoors, and lots of fun drinks and desserts to go around.
Recipe Details
A slab pie is an extra-large rectangular pie with a top and bottom crust, baked on a sheet tray instead of in a standard circular pie pan.
No. Slab pies are also perfect for people who do not bake frequently, as they are very challenging to "mess up." There is no need to spend time carefully crimping the edges, and because they're pretty shallow overall they tend to bake very evenly.
Blueberries and cherries both have taut, edible skins, which help the berries themselves remain in tact while baking. Because these berries do not release their juices immediately, the crust has time to bake before becoming saturated with liquid.
Slab pies call for twice the amount of filling as a round pies, but can serve many more people. As a bonus there is a much more even distribution of filling to crust, so every bite is much more balanced (say goodbye to those dry crusty end pieces).
In the recipe below I offer suggestions for many kinds of fruit, so please do not feel discouraged if you don't have these specific berries on hand! As I mentioned above, this recipe is VERY forgiving.
How to make a Slab Pie with an American Flag
This process is easily broken down into just a few simple steps:
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- Thaw your store-bought crust and lay it over a greased baking sheet.
- Mix berry fillings, drain slightly to remove some juice, and lay over bottom crust.
- Cut out stars and stripes for top layer of pie, brush with some coconut milk for browning, and bake!
If you do not have a star-shaped cookie cutter, feel free to simply make stripes across the top of the entire pie. It will still be delicious and the colors will shine brightly through.
I hope you enjoy making this American flag slab pie! Please let me know in the comments or on Instagram if you give it a try, and be sure to leave a rating/review below.
More 4th of July Dessert ideas
Grand Marnier Strawberry Sundaes
American Flag Slab Pie
Ingredients
For the pie crust
- 2 packages of store bought pie crust vegan if needed (thawed the night before)
- 3 TBS coconut milk for brushing or 1 whisked egg + 2 TBS milk if not vegan
- Raw sugar for topping
For the filling
- 2 pints of fresh blueberries washed and dried
- 6 cups fresh red berries sliced thinly like pitted cherries, raspberries, rhubarb, or strawberries (frozen if needed)
- 5 TBS corn starch divided
- ⅔ cup of sugar divided
- 1 TBS vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 3 TBS lemon juice
- Pinches of salt
Instructions
Prep for the night before
- Thaw your store bought pie crust in the fridge overnight, so that it becomes nice and pliable. Remove from the fridge when ready to bake.
For the pie (the next morning)
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Oil a large baking sheet completely, including the sides. Carefully unfurl one of your pie crusts onto the sheet, lying flat. Unfurl the other pie crust onto a clean, lightly floured surface. Set both aside.
- Now it is time to prepare the fillings. In one medium bowl, combine blueberries, 2 TBS corn starch, ⅓ cup of sugar, ½ TBS vanilla extract, and 1 TBS lemon juice. Mix to combine and set aside. In a large bowl, combine all red berries with 3 TBS corn starch, ⅓ cup sugar, ½ TBS vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional), and 2 TBS lemon juice. Add a pinch of salt to both bowls and set aside (they will begin to release some juice, which we will want to drain away). Let sit for a few minutes.
- Now it's time to fill! Use a slotted spoon to place your berry mixtures on top of the rectangular pie crust. Add berries to the top left quadrant, in about a 6 x 6 inch square. Spread red berries across the rest of the rectangle until it is entirely covered.
- If desired, use a star shaped cookie cutter to cut stars out of your 2nd pie crust and place those over top of the blueberries. Use a pizza cutter or long knife tp cute large stripes out of remaining pie crust. Lay the stripes over top of the red berries, cutting as needed to for a flag.
- Brush the entire top of the pie with coconut milk or an egg wash (this will help browning). Sprinkle raw sugar across the entire surface and bake in 425 degree oven for 25 minutes. Rotate pie sheet and reduce the heat to 350, baking for about 40 more minutes. Be sure to check at various intervals to insure the top of the crust is now browning too quickly. You may want to place another baking sheet on the bottom rung of your oven to catch any potential drips. Remove pie from oven once nice and browned. Let cool for at least two hours before serving.
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