Should You Cook Pie Filling Before Baking?


Kitchen Knowledge Lifestyle | Published November 5, 2022 by Mimi Council

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Pie season is here! And as you sift through recipes to make, you may be wondering why some recipes call for the pie filling to be cooked and some do not. So, should you cook pie filling before baking? I'm explaining it all, so read on!

If you want to level up your pie baking, check out some of my other posts like my All Butter Pie Crust, How to Roll Out a Pie, or my Tips for Golden Brown Pie Crust.

apple berry pie

With pie season here, you may be looking at a slew of different pie recipes! And you may see some that tell you to cook your pie filling before baking it. And, some that tell you to just mix it up and add it in raw. So that may be confusing! And it may just leave you guessing, does pie filling need to be cooked?

Do you need to cook pie filling? What is right or wrong? Why are some people cooking pie filling beforehand and some aren’t? But more importantly, why would you do more work for a recipe if you don’t really need to? So, should you cook pie filling before baking? We are going to dive into that today!

For this article we will assume we’re talking about fruit filled pies. This is the main type of pie where some filling is cooked, and some isn’t. So, for the purposes of this article, I’m only talking about fruit pies.

apple berry pie

Does pie filling need to be cooked?

The short answer is no, for the most part a fruit pie filling does not need to be cooked before baking. Pies bake for a while, usually an hour or more. And that is plenty of time to cook fruit enough to be eaten, and to melt and cook the sugar into a sweet fruit filling.

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Should you cook pie filling before baking?

So, if fruit pie filling doesn’t need to be cooked, then why do recipes call for it to be cooked? And should you cook pie filling before baking? You may be wondering why would anyone create more work for themselves in the kitchen if they didn’t have to? And I feel you there.

Most fruit pie fillings do not need to be cooked for the fruit. But, they can be cooked to reduce fruit juices! This is to prevent fruit juices from giving the crust a soggy bottom, bursting out of the pie or ruining the op crust. This is the difference!

Fresh Fruit Pies: To Cook Filling or Not?

Fruit pie fillings can cook in the amount of time that the pie crust bakes. But, fresh fruit is made up of mostly water and sugar. Have you ever cut into a pie and had the fruit juice just pour out if it? Or maybe it bursted through the vent while baking and leaked into the bottom of the pie crust. Or even worse – on the bottom of your oven! This is also why you should always put your pie pan on a baking sheet, just in case! This is a pie disaster! So, putting raw fruit filling with sugar inside a pie has to be done with care.

Thickening Agents for Fruit Pies

This is where thickening agents come into play. The two main ingredients used inside pie filling besides fruit and sugar are flour and cornstarch. Both flour and cornstarch are thickening ingredients. So, when a fresh fruit pie bakes in the oven, the fruits explode and give off water and juices. The sugars melts into a liquid. And, this is where the flour and cornstarch go to work. They solidify the fruit juices into a thicker fruit paste that won’t ruin your pie crust, pie dish, or oven!

Those fruit juices become a sticky fruit syrup instead. This all happens in the oven as your pie bakes! And some pies need more thickening agents if they are very juicy. This may depend on the type of fruit as strawberries are way juicier than apples. It also can depend on the amount of sugar in a recipe.

apple berry pie

When do you need to cook pie filling before baking?

Low sugar fruits like apples combined with a thickening agent usually do not need to be cooked ahead of time. These fillings will usually solidify on their own in the oven as the pie bakes. This is why I use both flour and cornstarch in my pie filling recipes. Using both of these ingredients allows me to use less flour, so it doesn’t compromise the taste of the filling. As too much flour in your pie filling will eventually taste of flour and not sweet apples.

But what about fruits with high sugar?

Higher sugar fruits like strawberries may be different though. You may not be able to add enough thickening agent to solidify, without compromising taste. So, this may call for you to cook the filling before baking. This will reduce sugar and juices.

When the filling is cooked, the sugar melts and the fruits expload. The juices will evaporate in the pot as well. And the filling reduces, similar to the process of making preserves or jam. This cooking process creates a thicker fruit filling. This, then prevents the juices from ruining your pie as they have been solidified in the pot. It will also prevent a soggy crust or juices bursting through the pie vents in the crust as well.

apple berry pie

Other Reasons You May Need to Cook Filling

If you've made my Honey Lemon Apple Pie before there’s both cornstarch and flour, and it is an apple pie. And the filling calls for it to be cooked. Why? In that recipe I use lemon juice for flavor. That lemon juice needs to be reduced, as it’s too much liquid to add into a pie. So, I cook that pie filling to reduce the lemon juice for flavor in the filling.

You may see this in other recipes, depending on the ingredients in the filling. If there’s fruit juice or something else for flavor, it may call to cook it to reduce it down.

So, that’s the difference in cooking your pie filling or not cooking it! What it all comes down to are the ingredients in your filling. There are plenty recipes that don't require the fruit filling to be baked. So, if you're feeling lazy or don't want the extra step, then se la vie!

Try my Orange Honey Blossom Apple Pie, which is a favorite of mine. My Vanilla Bean Apple Pie, Caramel Apple Pie, Apple Berry Pie, and Dutch Apple Pie are also great options too. None of these pie recipes require you to cook the filling. Happy pie baking!

apple berry pie

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