My mom used to buy rhubarb every spring whether anyone asked for it or not. Half the time it sat in the fridge until somebody finally baked something with it. A few years ago, I started tossing strawberries into the pie filling because the plain rhubarb version was a little too sharp for my kids, and now this is the only version they’ll eat without complaining.

The funny part is that I ruined the first strawberry rhubarb pie I ever made because I thought adding extra strawberries would make it better. It turned into soup. After a few test runs and one crust disaster involving way too much flour on the counter, this version finally became reliable enough to bring to family cookouts.

Why This Recipe Works

Here’s the thing with strawberry rhubarb pie: getting the balance right matters more than fancy ingredients. Rhubarb on its own can hit really sour, but strawberries mellow everything out without making the pie taste like candy. What I figured out is that keeping the filling simple and not overloading it with spices lets the fruit actually taste fresh instead of buried under cinnamon.

Ingredient Notes

Fresh rhubarb works best here because frozen rhubarb releases a ton of extra liquid. If frozen is all you can find, thaw it first and drain it really well.

I use regular grocery store strawberries most of the year, but local strawberries in late spring make a huge difference. The smaller ones usually taste sweeter.

For the crust, shortening gives that old-school flaky texture my grandma always swore by. I tested butter-only crusts a few times, but honestly, shortening handled the juicy filling better.

How to Make It

Start with the pie crust because it needs a little chill time before rolling it out. Mix the flour and salt together, then cut in the shortening until it looks crumbly with pea-sized pieces. Add cold water a little at a time until the dough barely comes together. The first time I made pie dough, I overworked it and ended up with something closer to a cracker than pie crust, so now I stop mixing as soon as it holds shape.

Split the dough into two discs and refrigerate them while you prep the filling. Meanwhile, chop the rhubarb into smaller pieces so it softens evenly while baking. Slice the strawberries fairly thick so they don’t disappear completely into the filling.

Toss the fruit with sugar and a little flour until everything looks coated. After a few minutes, you’ll notice juice pooling in the bottom of the bowl. That’s normal. If it looks extremely watery, add another spoonful of flour.

Roll out the bottom crust and fit it into the pie dish. Pour in the filling, then top with the second crust. I usually do a basic full crust instead of lattice because honestly I don’t always have the patience for decorative pie work on a random Tuesday night.

Cut a few slits in the top for steam and bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling bubbles through the vents. Around halfway through baking, I check the edges and loosely cover them with foil if they’re getting too dark.

The hardest part is letting the pie cool long enough to set. Warm pie smells incredible, but slicing too early turns it into strawberry rhubarb lava.

Things I Learned the Hard Way

Don’t skip chilling the dough. Warm dough sticks to everything and makes rolling it out miserable.

If your strawberries are extra ripe and juicy, reduce the sugar slightly or the filling gets overly sweet and loose.

Put a baking sheet under the pie plate. The bubbling filling has overflowed onto my oven floor more times than I’d like to admit.

And if the crust tears while transferring it, patch it and move on. Nobody at a backyard cookout cares about a perfect pie edge.

Storage & Serving Suggestions

This pie keeps well covered in the fridge for about 4 days, though the crust softens a little after the second day. I usually reheat slices in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp things back up.

Vanilla ice cream works best here, especially while the pie is still slightly warm.

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