Easy Gooseberry Pie (Canned, Fresh or Frozen Recipe) (2024)

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This gooseberry pie recipe has some of the best pie filling I’ve ever tasted! It’s sweet and tart, just like your Grandma used to make.

Recently, my coworker gave me gooseberries from her Mom’s farm. I was THRILLED, but also a bit nervous! Although I have enjoyed my fair share of gooseberry jam and pies from my Grandmother’s wild gooseberry bushes, I had never made a gooseberry pie myself! So,I immediately turned to an old family cookbook to find a tried and true gooseberry pie recipe.

Luckily, I found a gooseberry pie recipe from a family member who is known for her baking. And even better, her recipe called for frozen pie crusts! Like most of you, I rarely have the time or patience to make pie crust from scratch, so I focused entirely on making the most delicious gooseberry pie filling possible.

“I used this recipe to make my latest Gooseberry Pie and I think it will be my forever recipe! My husband and I love it, the problem is we are eating it all so no one else gets a chance to taste it! LOL I guess I’m just going to have to make another one!”
– Rose

But, the pie still tasted wonderful because the filling was just perfect! I’m so glad that I had enough gooseberries to make two pies; one for my coworker who gifted the gooseberries to me, and another for my parents who were visiting us! When my Mom took her first bite, she said it was the“best gooseberry pie she had EVER had.”And trust me, that’s very high praise!

You may be a bit turned off by the addition of an egg to the filling! Don’t be. This is an old recipe and my best guess is that it was passed down to my relative from prior generations, when eggs were more readily available than other thickeners like tapioca starch or corn starch.

Don’t worry, it works!

Easy Gooseberry Pie (Canned, Fresh or Frozen Recipe) (1)

Recipe Substitutions

I used store bought pie crust for this recipe. If you don’t want to use a shortcut like this, use your favorite pie crust recipe for the bottom crust and lattice top!

For the gooseberries, if all you can find are cans of gooseberries, you can absolutely use them in this recipe. Make sure to rinse the syrup off and give them a good pat down with paper towels before using them in the filling.
Substitute brown sugar for all of part of the white sugar in the filling. Brown sugar adds a bit of molasses flavor when used!
If you don’t want to add the egg to the filling, substitute corn starch! Whisk a tablespoon of corn starch powder into three tablespoons of cold water. Allow it to rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes to thicken before adding it to the filling.

Feel free to sprinkle the top pastry with a bit of sugar immediately after baking!

“Hello from PA, I picked a pint of gooseberries yesterday from my 20-year-old bushes. I topped and tailed and then cooked them per instructions. The pie was perfect. Thank you for your fast and easy recipe.”-
– Robin

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What do Gooseberries taste like?

Gooseberries have a unique flavor that largely depends on how ripe they are. Green gooseberries are not ripe, but they are most often what is used it cooking. Green gooseberries are very tart and tangy.

As gooseberries ripen, they turn into slightly golden berries, then purple. As they ripen, the flavor turns from sour to semi-sweet, like a grape!

What does Gooseberry Pie taste like?

A great gooseberry pie is equal parts SWEET and SOUR.

The buttery taste of the crust and the sweetness of the filling help balance the unique sour flavor of the gooseberries.

Serving Suggestions

I think that gooseberry pie is best served as dessert. Most of the time, I like my pie slices a bit warm and topped with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream!

But, I have also been known to enjoy a small piece of pie for breakfast. Life is here for us to enjoy it, right?

Love this pie recipes? Check out all of mypie recipes on Blackberry Babe!

So, haveyou ever had tried gooseberry pie? I’d love to hear any memories that you have of this sweet and sour pie!

Easy Gooseberry Pie

Yield: Serves 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Additional Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 pre-made pie crusts, frozen in aluminum pie plate

FOR THE FILLING:

1 pint fresh gooseberries
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
2 egg yolks

TO BRUSH ON TOP:

2 egg whites
¼ cup sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a medium saucepan, add gooseberries and water. Simmer for 2-3 minutes over medium heat. Drain off most of the excess water, then return to the burner.
To the gooseberry mixture, add the sugar, butter and flour, continue to simmer.
Beat egg yolks and pour slowly into saucepan. Cook on medium-low heat until thick.
Pour filling into the still frozen pastry lined pie plate.
Top with a second pie crust, cutting slits to vent (or cut into strips for lattice top).
Brush the top pie crust with egg whites. Sprinkle sugar on top.
Cover the outer ring/ edge of pie plate aluminum foil and bake for 20-25 minutes. You can also use a pie crust shield. Remove aluminum foil or pie crust shield and bake for another 15-25 minutes, until the top crust is golden brown.
Remove the baked pie from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.

Notes

If you can find canned gooseberries, you can absolutely use them in this recipe. Make sure to rinse the syrup off and give them a good pat down with paper towels before making the filling.

The same goes for frozen gooseberries. Allow them to completely thaw, and pat them dry with a paper towel to relieve any excess moisture!

I used frozen pastry in a 9-inch pie plate. Of course, you can use fresh or refrigerated pie crust dough. You may want to reduce the bake time a bit, though!

Did you make this recipe?

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If you love this recipe, I think you’d also love:

Blackberry Peach Hand Pies
Deep Dish Strawberry Pie!
Easy Caramel Apple Dump Cake
Pecan Pie Cobbler
Grandma’s Snickerdoodle Cookies No Cream of Tartar

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