15 Beautiful Pies to Make This Summer
No summer barbecue or outdoor gathering is complete without a pie — and if you're tired of your standby recipe, we have more than a few options to help you switch it up. There are fruity pies, of course, like peach-blueberry and sour cherry, and then there are the creamy, indulgent recipes too, like coconut cream and lemon meringue. Check out some of our favorite summer pies below.
Blueberry Pie with Rye Crust
This sensational blueberry pie has small circles cut out of the rye crust, which not only looks dramatic but also allows moisture to evaporate from the fruit filling as it cooks, deepening the flavor.
Georgia Peach Pie with Bourbon Whipped Cream
When you slice into this delicious pie, don't be surprised by the gap between the filling and the top crust. This happens when a pie is baked at high heat because the crust sets before the fruit in the filling has cooked down. It's worth it, since the high heat also helps the bottom crust get nice and crispy.
Sour Cherry Pie
Sour cherry season is fleeting, so be sure to make this pie while they are around. Almond and sour cherries have complementary flavor profiles; together, they create a delicious and elegant pie with ideal flavor balance. The frangipane along with the sour cherries give the pie a tender and custard-y filling with a pop of tartness and textures.
Key Lime Pie with Chocolate-Almond Crust
This recipe elevates key lime pie with a riff on the crust, using chocolate graham cracker crumbs and finely ground almonds.
Black-and-Blue Pie with Brown Sugar Crumb
Pie queen Nicole Rucker crushes a single large handful of the berry filling to help create the perfect saucy consistency for juicy — but never runny — berry pie. Huckleberries and blackberries create the namesake black-and-blue filling, but a mix of any brambleberries and blueberries will do. A crumb topping adds texture and helps absorb some of the pie's juices, allowing it to slice cleanly.
Lemon Meringue Pie with Marcona Shortbread Crust
Here, a pat-in shortbread crust studded with salty, crunchy bits of toasted marcona almonds holds an assertively lemony filling, all topped with a creamy, dense Italian meringue.
Berry Ice Cream Pie
This recipe turns out a berry ice cream pie that is as beautiful as it is deliciously refreshing. It's layered with balsamic blueberry jam and strawberry ice cream atop a graham cracker crust, then served with fresh blueberries.
Pay de Plátano de Yelapa (Yelapa-Style Banana Pie)
Yelapa, a tiny beach community about 45 minutes away from Puerto Vallarta via water taxi, is known for its tropical pies; this version features caramelized bananas and vanilla custard. The sturdy crust is salted and shortbread-like because the pie has always been eaten while sunbathing, with no utensils around. Take big bites — it’ll taste better.
Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Pie
If you don't want to make a caramel or fudge sauce, chef Nancy Silverton suggests using high-quality jarred ones like King's Cupboard cream caramel sauce and Scharffen Berger chocolate sauce.
Coconut Cream Pie
Every part of this fluffy pie from pastry chef Kierin Baldwin has coconut: the crust, the fillling, and the topping.
Piña Colada Pie
In this swoon-worthy dessert, the classic tropical flavors of a piña colada cocktail are transformed into a pie featuring layers of silky coconut custard and a caramelized pineapple jam made by simmering fresh pineapple with brown sugar. Adding rum to the hot pineapple mixture burns off the harsher taste of the alcohol while leaving a pleasant kick.
Strawberry Slab Pie
With a perfectly buttery crust and a sweet, jammy filling, this slab pie from baker Joanne Chang is one of the most delicious desserts you’ll eat all summer.
Thalheimer's Lemon Chess Pie
Scholar and cookbook author Jessica B. Harris' good friend Karen Finley shares her family recipe for buttery, silky, and lusciously tart lemon chess pie. The flavor of the filling is similar to a lemon bar, but a touch sweeter and with some pleasant texture from floral lemon zest.
Peach-Blueberry Pie
The flavors in this pie scream summer, but don't let cold weather keep you from baking it; thawed frozen fruit works beautifully here. The tart lemon zest and juice in the filling balance the sweetness of the fruit, in contrast with the crunchy turbinado sugar on top of the geometric pieces of pie crust.
Mud Pie
This decadent ice cream pie has a crunchy cookie crust, a fudgy chocolate-pecan layer, and lots of coffee ice cream. To top it off: a blanket of homemade hot fudge plus a generous heap of whipped cream.