What’s your favorite pie? Mine is strawberry rhubarb, without a question. When it’s the season (usually mid- to late-spring), and both strawberries and rhubarb are available in the market, it’s the one pie that we must make.

WHAT IS RHUBARB?

Do you cook with rhubarb? It looks like pinkish red celery, or the stems of really fat swiss chard.

In the store you’ll only find the stems, as the green leaves are poisonous. The stems however, are tart and delicious, especially when cooked into a pie or cobbler.

I know, it’s weird. Rhubarb is a vegetable that behaves like a fruit.

Rhubarb grows wild in many parts of the U.S. (not here in Sacramento unfortunately). My father remembers when he was a kid in Minnesota, picking it from the back yard and dipping the raw stems in sugar to eat, like nature’s version of a Jolly Rancher candy.

WHAT DOES STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE TASTE LIKE?

Rhubarb loves to be paired with strawberries, and in a pie, they’re BFFs. The tartness of the rhubarb just intensifies the sweet flavor of the strawberries. The overall flavor isn’t overly sweet or overly tart; it’s just right.

HOW TO PREPARE THE RHUBARB

If your rhubarb stalks have any leaves, or pieces of leaves, still attached, trim those away (rhubarb leaves are poisonous and should never be eaten.) Sometimes later-season rhubarb can be a bit tough and stringy on the outside. You can peel those outside stringy parts if you want, otherwise usually you don’t need to peel rhubarb. Slice the stalks into 1/2 inch pieces, just like you would celery.

HOW IS THE FILLING THICKENED?

I use quick cooking, or “minute” tapioca to thicken the filling for this recipe. Quick cooking tapioca has good gelling power and does an excellent job of absorbing the juice from even the juiciest fruit so that you can still get a fairly clean slice. Once cooked, tapioca becomes clear, so the beautiful pink hue of the pie is unmarred.

Tapioca also works best if you allow it to sit with the fruit for a few minutes to soften and begin absorbing juices before filling the pie or baking, which is why we suggest letting the strawberry and rhubarb filling sit for 10 minutes.

If you don’t have access to quick tapioca, you can use cornstarch as a substitute, the same amount.

HOW TO STORE STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE

It’s hard to be patient, but try to let the pie cool before slicing. The closer it is to room temperature, the more it will have set and you can get a cleaner slice.

Fruit pies like this strawberry-rhubarb pie can be stored at room temperature for about 2 days, or longer if refrigerated. Cover the pie loosely with plastic wrap or an overturned mixing bowl. Let refrigerated pie come up to room temperature before serving.

LOVE FRUIT PIES? TRY THESE RECIPES!

Watch the video for how to make the best strawberry rhubarb pie!

Updated June 11, 2019 : We spiffed up this post to make it sparkle! No changes to the original recipe.