Red, White and Blue Pie

Few desserts are more festive than this colorful red, white and blue pie. The piles of fresh fruit look fancy, but the cool, creamy dessert is one of our easiest no-bake pie recipes for summertime. Just tip the filling into a premade graham cracker crust, top it with fruit, and chill the pie in the fridge.

The tangy, sweet filling has a secret ingredient that gives it its silky texture: instant pudding. Even professional chefs use instant pudding mix; one box is enough to give desserts an ideal creamy texture. Stir the pudding with cream cheese for a cheesecake-inspired tang that tastes delicious with berries. Red berries and blueberries are great for patriotic holidays like the Fourth of July or Memorial Day, but any fruit would be delicious on this pie.

Red, White and Blue Pie Ingredients

• White baking chocolate: A layer of melted white chocolate prevents the graham cracker crust from getting soggy. It’s sweet and rich, upping the decadence of this simple dessert.
• Graham cracker crust: It’s easy to make graham cracker crust from scratch, but you can use a store-bought crust for a shortcut.
• Fresh fruit: Bright red strawberries and blueberries add the namesake colors to this flag-themed pie. Slice the strawberries lengthwise for a pretty arrangement. We don’t suggest using frozen berries, as they’ll release a lot of juice that will discolor the creamy pie filling.
• Cream cheese: Like most cheesecake recipes, this pie’s base is made with tangy, rich cream cheese. We like to use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor and smoothest texture, but you can use low-fat cream cheese instead.
• Confectioners’ sugar: Fine, light confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar) easily dissolves into the filling.
• Milk: Adding milk to the pie filling makes it smooth and spreadable. The recipe calls for 2% milk, but feel free to use whole or skim milk.
• Instant white chocolate pudding mix: Using pudding mix in baked goods is a savvy shortcut; the texture comes out exactly right every time.
• Whipped topping: Airy whipped topping adds volume, giving the pie a light and silky texture.

Directions

Step 1: Start with the chocolate layer

Spread the melted chocolate onto the bottom and side of the crust.

Editor’s Tip: Our favorite way to melt chocolate without burning or curdling it is to heat it slowly in the microwave at 70% power, stirring often.

Step 2: Layer the strawberries

Arrange the sliced strawberries over the chocolate.

Step 3: Make the cream cheese filling

In a bowl, beat the cream cheese and confectioners’ sugar until they’re smooth. Gradually beat in the milk. Add the pudding mix to the bowl. Beat the mixture on low speed until it’s thickened, about two minutes.

Editor’s Tip: Mix on low speed so the powdery pudding mix doesn’t puff up into the air. You can also drape a kitchen towel over the bowl while mixing.

Step 4: Fill the pie

Spread the cream cheese and pudding mixture over the strawberries in the pie crust. Decorate the pie with the whipped topping, blueberries and halved strawberries.

Editor’s Tip: An offset spatula will make it easy to smooth out the top layer.

Step 5: Chill the pie

Refrigerate the pie until you’re ready to serve it.

Red, White and Blue Pie Variations

• Change the crust: Swap the graham cracker crust for an Oreo cookie crust or a crumb crust made from pretzels, walnuts or wafer cookies.
• Go gluten free: Sub in a gluten-free pie crust to make this pie an easy gluten-free dessert. You can make an almond flour pie crust or a gluten-free butter crust, or you can buy a gluten-free crust at the grocery store.
• Play with toppings: Garnish the pie with chopped toasted nuts, halved cookies, chocolate shards or toasted coconut flakes.
• Switch up the fruit: Virtually any fresh fruit would work well on this pie. Keep the red-and-blue theme and use raspberries, pomegranate seeds or cherries for the red. Or, try a multicolored pie with sliced pineapple, kiwi, peaches, nectarines, honeydew, cantaloupe, blackberries, mangoes or plums.
• Have fun with the decorations: You can always arrange the berries on top to resemble the American flag. Take a page from our red, white and blue dessert by putting the blueberries in the top left-hand corner and lining the strawberries to make stripes. If flag-shaped recipes are too fussy for you, shake red, white and blue sprinkles on top. Easy!

How to Store Red, White and Blue Pie

Keep red, white and blueberry pie in the refrigerator. Cover the top tightly with storage wrap or foil. It will last up to five days.

Can you freeze red, white and blue pie?

It’s easy to freeze pie, and this cream cheese filling withstands freezing well. We suggest freezing the pie without the fruit and whipped topping, though, because neither stands up well to freezing. Prepare the pie through Step 5, then chill it in the refrigerator until it’s completely cool. Wrap the pie in two layers, like storage wrap and foil or storage wrap and a bag. Freeze it for up to three months. Defrost the pie in the refrigerator overnight before proceeding to Step 6.

Red, White and Blue Pie Tips

How do you make a graham cracker crust from scratch?

You can buy a pie crust at the store, but it’s easy to make a graham cracker crust from scratch with just three ingredients: graham crackers, sugar and butter. Crush 1-1/2 cups (about 24 squares) of graham crackers into crumbs, and stir them together with 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/3 cup of melted butter. Press the crust into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate. Bake it at 375°F until it’s lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Let it cool on a wire rack, and then proceed with the recipe from Step 1.

How long can you leave a red, white and blue pie out?

It’s tempting to serve this cool, creamy dessert on a summer day, but be careful not to leave it at room temperature for too long! It’s safe to keep a cream cheese-based pie out of the refrigerator for about two hours. (Many people like to leave the pie at room temperature for about an hour before serving; it has more flavor when it’s not super cold.) On a hot day, try to not leave it out for more than 45 minutes.

Can you use homemade whipped cream instead of a store-bought whipped topping?

Yes, you can use homemade whipped cream instead of a store-bought whipped topping for this pie, but I recommend using stabilized whipped cream. Regular homemade whipped cream isn’t very strong, so it’ll separate, deflate and weep easily. Stabilized whipped cream, however, contains a stabilizer—like instant pudding mix or marshmallow creme when you make it at home. These ingredients maintain the look and taste of whipped cream while keeping it strong and stable for days, not just hours.

Watch How to Make Red, White and Blueberry Pie

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