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    Home » Food Preservation » Canning » Blueberry Pie Filling | Canning Instructions

    Blueberry Pie Filling | Canning Instructions

    Posted on February 19, 2022 By Beth Neels

    106 shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Pinterest image with text overlay for blueberry pie filling.
    Pinterest image with text overlay for blueberry pie filling.

    This delicious blueberry pie filling can be made with fresh or frozen berries. Step by step canning instructions included.

    Quarts jars of blueberry pie filling.

    Having great desserts ready to put together sitting on your pantry shelf is a lifesaver when company comes over at the last minute.

    Once the filling is made, just open the jar and add to your favorite sweet treats. If you have a frozen pie crust in the freezer, it will save you even more time.

    You can have a pie done in less than an hour. Just pour the filling in the pie crust. Top with second crust. Poke holes in top crust. Bake about 50 minutes until middle is bubbly and the crust is golden brown.

    What blueberries should you use?

    A far as variety goes, you can really use any variety of blueberry plant. Try to find organic berries. These bushes don’t get too many insects or diseases, so that should not be too hard to do. Even wild blueberries and huckleberries are delicious.

    Blueberries are a special case when it comes to picking them. Unlike most other fruit, berries will not ripen after they are picked.

    So the thing to bear in mind when you are picking berries is to only pick berries that are blue. When each berry ripens they turn from green to reddish to purplish and then finally to blue.

    Pick perfectly blue fruit that is firm and not soft or mushy.

    Bowl filled with pie filling with a spoon.

    How to clean blueberries after picking

    Rinse berries under cold water and discard any stems, leaves or soft fruit. Add cold water to a large bowl and add berries.

    Gently move them around the bowl with your hands, dislodging any dirt or foreign material from the fruit.

    Drain well before using. A salad spinner works great to soak and remove water. Just spin slowly so that you don’t bruise any of the fruit.

    Ingredients you need

    • blueberries, fresh or frozen blueberries will work
    • clear-jel or modified cornstarch IMPORTANT – Do not use cornstarch if you are canning. It is not safe!
    • sugar
    • lemon juice – always use bottled lemon juice when canning
    • cinnamon – optional
    • nutmeg -optional
    • water or juice
    Ingredients for making blueberry pie filling. See details in recipe below.

    Step by step instructions

    For fresh blueberries

    Wash and sort berries in a large colander. Remove stems or any bad fruit.

    1. Combine sugar and clear-jel.
    2. Whisk or stir a bit to remove lumps.
    3. Add one gallon of water to a large pot. Heat to boiling on high heat. Add up to 6 cups at a time. Blanch berries for one minute, after water returns to boil. Remove with slotted spoon to covered bowl to keep them warm.
    4. Add sugar mixture to a separate medium saucepan.
    5. Add juice or water. Stir to combine.
    6. Bring to boil. Stir to remove clumps. Reduce heat, cook about 10 minutes until thickened.
    7. Fold berries into sauce to heat.
    Step by step photo for process for filling. See details in recipe below.

    For frozen berries

    • Rinse berries under cold water in a large colander. Allow them at least 15 minutes to drain and thaw.
    • Then proceed as above instructions for fresh berries.

    Canning blueberry pie filling

    Prepare you boiling water bath canning pot. Wash and heat jars and lids.

    1. Pour hot pie filling into hot jars with the aid of a canning funnel, leaving 1 inch headspace. (the space between the top of the product and the rim of the jar.)
    2. Remove air bubbles with a tool or wooden or plastic chopstick.
    3. Wipe rims of jars with damp paper towel.
    4. Apply lids. Screw on band fingertip tight.
    Canning process for filling. See details in recipe below.

    Add jars to the rack of a water bath canning pot. Bring to boil. Then process for 30 minutes, adjusting for altitude. (See recipe below.) Remove pot from heat. Allow jars to cool in the hot water for 5-10 minutes before removing them so that they cool slowly.

    This will prevent siphoning (leakage of liquid from the seal, even if the jars are sealed.)

    Remove jars from hot water with jar lifter, after cooling period. Place on a kitchen towel on the counter and leave undisturbed for 12-24 hours.

    Check for seal. Press down in the center of the lids. If the lids flex, the jar is not sealed. You can either attempt to process the jar again with a new lid or store any unsealed jars in the fridge and use them first.

    How to use it

    This pie filling is great for many different desserts. The flavor is so fresh and a bit on the tart side, which we love.

    • obviously, pies
    • ice cream topping
    • pancakes, French toast and waffles
    • pour over yogurt or cottage cheese
    • blueberry bars
    • blueberry crisp
    • parfaits
    Jars of filling with blue lids.

    Pro tips

    • Never use corn starch or corn flour when home canning. Always use a modified corn starch like clear-jel.
    • Use quart jars. 1 quart is perfect for a 9 inch pie crust.
    • You can adjust the sweetness of the filling by adjusting the amount of sugar and/or lemon juice that you use.
    • If you don’t want to can the filling it can be stored in a sterile jar in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks.
    • If you would like, you can add 3 drops of blue food coloring and 1 drop of red food coloring for color. We don’t find it necessary.

    This homemade blueberry pie filling is so handy to have in your pantry for last minute guests. It tastes like munching on fresh blueberries in the middle of summer.

    Other recipes with blueberries

    • Blueberry BBQ sauce
    • Wild duck with blueberry sauce
    • Blueberry smoothie
    • Blueberry jam

    More pies

    • Rhubarb custard pie
    • Strawberry pie
    • Cherry pie
    • Apricot pie
    • Lemon meringue pie
    • Apple pie filling

    Helpful tools

    • canning pot
    • Canning tool set
    • quart canning jars
    • canning lids
    • ClearJel
    Small glass bowl with blueberry pie filling.

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    If you have any questions or comments, please ask in comment section below. We’d love to hear from you!

    I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

    Enjoy. And have fun cooking!

    Binky's signature
    Blueberry filling in glass mason jars.

    Canning Blueberry Pie Filling

    This easy recipe for canning blueberry pie filling only has 6 ingredients. It is incredibly easy. Make the sauce and refrigerate or water bath can it for longer storage.
    See Step by Step Photos Above!Most of our recipes have step by step photos and videos! Also helpful tips so that you can make it perfectly the first time and every time! Scroll up to see them!
    5 from 9 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: canning, Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes
    Canning time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 55 minutes
    Servings: 64 tablespoons
    Calories: 14kcal
    Author: Beth Neels
    Cost: $9

    Ingredients

    • 3½ cups fresh blueberries just over a quart or one pound frozen
    • 5 tablespoons Clear Jel modified cornstarch
    • ¾ cup Sugar plus 2 Tbsp
    • 1 cup water
    • 3½ teaspoons Bottled Lemon Juice
    • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
    • ¼ tespoon nutmeg

    Instructions

    To use frozen blueberries

    • Rinse berries under cold water in a large colander. Allow them at least 15 minutes to drain.
    • Then proceed as instructions below for fresh berries.

    How to make the filling with fresh berries

    • Rinse berries well.
    • Remove hulls.
    • Boil water in a large pan. Blanch berries for one minute. Remove with slotted spoon to covered bowl.
      3½ cups fresh blueberries
    • Add juice or water, lemon juice, spices, if using, and Clear-jel mixed with sugar to a separate pan. Bring to boil. Stir to remove clumps. Reduce heat cook about 10 minutes until thickened. Add berries back to sauce to heat.
      5 tablespoons Clear Jel modified cornstarch, ¾ cup Sugar, 1 cup water, 3½ teaspoons Bottled Lemon Juice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ tespoon nutmeg

    How to can the filling

    • Ladle hot filling into the hot jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace.
    • Wipe rims clean with damp paper towel.
    • Center lids on jars.
    • Apply bands and adjust to fingertip tight. Place filled jars in canner ensuring jars are covered by over 1″ water. Bring to a gentle, steady boil.
    • Process jars for 30 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat. Let jars rest in hot water for 5 minutes before removing from canning pot.
    • Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down in the center, when pressed. Store jars in a cool place.
    Water Bath Canning Pot
    canning tool set
    canning jars- Quart
    See all of my favorite tools and gift ideas on my New Amazon Store!Check out Binky’s Amazon Store!

    Notes

    This batch makes 1 quart (liter) of pie filling which is enough for one 9″ (25cm) pie.
    Only use bottled lemon juice. The acidity is tested and the acidity of fresh lemon juice varies.
    Blanch blueberries briefly or they will overcook.
    Wait for water in canning pot to return to a boil before starting the 30 minute timer.
    Always allow jars to rest in the canning pot water for 5-10 minutes before removing them to reduce the risk of siphoning. (liquid seeping out of the top)

    USES FOR BLUEBERRY PIE FILLING

    • obviously, pies
    • ice cream topping
    • pour over yogurt or cottage cheese
    • blueberry bars
    • blueberry crisp
    • parfaits
    Adjustment for altitudes
    below 1000 ft above sea level   30 minutes
    1000-3000 ft above sea level    35 minutes
    3000-6000 ft above sea level    40 minutes
    above 6000 ft above sea level    45 minutes

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1tablespooon | Calories: 14kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 1mg | Iron: 1mg
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    106 shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Thea

      July 19, 2022 at 7:27 pm

      5 stars
      All of my can siphoned horribly but I red this is common with blueberries, is this still safe to keep if the cans have sealed??

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        July 20, 2022 at 9:56 am

        Yes it is. Just clean off the outside of the jars and then store them in a cool, dark place. There are couple reasons that siphoning occurs.
        1. Jars are overfilled. Leave the proper amount of headspace
        2. Allow jars to cool in the canning pot in the water for 5-10 minutes so that they cool off slowly. This will help reduce siphoning.
        3. Failure to remove air bubbles.
        4. Fluctuation of pressure during canning process. When pressure canning, keep consistent heat under the canning pot.
        5. Imperfect seal of lids. Make sure you use new, perfect lids.
        6. Screw on bands not tight enough. Tighten fingertip tight.
        7. Uncovered jars. Make sure jars are covered with at least one inch of water for water bath canning.

        Reply
    2. Tracey

      July 09, 2022 at 2:28 pm

      Hi, is it possible to use cornstarch instead of ClearJel? And what would the measurement be, if so. Ty!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        July 11, 2022 at 11:43 am

        If you are canning the pie filling you absolutely can not use cornstarch. You must use a modified cornstarch, such as clearjel.

        Reply
      • Crystal

        December 16, 2022 at 9:46 pm

        I would like to can this in pint jars as I’m not going to use it for pie. What would the processing time be?

        Reply
        • Beth Neels

          December 18, 2022 at 2:20 pm

          Process pints for the same amount of time as quarts. Thanks Chrystal.

          Reply
          • Marsha

            December 29, 2022 at 2:47 am

            Can you double, triple, quadruple the recipe.

            Reply
            • Beth Neels

              December 29, 2022 at 1:59 pm

              You can easily multiply this recipe it. If you have a standard canning pot, I wouldn’t do more than 7 quarts though.

    3. JoAnne Jenkins

      June 12, 2022 at 11:11 am

      Is it necessary to blanch the blueberries?

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        June 13, 2022 at 9:43 pm

        It is necessary to blanch them. Thanks for checking out the recipe JoAnne!

        Reply
    4. Tavo

      February 19, 2022 at 12:40 pm

      5 stars
      I love making my own pie fillings, this came super handy as I am making pie tomorrow! Loved the recipe!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        February 19, 2022 at 12:50 pm

        Thanks Tavo. I’m so glad you liked it!

        Reply
      • Andrea

        February 19, 2022 at 2:04 pm

        5 stars
        Love homemade pie fillings. This blueberry one sounds marvelous. Can’t wait to have this on some stuffed French toast!

        Reply
        • Beth Neels

          February 19, 2022 at 2:36 pm

          Thanks Andrea! I appreciate you checking out the recipe!

          Reply
    5. Jill

      February 19, 2022 at 12:36 pm

      5 stars
      I’ve never tried canning at home. So I appreciate the process photos and directions, plus the delicious recipe for blueberry pie filling. Homemade is always best!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        February 19, 2022 at 12:50 pm

        It’s actually a lot of fun Jill. You should give it a try!

        Reply
    6. Eliza

      February 19, 2022 at 12:31 pm

      5 stars
      What a great recipe. I can think of so many recipes to use this tasty blueberry filling. Thank you for another winner from Binky’s Culinary Carnival!

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        February 19, 2022 at 12:49 pm

        It’s so good. Thanks for checking out the recipe Eliza!

        Reply
    7. Claudia Lamascolo

      February 19, 2022 at 12:18 pm

      5 stars
      This is the best pie filling I ever had and Blueberry is my favorite no more buying canned ever again! thanks

      Reply
      • Beth Neels

        February 19, 2022 at 12:43 pm

        Thanks Claudia. That’s great. So glad you liked it!

        Reply

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