Blueberry Pie Filling | Canning Instructions
This delicious blueberry pie filling can be made with fresh or frozen berries. Step by step canning instructions included.

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.

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

Step by step instructions
For fresh blueberries
Wash and sort berries in a large colander. Remove stems or any bad fruit.
- Combine sugar and clear-jel.
- Whisk or stir a bit to remove lumps.
- 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.
- Add sugar mixture to a separate medium saucepan.
- Add juice or water. Stir to combine.
- Bring to boil. Stir to remove clumps. Reduce heat, cook about 10 minutes until thickened.
- Fold berries into sauce to heat.

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.
- 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.)
- Remove air bubbles with a tool or wooden or plastic chopstick.
- Wipe rims of jars with damp paper towel.
- Apply lids. Screw on band fingertip tight.

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

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
More pies
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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!
Enjoy. And have fun cooking!


Canning Blueberry Pie Filling
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.
Notes
USES FOR BLUEBERRY PIE FILLING
- obviously, pies
- ice cream topping
- pour over yogurt or cottage cheese
- blueberry bars
- blueberry crisp
- parfaits
I would omit the cinnamon and nutmeg, it was too over powering.
We enjoy the cinnamon and nutmeg. Others don’t.
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??
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.
I’m using pint jars so how long do I process them for? it looks like you used a quart jar.
A quart jar is the perfect amount for a 9 inch pie. The time would be the same for pints or quarts.
Hello, can I use the instant clear jel or must I use the cook type?
You must use the cook type of clear jel. Thanks for the question Robin.
Hi, is it possible to use cornstarch instead of ClearJel? And what would the measurement be, if so. Ty!
If you are canning the pie filling you absolutely can not use cornstarch. You must use a modified cornstarch, such as clearjel.
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?
Process pints for the same amount of time as quarts. Thanks Chrystal.
Can you double, triple, quadruple the recipe.
You can easily multiply this recipe it. If you have a standard canning pot, I wouldn’t do more than 7 quarts though.
Can I use lime juice instead of lemon juice.
Yes, bottled lime juice would be fine to use. It will give the pie filling a unique, bright flavor. Thank you for checking out the recipe Lynn.
Is it necessary to blanch the blueberries?
It is necessary to blanch them. Thanks for checking out the recipe JoAnne!
I love making my own pie fillings, this came super handy as I am making pie tomorrow! Loved the recipe!
Thanks Tavo. I’m so glad you liked it!
Love homemade pie fillings. This blueberry one sounds marvelous. Can’t wait to have this on some stuffed French toast!
Thanks Andrea! I appreciate you checking out the recipe!
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!
It’s actually a lot of fun Jill. You should give it a try!
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!
It’s so good. Thanks for checking out the recipe Eliza!
This is the best pie filling I ever had and Blueberry is my favorite no more buying canned ever again! thanks
Thanks Claudia. That’s great. So glad you liked it!