This easy Blueberry Lemon Cream Pie recipe is a shortbread crusted lemon pie with a blueberry pie filling. Made with fresh lemons and blueberries, this is such a bright and flavorful summer dessert.
This creamy Lemon Blueberry Pie is made with a homemade shortbread crust, filled with layers of blueberry pie filling and homemade lemon pudding, and finally topped with the best whipped cream. It’s absolutely delish.
If there’s one dessert this summer that I could honestly eat every single week without getting tired of it, it would be this Blueberry Lemon Cream Pie.
I’ve always loved lemon and blueberry together (i.e., these Lemon Blueberry Tarts), as the tart brightness of lemon enhances the sweet blueberry flavor.
For some time now, I’ve wanted to do some kind of cross between a lemon pudding pie and a blueberry pie.
I’ve shared this Lemon Cream Pie and this Lemon Blueberry Trifle (both of which are amazing and super simple to make, in case you were wondering 😉), but I wanted to marry those two ideas into one.
And this Blueberry Lemon Cream Pie with a shortbread crust is a match made in heaven.
Let’s get into the nitty gritty of this recipe, beginning with the ingredients. It’s going to seem like a long list, but a lot of the ingredients are the same for each step.
Shortbread Crust Ingredients:
- all purpose flour
- butter
- powdered sugar
Blueberry Pie Filling:
- fresh blueberries
- granulated sugar
- lemon zest & lemon juice
- cornstarch
Lemon Pudding:
- eggs
- granulated sugar
- cornstarch
- all purpose flour
- half and half
- lemon zest and juice
- butter
Whipped Cream:
- heavy whipping cream
- powdered sugar
- vanilla extract
Beginning with the homemade shortbread crust, you only need those three ingredients listed above to make a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth crust.
Shortbread Crust Tips:
- use a food processor (if you have one) to pulse all of the ingredients together.
- A shortbread crust is a little like a graham cracker crust. It’s not quite as sandy as a cookie crust, but it’s not like a pastry crust either.
- With that said, you’ll press the crust into your pie plate, like a cookie crust (as opposed to rolling it out like a pastry crust).
- The crust does need to be baked in the oven.
Blueberry Pie Filling Tips:
- I wanted the blueberry filling to have a mixture of texture, which is why the recipe calls for using only part of the blueberries when you first start cooking the filling.
- The remaining blueberries get added at the end, giving the filling a nice combination of softened, cooked-down blueberries and blueberries that still have a bite to them.
- Make sure you whisk the cornstarch and lemon juice together to make a slurry. This ensures the cornstarch won’t clump up in the filling.
Lemon Pudding Pie Tips:
- Whisk the eggs first (this will help them integrate better with the rest of the ingredients).
- Then, you’re going to whisk all ingredients into the saucepan and cook over medium heat.
- I love this lemon pudding recipe because everything gets poured into the pan at once. It simplifies the recipe immensely.
- This takes about 20 minutes on the stove to really thicken and coat the back of a spoon (i.e., dip a spoon in the pudding and draw a line down the back of the spoon with your finger (be careful not to burn yourself). If the line remains, the pudding is thick enough. If the line disappears, that means the pudding it too thin and liquidy).
- The pudding will continue to thicken as it cools.
Homemade Whipped Cream Tips:
- The pie *needs* to chill before you put the whipped cream on top. It will melt if you put it on too soon.
- Use a hand mixer or a standing mixer to make whipped cream. Technically you can use a whisk and do it by hand, but it takes a long, long time.
- I put the cream right on top of the pie, but you can serve it alongside if you’d rather.
Here are some answers to some common questions about this pretty little shortbread crusted lemon blueberry pie.
-Can I use lemon pudding mix instead making lemon pudding from scratch?
- Okay, here’s the thing. This stovetop lemon pudding is made to be thicker than a pudding mix, so that the pie doesn’t fall apart when cut. It’s thicker than a lemon pudding mix, but it’s not quite as thick as a custard.
- So, no. I would not use a lemon pudding mix unless you planned to thicken the pudding up with cream cheese or sweetened condensed milk.\Even though it does take a little more effort than the boxed puddings, this really is an easy lemon pudding. And even though I do love those boxed pudding mixes, there really is nothing like the taste of a homemade lemon pudding!
-Can I put the blueberry filling on top of the lemon pudding pie?
- Yes. While I put the blueberry filling on the bottom, you can put it over the pudding.
- If you decide to do it this way, allow the filling to cool before spooning it over the lemon pudding.
-Can I make a graham cracker crust or a wafer cookie crust?
- Absolutely! While I adore this shortbread crust (and I do think it’s the perfect crust for this pie, especially because it holds up nicely to the filling), you could totally turn this into a blueberry lemon pie with a graham cracker crust or a golden oreo crust or wafer cookie crust.
- But I’d highly suggest trying the shortbread crust if you can. It’s just as simple as making a graham cracker crust, but it just needs to bake for about 10-12 minutes.
-Can I turn these into pie bars?
- No, not really. Pie bars usually have a filling that is pretty thick (like these Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Bars).
- While the filling is thick enough to not immediately fall apart when sliced, it is a softer filling and I think it would be too difficult to serve as a pie bar.
Quick and Easy Lemon Blueberry Cream Pie Tips and Tricks!
- The shortbread crust does need to be baked. I’ve mentioned this earlier, but I want to stress the importance of this. It will be baked without the filling.
- If you don’t have half & half, you can use whole milk and heavy whipping cream, which is what half & half is.
- The recipe calls for fresh blueberries, but frozen blueberries could work. If using frozen blueberries, thaw them and drain any excess liquid before cooking them on the stove.
- The pie needs to chill at least 4 hours, ideally 6 hours or overnight.
- Lastly, the whipped cream is put on the pie after the pie is chilled, otherwise it will melt.
Good to the very last slice.
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 cups blueberries, divided
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp lemon zest
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 cups half & half
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- blueberries, if desired
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a food processor (or by hand), pulse flour, powdered sugar and butter together until combined.
- Press crust into a deep dish pie plate (9” or 10”) in an even layer. Gently poke holes in the bottom and sides of the crust (these air holes will help the crust bake evenly).
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is just barely golden brown.
Allow the crust to cool.
- Whisk cornstarch and lemon juice together. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, mix sugar, 1 cup of blueberries and lemon zest together. Pour in the cornstarch and lemon juice mixture.
- Cook over med heat until it begins to boil (about 6-8 minutes), stirring every now and again.
- Once it’s boiling, add in the remaining 1/2 cup of blueberries and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and cool 15-20 minutes.
- Spread blueberry pie filling over the shortbread crust. Set aside.
- In a medium sized saucepan, whisk eggs, sugar, cornstarch, flour, half & half, lemon juice, lemon zest and butter together over med-low heat. Cook the mixture, whisking often, for about 20 minutes, or until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove from heat and allow the pudding to sit 5 minutes.
- Pour the pudding over the blueberries, spreading in an even layer.
- Cover the pie with plastic wrap, making sure to press the wrap on the pudding (this keeps the pudding from developing a ‘film’ or ‘skin’ on top).
- Chill for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
- Once chilled, make the whipped cream.
Using a hand mixer or a standing mixer, whisk heavy whipping cream until it begins to thicken. Add in vanilla extract and powdered sugar and continue to whisk until stiff peaks form and it’s the consistency of whipped cream.
- Spread or pipe the whipped cream on top of the pie. Top with fresh blueberries, if desired.
- Store leftovers in the fridge.
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