Serviceberry – Saskatoon Berry – “Wild Blueberry” Pie

by Sara Lilian

SHARING IS CARING!

 

Wild Serviceberry Pie is one of my most favorite pies, EVER. Serviceberries, also called Saskatoon Berries, and June Berries, taste like a blueberry mixed with wild huckleberry. And the flavors really come out and dance when these berries are heated up.

Once slice of this wild berry pie, and you will see why I consider serviceberry pie to be the ultimate rustic wild fruit pie! Bonus – I believe the serviceberries have a high pectin content as the pie filling thickens up so nicely without needing to added thickeners or starches.

Pictured are some wild service berries I found growing in the woods behind our house. These wild Saskatoon berries can be found all over the West in the middle of summer, alongside the road and in forests. In the past, I’ve picked them all over Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia.

But if you aren’t able to find any serviceberries in your neck of the woods, you can totally use blueberries in this pie recipe in their place, though I found the blueberries pie filling wasn’t quite as thick. The serviceberries come to be ripe in July, but even in you pick them later in the summer after they’ve shriveled up a little like plump raisins, you are really in for a treat!

Service Berry – Saskatoon Berry – Pie

Author Andrea Wyckoff

Ingredients

Berry Pie Filling:
4 cups Serviceberries (aka Saskatoon Berries June Berries or Blueberries*)
5 Tablespoons maple sugar or coconut sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla powder
pinch fresh grated nutmeg
Paleo Pie Crust Ingredients*
1½ cups almond flour
2 Tablespoons coconut flour
¼ cup goat milk butter or palm shortening or coconut oil
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 pinches sea salt
teaspoons optional: 2 cinnamon recommended
optional: line bottom of pie pan with a circle of parchment paper or grease pan with a little coconut oil.
*For AIP see Notes below!

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325*F.

Mix pie crust ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

I recommend lining a pie pan with a cut out circle of parchment paper.

Using your hands press the pie crust dough into the pie pan, and work it until its nice and even. You can reserve a little pie crust to make mini star shapes with, which have a shorter bake time of 6 to 8 minutes.

Bake pie crust at 325*F for 14 to 16 minutes (or until perfectly baked and lightly golden brown on the edges.)

Rinse wild berries.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, simmer 4 cups berries with other pie filling ingredients. You can sweeten to taste, so feel free to start off with less sweetener and adjust to your liking.

Simmer over medium low heat for 14 minutes, stirring often. I like to mash 1/3 of the berries with a spoon while they are simmering. I believe it’s the high pectin content in the serviceberries that helps to thicken up the pie filling as it cooks, and I found it continued to thicken as it cooled.

After cooking, pour pie filling into a bowl, and chill for a couple hours (if you have time, or feel free to serve warm). The pie filling will thicken up as it chills, and then you can spoon it into the pre-baked crust and serve.

I like to top with my dairy-free coconut whipped cream and a few cut out star cookies.

Recipe Notes
*AIP Notes: Use palm shortening or coconut oil and omit vanilla for full AIP. Feel free to use any pie crust you’d like with this recipe. Or serve the berry compote topped with   AIP lemon cookies crumbled over top (which I think would be divine!)

*If Subbing Blueberries for Serviceberries. I tried out this recipe with blueberries, which was pretty yummy, and I found the blueberry filling to thicken up okay, but it didn’t thicken up as much as the serviceberry filling, so you may need to add a little thickener if using blueberries and wanting a firmer pie filling.

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