Celebrate America with this beautiful 4th of July Pie! Made with a crunchy and delicious 2 ingredient pie crust and fresh summer berries decoration on top, this versatile pie will be an instant hit at any Independence Day celebration or Memorial Day BBQ! The filling is a light and airy cream cheese mousse that makes it reminiscent of an indulgent cheesecake, except it’s made with half as much effort.
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🌟 Why this is the best 4th of July Pie recipe
- Quick and easy - This no-bake patriotic pie recipe uses only simple ingredients and comes together in no time. It’s a great recipe for beginners and expert bakers alike.
- Incredible taste - From its sweet and satisfying crust to its delightfully creamy filling and its fruity topping, every bite of this pie tastes like a dream.
- Requires no special equipment – This pie is a great option when you need a simple recipe to bring to your gathering. You can put it together with ease on the morning of your party and have a perfectly chilled, delicious dessert ready to bring by the afternoon.
- Detailed tutorial - Keep reading for in-depth ingredient tips, step-by-step photos, and expert tips to ensure success with this pie. It’s already a foolproof recipe, but my thorough instructions make it even easier!
📝 Ingredient notes
For the Crust
- Biscuit crumb: Firm biscuits are ideal for this crust. Graham crackers, Biscoff cookies, and digestive biscuits work well for this recipe.
- Butter: Unsalted butter that is high quality will produce the best-tasting crust. Learn more about the differences between salted butter and unsalted butter in baking using my comprehensive butter guide.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
For the Filling
- Cream cheese: Cream cheese provides a super smooth, no bake cheesecake-like base that pairs really well with the fresh fruit decorations. High fat content Philadelphia cream cheese will give you the best tasting filling, but any brick cream cheese will work.
- Heavy cream: Very cold heavy cream or double cream whips into cream cheese for an amazingly airy and light filling.
- Powdered Sugar: Powdered sugar, also known as confectioner’s sugar, adds sweetness to the filling. Don’t use granulated sugar, however, because it is a no bake patriotic pie and the sugar will not dissolve, leaving your pie with a gritty texture.
- Fresh Summer berries: Delicious fresh strawberries and blueberries work best for this recipe. Avoid frozen berries this time.
🛒 You’ll find detailed measurements for all ingredients in the printable version of the Recipe Card at the bottom of this post
👩🍳 How to make this recipe
1. Step-by-step process of making the pie crust
1. Melt the butter in the microwave and allow it to cool slightly. Then, place the biscuit crumbs in the food processor and process them on low until they’re very finely ground and uniform. (Biscuit crumbs can be made in a ziplock bag too)
2. In a large bowl, mix the biscuit crumbs with the butter until well combined. The mixture should be able to hold its shape when pinched between your fingers.
3. Line a 20 cm / 8 inch loose base pie tin with the graham cracker mixture and press tightly into an even layer, packing it down firmly. Freeze it for 15 minutes while you make the filling.
💡 Top Tip: Use the bottom of a ramekin or a bent spoon to firmly pack the biscuit crumbs into the pie tin. If not firmly packed, they may crumble when cut into.
2. Make the pie filling
1. Whip the filling ingredients for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Once the pie crust is chilled, use a rubber spatula to scrape the cream cheese mixture into the prepared crust. Smooth the top and place the pie into the fridge to chill for 30 minutes. Don’t add the fruit until after the initial chill; otherwise, it may sink into the pie.
💡 Top Tip: Be sure that ingredients are very cold prior to mixing for the best results.
3. Assemble the Red White Blue Pie
1. Decorate the pie with strawberries and blueberries in the shape of the US flag, “Old Glory.”
2. There should be a few rows of strawberries leaving visible white filling showing, as the white and red stripes and a square section of blueberries at the top left of the pie to represent the stars.
3. Place the pie back into the fridge to set for at least 4 hours. Serve chilled. Store leftover pie covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
💡 Top Tip: Fresh strawberries and blueberries are the stars of the dish, so it’s important they look appetizing. Be sure to choose plump-looking berries with vibrant colors and avoid those with blemishes and dark spots.
🍫 Flavor Variations & Substitutions
If you have run out of heavy cream, there are a lot of great options you can use in its place. Check out my heavy cream substitutes for an in-depth list of replacements and how to use them.
You’ll want to make sure you use powdered sugar so you don’t end up with a gritty pie. If you don’t have powdered sugar on hand, you can find a suitable replacement in my powdered sugar substitute guide.
Occasionally you may run out of butter and need to replace it in order to proceed with a recipe. Use my butter substitute guide for help determining the best replacement.
If you would like to switch up the flavors, try using my Strawberry Cheesecake as a base for this pie. To keep it festive, you can make big swirls of whipped cream around the top edges and accent them with blueberries, pitted cherries, and even stripes of cherry pie filling.
Alternatively, for a dark crust, you can use an Oreo crumb crust in place of the biscuit crumbs.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of fresh lemon zest or a splash of lemon juice for a bright citrus-flavored pie filling.
🎓 Expert tips
- Grind the biscuit crumbs very fine for the best crust. Larger pieces won’t press into the pie tin and will cause the crust to crumble.
- Use high-quality 82% fat European style butter and full fat cream cheese for the best tasting Fourth of July pie.
- Ensure that your cream is very cold before whipping. The colder it is, the better the peaks will be and the faster it will whip.
- This pie must chill, or it will be runny when you cut into it. This part is very important for the proper texture. It should chill for at least 4 hours.
- Sift the powdered sugar to remove small lumps and ensure a smooth and creamy filling.
🥣 Equipment notes
This recipe is no bake, so you will need very little equipment to make this delicious American flag pie.
You should always use a digital scale to ensure that all of the ingredients are accurately measured. This will help ensure your recipe comes out successful.
In addition, you’ll need a 20cm/8-inch loose pie tin and an electric hand mixer for this recipe. Finally, a rubber spatula will be helpful for scraping the filling into the crust and for smoothing it.
❓Recipe FAQs
Absolutely! Fourth of July pie recipes make for excellent Independence Day desserts, especially with red white blue decorations! In addition to this Fourth of July strawberry blueberry pie, a warm blueberry pie, or even a red white and blue jello pie are other great Fourth of July pie ideas to add to the table.
Apple pie is considered the most popular pie in the US, especially during the Summer and Fall months. Check out my Bailey’s apple pie or these tasty and portable apple hand pies to round out your 4th of July dessert table. They’ll make the perfect additional Fourth of July pies.
If you don’t want to design your 4th of July fruit pie like the flag, you can get creative and use the berries to decorate in other ways. You can make a star in the center of the pie with blueberries and fill in the rest of the pie with strawberry slices. Alternatively, you can simply make alternating stripes of fruit across the pie.
Storebought crust will work perfectly fine for your patriotic pie recipes, whether you’re making of 4th of July berry pie or a cream pie. Just be sure it’s good quality and doesn’t have any cracks before purchasing. Additionally, thicker crusts tend to work better and are less likely to crumble.
🇺🇸 More 4th of July Recipes
4th of July Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 200 g (1 cups) Biscuit crumb eg. Graham cracker crumb, or Digestive biscuits, Biscoff cookies etc.
- 90 g (½ cups) Unsalted butter melted but not hot
- Pinch of salt
Cream Cheese Layer
- 340 g (1½ cups) Cream Cheese cold, full fat (33%+) eg. Philadelphia
- 170 g (¾ cups) Heavy Cream very cold, 36%
- 100 g (¾ cups) Powdered sugar sifted
Decoration
- (⅓ cups) Strawberries & Blueberries
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
Crust
- Start with melting butter in the microwave, then let it cool slightly while preparing the biscuit crumbs.
- Biscuit crumbs can be made in a food processor or by using a zip bag and rolling pin. Mix crumbs with warm but not hot butter and a pinch of salt until it comes together.
- Line a loose base pie tin with the mixture and press it flat evenly and tightly starting with the side and then moving onto the bottom. If the mixture is too runny, place it in the fridge for a few minutes.
- Once the crust is evenly distributed, place it into the freezer for 15 minutes.
Cream Cheese Filling
- For the filling, whip full-fat Philadephia cream cheese, very cold 36% heavy cream, and sifted powdered sugar for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy
- Once the pie crust is well frozen, fill it with the cream cheese layer then smooth the top and set it aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, decorate the pie with strawberries and blueberries as per the US flag.
- Let the pie rest for 4 hours in the fridge to fully set.
- Serve the pie cold. Any leftover pie can be stored refrigerated for 2-3 days
Notes
- Freeze the crust for at least 15 minutes to ensure that it holds its shape before adding the pumpkin filling
- No need to use thickener in the filling, the cream cheese, and heavy cream will create a mousse-like consistency that will set in the fridge, however, make sure to let the pie rest for a minimum of 4 hours to set.
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