Fresh Strawberry Pie ~ No Sugar Added

I remember when I was a little girl

my dad would take me to Blazo's Pie Shoppe.

 They had a fresh strawberry pie that looked like this.

And Big Boy serves a pie that looks a lot like this.

But this pie has one feature neither of 
the other pies had...

This pie has no sugar added.

And an added feature is how easy it is to make...

And I don't have to drive to another town
 to get a piece.

But the very best thing about this pie...

It tastes so good!

Let me show you how I made it:

 I made two pies. This recipe is very easy to double, triple, quadruple, hey ~ you could make a 100 of these and go into the fresh strawberry pie business!
Anyway, I bought frozen Marie Callender's pie shells because they are every bit as good as any I've ever made and they are so much easier. I baked them according to the package directions. The original recipe called for a graham cracker crust. Without hesitation my family will tell you a regular crust is much better!

I washed 3 quarts of strawberries and then cut off the tops and sliced them into large chunks. The original recipe calls for one quart of strawberries per pie, but I upped that amount to 1 1/2 quarts for each pie because I like the way the pie tastes with more berries, and I like the look of the pie mounded high with berries.

For the glaze that holds the berries together I used one box of sugar free strawberry jello, one box of sugar free cook & serve vanilla pudding mix and 2 cups of water for each pie. Instead of adding all the ingredients in one pan I used two saucepans to make sure I wouldn't have a problem with cooking times.

I stirred one box of jello and one box of pudding along with 2 cups of water in each saucepan on medium heat and continued to stir and cook until it came to a boil. At that point I turned the timer on for 5 minutes and continued to stir and cook until the timer went off. This was pretty tricky with two pans going at the same time, but it was do-able.

 When the time was up I poured the hot glaze mixture over the chopped strawberries and then spooned the glazed berries into the cooked pie shells. It is better to spoon the berries into the pie shells because if you just dump them in or try to pour them in it tends to make a mess. Afterward I use a small spoon to try to arrange the berries attractively and make a mound. Then I spooned in as much of the glaze that remained in the bowl as would look nice ~ without making it overflow.
 At this point I refrigerated it for about 4 hours and the gelatin firms up tight and makes it easy to slice the pie. I don't have a picture of a slice because I took the pies to a dinner I was attending and I didn't have good light for my camera (boo~hiss).

This is what my two pretty pies looked like. All they need is a dollop of whipped topping...it was really hard to leave the leftovers for my hosts...but I was good! I'll just have to make them again soon!!


This is my official recipe for one fresh strawberry pie ~ no sugar added


one pie crust, baked (I like Marie Callendar's)
1 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, coarsely chopped and green tops removed
1 small box sugar free strawberry jello
1 small box sugar free cook & serve vanilla pudding (not instant)
2 cups water
whipped topping 

In a medium saucepan, combine jello, pudding mix, and water. Stir and cook over medium heat. When mixture comes to a boil, stir and cook an additional 5 minutes. Pour warm mixture over strawberries and spoon into pie shell. Mound and arrange strawberries attractively. Spoon any remaining glaze over the mounded berries. Do not overfill (there may be glaze left over). 
Chill for 4 hours or more.
Serve with whipped topping.


What was the taste testers bottom line?
This is a family favorite. I've made a few changes (regular crust instead of graham cracker crust, increased the amount of berries), but my family is so happy with the flavor I've never felt the need to make this with anything other than sugar free jello and sugar free pudding.


The bottom line: Make this whenever fresh strawberries are on sale!