Canning Spring Pie Fillings | Creative Canning

Berries, Cherries and Savory Pie Filling Too!

Spring pie fillings are a spectacular way to put up the early fruits of the season. Most spring berries are fragile, and can fall apart when canned in syrup (unless you’re very careful). But canning them in a thickened pie filling means you’re not losing flavor to the canning liquid because everything’s going right into the pie!

Canning pie filling now means you’ll have ready-to-bake dessert on the pantry shelf all year long, no peeling, slicing, or thickening required.

These early fruit fillings come together quickly and preserve the freshest flavors of the season. Whether you’re putting up tart rhubarb, sweet strawberries, or the first sour cherries, these recipes let you skip the fuss later and just get straight to the pie.

Spring Berry Pie Fillings

Spring berries are the first real fruit of the season, and they make beautiful, rich pie fillings. Whether you’re working with strawberries from your garden or early raspberries from the market, berry pie filling is a great way to capture that fresh, juicy flavor in shelf-stable jars.

These use the blueberry pie filling recipe as a base, which is USDA-tested and approved for almost all berries.

• Strawberry Pie Filling – Bright and sweet, perfect for shortcakes or classic strawberry pie.

• Raspberry Pie Filling – Tart and flavorful, this one works beautifully on its own or blended with other berries.

• Black Raspberry Pie Filling – Deep and complex, with rich berry flavor.

• Blackberry Pie Filling – A reliable favorite with big flavor and a beautiful color.

• Currant Pie Filling – Tangy and unique, great for tarts or rustic galettes.

• Blueberry Pie Filling – The base recipe for almost all berry fillings, and delicious on its own too.

• Canning Whole Berries – Don’t want to use Clear Jel? Just can them in syrup and thicken before baking.

Rhubarb Pie Filling

Rhubarb is one of the first garden harvests of the year, and it makes a wonderfully tart home canned Rhubarb Pie Filling on its own or paired with strawberries.

Because of its acidity, it’s canned using the peach pie filling recipe base, which adds lemon juice for safety and a well-balanced tartness.

Cherry Pie Filling

Cherry season comes on fast, and the fruit doesn’t keep long—making it ideal for Canning Cherry Pie Filling. This tested recipe works with sour pie cherries, sweet black cherries, or even rainier cherries.

The flavor is rich and classic, and it’s one of my favorite shelf-stable pie fillings to reach for in winter.

Savory Pot Pie Fillings

While sweet fruit pies usually get all the attention, savory pot pies are just as worthy of a spot on your pantry shelf—especially when you’ve got busy nights ahead. These meal-in-a-jar recipes make it easy to throw together a comforting dinner with homemade flavor and zero fuss.

Unlike fruit fillings, these must be pressure canned because they contain low-acid ingredients like meat and vegetables. They’re packed raw into jars and thicken naturally as they bake, so there’s no need for Clear Jel or other thickeners during the canning process.

They include spring veggies like peas, carrots and new potatoes, so they’re nice to put up this time of year too.

• Canning Chicken Pot Pie Filling – Tender chicken with carrots, peas, and potatoes in a lightly seasoned broth. Just pour into a crust and bake.

• Canning Beef Pot Pie Filling – Hearty beef, potatoes, and vegetables in a savory broth, perfect for a deep-dish dinner pie.

Both of these are incredibly versatile—add dumplings instead of a crust, use puff pastry, or turn them into handheld pies for freezer meals. Once they’re on your shelf, the hard work is already done.

If you’re filling your pantry now, you’ll be thanking yourself come January—when it’s cold, dark, and nothing sounds better than a fresh fruit pie with summer flavor. And if you’ve got a favorite fruit or berry you’re hoping to preserve that’s not listed here, just reply to this email and I’ll see if there’s a safe, tested recipe available.

And as always, let me know if I can help you find a canning recipe that you need as first real fruits of spring start to roll in. Leave me a note in the comments and let me know what you’d like to make!

Happy Canning!

Ashley at Creative Canning