Strawberry Jello pie is a retro, no-bake dessert with fresh strawberries, gelatin, and a store-bought or homemade graham cracker pie crust. This easy recipe takes less than 10 minutes to prep and is a great make-ahead dessert. This easy strawberry Jello pie calls for only five ingredients.
My no bake strawberry pie with Jello is similar to Shoney's strawberry pie recipe but with a graham cracker crust to make it a no-bake dessert. No-bake means nothing has to go in the oven. You can use a store-bought graham cracker crust or make a homemade graham cracker crust from scratch.
If you like Jell-O pie, try my Peach Jello Pie or my fluffy Key Lime Jello Pie with Cool Whip.
Shortcut Cooking
- Five ingredients: Sugar, cornstarch, strawberry Jell-O, graham cracker pie crust, fresh strawberries
- Make-ahead recipe: Prep the pie, allow the Jell-O to set for several hours or overnight, and serve the next day.
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Ingredients
This strawberry gelatin pie calls for just a few simple ingredients.
- Water
- Sugar
- Corn starch
- Strawberry gelatin
- Premade graham cracker crust
- Fresh strawberries
- Whipped topping (optional)
See the recipe card for quantities.
Directions
Mix the water, sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan, whisking until the cornstarch is dissolved. Then, turn the heat to medium heat or medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
As soon as the mixture boils, remove the sauce pan from the heat and stir the strawberry Jello powder into the boiling water. Whisk until the Jello is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool until just warm to the touch (about 2 to 3 minutes)
Meanwhile, line the pie crust with strawberries. Arrange them cut-side down or toss them in—it's up to you as long as they are evenly distributed. For best results, I arrange the sliced strawberries flat side down in a starburst from the center.
When the Jello mixture is cool enough to touch, pour it evenly over the strawberries.
Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place the pie in the refrigerator and allow it to set for at least 2 to 3 hours. Do not attempt to serve before the Jello is set or the filling will be runny.
Note: The pie filling will not firm up completely like regular Jello, it will be closer to a traditional strawberry pie filling consistency.
Add a dollop of whipped topping to the top of this delicious strawberry Jell-O pie (optional) and enjoy!
Substitutions
Jell-O: This recipe calls for strawberry Jello, but my grandma's original recipe called for lemon Jello, so feel free to mix and match flavors to make your perfect pie. Using a flavor other than strawberry can create a little bit of flavor complexity.
Crust: This recipe uses a pre-made graham cracker pie crust (like Honeymaid or Keebler), but it can also be made with frozen ready-to-bake crust. To use a frozen or refrigerated flaky pie shell, fully bake the crust (as directed on the packaging) before filling the baked pie shell with your strawberries and gelatin mixture. You can also use your own crust with graham crackers, sugar, and butter.
Fresh berries: This recipe works with other fresh fruit too such as blueberries and raspberries. Try all three for a no-bake triple berry pie.
Behind the Recipe
This gelatin dessert is a retro fruit pie recipe that was handed down by my grandmother. It is the perfect dessert for Valentine's Day, Easter, your next spring cookout, or a hot summer day (think 4th of July).
Looking for more easy fruit desserts? Try this cherry dump cake, Bisquick blueberry coffee cake, or no-bake banana split pie.
Top tips
- Use fresh strawberries, NOT frozen. Frozen strawberries release too much moisture when thawed. This will affect the consistency of the pie filling.
- Wait until your strawberries are ripe. While there is plenty of sugar in this recipe, you can easily taste how tart an unripe strawberry is.
- Dissolve the cornstarch. Be sure to whisk the water, sugar, and corn starch mixture before turning on the heat. Read the steps carefully.
Frequently asked questions
The answer is it depends on where your grocery store gets its strawberries from.
In Florida, the season is December through April. It's generally marked by the Florida Strawberry Festival, an 11-day festival in March. In California, the harvest season is April through July. You can get ripe strawberries nearly year-round.
Yes, you can use sugar-free gelatin in this recipe but the filling will have a fimer consistency. You can also use a sugar substitute for the added sugar. My grandmother used Splenda.
It is not recommended to freeze Jello because the texture and consistency change, becoming thin and watery.
📖 Recipe
Strawberry Jello Pie
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup water cold
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
- 3 oz strawberry gelatin
- 1 graham cracker pie crust
- 1 pound fresh strawberries quartered, about 2 cups
- whipped cream topping optional
Instructions
- Mix the water, sugar, and corn starch in a small saucepan, whisking until the corn starch is dissolved. Then, turn the heat to medium or medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- As soon as the mixture boils, remove it from the heat and stir in the gelatin. Whisk until the Jello is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool until just warm to the touch (about 2 to 3 minutes)
- Meanwhile, line the pie crust with strawberries. Arrange them how you like and evenly distribute.
- When the Jello mixture is cool enough to touch (about 2 to 3 minutes), pour it evenly over the strawberries.
- Place the pie in the refrigerator and allow it to set for at least 2 to 3 hours.
- Top with whipped cream topping (optional) and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
More No-Bake Desserts
If you love this easy dessert, try some of these easy recipes:
Tammie Ames says
The taste was good but it didn't set up enough. Very liquidy after making day before our Thanksgiving dinner. I think it needed more cornstarch. After looking at other recipes I saw others calling for more cornstarch and in some cases less water.
Kelsey Smith says
Hi Tammie, I'm very sorry to hear this. I make it regularly with the recipe as is and have not had this issue.
Lisa E. says
This pie was absolutely amazing! I made it last night and let it set up overnight in the fridge. It looked so pretty when I took it out, and it tasted even better. Perfect dessert for summer!
Kelsey Smith says
Excellent! Thanks for taking the time to stop back by and write a review.
Gina says
Hi, this recipe was exactly what I remembered it to be.
My pie is chilling now. Can’t wait!
Thank you for making my Sunday great!
Kelsey Smith says
You are so welcome, thank your for stopping by to say hello!