This old fashioned Raisin Pie recipe has been perfected over the years to include the perfect balance of flavors from the plump sweet raisins, slight nuttiness from walnuts, and hint of citrus.
Our Thanksgiving dessert table included Raisin Pie every year growing up because it was my Grandpa’s favorite! As I’ve gotten older I’ve come to love it too, especially because it reminds me of him. My mom has really perfected this recipe over the years after making it dozen of times. It’s very easy to make with simple ingredients including raisins, walnuts, orange zest, orange and lemon juice, brown sugar and cornstarch and the flavors are wonderful!
How to make Raisin Pie:
- In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, cornstarch and stir well to dissolve the cornstarch. Add orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice and raisins. Stir ingredients together over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble and thickens. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in walnuts. Set mixture aside and allow to cool.
- Once filling has cooled, prepare the pie crust by lining the bottom of a 9” pie plate with one of the rolled out pie crusts. Pour cooled filling inside. Cover with second pie crust. Seal the edges and flute or crimp if desired. Make a slit on the top to allow steam to escape.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly brush egg white over the top crust of the pie. Sprinkle a little sugar lightly on top.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Check the pie around the 30 minutes mark and if it’s reached desired brownness you can place a piece of aluminum foil on top during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Allow to cool for at least 1 hour before serving.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The pie filling could be made up to one week in advance depending on freshness of ingredients. Remove filling from fridge 30 minutes before baking to allow it to come to room temperature. Pie crust can be made 1-2 days in advance, stored in the fridge. Pie crust can be frozen for up to 3 months.
To Freeze: Allow pie to cool after baking, then cover well with aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and rewarm in the oven before serving.
You can browse all of my Pie recipes and try other old family favorite’s like:
FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST for more great recipes!
Recipe
Raisin Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups raisins
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/3 cup water
- 3 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
- Dough for two pie crusts (bottom and top crusts)
- 1 egg white , beaten
- 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar , for sprinkling
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, water, cornstarch and stir to well to dissolve the cornstarch. Add orange juice, orange zest, lemon juice and raisins. Stir ingredients together over medium heat until mixture begins to bubble and thickens. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in walnuts. Set mixture aside to cool.
- Add pie crust to a 9’’ pie plate. Pour cooled filling inside. Cover with second pie crust. Seal the edges and flute or crimp if desired.
- Use a pastry brush to lightly brush egg white over the top crust of the pie. Sprinkle a little sugar lightly on top.
- Bake at 400 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Check the pie around the 30 minutes mark and if it’s reached desired brownness you can place a piece of aluminum foil on top during the last 10 minutes of cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
Tag @TastesBetterFromScratch on Instagram with #TastesBetterFromScratch!
HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
This post contains affiliate links.
I’m making this pie right now! I had an abundance of raisins and had heard of raisin pie but never tried it. I wondered about the walnuts as my husband can’t chew nuts, but with cooked nuts, I think he’ll do fine. I’m excited to taste the final result! The thickened filling is delicious! Thank you!
This THE BEST recipe for raisin pie! It’s just like mine & if you’re on the edge of hesitation, please take the plunge! I ve made this for 46 years & everyone (even raisin haters!)..loves this!
Lauren, I was browsing through your lovely website & found this!
I have a question.Can you use yellow raisins?
I don’t care for regular raisins but do like to use the yellow in recipes. They are sweeter and have a different taste.
Sure, that would be fine!
This recipe provides the perfect combination of flavors and texture to create a delicious raisin pie. My 91 year old Dad requested raisin pie for his birthday. I looked at several recipes. This recipe is unique due to the use of brown sugar, instead of granulated sugar, and the use of orange juice and orange zest. These flavors combined with the lemon juice are the perfect combination to complement the raisins. I make my own pie crust from lard. The end result was an outstanding pie that I will continue to make for years to come. Thanks!
I loved this! Call me old-fashioned, but this was the best pie at the Thanksgiving table. My aunt requested this pie and I offered to make it for her. Having never made a raisin pie before, I came across your recipe. I’m sure glad I did. It was delicious and it was the first pie gone at Thanksgiving. Thanks for sharing.