Our Best Summer Fruit Pies and Tarts

If you don't have a cherry pitter, try inserting a wooden chopstick through the stem end of each cherry to remove the pits.

Chef Khalil Hymore introduced us to the idea of a crunchy quinoa crust with a savory tart he developed for us; we take the notion to a sweet place here. The tart holds well overnight, so make it the day before, and serve chilled right from the refrigerator.

Even if your peaches are only so-so, don't pass up the chance to make this tart. A quick sizzle with butter and sugar transforms them into a tender, flavorful, juicy topping.

This nutrient-rich twist on coconut cream pie is lusciously smooth and decadent… it’s also vegan, paleo, gluten-fee, and raw. In other words, you’re looking at a tart with a stacked resume. Perfect for a special occasion, especially if you’re looking to clean up your diet a bit, this show-stopping vegan dessert offers rich, toasty flavor and sweet tooth satisfaction—without adding refined sugar. And since there’s no need to crank up the oven to make it, this treat especially ideal for summer. Keep in mind, whipping coconut cream can sometimes be tricky. If you forget to refrigerate your cans overnight or if too much of the liquid gets mixed in, it will most likely separate. But not to worry—mixing in a bit of tapioca flour (arrowroot would also work) can bring the mixture back together in a snap. To save yourself time, go ahead and place your mixing bowl and whisk attachment in the fridge to chill as soon as you are ready to start prepping your tart. 

This show-stopper is easy to assemble, but so impressive. The only component of this effortlessly elegant tart that needs to bake is the puff pastry base itself. Once it’s baked and cooled, you’ll top it with a creamy, fluffy spread of sweetened mascarpone cheese mixed with marzipan (i.e. almond paste), vanilla, freshly whipped cream. You’ll want to wait until right before serving time to assemble your dessert. All of those glorious summer fruit juices are going to start seeping into your puff pastry and will lead to sogginess if prepared too far in advance. 

Brushing red currant jelly onto the berries makes them shine, like those fruit tarts you see in bakeries. If you can't find red currant jelly, use strawberry jelly (don't subsitute jam or preserves). 

This sleek tart looks like it just came from a bakery case. Serve at the end of an elegant dinner.

Complete with a homemade graham-cracker-crumb crust, this dish really is the ultimate summer pie.

The rectangular tart pan makes for a striking presentation, but if you don't have one, you can use a 9-inch tart pan or pie plate.

Got berries? This simple slab pie is the perfect way to put an abundance of summer berries to delicious use—especially if you need to whip up a bright and cheery dessert for a crowd. One of the best things about this strawberry pie (besides the swoon-worthy flavor combo of fresh, summer strawberries with a delicate dose of cardamom) is the no-roll crust… because let’s get real, as great as a slab pie is in theory, the idea of rolling out pie dough to fit a sheet pan is less than thrilling. With this no-fuss crust, all you have to do is dump the dough straight from the food processor onto your greased pan and press it into place. 

After finding a fly in her bottle of Mouton Cadet Rouge, chef and cookbook author Joanne Weir, then 24, had the gumption to mail the insect to the wine's maker, Château Mouton Rothschild, one of the top wineries in the world. In response to her complaint, she received an invitation to lunch at the château. She booked a flight immediately. This recipe is her re-creation of the day's finale--a tart "topped with a silky smooth kirsch pastry cream and crowned with perfectly glazed, ripe red strawberries."

These dainty little tarts have an unusual depth of character, thanks to their graham-cracker-like crusts.

Key Lime Pie is a classic for a reason - it's got an unrivaled flavor that nobody can resist. Whip up this Foolproof Key Lime Pie for an easy dessert your guests are sure to enjoy. In a pinch, you can use regular limes, but when it comes to fresh juice versus bottled, the real thing always triumphs. 

This vibrant and impressive dessert literally couldn’t get any easier.

Your guests will be wowed not only by the delightful presentation, but also by the taste of this quintessential summer pie. For a great looking piecrust, brush the piecrust with a mixture of egg yolk and water to create a deep golden brown crust. You can use thawed, frozen cherries if fresh are not available.

Flavored with thyme and lemon and packed with juicy whole berries, this pie earned rave reviews in our Test Kitchen, especially when made with in-season fruit. Our secret? Quick-cooking tapioca, which makes the filling firm but not gelatinous. Mixing the tapioca with a cup of mashed blueberries ensures that the thickener will distribute evenly and not form clumps in the filling.

Apricots bring out the tangy side of strawberries in the jammy filling for these flaky hand pies. Can’t find fresh apricots? Our Test Kitchen also used dried apricots with delicious results. Why bother with expensive store-bought tartlets when these delicious homemade treats are so easy to make? This recipe, which uses one cup of chopped strawberries, is a fun and innovative way to use the fresh berries you bought at the farmers’ market.

Remember that strawberry-pretzel salad that showed up at every church supper? We’ve turned it into your new favorite pie with a salty-sweet pretzel crust and added zip from rhubarb. We all love our classic desserts, but sometimes it is fun to change them up a bit and create something new. The frozen strawberries used in the traditional recipe are fine if it is the middle of winter but, since plump, fresh berries available at the Farmers’ Market, we thought they would make a delicious change to this pie.

Fact: There is no better celebration of just-ripe summer strawberries than this classic berry pie; that’s why we called it perfect. The just-sweet-enough strawberry filling retains an admirable level of juiciness, thickening just enough to allow for a clean slice, thanks to a combination of cornstarch and tapioca. This duo of thickening agents stabilizes the pie filling without erring into goopy territory, as can often happen with all-purpose flour in cooked, fruit fillings. While lemon is the traditional citrus of choice for summer berry pies, we found lime to be an exceptional complement to the sugary-bright strawberries.   

Sweet and tangy, crunchy and creamy--this recipe delivers a perfect combination of flavors and textures in each bite. A touch of gelatin in the lime curd helps it set enough to slice cleanly.

When I found out about black cocoa, it was an instantaneous love affair. Same goes for black tahini. So naturally, it didn’t take long for me to come up with a way to make a dark dessert that combined these two beautiful flavors. Chocolate and nutty flavors are always best pals (looking at you, Reese’s), so while it sounds a bit exotic, this tart will land on your palate with a bit of nostalgic comfort, just amped up a little bit.

Nothing screams "summer!" with more enthusiasm than a peach pie. But as nice as the traditional dish is, it's meant to be enjoyed sitting at the table, hopefully a la mode. Nothing against that, but sometimes you want something a little more portable because you're reading a book poolside or running around the lawn with a huge dog. That's where these easy peach hand pies come in. A flash to whip up, you can bring these easy desserts to the park, to the beach, or on your morning commute. Easy as pie. 

These darling mini pies make the most of peak-season summer fruit and provide the perfectly sized sweet treat for one. Using store-bought pie dough keeps this recipe super simple to make, but feel free to use your favorite homemade pie dough if you prefer. Either way, they’re sure to be a hit at you’re next dinner party.

Few dishes say summer like a classic blueberry pie. And for anyone seeking a foolproof formula for the beloved bubbling berry dessert, this is the recipe to put in your arsenal. Although lavender may seem like an unnecessary frill on what should be an inherently simple delight, rest assured, fresh blueberries are undoubtedly the star here, with a subtle hint of the floral sweetness to play a supporting role. However, the culinary buds are easily eliminated from the pie should you wish to ditch ‘em. Because blueberries and almonds are a natural dream team, this gracefully demure nut was an obvious choice for the crunchy streusel topping. Besides providing a delightfully sugary contrast to the juicy and not-too-sweet berry filling, the golden crumble saves you the trouble of having to roll out and arrange a top crust—which means a little less stands between you and a warm slice of blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream melting over its steaming innards. And that’s what’s important, after all.