I absolutely love concord grapes. To can/preserve anything that has to do with concord grapes is truly a labor of love. It can be such a pain, but well worth it. Trust me.
Want to know a secret? I hate the seeds that concord grapes have. I can tolerate popping 5-6 grapes in my mouth, but then I get discouraged by the seeds.
The concord grape pie filling is a beautiful purple color and thick! If your love for concord grapes gets out of hand, you can just eat the pie filling by the spoon full. You have the OK from me!
The grape pie filling becomes bubbly and firm when it's baked into a pie. It won't be runny when you cut a slice of pie. I love the looks for the filling that has bubbled out of the top of a lattice pie shell.
If you're wondering what a grape pie tastes like, it's like a great big heavenly jam sammich. In the case of these mini pies, a baby heavenly jam sammich. Want to hear a secret? I watched as a fight almost went down over these two baby pies. I had taken them down to my parents to share. I knew if I had them hanging around here, I would eat them both. It would be grape pie for dinner and dessert kind of deal.

Canned Concord Grape Pie Filling
Ingredients
Pie Filling
- 22 cups concord grapes washed
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup Clear Jel
Grape Pie
- 1 Quart Jar of Pie Filling
- 1 store-bought pie crust
- 1 large egg
- sugar for garnish
Instructions
Filling
- Using two large saucepans, separate the skins into the (larger) pan and the pulp into the other pan.
- Once you have all the grapes separated by the skins and pulp, set the skins aside. Heat the grape pulp over medium heat. Stir the pulp and let it boil for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.
- Place a strainer on the saucepan with the skins in. Push the pulp through to catch all the seeds. Discard the seeds.
- Add in the lemon juice.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the sugar and clear jel.
- Add 2 cups of the grape skins/pulp into the sugar and clear jel and continue whisking. This will help to avoid lumps into the mixture.
- Place your hot water canner onto the heat now.
- Pour the sugar mixture into the pot with the rest of the grape pie filling. Place over medium heat and give it a stir to incorporated the sugar mixture.Let the filling come up to a boil and stir occasionally. As the mixture thickens, it will change from a green, to pink, to light purple, and when it's ready it will be a deep purple. Boil for about 45 minutes until very thick and bubbly.
- Place your clean jars and lids into the canner to sterilize them. Place the hot pie filling into hot sterilized jars. Wipe the rim with a damp towel. Place a hot lid on and ring. Tighten the ring down. Place into the hot water canner and make sure the water covers the lids. Once the water comes up to a boil, boil for 30 minutes. Remove from water and place under a warm towel. Let it sit overnight.
Pie
- Lightly flour a clean counter top. Roll out into a circle. You'll want it to be about 10 inches. You can eyeball your 8 inch pie plate and the circle to see if you're close. That's what I do.
- Once your circle is right, fold the dough in half and pick it up and place onto the pie plate. Unfold the dough and push the dough onto the bottom and sides.
- Trim the edges. I cut them even with the edge of the pie plate using a knife.
- Go ahead and put the quart of pie filling into the bottom of the crust.
- To make the lattice crust, roll the dough out like we did with the bottom crust. Once roll out to about 10 inches in diameter, use a pizza cutter or pastry cutter and cut inch strips. Place the strips over and under each other kind of like a basket weave.
- With your forefinger and thumb, crimp the pie crust together. I usually form a "U" with my forefinger and thumb on the inside of the edge. With my other forefinger, I push the dough between my thumb and forefinger resting on the inside. (I hope this helps)
- Crack the egg in a small bowl. Using a pastry brush, brush the egg wash on the top of the pie.
- Place the pie in the oven for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 375 degrees and let the pie bake for another 50 minutes. The juice will bubble up on the top of the pie crust. Let the pie cool. Cut and serve
Notes
Nutrition
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
Rochelle says
When my husband gets home from work and sees me repeatedly spooning pie filling into my mouth I'll just tell him it's okay, Miranda said I could do it LOL!!!
Miranda says
That's right! He won't have a problem once he hears that I say it's okay! haha!
Brenda says
I make a dutch crumb topping for my pies! then sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake
Miranda says
Oh my! A crumb topping would taste insanely delicious on this!
Stella Lee @purfylle says
PIE!!! Just gotta love pie. I've never had grape pie though - I bet goes down well at Christmas dinner!
Miranda says
lol it goes down well at any time! Especially if you can it and are able to make it whenever!
Rach D says
This looks so tasty & moist! I so enjoy a nice home baked pie over store bought ANYtime... 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this post with us at Inspired By Me Mondays. I hope you come back to link up again this week! Rachael @ Diamonds in the Rough
Miranda says
Thank you! Homemade pie is so much better than a store bought! It was my pleasure!
Tonya says
Can you use instant tapioca instead of clear gel? If so how much?
Miranda says
I haven't tried it, Tonya but I'm sure it will work. I'm just not sure of the measurements for it.
Tom says
Do you measure the grapes while still in the bunches or after stripped from the bunches
Miranda says
Hi Tom. After they're stripped from the bunches.
Beth says
I just purchased the seed separator attachment for my kitchenaid stand mixer. I make grape pie filling every year and freeze it. I’m happy to find a canning recipe for it as the vine we have in our back yard can produce a stock of monthly grapes pies for at least a year. Anyway, do you think I could use the separator rather than the sieve. That process is exactly as you put it, a labor of love. My method for freezing takes 4 days start to finish for 14 quarts. Of course this is in batches but was curious about using a seed separator attachment.
Miranda C. says
The seed separator should work great! Let me know how it turns out
melodie mills says
Can this filling be frozen instead of canne
Miranda C. says
Yes! You can definitely freeze the filling instead of canning it.
Janice McClain says
About how many quarts does this recipe make?
Miranda C. says
This makes about one quart of filling.
Arlene Billet says
I thought it said it would make 4 quarts of pie filling.
Miranda C. says
Yes! The recipe for the filling makes about 4 quarts. The actual pie uses only one quart of the filling. You save the remaining three quarts for future pies!
Lisa says
Yummy pie filling! I got 4 qt jars from this batch. I just made little tarts in a muffin tin with a crumble topping. So yummy! I think I might need to go pick more grapes! I live in the Finger lakes region in upstate NY where there is a grape festival every year. Grape u-pick patches are everywhere for .40/lb! I'll be making more of this real soon! Thank you!
Cat says
Hey there, just wondering - do you use instant clear jel or cook type?
Miranda says
I use the cook type of clearjel.
Marylene says
Do you use the instant clear gel or regular clear gel?
Miranda C. says
Regular clear gel!