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Baking Tips

Instant Tapioca Is Pie Season’s MVP

You need to add this magical powder to your pie baking essentials. Here’s why. 

Pie season is in full swing which means it’s time to stock up on all the essentials.

Butter, flour, sugar, fruit . . .

. . . and instant tapioca.

(Aka pie season’s MVP.)

Fruit pies require a thickener. Otherwise you’ll end up with a pie full of soup!

You can use pectin or cornstarch. But more often than not you’re left with a gloppy mess.

Ground tapioca is the way to go. Here’s why:

  1. It dissolves easily during baking. 
  2. It preserves rather than dampens fresh fruit flavor (as other common thickeners can). 
  3. The result is a cohesive, perfectly sliced piece of pie.

Book

The Perfect Pie

Bake beautiful, foolproof versions of the corner bakery classics and French patisserie favorites—plus a host of whimsical, modern pies and tarts of all kinds with sky-high meringue pies, uniquely flavored fruit pies with intricate lattice-woven tops, and lush elegant tarts.

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To grind tapioca into a powder, simply use your spice grinder. Transfer it to an air-tight container and it’ll keep in your pantry for up to 6 months.

How much tapioca powder should you use? Just a couple tablespoons will do the trick.

Here are a few of my favorite tapioca-thickened recipes:

  1. Blueberry Earl Grey Pie 
  2. Sweet Cherry Pie
  3. Pear Butterscotch Slab Pie
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