My blackberry dumplings with pie crust recipe is easy and delicious! Made by boiling blackberries on the stovetop with sugar, water, and lemon juice, then adding strips of pie crust and simmering for a few minutes, this old-fashioned, southern-style dessert gives you the great taste of cobbler filling—but a lot faster and without turning on your oven! Whether you use fresh or frozen berries or homemade or store-bought crust, this will be ready in just a few minutes. And while it’s great on its own, it’s also absolutely fantastic served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that melts into it and makes it creamy. If you want to learn how to make blackberry dumplings using pie crust, follow my step-by-step directions and watch the video below!
Blackberry Dumplings with Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 16 oz blackberries (2 cups, 454g – fresh or frozen)
- 1 cup sugar (210g) *Note that in the video I had 2 Tablespoons extra off to the side that I didn’t use.
- 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 9-inch pie crust
Instructions
- Add the blackberries, sugar, lemon juice, salt, and water to a large pot. (You can add all the water at once, even though only part is added at the beginning in the video.)
- Bring the berries to a boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Frozen berries will take longer to heat, but the process is the same.
- Start cutting the pie crust into strips about 3/4 to 1-inch wide as the berries come to a boil.
- Cut the strips into 2–3 inch pieces. Once the blackberry mixture is boiling, add the pieces to the pot a few at a time, gently pressing them down into the liquid with a spoon to prevent sticking.
- Reduce to a medium simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Stir gently to avoid breaking the dumplings—stir occasionally for the first 10 minutes, then more frequently during the last 5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let the berries and dumplings cool down for at least 5 minutes—the juice will thicken into syrup as it cools.
- Serve the blackberry dumplings with pie crust warm and enjoy!
Recipe Review
My blackberry dumplings with pie crust recipe was a big success. There was plenty of berry flavor, the sugar balancing out the tartness from the fruit and the bitterness from the seeds. The floral acidity from the lemon juice brought out the flavor, and the bit of salt balancing everything perfectly. The hint of butter in the pie crust was nice in the background, adding a savoriness that balanced the sweetness perfectly.
Most—but not all—of the berries broke down, creating a thick, juicy syrup that still had plenty of texture. The pie crust softened without getting mushy, contrasting nicely against the firm seeds in the syrup. Even if you sometimes avoid blackberries because of the seeds, I didn’t find this overly seedy—the extra water and pie crust were just enough to spread out the seeds and make them less noticeable.
Although this was great plain, I also loved it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the residual heat melting it so that the creaminess flowed into the berries and dumplings. I thought it helped to balance out the slight bitterness from the seeds very nicely, so while definitely not required, a bit of Cool Whip, homemade whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream would be a nice addition to this.
If you’re craving a fruit cobbler but don’t want to wait an hour for it to bake or heat up your kitchen, this stovetop dumplings recipe is a great alternative to my old-fashioned blackberry cobbler with pie crust. Even though it’s a perfect summer dessert for the 4th of July or a Sunday dinner, you can make it with frozen berries and enjoy it any time of year.
Blackberry Dumplings with Pie Crust FAQs
Yes! You can use either fresh or frozen berries in this recipe (I used frozen for convenience)—the only difference in the recipe is how much time they’ll need to come to a boil on the stove.
Of course! Although I always recommend a homemade pie crust, store-bought is fine.
Probably. Blackberries—especially not fully ripe ones—aren’t as sweet as other fruits. Combined with their natural tartness and the bitterness of the seeds, you’ll need a good amount of sugar. If you think 1 cup is too much, start with 1/2 cup, taste it, and then add more if needed.
I use 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons of water—I apologize for the confusion in the video. If you want the syrup to bit thinner and less sweet, add more water—but I wouldn’t recommend using more than 1 cup since I think it would dilute the flavor and thin out the syrup.
The acidity in the lemon juice helps bring out the flavor of the berries, brightening the fruitiness so that it’s strong on your palate. While not absolutely necessary, I wouldn’t leave it out.
Your dumplings are probably sticking together because you didn’t push them down into the berries and syrup with a spoon after adding them to the pot. Also, you may not be stirring enough, or there may not be enough liquid in the pot, so refer to the recipe above for more information.
Yes! Although I didn’t add any, you could add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. 1 teaspoon of vanilla would be a classic addition to this recipe as well.
Yes! Culinary Hill’s blackberry cobbler recipe calls for orange juice, so you could definitely replace some of the liquid in this stovetop dumpling recipe with orange or even pineapple juice for a more complex flavor.
Many people use canned biscuits in blackberry dumplings in place of pie crust. Chopped up crescent rolls are another popular option, as is making dumplings with a batter of flour, sugar, and milk and then spooning them into the boiling syrup to cook.
Yes! You can use this same concept with other types of fruit—in fact, my stovetop peach dumplings with pie crust is very similar and is extremely delicious!
Other Blackberry Recipes:
If you liked this dessert, you might want to try these as well:
Blackberry Cobbler with Pie Crust – This old-fashioned southern dessert has plenty of crispy pie crust and juicy berries.
Blackberry Cobbler with Dumplings – Bits of pie crust added to directly to the filling give this version a nice contrast in textures.
Seedless Blackberry Cobbler – Juicing the berries and adding pineapple chunks gives this no-seed version plenty of flavor and texture.
More Stovetop Dumplings
For more cobbler-like desserts in less time and without turning on your oven, take a look at:
Peach Dumplings on the Stovetop – Flavored with cinnamon, nutmeg, and citrus, this southern-style dessert is full of flavor.
Stovetop Apple Dumplings – Made with spoon dumplings, the texture is a bit different, but still good.
