What to do with too many blueberries?

May 30, 2021 10:17 AM

I've got a bit under 2 lbs. of blueberries that aren't particularly sweet. They're not great for just snacking on, but I don't want them to go to waste. Gimme your best recipes that use a lot of blueberries. Bonus points if it doesn't contain eggs and/or too much sugar.
posted by BlahLaLa to Food & Drink (20 answers total)

I would freeze them and use them in smoothies. I don't think you'd necessarily need to add sugar to the smoothie as long as the other fruit was already pretty sweet.
posted by oceano at 10:26 AM on May 30, 2021 [15 favorites]

Blueberry Dumplings

Small Batch Blueberry Jam

I wish I had my Grandma's blueberry dumpling recipe; hers were legendary. But this one seems close. The woods behind her house were lousy with wild blueberries that tended to be on the not-particularly-sweet-and-tender side. We'd go pick a couple of buckets just to get her to make dumplings.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:30 AM on May 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

Pie
This is not my recipe, since I don't have one. But I have made and eaten hundreds of blueberry pies in my life. You don't need a lot of sugar, because the berries sweeten when they are cooked. You can add in some whole wheat flour in the pastry dough. Serve with whipped cream (without sugar) or creme fraiche.

I also think oat-milk based smoothies where you combine them with banana would be tasty and very healthy.
posted by mumimor at 10:51 AM on May 30, 2021 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Berry cobbler - use all blueberries and cut down the sugar by half if you want to.
posted by A Blue Moon at 10:51 AM on May 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Are you a vegetarian? I have taken to smothering pork steaks in blueberries and mushrooms in a cast iron pan when I have too many blueberries leftover and its delicious.

Oh, edited to add, I'm making blueberry avocado muffins right now, but didn't mention it because the batter contains 1 egg and 1/3 cup of sugar. That said I'll happy memail you the recipe if you want it!
posted by pazazygeek at 12:00 PM on May 30, 2021 [3 favorites]

Use them in recipes that would otherwise use rhubarb. I do that with apricots that are insufficiently sweet too. My go-to is crumble, but a solid apple-and-blueberry pie should to the trick too, but with much less sugar.
posted by labberdasher at 12:39 PM on May 30, 2021 [3 favorites]

Make a topping for pancakes or waffles. Simmer the blueberries in water and a bit of cornstarch for thickening, and they'll break down. Add as much sugar as you'd like.
posted by Leontine at 12:57 PM on May 30, 2021

Roasted or "oven-dried" for increased sweetness
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:01 PM on May 30, 2021

Blueberry ketchup.
posted by maurice at 1:30 PM on May 30, 2021

I picked some berries from a new farm this season and the berries were... ok. The next day they were better. Sweeter, juicier and a little riper. I left them out on the counter overnight.
I also recommend freezing them to use in smoothies, pancakes and baked goods. I made blueberry syrup by crushing them and adding a little sugar on the stovetop on low heat.
posted by Ochre,Hugh at 2:33 PM on May 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Freeze them for smoothies, or make compote?
posted by kschang at 3:19 PM on May 30, 2021

You can make a shrub by combining it with sugar and vinegar and letting it sit in the fridge. Shrubs can be drunk straight if you like tart or added to soda water or booze or whatever.
posted by Candleman at 3:25 PM on May 30, 2021

Buttermilk blueberry pancakes. Freezing the blueberries first makes them easy to use in pancake batter.
posted by They sucked his brains out! at 3:57 PM on May 30, 2021

Save some and float them in your iced coffee.
posted by Raybun at 4:13 PM on May 30, 2021

If you're a meat eater, you can make a nice glaze for grilled or smoked pork babyback ribs by mixing blueberries with store-bought BBQ sauce - maybe a little more sauce than berries, but it's fine alter the ratio all you like to get your preferred flavor. Add a little cayenne or chipotle powder for heat, if desired.

This is maybe a bit late for Memorial Day, but as someone else said, freeze them for use later - doesn't matter if they thaw all mushy!
posted by Greg_Ace at 4:39 PM on May 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Schnapps. Blueberries, neutral alcohol, sugar, throw it all in a mason jar, wait a while, serve over ice cream.
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:51 PM on May 30, 2021

Best answer: I LOVE Blueberry Grunt. Some versions have eggs, but most don't - and you can sweeten to taste.

Best served piping hot.
posted by jb at 9:37 PM on May 30, 2021 [1 favorite]

Blueberries are a great base for home made bbq sauce.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:01 AM on May 31, 2021

Response by poster: I ended up freeforming a kind of cobbler/grunt mashup and it is TASTY. Thank you!
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:16 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Blueberry cobbler has been mentioned but not THIS (Jane Brody's Good Food Cookbook) blueberry cobbler, which is the very very best. Low sugar (I usually halve the sugar and double the blueberries), low fat, no eggs and absolutely spectacular.
posted by bluesky43 at 3:05 PM on June 3, 2021