Homemade Pie Crust

This simple and delicious homemade pie crust recipe is perfect for chocolate, key lime, pumpkin, or fruit pie. Put the Crisco away! This flaky, buttery crust delivers all of the flavor without any hydrogenated oil!

In my home chef career, there are several things that I’ve put off because I thought they were too hard.

Homemade bread is one of them. For YEARS I didn’t make bread because the idea of yeast was too daunting.

Homemade pie crust was another. I tried it once – using a rolling pin like Martha Steward or Rachel Ray and flipping it over and then graciously placing it on the pie pan…

I did what they did and it wasn’t gracious at all. In fact, it was a disaster!! And it nearly scarred me for life.

Thankfully, some wounds heal, and I found the perfect pie crust recipe minus the rolling pin techniques (kudos to you, Martha and Rachel, but we’re keeping it simple here).

Homemade Pie Crust

I found a recipe that was a “pat in the pan” pie crust recipe – one that tastes just like grandma’s perfect pie crust without all the required rolling pin skills.

That’s one of the big reasons why I love this homemade pie crust, but I also love it because it is:

• Super fast. Forget 30 minutes or less. This crust comes together in MINUTES.
• Versatile. It can be used for baked fillings (like apple pie) or no-bake fillings (like chocolate pudding pie).
• Easy to make ahead.
• Freezer-friendly!
• Simple. You only need four ingredients.
• Free of hydrogenated oils (bye bye Crisco).
• Gluten friendly. It can be a gluten-free pie crust!

Most importantly though, this homemade pie crust tastes DELICIOUS!

It’s flaky, easy, and can easily be doubled for a double pie (like a pie with a lattice top). It’s everything you want a pie crust to be, without all the hassle of a rolling pin!

Ingredients

This homemade pie crust uses only four basic ingredients:

1. Flour. Both all-purpose and whole grain work here – it really just depends on your health goals and your preferences (I use all-purpose einkorn flour.)
2. Salt.
3. Milk. Just a few tablespoons. Both dairy and non-dairy milk work, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a low-fat or full-fat milk like whole milk or canned coconut milk.
4. Butter.

Note: You can add an egg yolk to your crust for extra fat and a more pliable dough, but it is not required. If the dough is difficult to handle, consider adding an egg yolk. Egg yolk can also be used to coat the crust when pre baking for a filled pie, such as pumpkin pie. This prevents the crust from becoming soggy from the filling.

Notes on Ingredients

• Flour
  • Einkorn flour is an unmodified, unhybridized ancestor to modern wheat. It is a whole grain that is gentler on our tummies and in some cases, suitable for those who struggle with gluten. You can purchase it here or make your own by purchasing Einkorn berries and using a Mockmill (read my review of the Mockmill here).

• Gluten-free adaptations
  • If you are gluten-free, and einkorn flour doesn’t work for you, you can absolutely substitute gluten-free flour. I recommend this gluten-free baking mix.

• Butter and oil
  • You may be used to making pie crusts with Crisco. I hear you! My family always made pie crust with Crisco, but Crisco is a 100% hydrogenated oil and that is a 100% banned ingredient from my kitchen.
  • Healthier alternatives to Crisco include palm shortening, coconut oil, or butter. Crisco is not healthy and it’s not real food.

Recipe Notes

• Combining the dough.
  • I love using my stand mixer (I have a KitchenAid) because it makes the process easier. Making pie crust is one of many creative ways to use a stand mixer. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use a large bowl and cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or knife.
• Make-ahead dough.
  • You can freeze pie crust by preparing the recipe as written but placing the dough in the freezer instead of patting it into the pie pan. I recommend freezing in a square, just so it’s easier to thaw.
  • You may also wrap your dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for later use, making this a great prep-ahead element of your meal plan.

Note: If freezing your dough, you’ll have to thaw the dough in the fridge in order to keep the butter cold!

Tips for the Perfect Pie Crust

These recipe tips will take you from amateur to professional when it comes to crafting the perfect pie and make you the talk of the dinner table come Thanksgiving.

Tip 1. Do not over-mix your ingredients. This keeps that crusty, flaky texture in your crust, and the reason why I never use a food processor to mix my dough.

Tip 2. Keep your ingredients cold. Your crust has to remain cold to come together correctly. A simple tip – stick your dough and even utensils and pie dish in the fridge for a few minutes before pressing into the pan for great results.

Tip 3. Try pie weights when baking your crust. Place a measured piece of parchment paper over your crust and use pie weights or coins to help your crust cook flat if you are making a no bake pie filling. When making a filled pie, this step isn’t necessary, since the filling naturally weighs down the crust.

Step by Step Directions

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 400F.

Step 2. Combine the flour and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl.

Step 3. Cut the fat into your flour mixture using the paddle blade of your stand mixer or, alternatively, a pastry cutter. Combine until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.

Step 4. Add milk, 1 Tbsp at a time, JUST until the mixture comes together to form a ball.

Step 5. Lightly flour your hands to avoid the dough sticking. Working with a golf ball size of dough at a time, pat the crust into the pie plate.

Step 6. Bake and prepare your crust for filling:

• If you’re going to fill and bake the pie crust (as in a pumpkin or pecan pie), whisk the egg yolk in a small bowl and brush the inside of the crust. Bake in the oven for 2 minutes. This prevents your crust from getting soggy.
• If you’re going to fill the crust with a no-bake pie dish (as in a chocolate pudding pie), bake in the oven for 18-22 min, until golden brown.

FAQs

Is pie crust better with butter or Crisco?
Butter is a natural food, so it gets my vote, as does coconut oil and palm shortening. My motto is to just say no to hydrogenated oils!

Is it worth it to make homemade pie crust?
Absolutely! The buttery flakiness of a homemade crust is totally worth it, and so much easier to achieve than you might think! Not to mention, making your own crust saves money!

How do you keep the pie crust from getting soggy?
If my pie is going to be baked (like in a berry pie), I brush the crust with an egg wash and bake it for a few minutes. This helps to prevent the crust from getting soggy.

Some of My Favorite Pies Using Homemade Pie Crust

• Homemade Berry Pie
• Easy Key Lime Pie
• Chocolate Pie
• Pumpkin Pie