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My recipe for The Best Gluten-Free Pie Crust is so easy, and it produces a flaky, buttery, to-die-for crust every time! This simple dough comes together quickly and can be used for sweet or savory pies, quiches, and pastries.
Table of Contents
- Flaky Gluten Free Pie Crust
- Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make a Gluten Free Pie Crust from Scratch
- Tips for Success
- Can I Make Gluten Free Pie Crust in Advance?
- How to Freeze Your Homemade Pie Crust
- Filling Ideas! You Can Make So Many Pies with This Crust.
- Things you’ll need
- Get the Recipe
- More gluten free basics
Flaky Gluten Free Pie Crust
Oh, pie. How I love you. Some of my family members seem to think that pie is only for the holidays. And I mean, I love a good pumpkin or pecan pie as much as the next girl. But pie is so much more than that. Amirite?
There’s apple pie, which honestly no fall is complete without. Then, of course, we come to peach, blueberry, and cherry pies. Hello, summer! And spring is a great time for pie as well, from a decadent chocolate pie to a light-as-air lemon meringue!
Okay, you get it, I love pie! But until I came up with the perfect gluten free pie crust, I stuck to, say, crustless pumpkin pie. But I am crustless no longer.
That’s why this recipe is one of my absolute go-to favorites. To make a good pie, you have to have a good, flaky crust with a delicate texture. And that’s exactly what this gluten-free recipe delivers. Plus, it’s super simple to make!
Recipe Ingredients
Just like a regular wheat-flour pie crust, this recipe only uses a handful of basic ingredients including flour, butter and cold water. It’s important to have the butter, water and shortening cold so that the end result is light and flaky!
- Flour: For this pie crust, you can use your favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour blend. You’ll need about 2 ½ cups.
- Salt
- Sugar: Just a little to add a sweet flavor to the crust. It can be limited if you are making a crust for a savory dish like a quiche.
- Butter & Shortening: Have ready half a cup each of cold butter and cold vegetable shortening, cut into small cubes.
- Ice-Cold Water: The colder, the better.
What Kind of Flour to Use?
While you can use your own gluten-free flour blend, I like to purchase mine pre-blended. They’re usually great quality, and they work really well in a lot of different recipes! If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty, this is a good recipe for flours without xanthan gum. Xanthan gum acts like gluten to give the dough some stretch, but you don’t need that in a flaky pie crust!
How to Make a Gluten Free Pie Crust from Scratch
This gluten-free pie crust is very similar to regular pie crust recipes. You’ll basically be combining the cold butter and shortening with the dry ingredients, then adding the cold water to form a dough. Easy!
Combine Dry Ingredients, Butter & Shortening: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and vegetable shortening, cutting them into the mixture using a fork, pastry cutter or two knives. You should cut the ingredients together until the butter and shortening are almost blended into the flour with lots of pea-sized crumbs and bits as well.
Add Water: Slowly drizzle in the water, one tablespoon at a time. You might not need to use the entire half cup. After each tablespoon, mix gently. When the dough comes together, stop adding water.
Chill Dough: Lightly dust a work surface with gluten-free flour and turn the dough out onto it. Press and shape the dough into a ball and cut it in half. Flatten the two pieces into discs, and cover each one with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Form Crust: Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and gently press in. Trim any excess dough, and shape the edges as you prefer.
Bake: Cover the crust with baking paper and fill with pie weights (dried beans or rice also work well). Bake at 400°F for 15 minutes, then remove the pie weights. Prick the pie crust with a fork and bake for 5-10 more minutes for a partially baked pie crust, OR bake for 15-20 minutes more for a fully baked pie crust.
Tips for Success
Here are a few simple tips to help you get that perfect pie crust. From rolling to baking, I’ve got you covered!
- Avoid Sticking: One of the worst things is rolling out the perfect pie crust, only to have it stick like glue to your work surface! You can avoid this by rolling out your dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper. Easy! Just peel the paper away when it’s time to put the crust into your pie pan.
- Food Processor: If you’re not sure about cutting the butter and shortening into the dry ingredients, your food processor can do this step for you! Just a few pulses and you’ll have perfect pea-sized crumbs, ready to go.
- Bake Hot: Since the gluten-free flour interacts with shortening and butter differently than regular flour, make sure you preheat the oven well, and to the right temperature (400°F). This allows the melting butter to form flaky layers correctly with the dry ingredients.
Can I Make Gluten Free Pie Crust in Advance?
Yes, you definitely can! Just make the pie crust, but instead of rolling it out, refrigerate the wrapped discs of dough for up to three days. When you’re ready to use it, let it sit at room temperature for up to 15 minutes, until it’s soft enough to roll.
How to Freeze Your Homemade Pie Crust
To freeze your pie crust, freeze the wrapped discs of dough for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling and baking.
Filling Ideas! You Can Make So Many Pies with This Crust.
This versatile crust is ready to pair with any filling you like! You really can’t go wrong here, and I’ve even collected some great ideas for inspiration!
- Pumpkin Pie
- Pecan Pie
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Blueberry Pie
- Dutch Apple Pie
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
- Custard Pie
- Banana Cream Pie
- Chocolate Chess Pie
- Buttermilk Pie
- Coconut Custard Pie
- Other Delicious Homemade Pies
It can also be used for savory dishes such Chicken Pot Pie or Turkey Swiss Quiche. And don’t forget about pastries like classic Apple Turnovers.
Things you’ll need
- While you can use a fork, a simple and inexpensive pastry blender makes it much easier to cut the butter and shortening into the flour.
- Dried beans work great, but if you are going to bake a lot of pies, having ceramic beads to weigh your crust down is super useful.
- Since gluten free pie dough can be a bit sticky and tender, you’ll want to roll it out on parchment to transfer to the pan, and you’ll want top set your pie weights on top of the parchment, not right on the crust itself.
- Have a nice, heavy rolling pin. Remember, if you used your rolling pin before you went gluten free, it might be cross-contaminated, so you’ll want a new one.
The Best Gluten-Free Pie Crust
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup butter, cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup vegetable shortening, cold and cubed
- 1/2 cup ice-cold water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar.
- Add the butter and vegetable shortening and cut into the flour mixture using a fork or pastry cutter. Well combined pea-sized crumbs should be achieved.
- Slowly drizzle in the water one tablespoon at a time (the full amount may not be needed) and mix until dough comes together.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough onto it.
- Pack the dough into a ball and cut it in half.
- Flatten the two pieces into two discs and cover each one with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 60 minutes.
- Once the dough has chilled, roll it out on a floured surface into a 12-inch circle.
- Transfer to a 9-inch pie dish and gently press in.
- Trim any excess dough and decorate the edges as you prefer.
- Line the pie dough with baking paper and fill with pie weights (dried beans or rice also work well).
- Bake at 400F for 15 minutes and then remove the pie weights.
- Prick the pie crust with a fork and bake for 5 – 10 more minutes for a partially baked pie crust, OR bake for 15 – 20 minutes more for a fully baked pie crust.
Notes
- This dough can be prepared, wrapped tightly, and refrigerated for up to 3 days. (If it is too cold to roll out when needed, leave at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.)
- To freeze the pie dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Did you make this?
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Which gluten free flour they are all a little different and the amounts of flour uses would be different. Which one did you use?
Bob’s and King Arthur are both good options for this recipe.
The flavor was spot on and it was pretty easy to make. But mine came out pretty crumbly rather than flaky! What could I have done wrong? Not enough water perhaps?
Yes, I would try a bit more water. Gluten free crust can be a touch crumbly.
This works with regular NON xanthan gum gf flour??
I have not tested it because I usually use a blend with xanthan gum. I think given the texture of pie crust it might be OK. Report back if you try it!
Can the butter be subbed out for plant butter like Miyokos?
I haven’t tested it, but I would expect it would work just fine.
Can I make a double pie., like cherry or apple
Yes, you can!