Being gluten free, dairy free or even vegan doesn’t mean you have to live without delicious pie. With this amazing gluten free vegan pie crust recipe, you’ll happily say goodbye to pies of the past and start dreaming of all of your future pies. Plus, I am including step by step instructions so even beginning bakers can make pie crust.
This recipe makes a single pie crust. If you need a double crust, see the notes at the bottom of the recipe.
Make sure to check out a few of my favorite pie recipes to fill your gluten free pie crust: german chocolate pecan pie, gluten free dutch apple pie and gluten free derby pie.
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Why You'll Love This Gluten-Free Pie Crust Recipe
- It’s so flaky, it almost shatters in your mouth.
- It uses simple ingredients.
- It’s gluten free & vegan (and so delicious)
- It handles almost as easily as a traditional pie crust.
- It can be used for sweet pies or savory pies
Equipment Needed
For a basic pie crust, you will need:
- a pie plate or pie dish (either metal, glass or ceramic)
- a rolling pin
- plastic wrap or parchment paper
Additionally, for some recipes you may need pie weights for par-baking. A bench scraper and a food scale also come in handy, but are not required.
Ingredient List
- Gluten Free 1:1 Flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill for my recipe. I have also tested it with King Arthur Measure for Measure flour with success. If you use another gluten-free flour blend make sure it contains xanthan gum or you will need to add it.
- Arrowroot Powder (or Cornstarch) – This helps reduce the protein in the gluten free flour blend, making it more like pastry flour.
- Salt – Just a little for flavor
- Sugar – A small amount of sugar helps the crust to brown and be crispy. It does not make the crust taste sweet, so do not omit.
- Vegan Butter – I use either Miyoko’s Plant Butter or Country Crock Plant Butter for my crust. Both work well. One thing to note when working with vegan butters is they melt quicker than dairy butter, so you must take care to keep the dough cold. Regular butter can also be used in this recipe if you’re not vegan or dairy free. Do not substitute margarine or other butter replacement products.
- Water – Ice water to keep the dough extra cold.
Substitutions & Variations
- Flour substitutions - In place of 1 cup of Bob's Red Mill, use the following:
- 1 ¼ Cup King Arthur Measure for Measure
- 1 Cup + 2 tablespoon Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour
- ¾ C + 3 tablespoon Great Value GF All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup + 1 tablespoon Pillsbury All-Purpose GF Flour Blend
- For any other flour blends, use 148 grams of weighed flour
- To make a savory crust, add ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ⅛ teaspoon paprika, ⅛ teaspoon thyme per single pie crust recipe. It's great for pot pies and savory galettes!
How to Make a Homemade Pie Crust
Cut the butter into cubes about ½″ wide and place into the freezer at least 15 minutes before you begin.
Measure your water and place it in the freezer while you measure and mix the remaining ingredients.
STEP 1: Combine all of the dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Add the frozen butter cubes.
STEP 2: Working as quickly as possible, squish the butter cubes between your thumb and first two fingers making it into flat discs about the size of a quarter. Make sure all of the butter is coated with flour.
STEP 3: Add about half of the cold water and gently toss together to hydrate. Add another half of the remaining water and continue working. Stop when your dough holds together. You may not need all of the water.
STEP 4: Form your dough into a round patty about 1: thick. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours (up to overnight).
Here’s a video showing how I mix dough by hand
Remove your chilled dough from the refrigerator. There are two methods for rolling out the dough.
Method 1: Using plastic wrap to roll out dough sheets
STEP 1: Place the chilled dough disc between two sheets of plastic wrap (like a sandwich).
STEP 2: Roll out the dough with a rolling pin until it is 1" larger than the diameter of your pie pan.
Method 2: Using flour to roll out dough sheets
STEP 1: Place a sheet of parchment paper on your counter and sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon of gluten free flour. Place the dough on top of the flour.
STEP 2: Sprinkle another tablespoon of flour on top of the pie dough and the rolling pin and roll directly on the dough.
Whichever method you choose, once your dough is rolled into a sheet. Place it on a baking sheet and refrigerate for another hour.
STEP 3: Remove the chilled dough sheet from the refrigerator. Flip the pan over and use it as a guide to trim the edges of the dough leaving a ½" overhang.
STEP 4: Flip the dough and pan over. Gently work the dough into the shape of the pan, taking care not to press it in because it will stick.
Place pie shell in the freezer while you make your favorite filling. If it will be frozen for more than 30 minutes, make sure to cover it well with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
Baking Tip
Patch any holes in your crust with the trimmed pieces of dough. Pie filling can leak through holes in the crust and make the pie stick to the pan.
You can also make this dough using a food processor. Simply combine all the dry ingredients in your food processor and add the cold butter . Pulse a few times until the butter is about the size of small peas. Dump the flour mixture into a bowl and add the water as listed above, mixing by hand. A food processor makes things much quicker but the end result will be a little less flaky because the butter pieces are smaller.
How to Make Extra Flaky Gluten-Free Pie Crust
There are a few things that contribute to the flaky texture of pie crust.
- Keep your butter extra cold - When the dough starts to set as the butter melts in the oven, little pockets of steam form which make the flaky airy texture in pie crust. If your butter is too warm when it enters the oven, it will melt out before the crust sets leaving a greasy pool and a crunchier, more cracker like crust.
- Size of the butter pieces in the dough - Many recipes call for pea sized butter, which is ideal for lattice work and designs, but for flakiness you want large pieces of butter.
- Create layers in your crust - You will need to use the flour dusted method described above to do this. Once you roll your dough into a large sheet, carefully fold the dough in half right to left. Then fold it in half again top to bottom. Then re-roll out the dough to the size of your pie pan. You’ve now added several extra layers into your flaky pie crust.
How to make a lattice pie crust
Once you've mastered making pie dough, making designs with your pie crust is a fun way to dress up your pie.
STEP 1: Roll out a sheet of gluten free pie dough. Cut it into strips.
STEP 2: Using every other strip from the sheet of dough, place all of the lines going one direction.
STEP 3: Fold back every other strip of dough and place the perpendicular piece of dough across. Then fold the pieces up and repeat with the alternating strips.
STEP 4: Once the lattice is complete, trim the edges off and crimp with your favorite design.
Baking Tip
The only limit to what can be done with pie crust is your imagination. See some examples below.
How to Store Pie Crust
You can stop during any of the natural breaks in the recipe preparation and store the pie dough.
- At the patty stage, where your dough is wrapped in plastic wrap, you can store in the refrigerator up to 2 days before rolling out.
- You can also transfer the wrapped dough to a freezer bag or airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. To use frozen dough, just thaw overnight in the refrigerator and roll out as directed above.
- You can also freeze your completed pie shells. I usually make a few at a time so I don't have to go through all the steps every time we want a pie. Prepare your dough, roll it out and line your pan. Disposable pie plates work great for this. Once it's done, place your pie shell in the freezer for about 30 minutes until it's frozen solid. Then remove it and wrap it in at least 3 layers of plastic wrap, making sure there are no openings. Store in a freezer bag or airtight container in the freezer up to 6 months. No need to thaw before using.
Try these gluten free pie ideas:
If you try this recipe, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the comments below.
Recipe
Best Gluten Free Vegan Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend I use Bob's Red Mill, see notes
- 1 Tablespoon Arrowroot Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- 9 Tablespoon Vegan Butter Vegan or Regular
- ½ Cup Water
Instructions
- Cut the butter into cubes about ½" in size. Place into the freezer for at least 15 minutes prior to mixing.
- Measure the water and place into the freezer while you mix the remaining ingredients.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, arrowroot powder, salt and sugar. Stir well to ensure it's evenly mixed.1 Cup Gluten Free 1-to-1 Flour Blend, 1 Tablespoon Arrowroot Powder, ½ teaspoon Salt, 1 Tablespoon Sugar
- Add the frozen butter cubes to the flour mixture. Toss the butter around to make sure it is completely coated with flour. Working as quickly as possible, use your thumb and first two fingers to squish the butter cubes into discs about the size of a quarter.9 Tablespoon Vegan Butter
- Once all the butter has been worked into the flour, add half of the cold water. Toss the ingredients together to hydrate the flour. If any large clumps forms, break them apart. Continue to add the water a little at a time and toss it together until the dough forms into a rough ball. You may not need all of the water, but you should need most of it.½ Cup Water
- Form your dough ball into a circular patty about 1 inch thick and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours or overnight.
- Place a large piece of parchment paper on your counter and dust with 1 tablespoon of gluten free flour. Place your dough patty on the floured surface. Dust the top of the dough and your rolling pin with another bit of flour. You don't want a lot of flour, just enough to keep the rolling pin from sticking to the dough.
- Roll out your dough working from the middle and rotating the dough as you go to make sure you're working evenly. Roll until the dough measures 1 inch larger in diameter than the pie pan.
- Place the dough sheet onto a baking sheet and put into the refrigerator for 1 hour.
- Once the dough sheet has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and flip it over into the pie pan. Work the dough gently into the pan, taking care not to press the dough in as it will stick. If you make any holes in the dough, patch them with leftover dough.
- Trim the dough about ½" outside of the edge of the pie pan. Fold the edge under and crimp however you'd like. Place finished pie shell in the freezer until ready to use. If you will freeze more than 30 minutes, make sure to cover with plastic wrap.
Notes
- 1 ¼ Cup King Arthur Measure for Measure
- 1 Cup + 2 tablespoon Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour
- ¾ C + 3 tablespoon Great Value GF All Purpose Flour
- 1 Cup + 1 tablespoon Pillsbury All-Purpose GF Flour Blend
- For any other flour blends, use 148 grams of weighed flour
Tiffany is the recipe developer, stylist and food photographer behind Well Fed Baker. As a lifelong baker who had to go gluten free and dairy free in 2016, Tiffany strives to share allergen friendly recipes that never feel like they are free from anything.
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