Extra flaky gluten-free pie crust is the perfect easy pie crust recipe for all of your holiday baking needs! Use this pie crust in your favorite apple pie or pumpkin pie recipe. Only 5 ingredients are needed to make this easy and delicious butter pie crust.
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Why You Should Make This Recipe
Here are the top 3 reasons you should make this gluten-free pie crust:
- Super flaky crust that mimics traditional pie crust for holiday baking.
- Simple ingredients - no shortening or lard.
- Easy to make for a single-crust pie or double the recipe for a double-crust pie.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here are the ingredients you need to make this recipe. Reference the recipe card at the bottom for exact measurements and the notes below for substitution ideas.
Gluten-free all-purpose flour such as Cup4Cup, Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Measure-for-Measure flour are the best gluten-free flour blends to use for this gluten-free pie crust.
Xanthan gum is added to this recipe to increase the elasticity that is usually present with traditional pie crust. Although the baking blends mentioned include xantham gum, we included more to reduce cracking and assist in rolling and placing pie crust.
Butter is the fat component creating texture in flaky pie crust. We used grass-fed butter when making this recipe and have not tried vegan butter.
Ice water acts as a binder to bring the pie crust together. Keeping the dough cold is essential and very cold water helps to create the best temperature while assembling.
Salt balances the flavors and helps to create texture.
Taste and Texture
This pie crust is super flaky with a buttery flavor. It is not sweetened and has a savory flavor that lends itself well to balance sweet pies like pumpkin pie or apple pie.
You can use it in savory pies as well like chicken pot pie, shepherd's pie, or as the crust in puff pastry quiche.
Unlike traditional pie crust, it is harder to roll out and is prone to cracking, due to the lack of gluten.
How to Make This Recipe
This is a step-by-step walkthrough of how to cook this recipe. The recipe card at the bottom shows the exact cooking time and temperatures.
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 425F. Cut the butter into cubes and place in the freezer while you prepare the pie plate and assemble the dry ingredients.
Step 2
Butter the bottom of a glass pie plate. Set aside.
Step 3
Add the flour, xanthan gum, and salt to a food processor. Pulse the flour mixture to incorporate.
Step 4
Add in the cold, cubed pieces of butter and process until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Step 5
Add in water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Mix until the mixture comes together.
Traditional pie crust generally creates a dough ball when it is fully mixed. This gluten-free pie crust is more moist than traditional pie crust so a ball may not form.
Step 6
Roll the pie crust into a dough ball and place it into a Ziploc bag or plastic wrap. Flatten the ball into a disk.
Try to get the disk as circular as possible in the form to make rolling and placement easier.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or optimally overnight. Cold dough is essential to successfully rolling out this gluten-free pie crust.
Step 7
When ready to bake, pull the dough disc out of the refrigerator. Allow it to sit for 15-30 minutes or until able to be rolled.
Place the between two pieces of lightly-floured parchment paper on a large work surface.
Use a rolling pin to gently roll out the dough from the center to outward. Avoid rolling back and forth.
As you roll, gently lift the crust off of the parchment paper to see if the crust is sticking.
The ends may begin to crack. This is to be expected and you can roll them back together as you roll the dough out.
Roll it out to uniform thickness, about ⅛ of an inch.
Step 8
Gently place the pie crust into the prepared pie dish and place it on a sheet pan. Allow about 1 inch of crust to hang over the side.
Crimp or flute the pie crust edges all the way around the pie plate and use excess pie dough to patch any holes or thin spots (this is common with gluten-free pie crust.)
Use a fork to pierce the bottom to allow steam to escape during baking.
Step 9
Place parchment paper in a cross pattern on top of the pie crust.
Step 11
Add pie weights to the crust and blind bake for 15 minutes. Continue baking whichever kind of pie you select using your favorite apple pie, pumpkin pie, or other fruit pie filling.
Try this recipe in our pumpkin pie without eggs for an allergy-friendly recipe.
Expert Tips
- Don't fret! Making pie crust can be challenging and the more you do it, the easier it will become.
- Do not substitute flours. Coconut flour, almond flour, oat flour, and other gluten-free flour will not bake the same as a measure-for-measure gluten-free baking blend.
- This almond flour pie crust in our honey crisp apple pie uses an almond flour and coconut flour crust.
- Be sure to use very cold butter. You do not want the butter to be at room temperature.
- The longer you can chill the gluten-free pie dough, the better the end results will be.
- Measure your pie crust at least 1 inch beyond the rim of the pie plate. This will help to reduce shrinkage.
- Don't skip the blind bake or pie weights to enable the crust to bake properly and create the ultimate flaky texture.
- Use a glass pie plate so you can easily see the bottom and monitor baking to avoid burning or underdone crust.
Recipe FAQs
The top three best gluten-free flours for pie crust are Cup4Cup Multipurpose Flour, Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour, and King Arthur Measure for Measure flour.
Generally, gluten-free pie crust will fall apart if there is too much flour and not enough liquid. It is important to follow the recipe card exactly along with all expert tips to get the best results.
Chilling the dough is very important as it helps to keep the crust together and makes rolling and transferring the crust much easier.
Gluten-free pie crust tends to crack compared to traditional pie crust recipes. This is OK and should be expected. Use excess dough pieces to fill in cracks.
If you have used too much flour in the recipe, the crust will be hard and produce a crumbly and gritty texture.
Using coconut oil in place of butter will also result in a hard crust that is essentially unable to be rolled out. Follow the recipe card exactly for the best results.
Gluten provides structure and tenderness in flaky pie crust. However, too much gluten can actually create an elastic dough that is too hard to roll out.
The trick in gluten-free pie crust is to have the right combination of gluten-mimicking ingredients (i.e. xanthan gum) and fat (i.e. butter) to create a flaky pastry.
Follow the recipe card exactly for the best results.
Yes! This recipe is even better to make a day ahead so that it has ample time to chill.
You can make it up to two days in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake with it. The dough can also be frozen and stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.
Other Gluten-free Dessert Recipes You'll Love!
5-Ingredient Flaky Gluten-free Pie Crust (Easy Recipe!)
Ingredients
- 1 stick grassfed butter very cold
- ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4-5 tablespoon ice water
- 1 cup gluten-free flour
- 2 tablespoon gluten-free flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F. Grease a pie plate with butter.
- Cut the butter into cubes and place in a small dish. Place them in the freezer while you assemble the dry ingredients.1 stick grassfed butter
- In a food processor, pulse xanthan gum, salt, and flour until mixed.¼ teaspoon xanthan gum, ½ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon gluten-free flour, 1 cup gluten-free flour
- Add in the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles wet sand.
- Add in water 1 tablespoon at a time until the mixture comes together.4-5 tablespoon ice water
- Remove the dough from the food processor and roll it into a ball. Place it into a Ziploc bag and press down gently to create a disc.
- Refrigerate the dough disc for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove the dough from the fridge. Allow it to sit out for 15-30 minutes to be easier to roll. Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper, on a work surface. Use a rolling pin to gently roll out the dough from the middle to the ends. Do not roll back and forth.
- The ends may begin to crack; use the rolling pin to roll them together as much as possible. Roll the dough out to a uniform thickness of ¼ inch.
- Gently place the pie crust onto the prepared pie dish. Leave about 1-inch of dough hanging over the side. Place the pie dish on a sheet pan and flute the edges of the crust. Use a fork to pierce the bottom.
- Place two pieces of parchment paper on top of the pie crust in a cross pattern. Add pie weights to the top of the parchment-lined crust.
- Bake at 425F for 15 minutes for a blind bake pie crust. Follow your favorite pie recipe to create a fully baked pie.
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