Easy gluten free pie crust
This easy gluten-free pie crust tastes just as delicious as the white-flour crusts of my childhood! If you do eat gluten (lucky you!) you can use this same recipe and technique using regular all-purpose flour. I’ve included a step-by-step video on how to do it below (never fear pie crust again).
Flaky gluten free pie crust
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a pie girl. Growing up, we celebrated birthdays and special occasions with slices of blueberry, apple and pumpkin pie, not cake. It’s in my blood. My mom is a killer pie baker, and woe was the day I first went home for the holidays after cutting gluten out of my diet several years ago. My heart wrenched as everybody dug into their slices of pie, even though I had a lovely little gluten-free crisp all to myself.
Gluten free pastry crust
After that I started experimenting with different gluten-free pie dough recipes, determined to find a version that could stand up to my mom’s. However, most of the GF crusts I tried called for a million ingredients and tasted way too “strong”—while I adore grain, nut and seed flours, when it comes to specific occasions (Thanksgiving, Christmas, my birthday) and specific pies (pumpkin, apple, blueberry), I want the buttery, subtly sweet, let-the-fruit-shine crust that I had as a kid.
Best gluten free flour for pie crust
Finally I hit the nail on the head when experimenting with Cup 4 Cup flour a few years ago (this is not a paid endorsement!). Cup 4 Cup was developed by one of the chefs in Thomas Keller’s French Laundry kitchen, so I had high hopes. I did a one-to-one swap of Cup 4 Cup for the white flour in my classic pie dough, and the result was as just as good as the stuff of my memories. Weeeee! I literally danced in my kitchen that day (admittedly, that’s not uncommon), and I haven’t stopped pie (and galette and tart) baking since.
How to make a gluten free pie crust
No matter what flour you’re using, the technique for making good pie dough is the same. I promise that with just a few tricks, it’s way easier than most cake and brownie batters.
- First, buy good-quality, European style butter, which has a higher fat content and will make rolling and working the dough much easier (not to mention that it will taste better). Cut the butter into about ½-inch sized pieces and put it in the fridge. Cold butter is key.
- Now, pull out your food processor (you can also make pie dough using your hands or a pastry cutter, but a food processor is faster and easier). Dump in your flour (Cup 4 Cup or all-purpose), salt and sugar (you can omit the sugar if you’re making a savory tart or quiche). Pulse to combine. Sprinkle the cold butter cubes over the flour and pulse just until the mixture is somewhat crumbly and there are still pea-sized chunks of butter. Don’t overmix the flour and butter, because those chunks equal a flaky crust.
- Next, drizzle a bit of apple cider vinegar over top (this helps with flakiness). Put the lid back on, start the machine, and immediately start to drizzle in cold water. You want to add just enough water so that the dough sticks together when pinched—it should still look shaggy and a bit floury.
- Finally, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and use your hands to form it into a ball. Divide the ball in half, then press the dough into two disks. Cover the disks with plastic wrap, and refrigerate.
How to store gluten-free pie dough
The dough can be refrigerated for a couple days or frozen for several months (few things in life give me more joy than discovering I have a disk of pie dough hiding in the freezer!). You can use it in any pie or tart recipe, sweet or savory. I’ve included tips in the recipe below for rolling out the dough and for making both single- and double-crust pies. Here’s to a season (no, let’s make that a year) of fear-less, delicious pie baking!
Watch the Video
Easy Gluten Free Pie Crust (the best crust ever!)
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups (326g / 11.5oz) Cup 4 Cup gluten-free flour OR 2 ½ cups (319g / 11.25oz) all-purpose flour, plus more for workspace
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar (optional; this can be omitted for savory crusts)
- 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted, good quality butter (preferably a cultured or European style butter), cut into ½-inch dice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 – ½ cup cold water
Instructions
- Put the flour, sea salt and sugar, if using, in a food processor and pulse to combine.
- Sprinkle the cold butter over the flour in the food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks crumbly with larger, pea-sized chunks of butter (those chunks of butter equal a flaky crust!). Drizzle the apple cider vinegar over top.
- Turn the machine on and immediately start drizzling cold water through the feed tube. Stop the machine once the mixture starts to come together and looks shaggy. Give the dough a pinch—if it sticks together, it’s ready to go. If not, turn the machine on again and drizzle in a bit more water. You might not need all of the water—you’re looking for a shaggy dough, not a cohesive ball.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and form each into a flat disk. Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and refrigerate them for at least 30 minutes or for up to 2 days. Do Ahead: The wrapped disks can be placed in zip-top freezer bags and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
- If the dough has been in the fridge for several hours, let it sit at room temperature until slightly softened, about 10-20 minutes. Roll it out on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. If the dough immediately starts to crack once you start rolling, it’s too cold—give it a few more minutes to warm up. If the edges crack as you roll (which they probably will, so no fear!) simply patch them as needed.
Single Crust Pie
- To blind bake a single pie crust: Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Transfer the dough to a 9-inch pie plate, making sure to get in the corners. Using kitchen scissors, trim the dough to a ½-inch overhang. Fold the overhang under to form a ring around the pie plate. Crimp the ring, if you’d like. At this point, if the dough feels like it’s getting soft, pop the pie plate in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm up. Prick the bottom all over with a fork. Line the crust with a large piece of parchment paper then pour in dried beans or pie weights to completely cover the bottom. Bake 15 minutes. Remove the parchment and beans. Bake 5 minutes longer, or until light golden on the bottom. Do Ahead: The crust can be blind baked up to 1 day in advance.
Double Crust Pie
- To make a double-crust pie: Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Roll out one disk of dough, and transfer it to a 9-inch pie plate, making sure to get in the corners. Add your fruit filling, and dot with butter. Roll out the second piece of dough and lay it over top. Using kitchen scissors, trim the dough to a ½-inch overhang. Roll the overhang under (pinching the top and bottom dough together) to form a ring around the pie plate. Crimp the ring, if you’d like. At this point, if the dough feels like it’s getting soft, pop the pie in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes to firm up. Brush the top dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Using a small knife, cut a few vents on top. Bake 35 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350˚F and bake 15-30 minutes longer, or until the fruit is tender and bubbling. If needed, lightly tent the top crust or edges if they start to look too brown near the end of cooking.
Notes
- I use Cup 4 Cup Gluten Free Flour for this pie crust, which rolls out easily and tastes like a traditional pie crust. You can also use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour, but the dough will be much crumblier and can be hard to transfer (it works best as a galette). If you’re not gluten-free, you can use any regular all-purpose flour.
- Use a good quality European-style butter, such as Kerrygold, Plugra or Organic Valley.
- Don’t over-process the butter and flour mixture. The small chunks of butter will give you a flakier crust!
- The finished dough will still look shaggy and a bit floury in the food processor. Don’t over-process, otherwise you’ll end up with a tough crust. The dough will come together on the countertop once you form it into a ball.
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I plan on using this to make a pie for Thanksgiving. I have King Arthur gluten free all purpose baking mix. Will that work or do I need to find cup 4 cup?
I’m so sorry for the late reply (for some reason my comments weren’t coming through!). I’ve never tried this recipe with GF King Arthur flour, as I’ve found that other brands can be a bit tricky. Did you try it?
I made this two days ago and it turned out incredible, truly the best gf pastry crust I’ve ever tasted. I made what I thought was one crucial error but it miraculously turned out okay. I used Donia Farms brand Grass Fed Butter, the most rich and luxurious I could find on short notice. Unfortunately it was already combined into the flour mixture when I realized it was sea-salted, not un-salted like the recipe states. As I’d already added the sea salt separately, I was really paranoid it would be way too salty. I wound up adding a heaping tablespoon of sugar to the flour/butter mixture in an attempt to balance things out. I’m relieved to say everything turned out great, not too salty at all.
I used a King Arthur gf apple pie recipe for the fruit filling part and together with this recipe, it made the most incredible, flaky, buttery pie. I will make this every single year now, and probably a lot more often than that. I’ll never bother with terrible pre-made crusts or other recipes again. Thank you!
Hi, I’m so thrilled you like the pie crust!! Thank you so much for sharing. p.s. I’ve never heard of Donia Farms but that butter sounds amazing – so glad it wasn’t too salty! Happy pie making!
I’d never made a GF pie crust before but needed to for an early family holiday (a new member of the family is GF). I’m notoriously old school when it comes to bakin, so I’m still quite skeptical of the GF movement in general (as a personal preference not putting it down as a whole). Because of Nicki’s enthusiasm in this article that accompanies three recipe, I thought I’d give it a whirl. I made it up the same day I made my pumpkin pie. My first impression was great as the dough came together without any major issues. For the record, I used the multipurpose Cup 4 Cup GF flour (the one in the blue bag). I blind baked as suggested and went on to make the rest of the pie. I tried it the next day and was surprised at how good the crust turned out and how fantastic it tasted. Thanks for a great receipe!
Hi Mindy, thank you so much for your comment, and I’m so thrilled you liked the crust!
This recipe is flawless! My first flaky crust in 13 years of gluten free living. Used Cup 4 Cup in the blue bag. Made this into a turkey pot pie, and my husband who is a gluten snob is crazy about it.
Can’t wait to keep using this to make a sweet pie.
This makes me so happy to hear!! Thank you for sharing, and I wish you many years of flaky pie crust making ahead! 🙂
This is a great recipe! I did not use the recommended butter but it still came out very good. I am going to make again with the higher fat content butter. This is the only recipe I’ll ever use again!!
I’m so happy to hear that, Donna!
Is it possible to use dairy-free butter in this recipe or this may change the entire texture? Normally, dairy free butters are oil based
Hi Taylor,
I’ve never tested this recipe with dairy-free butter, but I suspect it would work (I also think coconut oil would work, if you don’t mind the coconut flavor). However, I can’t guarantee the results since it hasn’t been tested. Please let me know if you give it a go!!