Nothing beats the taste of a homemade, flaky pie crust! This simple recipe uses just a few basic ingredients to create a golden, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth crust that’s perfect for both sweet and savory pies. Best of all, it’s so easy to make!
Why This Is the Best Ever Pie Crust!
I don’t use the word ‘best’ lightly, but this pie crust recipe earned it. If you’ve ever tried my apple pie recipe that uses this pie crust, you know what I’m talking about! Here is why I promise you’re going to love it:
Buttery: this homemade pie crust recipe is an all-butter pie crust, which is big on flavor! That’s right, no shortening required. Because of this, you end up with the most buttery, rich, melt-in-your-mouth pie crust that you are going to devour!
Flaky: this recipe uses cold butter to bring the dough together. When the butter is cold, it stays solid in the dough and creates little pockets that puff up when baked, which makes for the most irresistible, flaky crust.
Easy: With a food processor, you can whip up this pie dough in just 2 minutes! It’s incredibly simple to make and requires only a handful of ingredients you likely already have at home. Don’t let pie crust intimidate you—I promise it’s easier than you think!
My Top Tips for the Perfect Pie Crust
Use Cold Butter:
It’s essential that the butter used in the dough is cold. Keeping the butter cold helps maintain the structure of the dough. It prevents the fat from mixing with the flour too much, allowing for a tender and crumbly texture instead of a tough one.
Cold butter also creates small pockets in the dough. When the crust is baked, these pockets release steam, which helps the dough rise and creates flaky layers in the dough. If the butter melts too early, it blends into the flour, resulting in a dense crust.
Use Ice Water
Using ice-cold water when creating the dough helps to ensure the butter stays nice and cold! This ensures a flaky, melt-in-your-mouth crust once baked.
Don’t Overmix:
When preparing the dough, be careful not to overmix the ingredients. Overmixing can cause the butter and flour to blend too thoroughly, resulting in a dense crust. Most importantly, resist the temptation to knead the dough—kneading is a definite no-no for this recipe as it will activate too much gluten in the dough and also result in a dense crust.
Chill Before Baking
For this recipe, the dough is chilled before rolling it out, which is a common practice for most pie crusts. I also recommend chilling the dough again after placing it in the pie dish—whether before and/or after filling it—prior to baking. A firm pie crust going into the oven ensures a flakier texture, thanks to that all-important cold butter!
How to Make Pie Crust
You can find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card at the end of the blog post (for easy navigation, hit the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the blog post). Here is a quick visual breakdown of the recipe (recipe video is also provided in the recipe card below).
To a food processor, add in flour, salt and sugar. Pulse a few times until well combined.
Add in cold unsalted butter and pulse until you have coarse crumbs, with little bits of butter throughout the mixture.
Next, add 5 tablespoons of ice-cold water and pulse until the mixture begins to form large crumbs or small clumps of dough. Be careful not to overmix. To test, squeeze a small amount between your fingers—if it holds together and forms a dough, it’s ready. If the mixture is still slightly dry, add a little more water, pulsing briefly until just combined. Test again, and only add more water if necessary to bring the dough together. You don’t want any more water than you need.
Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and gently gather it together with your hands. Do not knead it; simply press the dough until it forms a ball, taking care not to overwork it. It’s perfectly fine if the dough looks a bit rough rather than smooth.
Once the dough comes together in a ball, divide it in half and gently shape each half into a disk. Take care not to overwork the dough.
Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour before using. If you only need one crust, store the second disk in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
How to Blind-Bake Pie Crust (or Par-Bake)
Some recipes may require you to blind-bake or par-bake your pie crust. Here is a quick step-by-step guide on how to do this:
Prepare the Crust: Use a rolling pin to roll out your chilled pie crust into a 12-inch circle. Roll the dough onto your rolling pin and unroll it onto a 9-inch pie dish. Fit it into the pie dish without stretching the dough. Trim any excess dough and crimp or flute the edges as desired (I demonstrate how to flute the edges in the how-to video).
Chill: Place the pie crust in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to firm up. This helps prevent shrinking during baking.
Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C).
Add Weights: Line the crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil, then fill it 3/4s of the way up with pie weights, dried beans, or uncooked rice. This prevents the crust from puffing up and shrinking while baking.
Bake: Place the lined pie crust in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden.
Remove Weights: Carefully remove the weights and parchment paper from the crust. Next, use a fork to prick the bottom of the pie crust—a technique known as docking—which allows air to escape and prevents the bottom from puffing up. Then, return the crust to the oven to finish baking. For a par-baked pie crust (that will be filled and then returned back to the oven) bake for an additional 5 minutes until the bottom is just beginning to brown. For a fully baked pie crust (that will be cooled and filled with an unbaked filling) cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the bottom is golden and fully cooked.
Cool: If fully baking the pie crust, let the crust cool completely before adding your filling.
How to Store Pie Crust
This recipe yields two 9-inch pie crusts (perfect for pie recipes like apple pie). If you only require one crust, you can place the second crust in an airtight container and into the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before using.
These pie crusts can also be made ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 5 days. If the dough is too hard to roll out, allow it to soften slightly before rolling it. It should still be cold and firm, so just make sure it doesn’t become too soft before rolling it out!
How to Flute Pie Crust
One of my favorite things to do is flute the edges of my pie crust— it really makes you look like a pro and it’s so easy to do!
To flute the edges, start by trimming any excess dough, leaving about a half-inch overhang. Gently fold the overhang under itself to create a thicker edge. Then place your index finger on the inside edge of the crust and then use your thumb and index finger of your other hand to pinch the dough from the outside, pushing it gently around your finger on the inside. Repeat this pinching and pushing motion along the edge of the pie crust until you’re done (see video for demonstration).
Can I Make the Pie Crust Without a Food Processor?
If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pastry cutter to make the dough (technically you can even use your hands – it’ll just be a little bit more of a workout!).
Here’s a quick rundown of how to make this pie crust with a pastry cutter (it’s almost the same!):
Combine Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until well combined.
Add Butter: Add the cold, cubed butter to the dry ingredients.
Cut in Butter: Using the pastry cutter, press down on the butter and flour mixture, cutting the butter into smaller pieces. Work the cutter in a rocking motion, making sure to coat the butter pieces with flour. Continue until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pea-sized pieces of butter still visible.
Add Cold Water: Gradually add ice-cold water, one tablespoon at a time, mixing gently with a fork after each addition until the dough starts to come together.
Bring Dough Together: Once the dough begins to form, use your hands to gently gather it into a ball. Avoid overworking the dough and remember, no kneading! 🙂
Chill the Dough: Divide the dough into two halves and flatten the halves into disks. Wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before rolling and placing into pie plate.
Best Pie Crust Recipe (Easy, Buttery & Flaky!)
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
- 2½ cups (300 g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsps white granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter - cold and cut into small cubes
- 5 tbsp ice cold water
Instructions
- To a food processor, add in flour, salt and sugar. Pulse a few times until well combined.
- Add in cold butter (see note 1) and pulse until you have coarse crumbs, with little bits of butter throughout the mixture.
- Next, add 5 tablespoons of ice-cold water and pulse until the mixture begins to form large crumbs or small clumps of dough. Be careful not to overmix. To test, squeeze a small amount between your fingers—if it holds together and forms a dough, it’s ready. If the mixture is still slightly dry and won't hold together when squeezed between your fingers, add a little more water, pulsing briefly until just combined. Test again, and only add more water if necessary. You don't want any more water than you need (see video for what the consistency of the dough should look like if unsure).
- Turn the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface and gently gather it together with your hands. Do not knead it; simply bring the dough together, pressing gently until it forms a ball, taking care not to overwork it. It’s perfectly fine if the dough looks a bit rough rather than smooth.
- Once the dough comes together in a ball, divide it in half and gently shape each half into a disk. Take care not to overwork the dough.
- Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour before using (see note 2). If you only need one crust, store the second disk in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
9 Comments
What are other alternatives aside from pastry cutter and/or food processor? Tried vitamix and it warmed my cold butter making the dough soooo wet. Ugghh.
Hi Maida! 🙂
You could use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients (like when making scones). It is a bit harder to do, but should still result in a beautiful pie crust – just be sure not to overwork the butter into the flour 🙂
Hope that helps for next time!
A fork or two butter knives also work. Unless your hands are cold, fingers will warm the butter as well.
I was skeptical at first, but this pie crust really is as easy as promised! The texture was perfect – crisp on the edges and tender in the center. I filled mine with a savory quiche filling, and it held up beautifully without getting soggy. I think it would work for both sweet and savory pies, which is a bonus. This recipe deserves a spot in every baker’s collection!
So so happy to hear you loved the recipe Annie! It’s my fav pie crust recipe so I’m thrilled you enjoyed it 😀
Looks delicous . Great receipe for the dough, wish you would’ve given for the filling.
Thanks so much! 🙂 I recently shared my apple pie recipe using this recipe if you wanted to check that out! Here is the link: https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/apple-pie-recipe/
Enjoy 🙂
Hi,
Thanks. It seems awsome. Can you suggest any filling? like apples. How should prepare fillings?
Thanks Maryam! I shared my apple pie recipe a few weeks a go which works amazingly with this crust! Here is the link to the recipe if you wanted to try it out 🙂 https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/apple-pie-recipe/
Enjoy!