So I hear you like pie, but you need the best vegan pie crust recipe, well lucky for you I got one! My easy flakey vegan pie crust is probably the only recipe you’ll need. Not only is it super easy to make, but it also has a few ingredients, and works with any type of pie filling you can imagine. This easy flakey vegan pie crust will definitely give your fillings a good balance of savory and sweet. Trust me, you’re not gonna need store-bought crust ever again.
Top tips for easy flakey vegan pie crust:
- Measure out all the ingredients before starting.
- Keep vegan butter cold. Before starting, I like to cut the butter into cubes and place them into the freezer. Why? Well, vegan butter isn’t the same as regular butter, for obvious reasons. So depending on the brand you are using, the butter can get soft quickly. To prevent this, I like to have the butter EXTRA cold, almost frozen. The brand I prefer using for pie crusts is Earth Balance Buttery Sticks.
- Using a food processor. Now, I know what you’re thinking, that using a food processor is cheating and isn’t the “authentic” way to make pie crusts. But honestly, if you’re not making pie for a living and are not experienced, making it by hand will be difficult. A food processor is quicker, easier, and will keep all the ingredients cold. If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a pastry blender. It is a little bit more work, but it will get the job done.
- Using ice-cold water. As I mentioned above, using ice water will not only bring the dough together but also keeps the dough cold. What I like to do is fill up a measuring cup with water and add a few ice cubes. Then I can just scoop out the amount of water I need for the dough.
- Adding enough hydration. A common mistake that some people make is either over-hydrating or under hydrating the dough. So how do we know if we’re adding enough water to our dough? When adding the cold water to the dough, I would do it a tablespoon at a time, and keep adding and pulsing the ingredients together until you start seeing it clump up together. Then take a piece of dough and squeeze it between your fingers. If it holds together nicely, it should be well hydrated. If it’s too wet, that means it’s over hydrated, and if it doesn’t come together at all, it needs more water.
- Chill your dough multiple times! Chilling the dough in the fridge does a couple of things. It helps relax the gluten, which then helps the crust from shrinking when you bake it. And it also keeps the butter in the dough cold, so when you bake, it melts and created flakey pockets in the crust. Please do not skip these steps!
- If your dough is too hard to roll out, allow it to sit out at room temp before rolling it. If you force your dough to roll out when it is too firm, it can cause cracking. This will make it difficult and can easily tear as you try to place the dough into your pie pan.
- Roll and turn. When you roll, you want to roll from the center and outwards. After each roll, turn the dough and repeat. What does turning the dough do? It helps prevent the dough from sticking to the work surface, and it will also keep the dough in an even circle shape.
- Add flour if needed. If you live in a warmer climate or if you see your dough starting to stick to the work surface, you want to add more flour underneath it. Then continue to roll and turn.
- Your crust should be at least 3-4 inches larger than your pie pan. To measure this, simply take your pie pan and face it down towards your crust. Measure the amount of excess dough from your pie plate.
- Place dough into the prepared pan and trim away excess overhang. Have a hard time transferring the dough to the pie plate? Use your rolling pin! Take the top of your dough, and while carefully turning your rolling pin, have the dough wrap around your rolling pin. Then unwrap over your pie pan. Trim the excess overhang with kitchen shears or a paring knife. Leave about an inch or inch and a half of overhang left, so you can fold it under the edge of the pie pan.
- How to store? If you’re not ready to bake, you can freeze the dough. Double wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or airtight container. It’ll last about 3 months! Remember to let your dough warm to almost room temperature before rolling out.
If you’d tried this recipe out let me know in the comments! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram @flouredframe and don’t forget to tag me when you create my recipes! Happy baking!
Try this pie crust recipe with these fillings:
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📖 Recipe
Easy Flakey Vegan Pie Crust
My Vegan Flakey Pie Crust is probably the only recipe you’ll need. Not only is it super easy to make, but it also has a few ingredients, and works with any type of pie filling you can imagine. This buttery pie crust will definitely give your fillings a good balance of savory and sweet. Trust me, you’re not gonna need store-bought crust every again.
Equipment
- Food processor or pastry blender
- 8 or 9-inch pie plate
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Fork
- Paring knife or kitchen shears
Pro TipIf a recipe calls for it, use a food scale to weigh ingredients in grams for the best results! Use the options below to toggle between cups or grams.
Ingredients
- 224 grams Vegan butter sticks
- 320 grams All-purpose flour
- 50 grams Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 7-10 tablespoons Ice-cold water
Instructions
Make Pie Crust Dough
- Cut the butter into cubes and set them in the freezer for 15 minutes. In a measuring cup, combine some ice and water. You'll need enough ice water to measure out 8-9 tablespoons.
- Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor by pulsing a few times. Next, add the frozen butter cubes along with the dry ingredients. Pulse the mixture until it resembles pea-sized pieces of butter.
- Add a couple of tablespoons of ice-cold water at a time, and keep pulse until it clumps together. Do not overwork the dough. I used nine tablespoons of water. (See notes)
- Transfer the dough to a work surface and gently knead until it forms a cohesive ball.
- Shape the dough into a 1-inch disk and wrap it in food wrap or a reusable zip bag. Place it in the fridge to chill and rest for an hour or two.
Roll The Pie Crust
- Remove the dough from the refrigerator. If the dough seems too hard to roll out, allow it to warm at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. (See notes)
- Before you start rolling, liberally dust your work surface with flour. Lightly flour to the top of the dough and your rolling pin. Roll your dough from the center and outwards, turning the dough after each roll. It will help prevent your dough from sticking. Occasionally, add more flour underneath the dough to avoid sticking to the work surface. (See notes)
- The dough should be around ¼ inches thick and at least 3-4 inches larger than your pie pan. Gently lift the pie crust from the work surface by wrapping it around the rolling pin, starting from one end to the other end.
- Transfer and gently unwrap the pie crust over the pie pan. Let the dough gently drop into the bottom and sides of the pan. Smooth out any wrinkles with your fingertips. Place the pan with the crust in the fridge and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. It's best to place it on top of a large-rimmed baking sheet for easy transfer.
- After 15 minutes, take a pair of kitchen shears or a paring knife and trim the excess crust hanging over, leaving about 1 to 1 ½-inches of the crust hanging from the edge. Fold the edge under itself so that it's flushed to the edge of your pie plate. Crimp it with either your fingers or the tines of a fork. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to an hour.
- From here, you can either blind-bake it or bake it along with the filling. Please follow the directions from the pie recipe you will use to fill this pie crust.
Blind Bake
- While your crust is chilling in the fridge, preheat the oven to 400° Fahrenheit. When the dough is cold, use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust. Place a piece of parchment over the crust and cover the bottom with the dry beans or rice. Place the pie pan onto a large-rimmed baking sheet. (See notes)
- Bake the crust for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, carefully remove the pie crust and gently and carefully remove the parchment paper and pie weights.
- Place the crust back in the oven to bake for another 10 minutes. Remove it from the oven. The crust should be dried out and starting to brown. Allow it to cool to room temperature before adding the filling.
Notes
- Measure your flour correctly. I test my recipes 100% in grams. Incorrectly measured flour is a common reason baked goods fail. I always recommend using a scale for accuracy when baking. It dramatically improves your chance for success and lessens room for error.
- If you measure by cups, avoid scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour. It tends to pack the flour into the cup, resulting in too much flour and a very dense or gummy finished product. Instead, aerate your flour (fluff it with a fork or spoon) and then spoon it into your measuring cups, leveling it with your finger or the back of a butter knife. Remember, though, that this method is not guaranteed to be accurate.
- Adding a couple of tablespoons of water at a time will help you gauge how much water you need. Sometimes, you will need less, and sometimes, you will need more. This will also depend on the brand of flour you are using. Remember, you can only add, not subtract. So, always start with a little at a time.
- Rolling out the dough while it is very cold and hard could cause cracking.
- Turning the dough as you roll will not only prevent your crust from sticking to the working surface but also help keep the crust in a more uniform circle.
- What's with the multiple chill times? Chilling the dough in the fridge does a couple of things. It helps relax the gluten, which then helps prevent the crust from shrinking when you bake it. It also keeps the butter in the dough cold, so when you bake, it melts and creates flakey pockets in the crust. Please do not skip these steps!
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below & tag @flouredframe on social!
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