Easy Gluten-Free + Vegan Pie Crust
This easy gluten free and vegan pie crust is light, flakey, and delicious! No chilling required, this dough comes together in less than 15 minutes so you can get right into making pies. Everything from sweet pies like pumpkin, to apple pie, to savory pies like chicken pot pie taste like perfection in this crust.
There Is something special about a homemade pie crust. This pie crust has been my go-to crust for years because of how easy it is to make and how allergy friendly it is. Everyone can enjoy a slice of this pie crust. Perfectly flaky crust and never with a soggy bottom!
Updated January 2022 to make the directions more clear and with new pictures!
Free from: wheat/gluten, peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, dairy, casein, eggs, soy, sesame, corn, lupin, sulfites, fish, shellfish, crustaceans, mollusks, mustard, and more
It’s also easy to make other snacks and treats with this dough. Think things like vegan pop tarts, vegan chocolate pie, and gluten free apple crumble!
Ingredients
You only need 7 simple ingredients from the grocery store to make this pie crust! It is important to note that all your ingredients should be as cold as possible! That makes for a better pie crust. If you are using butter or shortening, freeze them for 15 minutes before mixing into the dough. Having room temperature ingredients will result in a sticky mess.
Here is what you will need:
- Gluten Free Flour – Use a good quality gluten free flour like King Arthur Measure for Measure. If you are nightshade sensitive, check out my homemade gluten free flour blend without nightshades.
- Vegan Butter – While butter is the gold standard in pie making, giving a flakey pie crust, good flavor, and a good puff to any crust. My favorite dairy free butter is I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter sticks or Earth Balance Soy Free.
- Cream Cheese – This is a totally optional ingredient but really makes a soft and flaky gluten free pie crust! Use your safe cream cheese
- Xanthan Gum – This helps to bind the gluten free crust together. If you have a birch allergy, you can omit this.
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Salt
- Sugar – You can omit this if making a savory pie crust, but I really love the color it lends to a gluten free crust so I always add it. If making a pie around the holiday season, you can add brown sugar in place of white sugar for a richer flavor.
- Ice Cold Water
Best gluten free flour to use
Every gluten-free flour blend has slightly different ingredients, so not all of them will give you the results seen in this recipe. I have successfully made this recipe with both King Arthur Measure for Measure and my own Homemade Gluten Free Flour (nightshade free) in this recipe with great results!
If you try a different flour than the ones I have listed, you may need to change how much liquid to add or subtract to get similar results. That is because different flour blends have different ratios of the flour types used, ie, more starches or more rice flours. Just be aware and use your best judgment!
I don’t recommend using a single ingredient of gluten free flour, like almond flour, oat flour, or coconut flour for this pie crust. A blend is really required to get the best, flakiest pie crust around.
Instructions
The full instructions with all the measurements are written in the recipe card below so make sure to check that out! Here is where I can really help you with the details on how to make this pie crust.
For this recipe, you don’t need a food processor but I highly recommend that you use one! The food processor helps all the ingredients come together quickly, and when making pie crust you want all the ingredients to be as cold as possible.
If you don’t have a good food processor, you can use a large bowl with a pastry cutter. Just place both the bowl and pastry cutter in the fridge and let them chill before making the pie crust.
First, add all your dry ingredients of flour, salt, sugar, and xanthan gum to you food processor (or bowl) and pulse a few times to bring it together. If making in a bowl, mix with your pastry cutter.
Next, add the butter or shortening to the food processor and pulse several times until the mixture resembles wet sand.
Now add the apple cider vinegar and ice water to the dough. Pulse to bring the dough together. Begin with the recommended 4 tablespoons of water and add more if needed. I can’t give you an exact amount because pie crust is so dependent on where you live and what the weather is like the day you are making pie!
You will know the dough is ready when it forms a large dough ball in the food processor. Using your hands, carefully and quickly press the dough into a dough disc.
Now you can roll the dough out onto a sheet of parchment paper that has been dusted with gluten free flour. Cover with another piece of parchment paper and gently roll the dough using a rolling pin into a general desired size/shape.
Remove the top layer of the parchment and flip the dough into you pie pan.
Pinch your pie crust into its final shape and you are done!
FAQ
Can I use vegetable shortening or vegan butter?
Yes! You can use both or a combination of the two. Butter gives a more flakey crust with more puff while shortening helps build a stronger dough with less flavor so the filling can shine.
Do I need to chill this dough?
Nope! No chilling is required. However, I often will pop this into the fridge while I finish up making my pie filling so it can be chilled if desired.
How many crusts does this make?
This makes 1 pie crust big enough to fill a 9-inch pie pan.
This recipe will easily double or triple depending on your needs!
Can I pre-bake this crust?
Yes! Using pie weights, you can pre-bake this crust for 30 minutes to use in your favorite no-bake pie recipes. The crust will be done when it is golden brown
and slightly pulling away from the pie plate edges.
Help! My dough sticks to the parchment paper every time!
Don’t worry! You just need to add a little more flour into your dough. Next time, use a tablespoon less or two of ice water when making. When rolling the dough out, make sure to flour both the bottom and the top of the dough ball before rolling out.
Allergy Substitutions
If allergic to birch, omit the xanthan gum and make sure that your gluten blend does not contain any xanthan.
How to Store
This pie crust is perfect to use immediately after making in all your pie baking recipes.
To store this crust, you can freeze it both before and after baking.
To store before baking, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or another airtight container. Keep in the freezer until ready to use, for a max of 3 months. To bake from frozen, add an additional 10 minutes to baking time.
To store after baking, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or another airtight container. Keep in the fridge for up to 3 days before using.
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Equipment
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- mixing bowls
- mixing spoons
- pastry cutter optional
- food processor optional
- Rolling Pin
- parchment paper
- pie weights optinal
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup gluten free flour
- 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 1 tbsp sugar optional
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegan butter or vegetable shortening
- 1 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 3-5 tbsp ice water
- 1 tbsp dairy free cream cheese optional
Instructions
To Make in Food Processor
- In the bowl of your food processor, combine the gluten free flour, xanthan gum, sugar, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix the ingredients.
- Add the butter (or shortening). Make sure that the butter is very cold! Add the cream cheese if using. Pulse again until the mixture resembles wet sand and no large chunks of butter remain.
- Now add apple cider vinegar and water. Start with 3 tablespoons of ice water and pulse to combine. If the dough is not forming a ball, add each additional spoonful of water one at a time. You want the dough to not be sticky.
- Shape into dough ball by hand. Place on a well floured parchment paper and cover with another sheet of parchment paper for easy rolling and transferring. Roll out to desired shape and thickness.
- Transfer to pie pan and crimp edges as you like.
To Make by Hand
- In a large bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, sugar, xanthin gum, and salt. Add in the butter (or shortening) and cream cheese, if using. With a pastry cutter, begin to combine ingredients until they resemble wet sand. Add the apple cider vinegar and water and stir until the dough comes together.
How to Pre-Bake a Pie Crust
- For a recipe that calls for a pre-baked pie crust, follow these instructions. If possible, chill the pie crust for 30 minutes ahead of time to help prevent shrinkage.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the pie with parchment paper or aluminum foil and place pie weights inside. If you don't have weights, you can use dried beans or dry uncooked rice.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the oven for a pie that will cook for longer with pie filling. For a totally no bake pie, bake in the oven for up to 45 minutes or until the pie is golden brown.
- Instructions for pies will vary from recipe to recipe so these should be taken as general guidelines and not used for every pie recipe you need.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe?
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Hello, thanks for this recipe. I plan on trying it out in the next week or two. I have a couple of questions. The GF flour I use has xanthan gum in it already, do I need to add extra or can I eliminate that from the recipe? Also, can I make the crust without the tapioca and arrowroot powder? Which dairy free cream cheese do you use? Thanks in advance.
Yep, you can remove the xanthan gum if your gluten free flour blend already has that in it. And yes, you can totally make this with out the tapioca/arrowroot powder. Just replace for an equal amount of your gluten free flour blend. The crust won’t be as light, but should still work just fine. I recommend Earth Balance soy free for a plant-based butter and either Wayfare or Trader Joe’s plant based cream cheese.
Hello, thanks for this recipe. I plan to use it in the next week or two.. The GF flour I am using already has xanthan gum so can I take that out of the recipe above? Also can I make this crust without the tapioca or arrowroot powder?
Hi there! Yes, if your flour blend already is using xanthan gum you can remove it from the recipe. You can also make this with out the tapioca and just swap it for more of your gluten free flour. The crust won’t be as light but should still work just fine!
Which gluten free flour did you use for this recipe?
I have the best success with King Arthur Measure for Measure flour. I’ve also used the King Arthur Baking Mix as well as my own homemade flour blend with great results. I’m currently testing it with the Bob’s gf flour lines and will update the article when I have more flours tested! Hope this helps. 🙂