Ultimate Gluten-Free Flakey Pie Crust Recipe. This “Pillsbury style” pie crust is perfect for making pot pie, pumpkin pie and many more fabulous desserts! It can be used for sweet and savory pies! This pie crust is completely gluten-free, nut-free and dairy-free.
With holidays wrapping all around us, a classic flakey pie crust is a must to bring delicious yummy pies to life.
A wonderful gluten-free flakey pie crust recipe is the foundation to any fabulous pie! Chicken pot pie…a must! Pumpkin pie…a must! Apple pie…yup, you need a great flakey crust! So after dozens of trials and errors, I finally got a wonderful gluten-free flakey pie crust recipe! It is nut free too so you can definitely take this to parties, your kid’s school and special events.
You can double the recipe and make a double crust pie too as you can see down below.
Let me tell you that this recipe is extremely easy to make, in 5 minutes, your dough will be ready! Yup, it is that easy! Let me share with you what ingredients you will need.
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Ingredients for Gluten-Free Flakey Pie Crust Recipe:
- Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour (plus 1 tsp tapioca flour for dusting & rolling)
- salt
- Nutiva Shortening
- 1 egg
- plain applesauce
- food processor works best but if you don’t have one just use a mixer or your hands?
Tips for Making a Successful Gluten Free Flakey Pie Crust Recipe:
- First, you want to blend your shortening, egg, salt and applesauce in the food processor for 20 seconds. Then add flour and blend until the dough sticks together (see photo below). A food processor helps to incorporate all ingredients really well.
- Use shortening or (unsalted butter if you can have dairy). (You can also use 1/4 cup shortening & 1/4 cup Earth Balance too, just reduce salt because Earth Balance is salty). Adding 1/2 cup of fat is what makes the crust extra flakey.
- Do not over chill this dough, it is delicate and works best when it is still a bit soft. You can soften the dough a bit with your hands before rolling so your edges don’t crack too much.
- Dust your dough with tapioca flour before rolling. If you are making a crust for 4 ramekins, you will want to use extra tapioca flour so it is easier to lift the dough with your hands.
- Roll between 2 sheets of wax paper for best results and easy removal.
- When making fluted edges, you can remove pieces of dough where it overlaps and add to missing areas. Just smooth out edges of pastry with your fingers.
Now, if you are in a rush and don’t have time to chill or roll out your dough, you can actually just press it straight into your pie tin. I have done this and it also works out too.
This dough is soft and smooth as you can see in the photo below. The texture reminds me of brand new play dough-the extra soft kind that is fresh out of the container.
In the photo below, my daughter is rolling out this gluten-free flakey pie crust between 2 sheets of parchment paper. You can get your big kids to help in on the action! She made the lovely apple pie recipe in the photos below. This is our family tradition and I am so happy that we now have a gluten-free crust that is really easy to make and fool-proof!
This recipe was inspired by Bobette and Belles “Pate Brisee” Pie Pastry Recipe. Their recipe is not gluten-free, so I modified it by using gluten-free flour and by swapping out the water for applesauce to add a bit of sweetness. It worked out perfectly!
Adding egg will make this crust extra flakey. My other recipes did not use egg and my crust was a bit stiff and hard to cut. If you have an egg allergy, you can omit it, just use an egg replacer or a teaspoon of xanthan gum instead and since you reduced the liquid, you will need to compensate by adding a bit more water or applesauce.
You can also make the crust ahead of time and cover your pie plate in plastic wrap until ready to bake. This will help save time on your baking day.
If you need a grain free pie crust recipe, you can check out my Paleo Pie Crust.
In the photo below, my daughter made an apple pie. We used a maple and leaf punch out cutters to make the cute shapes below. It adds a nice finishing touch to the apple pie.
We also brushed the top of the pie in egg wash and sprinkled a bit of organic cane sugar on top. It was delicious and lovely. Be sure to subscribe so you do not miss out on the apple pie recipe coming soon!
PS…be sure to check out the Best Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie Recipe {Dairy Free} I just posted with this beautiful flakey gluten free crust!
For more delicious gluten-free & dairy free recipes, be sure to subscribe below. You will get my free Paleo Breakfast E-Book as my gift to you.
Ultimate Gluten-Free Flakey Pie Crust Recipe
- Total Time: 55 minutes
Description
Ultimate Gluten-Free Flakey Pie Crust Recipe. This “pillsbury style” pie crust is perfect for making pot pie, pumpkin pie and many more fabulous desserts! This pie crust is completely gluten and dairy free.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoon Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Flour Baking Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup Nutiva Shortening
- 1 large egg
- 4 Tablespoons applesauce
- tapioca flour for rolling
Instructions
- To a food processor, add shortening, egg, salt and applesauce. Blend for 20 seconds.
- Add gluten free flour and blend until dough comes together, about 30 seconds.
- Scoop out dough with a rubber spatula, shape into a disk and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 45 minutes or overnight. Allow dough to get soft to touch before rolling if refrigerating overnight.
- Place dough between 2 wax/parchment papers and dust lightly with tapioca flour. Roll crust out. And use as directed in recipe.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes for a pumpkin pie/ Bake at 375 for 60 minutes for a pot pie (cover with egg wash)
Notes
- If dough breaks apart too much, it is too cold, allow it to get to room temperature a bit more before rolling. Soften the edges of dough with your fingers.
- When you are ready to place dough into pie plate, remove wax paper from top layer. Quickly flip wax paper onto pie plate and gently remove crust into pie plate. Another option is place a cookie sheet under wax paper, place pie tin upside down and flip both over quickly. Then remove wax paper and crust will slide into pie plate.
- If you want the dough plain, you can reduce the sweetness by removing: 2 Tablespoons of applesauce and 2 Tablespoons of gluten free flour.
- Prep Time: 55 mins
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Penny says
Hi –
Can you use refined Coconut oil in place of the Nutiva Shortening? Thanks!
Ester Perez says
I believe this would work too! Let us know how it goes. Best Regards, Ester
MARISOL says
Esther, Thank you for this recipe!!! Hope all is well with you and yours.
Can you make mini pumpkin pies? I want to use a muffin tin to make them. What are your thoughts? How much would the baking time change?
Ester Perez says
Hi Marisol,
Sorry for the late reply. You can definitely make mini pies with this recipe. You can bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until pies are set.
Warmly,
Ester
Kate says
Do you bake the crust before adding the filling? I am hoping to use this recipe for a pecan pie. Thanks!
Ester Perez says
HI Kate,
I do not pre-bake the crust when I am making Pumpkin Pie with it, so I imagine it would be the same for when you are making a pecan pie. You can take a look at my recipe for Pumpkin Pie to get an idea for baking times. It is delicious! I can’t wait to hear how it goes. If you are on Instagram, please tag me @nurturemygut
https://nurturemygut.com/gluten-free-dairy-free-pumpkin-pie-recipe.html/
Warmly,
Ester