Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Total: 30 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 1 pie crust

As long as you have good gluten-free flour on hand, making a tasty gluten-free pie crust shell is not all that difficult. This recipe uses just three simple ingredients—shortening or butter, gluten-free flour, and cold water—for a blue-ribbon-worthy pie crust shell. You'll notice it doesn't call for any sugar, so this is a good gluten-free pie crust recipe to use with savory pies, as well as sweet pies that don't need a sweet crust. Perfect for novice bakers, this dough can either be rolled out or simply pressed in the pan using a spoon or your hands.

If you need this recipe to be vegan as well as gluten free, just be sure to use vegetable shortening instead of butter. Butter will make your gluten-free pie crust a bit flakier and add flavor, but as long as your pie filling is absolutely delicious, it won't make too much of a difference if you use shortening.

Gluten free pie crust

The Spruce 

"This simple pie dough recipe is a great alternative for those who can't enjoy gluten but still want to indulge in a fabulous pie! Adding in the cold fat will give you the flaky pie crust we all know and love, but using a gluten-free flour blend will make it a friendly dish for all." —Tracy Wilk

Pie Crust
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, or butter

  • 1 1/2 cups​ gluten-free flour

  • 1/4 cup cold water

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for gluten-free pie crust
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  2. Heat the oven to 400 F. Have an 8-inch pie pan at the ready.

    Pie pan
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  3. In a medium bowl, cut the shortening or butter into the gluten-free flour until crumbly.

    Butter or shortening cut into the rice flour
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  4. Add the cold water and use your hands to work the dough until soft. The mixture will be crumbly at first but will slowly come together. Do not overmix.

    Work the dough until it comes together
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  5. Form the dough into a single ball.

    Form dough into a ball
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  6. Place the dough in an 8-inch pie pan and press it into the bottom and sides. You can use the back of a spoon, a fork, or even your fingers. Alternatively, you can roll out the dough, line the pan with the rolled-out dough and crimp the edges.

    Form and press the dough into the pie pan
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  7. Use a fork to prick the bottom of the crust a few times. This allows steam to escape as needed and helps to ensure that your pie will bake evenly and smoothly. 

    Prick the bottom of the pie crust
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  8. Place your prepared pie crust in the heated oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the edges of the pie crust are golden brown. Cool completely on a wire rack before adding pie filling.

    Browned pie crust from the oven
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How to Use With a Baked Filling

If you choose to make a pie that requires the filling to be baked, such as an apple pie, pecan pie, or custard pie, omit the step of pricking the crust before baking it, add the filling to the unbaked crust, and bake until the filling is the right consistency.

Tips

  • Brands of shortening such as Crisco are considered to be gluten free, but it is important to read labels well to be confident there is no cross-contamination.
  • If you find that the dough is too crumbly, add a little more water, about a teaspoon at a time, and mix until it comes together. You can also cover and place it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the water. Then, proceed with pressing into the pie pan.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
224 Calories
13g Fat
24g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 224
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 13g 17%
Saturated Fat 5g 26%
Cholesterol 7mg 2%
Sodium 0mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 24g 9%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 0g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 3mg 0%
Iron 0mg 1%
Potassium 23mg 0%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)