Easy Gluten-Free Pie Crust
A beginner-friendly gluten-free pie crust made with just 3 main ingredients. It’s flaky, buttery, and rolls out easily for single- or double-crust pies, with a tested dairy-free option.
Servings 16 servings, two 8- or 9-inch pie crusts
Calories 178kcal
Equipment
- 2 pieces of parchment paper or silicone liners
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all purpose gluten-free flour with xanthan gum (337 grams)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt use ¾ teaspoon if using salted butter
- 18 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter , cubed (2 sticks plus 2 tablespoons, 9 ounces, or 255 grams)
- ½ cup ice water
Instructions
- Mix the dry ingredients: Add the gluten-free flour, sugar and salt to a food processor and pulse until lightly mixed.2 ½ cups all purpose gluten-free flour, 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt
- Cut in the butter: Add the cold cubed butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces.18 tablespoons unsalted butter or vegan butter
- Add water: Add half the ice water and pulse a few times to lightly mix. Then add the remaining ice water and pulse just until a crumbly dough forms.½ cup ice water
- Form and chill the dough: Transfer the dough to a bowl. Lightly mix and consolidate the dough with your hands, then form it into a ball. Divide it into two equal portions. Do this step quickly and don't overdo it (too much handling can decrease flakiness). It is ok if bits of dry flour remain, but there should be no large pockets of flour. Wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Roll the crust: Lay a large silicone liner or piece of parchment paper on your surface. Dust with GF flour, then place one of the dough balls on top and dust lightly with GF flour again. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a circle ½ inch wider than your pie plate on all sides.
- Pie Plate: Gently lay your pie plate upside down and centered over the rolled dough. Flip the dough into the pie plate by placing your hand under the parchment paper and turning the dough and plate over at the same time. Gently remove the parchment paper and use your fingers to nestle the pie crust into the pie plate. Trim excess dough and crimp the edge if desired. Proceed with your pie recipe.
Video
Notes
No food processor? No problem. Whisk the GF Flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter (or use 2 forks) until the mixture forms coarse crumbs with pea-sized butter pieces. Drizzle in the ice water a little at a time, mixing together with a fork until the dough holds together when squeezed. Continue with the recipe as written.
Gluten-Free Dough Tip: If you've made regular pie dough before, gluten-free pie dough will feel drier and slightly more crumbly. This is normal — do not add extra water unless the dough won't push together into a ball. Using a kitchen scale to measure the GF flour helps keep the flour-to-water ratio accurate.
Dairy-free: Use dairy-free buttery sticks in place of regular butter.
Flakiness tip: For the flakiest crust, you can freeze the cubed butter for up to 1 hour before making the dough. Extra cold butter = extra flaky pastry layers.
To par-bake: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prick the bottom of the chilled crust with a fork, spacing the holes about 1 inch apart. Line with crumpled parchment paper and fill with pie weights, dried beans, or dry rice. Bake on a rack in the lower third of the oven for about 20 minutes, until the crust is just beginning to brown. Remove the parchment and weights, then continue with your pie recipe.
Storage: Store uncooked dough in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze for up to 3 months and allow to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before using.
Nutrition
Calories: 178kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 147mg | Potassium: 4mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 394IU | Calcium: 17mg | Iron: 1mg