How to make easy vegan pie crust in the food processor (or by hand) in 15 minutes or less! This pie crust is flaky, tender and delicious. No one would guess it’s free of animal products!
Don’t be intimidated by pie crust! I’ll show you how to make homemade vegan pie crust from scratch in no time at all.
This is a classic pie crust recipe, vegan and perfect for all your baking needs! I’ve made the process easier by utilizing the food processor, but you can make it by hand if you prefer.
How do you make vegan pie crust in the food processor?
It couldn’t be easier! First off, you must measure 1/4 cup (or 4 tablespoons) of vegan butter and vegetable shortening. Refrigerate it ahead of time, at least 30 minutes, so that it is very cold when you’re ready to begin. The cold fat is very important to achieving a tender, flaky pie crust, so don’t skip this part!
- First, add the flour, sugar and salt to the food processor. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add the cold cubed vegan butter and pieces of vegetable shortening.
- Process about 10 seconds, until it looks like a coarse meal.
- While the processor is running, add a few tablespoons of ice water, until it begins to clump together.
On a lightly floured surface, work the dough into a ball, but don’t use your hands too long or it will warm up the fat, which you don’t want.
Roll it out to about 12 inches in diameter.
Transfer the dough to pie plate. I do this by wrapping the dough around my rolling pin, and then quickly and carefully transferring it.
Don’t worry if it’s not perfect! Mine usually looks something like the photo below, kind of a mess. Simply push it into the pie plate, gently. Trim off any excess, and replace any broken areas.
Flute the edges or make another special edge. This tutorial is so helpful!
My Best Tips for a delicious vegan pie crust:
- Make sure everything is very cold when you start. You can even put the pieces of the food processor that will touch the dough in the fridge for awhile before you begin. The cold fat is essential to a delicious pie crust!
- Use a combination of vegan butter and vegetable shortening – The vegan butter gives a buttery flavor, while the shortening helps the structure of the crust. I recommend Earth Balance brand of vegan butter, it has the best flavor.
- Don’t use your hands too much at all! Again, you don’t want to warm things up. And don’t over mix.
- Use just enough ice water to where it comes together, not too much or you will have a mess. When you can squeeze it in your hand it’s done, though it will look a bit crumbly.
That’s it! For a gluten free crust, check out my Gluten Free Pie Crust made with almond flour.
Use this pie crust for Vegan Pumpkin Pie.
Easy Vegan Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup vegan butter, cold and cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, cold and into a few pieces
- 3-4 tablespoons ice water
Instructions
- Make sure your vegan butter and shortening are very cold before starting. Refrigerate along with the shortening for at least 30 minutes.Â
- Add flour, sugar and salt to food processor with the "S" blade. Pulse a few times to combine.
- Add cold vegan butter and shortening. Process for about 10 seconds, until it looks like a coarse meal (see photos above for reference).
- Now while the food processor is running, drizzle in 3 tablespoons of ice cold water. When it begins to clump together, stop. You may need to add 1 more tablespoon ice water for it to come together.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Don't use your hands too much or it will warm the dough, which will make your pie crust less flaky and light.
- Roll the dough with a rolling pin to about a 12 inch circle, and transfer to a pie plate. I usually wrap it gently around my rolling pin and then carefully transfer it. Don't panic if it's not perfect, you can fix it in the pie plate!
- Gently push the pie crust all around the dish, trimming off any excess and replacing any spots that need repair. See this tutorial for fluting the edges and making other special pie edges.
- It's now ready to use immediately, or refrigerate until you are ready to use. Simply double the recipe for 2 pie crusts (top and bottom).
To make by hand:
- If you don't want to use a food processor, you can make the pie crust by hand. Simply whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then add the cold butter and shortening. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut it in, then drizzle in the ice 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, freeze the pie crust lined in the pie plate for 30 minutes. This will help it not shrink down when it bakes.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the crust has been frozen for 30 minutes, line it with aluminum foil or parchment paper (foil is easier to work with). Fill the crust to the top with sugar, or dried beans, pie weights or rice.
- Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes for a pie that will cook further in the oven. For no-bake filling pies, bake for 60-70 minutes. Cool before filling.
- Instructions for baking pie crust will depend on the pie's specific recipe, but these are general instructions for pre-baking pie crust.
Notes
- Nutrition information is for 1/8th of the crust.
Hello, is there anything i can use instead of vegan butter as they contain coconut oil and i am not allowed this on my OMS diet.
I don’t believe all vegan butters have coconut oil, I’m quite sure that Earth Balance does not. I suppose you could use all vegetable shortening but the crust won’t taste as good. But I would try to find a vegan butter without coconut oil for best results.
Used coconut oil instead of butter and shortening. I keep it in the fridge so it was completely solid and didn’t blend well. I just ignored the remaining small pieces and tried to roll out the dough. It was sticky as hell. I ended up scraping it off the counter and just pressing it into the pie plate by hand and was convinced the dough was ruined. Luckily I didn’t throw it away because it turned out to be perfect! I LOVE recipes you just can’t mess up 😅
What can be used in place of vegetable shortening?
You can use all vegan butter, I do this a lot.
I tied this vegan pie crust to bake a cherry pie for my son’s girlfriend for Christmas. I followed the recipe and prepared it in my food processor as suggested. It turned really well. I read on another site after the processor step, dump it onto a clean lint free dish towel to form into a disk. Transfer the disk onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place another sheet over the pastry. So the disk can be rolled out between two sheets of parchment until you have the desired diameter for your pie plate. Then placed it in the fridge until ready to use. Thank you for the recipe! I’ve tried many unsuccessfully.
Hi Sally. I’m really happy to hear that the pie crust turned out well for you! Thank you for sharing your helpful idea! I appreciate your fantastic feedback!
Another comment about the shortening, most are hydrogenated and I’m not a fan of using those, can you recommend a shortening that is not a strong flavor that will work the same?
You can just use all vegan butter, it works really well and is what I usually use these days.
If I don’t have shortening, can I just double the vegan butter?
Hi Heidi. Yes using all butter will work.
Thanks Nora! I made it! My crust wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours but it tasted great. I used Daring plant chicken. Next time I am going to try it as mini pies in a muffin tin.
This crust has an AMAZING taste and texture and wasn’t too hard to make for a beginner!
You have the most Delicious recipes!! I used solid coconut oil rather than the vegan butter due to allergies. It worked great and was delicious. Your pumpkin pie recipe was great as well.
Hi Beth. I’m happy that you are loving my recipes! Thank you for your fabulous feedback and review! I’m glad the pumpkin pie turned out delicious!
Could someone use coconut oil for both the butter & shortening?
I’m not sure, I haven’t tried it. I think it might burn easier, so watch the edges when you bake it.