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 (4 tablespoons) vegan butter, earth balance brand preferred, cold and cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) 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. If you only have the tub of earth balance vegan butter, measure 4 tablespoons, then refrigerate along with the shortening for at least 30 minutes.
- 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.
Recipe Notes
- Nutrition information is for 1/8th of the crust.
Margie
I would like to use this in a chocolate peanut butter pie made with tofu that is no bake how long should I cook the crust for? Thanks!
Nora
I would pre-bake the pie crust for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees, or until golden brown and cooked through. You may also want to poke the bottom of the crust with a fork several times. Thanks, sounds great!
Lisa
I live this recipe, thank you. I was wondering if I could sub wholemeal or spelt flour, which I love the flavour of.
Many thanks, Lisa 🙂
Nora
Yes, I think you could but I haven’t tried it myself. Thanks!
Aly
I just used this pastry for a savoury pie yesterday – different filling, but I used the cooking instructions on Nora’s pot pie and it came out perfectly.
I subbed some of the vegan butter for extra virgin olive oil to add some flavour to the pie I made. Pastry came out amazing and flaky, cooked all the way through even without a pre-bake. I’ve never made such a good pastry, totally recommend.
Nora
I’m so glad it turned out well!
Amanda
Superb and fail proof! I’ve been scared of and terribly unskilled at making pie crusts for years. Finally a pie crust that is quick, easy, consistent, and totally delicious! It was flaky, soft, crunchy, in all the right proportions. You are a genius, thank you for this recipe!!
Nora
You’re welcome! Thanks for the wonderful comment!
Claire
Delicious!
Kat
I don’t have a good processor. Suggestions without?
Nora
If you look in the “Notes” section, I give instructions on how to make it without one. Thanks!
Eileen
To use this crust to make a cherry pie, do you prebake the crust? If so, how long do you bake it and at what temp? Also, when you add the pie filling and the top crust, how long would you put it back in to bake the top crust?
Nora
I wouldn’t pre-bake the pie crust for a cherry pie. If you have another recipe for the filling you are following, it should also give you instructions on how long to bake it in the oven. I’m not sure of the total time, it would depend on the recipe, but maybe 30-40 minutes.
Ashley
Have you tried using Miyokos butter? Earth Balance is made from soy which I don’t eat –
Nora
Yes I love Miyoko’s butter, so good! It should work just fine.
Ashley R
Earth Balance has soy-free butters! They are great, and better than Miyokos in my opinion.
Yoanna
Hi Nora! Could I just add 1/4 more cup vegan butter instead of shortening? Or would that change the texture, etc?
Nora
That’s fine to do, I use all vegan butter sometimes and I think it turns out really good. Shortening just makes it a little more stable and flaky. But an all vegan butter crust is delicious.
Victoria
Love this recipe! Made it with all vegan butter and came out perfectly. I was wondering though, would I be able to make this ahead of time and possibly freeze it?
Nora
Yes, you could either freeze the uncooked pie crust dough, then thaw, roll and bake OR freeze a cooked pie crust. Either way is fine!
Dorothy Pacella
Hi, are there any premise vegan pie crusts
Nora
Premade vegan pie crusts? Yes, though they can be hard to find. Whole Foods always has them in the freezer section, just check the ingredient list. Some other stores carry them as well.
Roni
What is vegetable shortening? (English is not my home language) thank you!
Nora
Shortening is basically solid at room temperature vegetable fat, so often it is known as Crisco in the U.S. You can buy it online on Amazon as well, or find it on the baking aisle of almost any store.
Tricia
I was shopping for Crisco in a large chain store and could only find “Crisco Coconut oil”. It was solid and pretty pricey. There was also an organic one. No regular Crisco. I will try Earth Balance and coconut oil I already have. Fingers crossed.
Nora
Good luck, I hope it turns out good for you! I haven’t tested it with coconut oil but I bet it will work. Thanks!
Edie Gardner
my pie crust never turns out always fall into pieces whatever I do
Nora
Oh no! This is a helpful guide on what to do with pie crust troubles. I found it helpful! How to Fix Any Pie Crust Problem.
Val
Mine too. The link with the how to fix the crust problems didn’t apply. I chilled it before rolling out too. It fell apart when I was rolling it out and couldn’t get it to stay in one piece when trying to get it onto the pin. And the texture was gritty/grainy once baked. Any ideas?
Nora
If it’s that crumbly and falling apart, it is too dry and you needed more ice water to begin with. Make sure that in the step when you add ice cold water that you add enough so you have a good dough that can be rolled, not a crumbly pile of dough. The gritty/grainy texture you describe also sounds like the crust was just too dry. Hope that helps!
Nancy Nurse
Oh dear Nora, it looks wonderful but we cannot have any oil whatsoever… is there anything at all that could be substituted? I doubt it since it requires so much butter/shortening, but thought I’d ask anyway. I LOVE your recipes!!!
Nora
Hi Nancy! There really are no substitutions to the fat in this recipe, other than you could use all vegan butter or all shortening. BUT if you can’t have oil, check out my Gluten Free Pie Crust. It’s made with almond flour, flax seeds and 1 tablespoon coconut oil, which you could just leave out. It doesn’t work for a top crust, but it’s really yummy as a bottom crust for pies! Hope that helps!