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.
- 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.
- Make ahead - After making the dough, roll into a ball or shape into a patty and wrap well in plastic wrap or other food wrap. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or place in the freezer for up to 3 months (if going in the freezer, also place in a freezer bag or container). Make sure to let the dough come to room temperature before rolling out so that it doesn't crumble.
Can you use gluten free flour in this recipe
I haven’t personally tried it, but I think it should work fine.
Did you use the Earth Balance spread or sticks? Planning on making my first vegan pie soon, and don’t want to mess it up! LOL
I use both depending on what I have, but sticks are the easiest for measuring.
Can I make this in the morning then keep it refrigerated until it is ready to bake? I will be very busy baking and cooking on Thanksgiving and making this beforehand would lighten the load.
Yes, you could make it up to 3 days in advance really, but if you want to make it the morning of Thanksgiving, I would even line the pie plate with the crust, then store it in the refrigerator until later on. Thanks!
Hi, I have lots of vegan butter, but shortening I’m not sure. Is that just oil? I don’t think I specifically have shortening.
You can use all butter if you don’t have shortening, no problem. Just make sure the vegan butter is very cold to start. Hope that helps!
I’d like to try making mini pies in the large cupcake tin. I’d love to know your thoughts.
I’m sure it would work but I haven’t tried it!
What can I use to substitute for shortening? We don’t use oil ?
Well, there is nothing to replace oil for this pie crust. Vegan butter also is made of oil, and the two of these create this pie crust. I would suggest you try my healthy pie crust instead, which has no oil. Thanks!
Best
Easy and yummy pie crust! I used Miyokos butter and it came out great.
If I’m using this for a no bake pie like banana cream, how long do I bake the crust first?
I would bake it at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, using pie weights or dried beans.
Did you use oil too?
Please help w dbl crust
You just need to double the recipe for a double crust, then split the pie dough in half and use in the recipe. No problem!
I made a vegan pot pie yesterday and used this recipe for the double crust. It looked and tasted awesome! When I rolled out the top crust I put the dough between two pieces of wax paper. When I had it rolled out large enough, I removed the top piece of wax paper and flipped it over on top of the pie. This was easier for me than transferring it on the roller. Thank you for an easy and tasty vegan crust recipe!❤️
You’re welcome!
Wow, I always swore by using lard for the perfect pie shell, but this vegan crust was perfect. I used Becel olive oil vegan margarine for the ‘vegan butter’and it worked spectacularly. I would note though that I was unsure if I needed to pre-bake the crust, as many other recipes call for it. I took my chances and did not prepare it, and again, the entire pie was a success.
Thank you!
You’re welcome!
I would like to pre-bake the crust, just to make sure. How long it needs to be baked?
Sure! Pre-bake it at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, but I would use pie weights so the edges don’t shrink and fall.
Can I replace vegan butter with shortening?
Yes, you can for an all shortening crust.
I’m not a vegetarian but I can add this vegan pie crust on my diet because I want to cut down fat on my body. I missed my 18-year-old image. Thanks for your sharing!
You’re welcome!
Hello….can I use oat flour ????
I’m out of regular AP flour….
maybe half oat and half whole wheat flour ???? Or only one of those two?
Thanks !!!
I would try a mix of the two if possible, I’m not sure how oat flour will hold up, I’ve never tested it.
Such a good recipe! I made this pie crust for my apple pie! I would recommend this recipe to anyone who loves pie. You can’t even tell the difference between vegan pie and normal pie.
Just what I was looking for! Can you tell me if it freezes well?
Yes, this pie crust freeze well.
Quick question: if I’m making the vegan pot pie (savory) will the sugar still be needed? Seems counterintuitive but maybe it does something in the backend I didn’t know….
I always add it, it’s a very tiny amount of sugar and the pie crust is not sweet at all. But leave it out if you want, no problem.
Hi, vegan butter and vegetable shortening are not readily available where I live. Do you have an idea of what can you use as a substitute?
Maybe coconut oil, but I haven’t tried this so I can’t guarantee it will work.
It looks delicious, I will make it. Thank you for tips!
tender and delicious and so fast
WOW! Delicious! I actually made a Vegan spanakopita and since I didn’t have phyllo
That sounds really good! Thank you.
Made this with a vegan quiche and it worked perfectly. So easy to make and it tasted delicious! Will make again 🙂
Wow, I’d love to know how you make your Vegan Quiche!
Love this Vegan Pie Crust recipe! Came out PERFECT (flaky, tender) and delicious. Recently used a double recipe to make Vegan Vegetable Pot Pie.
Have a newer food processor that has an automatic “dough” button which mixes the dough (hands free) for me and then automatically stops when finished. But I do add in the ice water through feed tube while it was mixing the dough.
Exploring and making more of your wonderful recipes! Blessings,
So glad it came out perfect!
Used this recipe to make a raspberry pie with our own raspberries and it worked really well. Instead of shortening, I used vegetable oil chilled in the fridge and it was fine. I also followed the crumble recipe for the topping and it worked great. Thanks for a really useful recipe!
How long and at what temperature do you bake this?
For a fully cooked crust to use with a no bake pie filling, I fill it with pie weights and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Hope that helps!
WOW! Delicious! I actually made a Vegan spanakopita and since I didn’t have phyllo I used this recipe instead. It turned out so good.
Thank-you Nora for sharing.
You’re so welcome!!