When my parents were married, my dad gave my mom a jewelry box with an inscription on the inside. It said, “A Pie a Week Keeps the Husband Sweet.” Needless to say, after more than 40 years of marriage, mom became an expert pie maker. I spent years baking with mom to learn her craft. Those special times created lasting memories, and prepared me for the challenge of creating the best gluten-free pie crust.
This flaky gluten-free pie crust recipe is tried and true. It’s been tested in my household countless times and is loved by all of my readers.
I think what amazes people most, is how light and buttery this gluten-free pastry recipe tastes, even though it’s made without top allergens. Each tender bite is deliciously egg-free, nut-free, soy-free, corn-free, optionally dairy-free, and even nightshade-free!
How to Make the Best Gluten-Free Pie Crust (Vegan Friendly)
This recipe might appear fairly simple, but I would be remiss if I didn’t share some tips. Making gluten-free pie crust is an art and a delicate science, particularly when special diets come into play.
Let Each Gluten-Free Pie be Unique
Before you get started, keep in mind that pie crust doesn’t necessarily have to look good, it just has to taste good. If you look closely at the pastries in local bakeries, you can even see how seasoned bakers make folds to hide imperfections. Or they might embrace a “rustic” theme, since it adds character and comforting homemade appeal. Pie crust pros know it’s how they prepare the dough that matters most, which can mean spending less time on appearances.
Keep Contact to a Minimum
Truthfully, gluten-free pastry dough is a bit more forgiving than wheat-based pastry dough. Since there isn't any gluten, it doesn't become tough when worked a little too much. But it can lose some of its flakiness if kneaded or re-rolled too many times. As you work the dough, the fat melts and becomes more thoroughly dispersed. This can lead to a relatively uniform pastry without as many light layers.
Cool is the Rule
I use organic non-hydrogentated shortening, which is dairy-free and solid at room temperature. (Cold unsalted butter can be used if you are okay with dairy.) Once the shortening has been blended with the flour, it makes coarse crumbs. Adding cold water as needed keeps some of the fat pieces from melting and blending into the vegan pastry dough before baking. You might see some marbling in the dough. These little fat pockets are what makes this a flaky gluten-free pie crust, so they're important!
Consistency is Key with Gluten-Free Pastry
You'll notice that I use a range for the amount of water in the ingredients. How much you need can vary by climate, or simply how much moisture your flour decides to absorb that day! What's most important is how the dough feels.
I add just enough water for the crust to come together. If the dough isn't easily coming together into a ball, then I add a little more water. You don’t need to stick to the exact range of water listed – just trust the texture. When you handle the dough it should be soft, pliable, and just a touch on the moist side.
Don't Get Stuck when Rolling Gluten-Free Pie Crust Dough
I place my lightly floured disk of gluten free dough on a piece of floured parchment paper. Use a good dusting of flour and parchment for extra insurance. You can roll the dough out, using more flour as you go to prevent sticking, or place another piece of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll it out between the two parchment sheets.
Don't worry too much about the edges, but try to make sure the gluten-free pastry dough is rolled out to a relatively even thickness so the gluten-free dairy-free pie crust bakes evenly. The last thing you want is a crust that's doughy in some areas and too crispy in others!
Move Your Gluten-Free Pie Crust with Care
Once the dough is rolled out, you have two options for transferring it. After you peel off the top sheet of parchment (if used), you can use the bottom sheet of parchment to help invert the pie crust over top of the pie plate. Just make sure you say a little prayer first!
It's Okay to Make Repairs
Once in a while, tears in the gluten-free pastry dough will happen. It's just a fact of pie making. If it's a small tear or just a piece that stuck to your rolling pin, go ahead and patch it up. But if it's a large tear or a complete demolition, don't be afraid to re-roll the dough. One or two re-rolls shouldn't affect the flakiness too much. If you're concerned, you can refrigerate the dough for 15 minutes to keep the fat in the dough cool before re-rolling.
Consider a Pie Crust Maker Bag
It isn’t essential, but a pie crust maker bag is wonderful for frequent gluten-free pie bakers. It’s an inexpensive (about $5 to $7) circular zippered bag that you can roll your pie crust between. The bag takes the place of parchment paper, is reusable, and it helps to roll out and transfer the dough like a dream.
I use a pie crust maker bag in the video below to roll out my gluten-free pie crust. As you can see, I keep the dough floured so that it doesn’t stick to the inside of the bag. My Facebook readers found this video very helpful, so I hope you will too! You can buy the pie crust bag HERE.
Gluten-Free Pie Crust Substitutions
As mentioned above, making flaky gluten-free pastry is truly part science. It’s taken me years to find the right ingredients and to perfect the ratios. I’m happy to aid in suggestions if you must make a swap. But if you substitute another flour or ingredient for one listed, I can’t guarantee the end result of your gluten-free vegan pie crust.
How To Make Gluten-Free Pie Crust
- Mix together the dry ingredients.
- Cut in the shortening.
- Add the vinegar and water, and stir gently until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
- Roll the dough.
- Ease the dough into a pie plate.
- Flute the edges.
- Fill and bake as desired.
Gluten-Free Pie Recipes using this Gluten-Free Pastry
This gluten-free pie crust works well as a top or bottom crust, so it can be used for almost any type of pie. Because I don’t add sugar, it can even be used in savory recipes, like pot pie or quiche. But I tend to bake dessert most often with this vegan gluten-free pie crust. It works great in these recipes:
Gluten-Free Pecan Pie (My dad’s favorite!)
Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Maple Pumpkin Pie
Gluten-Free Vegan Apple Pie Recipe*
*Double this Vegan Pie Crust Recipe to make a top and bottom crust.
I hope you and your family enjoy this gf pie crust as much as mine does! And if you're looking for other gluten-free vegan recipes, you might try my Paleo Pecan Pie Bars.
xo,
Mēgan
Gluten-Free Pie Crust Recipe:
Gluten-Free Pie Crust
This Gluten Free Pie Crust recipe took me years of recipe testing to get just right. It is tried and true, and loved by all of my readers. It’s the perfect vessel for any pie filling you can imagine. And while it doesn’t contain any dairy, you won’t believe how “buttery-like” it is!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup sorghum flour
- ⅓ cup millet flour
- ⅓ cup arrowroot starch (or tapioca starch)
- ¼ cup brown rice flour
- ¾ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup cold palm shortening (or butter or vegan butter)
- 1 ½ teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 3-5 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sorghum flour, millet flour, arrowroot starch, brown rice flour, xanthan gum, and sea salt.
- Cut in the palm shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Add the apple cider vinegar and water, and stir gently until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
- To roll the dough, lay a piece of parchment paper on a work surface and lightly sprinkle with flour. Place the disk of dough in the middle of the parchment paper, sprinkle the disk with flour, and roll the dough into an 11-12 inch round starting from the middle and working out towards the edges. Keep sprinkling the dough with flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
- Using your rolling pin (as pictured above) to aid in moving the dough, carefully ease the crust into a 9 inch pie plate. Or use the bottom layer of parchment paper to invert the entire pie crust over the top of the pie plate (say a little prayer) and gently peel off the parchment paper. Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie pan (if there are any tears in the crust, simply wet your fingers and try to smooth them out as best as you can).
- Trim down the edges of the pie crust leaving about ½ an inch of excess dough. Fold the excess dough underneath and crimp the edges.
- Fill and bake as desired.
Notes
I find it convenient to use a 14"pie crust bag to roll out my crust. A pie crust bag is a clean, flat plastic bag that zips around the edges. You simply dust the inside of the bag with flour, and then roll out the dough between the layers. It makes transferring the dough to the pie pan a breeze. Normally you can find these at your local kitchen store or online.
Temperature, altitude and humidity will affect pie crust dough. If you find the crust difficult to roll out and you think it’s too dry, simply throw it in a food processor (or your mixer), add 1 tablespoon of cold water, and pulse 3-5 times. Check the dough. If you think it will hold together and roll out properly – great! If not, continue to add more cold water, teaspoon by teaspoon until the dough comes back together.
While this crust has superb flavor and texture, because it is gluten-free, it doesn't have the bend to it that a gluten-filled crust would have. So making a lattice weave isn't possible. If you want a lattice-like design on the top of your pie, simply cut strips of pie crust pastry, and then carefully lay the strips down in a criss-cross pattern without weaving them. Attempting to weave your pie crust strips will most likely result in them breaking.
To prebake the crust without filling: Preheat oven to 375°F and prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork. Line the crust bottom with coffee filters or parchment paper and fill with a single layer of dried beans. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the pie crust begins to change color around the edges. Remove the coffee filter or parchment paper and then beans. Bake for an additional 5-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Cool completely before filling.
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Did you make this gf pie crust recipe? If you did, please consider coming back and leaving an honest review!
Jenn says
This looks like one really nice pie crust! I'm definitely going to try it at Thanksgiving this year 🙂
Megan says
Thank you, Jenn! Enjoy it!
Ruby says
Hi Megan, What can I substitute for the starch? I react to starches..... Thank you Ruby
Megan says
Hi Ruby, this recipe really needs starch to "lighten" the dough up. If you can't use it, you can try subbing another flour, but I'm not sure what your results will be. You might have to experiment.
Maria says
Well...I just HAD TO write today...this is THE MOST AWESOME GF pie crust I have made in the year-and-a-half since I was diagnosed with celiac. I absolutely love to bake and the most difficult thing for me has been finding substitutes for my fave recipes and my Italian family traditional recipes. Today, I made this crust for a pecan pie. It ROLLED OUT (HOORAY!) beautifully and, most of all, it tastes delish! It is flaky and browned beautifully. Just so you all know, I made some substitutions, minor ones. I ran out of millet flour, so I used more brown rice flour instead of the millet. I also added 2 tsp of sugar and a few sprinkles of cinnamon to the dry ingredients of the crust, just to add a tad of cinnamon - sweetness and flavor to the crust and just because we like it! Both subs worked perfectly. Oh, and I used organic, unsalted butter instead of the shortening, which I also ran out of after my holiday baking. All my other ingredients were organic, too. THANK YOU, Megan, for creating a recipe that allows me to roll out a great crust and to be able to serve a crust that EVERYONE, GF or not, will love!
Megan says
Hi Maria,
What a wonderful review - you really know how to make a girl feel special! 😉 Very glad you enjoyed the pie crust and that it turned out beautifully for you! And thank you for sharing all of your substitution results with us! I'm sure they will be helpful to others! 🙂
Hugs,
Megan
Donna says
Do you have any luck freezing baked fruit pies with this crust recipe? i am trying to organize some baked fruit pies ahead of time for a family wedding with GF guests attending. I dont have the option of baking them within 5 days of the wedding because of the location. Thanks for your advice.
Megan says
Hi Donna,
I've actually never tried freezing pies in advance, so I'm not sure how they would do. You might just have to experiment ahead of time! Best wishes!
Megan
Therese Musick says
What is the purpose of the xanthan gum in this recipe and can you substitute something else for it like rice starch? My daughter has severe corn allergies and it is on the list of "hidden corn" products she should avoid.
Megan says
The xanthan gum binds everything together. If your daughter doesn't tolerate it, I'd recommend substituting guar gum. 😉 Rice starch will not work.
Beth says
If the recipe calls for 3/4 tsp xanthan gum, use 3/4 tsp ground flax or 3/4(x2) tsp soaked chia seeds. (Just double requirement for gums to get the amount for chia.) Those who are gluten and corn free often cannot have any type of gums, be it xanthan or guar.
Megan says
Have you tested these substitutions in this exact recipe, Beth? Flax doesn't work in every recipe as a substitution for gums, neither does chia seed. I personally wouldn't recommend flax as a replacement in this recipe, especially since I haven't tested it myself.
Palette says
I really really LOVE this recipe. I cannot tell the difference between my regular butter recipe and this one. I have a pie business and this recipe is the best gluten free pie crust I have EVER found. My gluten free customers will love this crust!! Thank you! Thank you!!!
Megan says
That is the sweetest compliment you could give me! Thank you so much!
Lola says
Just want to comment here that I have frozen this recipe with premade apple pies, and it bakes up AWESOME and flakey!
Just take the frozen pie out of the freezer, brush the top crust with cream, sprinkle with chunky baking sugar, make a few slits in the top crust, and bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce oven to 375 for an additional 60-90 minutes, until pie is golden on top. It gets rave reviews, and non-gluten free eaters can’t tell the difference!
Mēgan says
Wow, Lola! That's great information - thank you for sharing that!
Liz Fleming says
I made the pie crust and pecan filling without making any substitutions. For the crust I used earth balance for my shortening. My crust came out a little hard ; what did I do wrong? Loved the pie, is there a way to make it not so sweet?
Mēgan says
Hi Maria, If you overwork a pie crust, it can be hard or chewy vs. flaky. If you prefer the pie less sweet, try reducing some of the coconut sugar. Hope that helps!
amber says
Megan,
You are a GF baking genius! Seriously. This pie crust looks just beautiful. I can't believe it. I am sharing a dairy free pumpkin pie soon and I've been messing around with pie crusts and nothing has been worth sharing. I am just going to use your crust!! I have to say, i use all those GF flours and have all of those on hand (and all the other ingredients). I make my son's snacks for preschool (as many of snacks provided are wheat, dairy, and sugar heavy). Tomorrow they are having pigs in a blanket. I was feeling sort of anxious about what sort of crust I could use as a blanket, and I am going to make your crust in the morning for the "pigs" and bake them before his afternoon preschool. Thank you, thank you my friend. You rock!!
Hugs,
--Am
Megan says
Sweet Amber,
You bless me with your compliments! Coming from you that means so much. 🙂 Thank you.
xoxo,
M
Julianne says
I love your story about the inscription on the jewelry box! This sounds like a story right out of my family. My husband used to say he had two favorite kinds of pie - hot and cold! Now he says he only likes one kind - round!!
Thank your for your recipe.
Megan says
Hi Julianne,
Ha ha! Your husband sounds like quite the character! 🙂 He has great taste!
And you are SO welcome! 😉
Katrina says
Cannot wait to try this. I've been looking for a gluten free pie crust recipe and didn't even have to look for this, it just showed up in my FB feed. 😉
Megan says
Hi Katrina,
Thank the good Lord for FB! 😉 Enjoy it!
Vicky says
It looks lovely Megan, you can see the flakes!
Megan says
Thanks, Vicky!
Marianne @ Ragdoll Kitchen says
Great job on this recipe! I love it! Thank you 🙂
Megan says
Hi Marianne- thank you! 😉
Joanne Peterson says
Hi Megan,
This is beautiful! I used to make pie crusts and this is one I will definitely try, it looks flaky. Thank you for the recipe.
BTW, I meant to comment on your coconut milk whipped cream with your pumpkin pie recipe post. My husband has missed whipped cream, and this looked so rich like dairy whipped dream. I've tried a soy whipped cream, and it was only okay. This coconut whipped cream appears to fit the bill for pie. Thank you for the wonderful idea.
Blessings,
Joanne
Megan says
Hi Joanne,
Thank you so much! I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of the crust once you make it!
Oh good - I'm glad the coconut whipped cream tidbit was helpful. It's so easy to make, and yes, you're right, it's very rich and creamy. 😉
Hugs!!
Laura @ Gluten Free Pantry says
My friend was just asking me for a GF pie crust recipe that I loved and I didn't have one yet I could recommend fully. I just sent this recipe to her...and I will be using this before and for Thanksgiving! Both of us are thrilled. Thanks dear!
Megan says
Aww... Laura. 🙂 Thank you so much. That's awesome!
xoxo,
M
Maria says
Hi Megan,
I do apologize for posting twice. I wasn't sure if you had seen the first posting, and it was important to me that you did. I know you work very hard on fine-tuning recipes, and I was so grateful to have found this one in particular that I wantednto be sure you knew! It meant a lot to me to be able to make a nice pastry crust again! Thanks for your nice reply!
Maria :o)
Megan says
Oh no apology needed - I'm glad you did! I remember reading your comment, but I thought I responded - but after searching for my response, I couldn't find it anywhere! So I don't know what happened. I'm sorry it got lost in blog land!
VERY happy this recipe is what you hoped it would be! It really makes my day when I hear comments such as yours. 😉 Thank you for blessing me with your words!
xo
Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts says
That's one gorgeous pie crust, Megan! Thanks for all your hard work on this recipe for us. I, too, love the opening of your post. A jewelry box like that would probably not even be made today, but I truly love it! I do believe that good pies help keep a marriage sweet. 😉 I like Julianne's husband's comment, too. We do LOVE our pies every which way in our family. 🙂
xo,
Shirley
Megan says
Thank you, Shirley! It's such an odd jewelry box too - it's wooden. Not exactly the prettiest thing, but I love it... and I love the meaning behind it. 🙂 Pie really should be its own food group, shouldn't it?! HA!
Did someone say pie?!!
xoxo,
M
Judy B says
Megan (with a long E), you have almost brought me to tears! After going GF a couple of years ago I had given up on the idea of ever having a slice of my Mom's apple pie with a flaky crust ever again. As I approach a big milestone birthday next month, I'm going to ask my Mom to make me her pie with this crust. What a glorious gift you have given us!!! Thank you for everything you do 🙂
Megan says
Judy,
I can't thank you enough for your sweet words! They mean so much to me, and to know that you might be able to have your mom's apple pie again is just wonderful! Happy Early Birthday to you! I hope this crust lives up to your and your mom's expectations. Please let me know what you think of it! 😉
Love from Alaska!
tessa says
Thank you for this! I have people who are allergic to tree nuts and it makes finding gluten free baked goods recipes hard. We shared this with our FB readers at homesteadlady.com.
Megan says
You're very welcome! Thank you for sharing it! 😉
Jessica says
This sounds like a great crust. I cannot wait to try it. Is this crust OK to use in a savory dish? My husband loves pot pies.
Megan says
Hi Jessica,
Yes, this recipe is perfect for sweet OR savory dishes. 😉 Enjoy that pot pie!
Megan
Miz Helen says
Hi Megan,
That is a beautiful pie crust, it looks perfect! Hope you are having a great day and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday!
Come Back Soon,
Miz Helen
Anne says
Can't wait to try this! I had a perfect recipe, but it had chickpea flour which my son seems to be sensitive to 🙁 It's not so perfect anymore... I have high hopes for this one!
Megan says
I'm confident this pie crust recipe will meet your expectations, Anne! 🙂
Tracee says
Megan,
Your crust looks beautiful. Pie crust has always been a hit and miss for me. It usually turns out flakey but rolling it out is a feat in itself. I do not have palm shortening so I was wondering if veg shortening or butter would work or even a little of both? Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the wonderful recipes,
Tracee
amber says
Hi Megan,
You are a reader favorite this week on AFW!!! It's no wonder with this awesome recipe.
xoxo,
--Am
Deb says
I am looking for a gluten free pie crust but allergic to corn and its close cousin sorghum. any suggestions what to sub for the sorghum flour?
Megan says
Hi Deb,
You could try replacing it with more brown rice flour, although I haven't tried it myself, so I'm not sure what or if there would be any texture/taste differences.
Megan
sabrina says
This looks so good....been looking for a GF pie crust...so glad it can be used for both sweet and savoury recipes.
Just wondering if you have any suggestion for substituting palm shortening...coconut oil perhaps? Thanks so much.
Megan says
Hi Sabrina,
I don't recommend substituting anything for the palm shortening, simply because it's the back bone of this crust recipe. It adds to the flakiness of the crust and also gives it a butter-like flavor. If you did substitute coconut oil, I think you would end up with a workable dough, but it definitely wouldn't produce the same results (and might actually burn more easily).
Megan
Maria says
Hi Megan and Sabrina,
I substituted organic unsalted butter, and it came out GREAT!
Maria :o)
Julie says
Thank goodness. A wonderful-sounding recipe without almond flour. Thank you! Can't wait to buy the flours and try this.
Megan says
You're so welcome, Julie!
Megan - The Gluten Free Vegan says
Oh this recipe turned out so lovely for me. I had tried a different pie crust recipe earlier in the day and it was so so disappointing and having yours turn out perfectly was such a relief. I used vegetable shortening instead of palm shortening and it turned out still. Thanks!
Megan says
Hi Megan,
What a wonderful comment to wake up to! Thank you for making my morning (although I'm very sorry to hear about the first pie crust - how disappointing)! I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 😉
Hugs,
Megan
amber says
Hi Megan,
Making your crust again today. My son is having apple pie at school and I am making him little mini apple turnovers. Your crust is amazing. So easy to work with and comes together so nicely. I used super fine rice flower for rolling this time with great results (I can tell a different in using a fine flour vs a regular flour). Anyway, just stopping by to say hello and thank you again for this great recipe.
Hugs,
--Amber
Marcy says
Megan,
I do not have arrowroot starch on hand, & live far from as tore that carries it. Would tapioca starch be a good replacement? Should I even try it?
Megan says
Hi Marcy,
Arrowroot is definitely best. Tapioca starch will change the texture; it can sometimes produce a slightly gummy consistency in baked goods, which is what it will do in this crust if you use it. That said, if you use tapioca the crust will still be delicious and easy to work with, it just won't be as good (and flaky) as what it could be.
😉 Hope that helps!
Megan
Kim says
This looks amazing and I am so excited to try it! My sweet 6-yr old is allergic to dairy and millet (of all things). Do you have a recommendation for a decent substitute for the millet flour? I am willing to experiment!
Megan says
Hi Kim,
I would substitute the 1/3 cup millet flour with half sorghum flour and half brown rice flour. If you try it, will you please come back here and share the results? Thanks!
😉 Megan
Kim says
I am going to make it for Thanksgiving and will absolutely let you know how it turns out! Thanks so much!
Maria says
I posted above that I used more brown rice flour in place of the millet, and it came out great!
Justina Blackburn says
Megan, I made this crust last night for apple pie. I spent hours upon hours yesterday looking for an amazing gluten free pie crust recipe and stumbled upon your site.
After reading the description and comments I decided yours looked the best.
It really is so amazing! I had to use vegetable shortening (couldn't find palm shortening) and it turned out delicious. I am just so grateful to you!
Last month I attempted a pie crust for some meat pies. The consistency was more cracker like (which worked for the meat pies) - but, I knew it wasn't going to work for sweet pies.
Your recipe was simple... in fact I had it committed to memory after the first attempt.
I also have a dough bag... they are amazing.
Anyway, thank you once again!
Megan says
Justina,
You are so very, very welcome! 😉 It makes me happy to know you enjoyed the pie crust! And thank you for letting everyone know you had success substituting vegetable shortening instead of palm shortening. A very Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!
Megan
Susan Alexander says
Ok, here goes, going to try this today with coconut oil (don't have palm shortening!) for some mini apple pies. All in all an experiment. I will report back with the results, just know that I am no expert pie maker so if it fails, it may be me as much as the coconut oil. :p
Susan Alexander says
So my feedback - they turned out great! Dough was a tad tricky to work with but I'm no pie genius so that may be normal. The parchment paper underneath was SO helpful - allowed me to roll them up onto my hand to put in the muffin tin. There was enough dough for 6 mini pies with cross-hatch on top. 🙂
Caralyn says
Megan- I have made this pie crust several times now, trying to perfect my gluten free/dairy free Thanksgiving pies. It really is good and I am sure no one will know it is gluten free. My only wish was that it had a little more flavor. I made it again this morning, using 1/4 cup palm shortening and 1/4 cup earth balance (dairy free butter). I was really happy it worked, and I think it has that little bit of flavor I was looking for. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Justina Blackburn says
Caralyn, I'm going to give that a shot too!
Megan says
That's great, Caralyn - and you're welcome! I can't have Earth Balance, but I can see how that would add a little bit more flavor. Thanks for letting us all know the results, as I'm sure others would also like to try this!
😉 Megan
Maria says
Hi Caralyn,
I was making pecan pie, and I added a sprinkling of cinnamon and about one tablespoon of sugar to the pie crust dough recipe. I always add extra vanilla extract, too, just because I like it!
These additions added that little bit of extra flavor!
Maria
Caralyn says
That sounds really good Maria. I'll have to try it! Thanks!!
Julia says
Hi Megan! Thank you so very much for this recipe. Before becoming gluten-sensitive, I used to make THE BEST farm girl flakey pie crust. Lard and the whole ten yards! When I went GF, I found I can't even bake with gluten or I get reactions. So I have been hunting and trying recipes that ended up like a tasteless cracker for years until I found this recipe. I made it for Thanksgiving and my husband didn't know the difference. I found it was excellent but not flakey as my old lard/gluten recipe. Is this just the case with being GF? Or did I fail to execute it properly? Your photos look far more flakey than mine was. But best of all, my husband thought it tasted excellent! Oh, and how do you make those graceful curves on the crust. So pretty! Thanks again Megan, I am reclaiming some of the fun of my former life.
Megan says
Hi Julie!
You are very welcome! I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed the crust! 😉
2 thoughts re: your crust not being as flaky as mine pictured- the dough may have been a touch too wet, or it was overworked. Even though this crust is GF, it's very flaky. The next time you make this recipe, I'd recommend making sure your lard and water are very cold, and then try to mix/work the crust dough as little as possible.
And thank you! The pie crust curves have taken me some time to perfect! 😉 I roll excess dough under and then use my fingers to make the curves. Hopefully one of these days I'll be able to post a video showing everyone how. It's hard for me to explain it in written form! Thanks again!
Megan
Kim says
So I made the pie crust omitting the millet and splitting the 1/3 cup into half brown rice flour and half sorghum. It was a huge hit! I had a hard time working with the dough(it kept splitting), but it could also be because I am not used to working with gluten-free dough. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Megan says
Hi Kim!
Very glad to hear the adjustments worked for you! You might try adding a bit more water next time. The dough shouldn't split and should be relatively easy to work with. Adding more water should help! 😉
Megan
Audrey says
Hi Megan,
Just came across your post, GF baking is SO difficult! I would love to try your recipe, however not sure I could find these ingredients in Scotland. I was wondering if anyone else from Scotland had managed to get those particular ingredients and had fed the information back? I will try and search them out, but if you or anyone who uses this site can help I would be very grateful.
Thanks. Audrey 🙂
Megan says
Hi Audrey,
Wow - Scotland! That's a long ways from Alaska! Unfortunately, no I haven't heard of anyone purchasing ingredients from Scotland, but would Amazon.com be an option?
Megan
Maria says
Hi Megan and Audrey,
Since I am on Long Island in NY, I am fortunate that so many stores carry GF ingredients for baking. However, sometimes I still cannot find what I need.
AMAZON has been a go-to source for me! From them, I have ordered organic sorghum flour, organic arrowroot starch, organic potato starch, and they always have any Bob's Red Mill products that you cannot find elsewhere. Even when Bob's products are not organic, they are responsibly grown in either Oregon or California, usually. I also e-mail a company if I need more info on a particular product.
As you can see, I try to do as much organic as possible. When I cannot, I do the best I can without the product having preservatives, food colorings, GMOs, etc.
Maria
Megan says
Thanks for sharing, Maria! 😉
Diane Foss says
FYI: When I can't find what i want or need, I go to Amazon,com and they seem to have almost everything, including many items that are gluten free. And I'm an old lady who doesn't drive very far or often, so the computer comes to the rescue as all online companies deliver.
Hope this helps.
D. Foss
Anonymous says
Hi all,
Golly!!! Just made this crust for French-Canadian tourtiere (which in English translates to Meat Pie), and it was good. I had another go to recipe that I had used in the past, and it failed the last time I made it. So I wanted to try a different one to see how it would work. Success!!! Yay!!! I highly recommend this recipe. 4.5 out of 5 stars (Would have given it a complete 5 had my husband not said that it was just a touch too greasy).
One note, it did fall apart though, but don't most pies do that anyway???
Megan says
Thank you so much for the wonderful review! I'm so happy to hear it was a success and that you enjoyed it! 😉 The crust shouldn't fall apart, I would recommend adding just a bit more water next time (start with 1 teaspoon and work your way up from there). If the crust is too dry it will start to crumble. Hope that helps!
Megan
Karen says
I was wondering if you ever froze a pie using this pie crust? A friend would like me to make her a pie that she can freeze and then just take out a bake at her convenience. I've read other GF pie crust recipes that said they did not freeze well and I was hoping this one might be different. It certainly looks like a delicious recipe.
Megan says
Hi Karen,
I've never tried freezing it so I don't really know how it would do. You might have to experiment! 😉
Megan
Shana says
Thanks for this recipe! I love making pie, and it's nice to find an option that's based on whole grain flours AND also doesn't require prebaking. I actually had most of the ingredients on hand, which was delightful. Thank you for coming up with a recipe that's so straightforward and far less fiddly than many recipes I've tried. I made a blackberry pie with the crust tonight and was impressed by how sturdy it was, especially given a rather liquidy filling. I did find the crust to be a bit tough, rather than tender. I used shortening rather than palm oil. Perhaps that made a difference?
Megan says
Hi Shana,
You're welcome! Re: Your question... I have a couple thoughts for you-
I don't know if your use of shortening made a difference or not, as I haven't made the crust using shortening. After making this several more times though, I think overall, this crust errs on the side of tough vs. tender. And that's because there's no gluten in it. That said, the crust also has a tendency to become tough if the dough is overworked.
Hope that helps!
Megan
Kirsten says
Your recipe as always is amazing and I am so grateful for you and the recipes you create! I felt like I lost a part of myself when I started eating gluten free because I couldn't bake very well anymore. It's so nice to be able to make delicious recipes again and be proud of what I make because it actually tastes good again!
Megan says
Awe, Kirsten... thank you so much for your comment. It means a lot!
Hugs,
Megan
Erika says
I just wanted to write how much I LOVE this pie crust! I've always failed magnificently at making pie crust, even when I worked with gluten, so having this turn out every time is a God send! Thanks again for one awesome recipe!
Oh, and it makes great pocket pies too! I love making them (I usually get about three out of a batch of dough, so they are about the size of a tart), filling them with some home made jam or home canned fruit. Awesome!
Brianna @Flippin' Delicious says
Megan,
This pie crust turned out beautifully! I've made GF pie crust lots of times, but I knew that I needed to use different flours because my blend has too much starch for pie crust and it always ends up being "squeaky." I'm sold on your recipe! I made a few changes based on what I had and didn't have in my kitchen but the results are the tenderest and flakiest gluten-free pie crust I've ever had!
Sacha says
THANK YOU!!!! My extremely amazing mother-in-law made this pie crust for me recently. Every year my husband asks for his mom's amazing cherry pie for his birthday. So, she made me a GF one with your recipe. We were both impressed! And I must say I am SO grateful you are willing to share this recipe. It is so comforting to be able to have pie after being diagnosed with Celiac's this August. Thanksgiving and Christmas are SAVED forever, THANKS TO YOU.
Robyn says
I just made this tonight and am so impressed with this crust--you really cannot even tell it is gluten-free! I used crisco since that's all I could find, but otherwise followed the recipe. The edges of the pie were highly coveted morsels; delicately flaky and crispy, just like with regular pie crusts. A big win! I even had enough dough left over to make a loose lattice. Thanks for this lovely recipe--I will be sharing!
Allison Smith says
I look forward to trying this recipe, but I am trying to make it on a budget. What would happen if I omitted the xanthan gum? Could I sub glucomannan powder or arrowroot powder for it? I already have those in my pantry. Any thoughts?
Megan says
Hi Allison,
Arrowroot powder will not do as a substitute, and I've never worked with glucomannan powder, so I'm not sure how to inform you about that.
Xanthan gum is the binder that holds everything together in this recipe - without it, the recipe will fail.
Lauren says
I found this post on a search for a vegan and gluten-free pie crust. This recipe turned out perfectly the first time with no modifications. I used it with my favorite pot pie recipe and it worked so well that if I hadn't made it myself I would have worried that it wasn't actually gluten-free! Thanks for a great recipe!
Megan says
🙂 That's awesome - so happy you enjoyed it! Thanks, Lauren!
Abi Craig says
Looks and sounds great - the pictures are beautiful. I will have to try using it soon but without the xanthan gum. Thanks for all the work you put into perfecting it. (Savoring Saturdays)
Andrea says
Hi Megan,
I made your crust and apple pie recipe yesterday and it was amazing!! Even my husband and kids loved it! Needless to say the pie didn't even last 24 hours and was finished off tonight after dinner. I did have a bit of an issue with the dough breaking apart while I was working with it but read back through your comments to see that the cause most likely was that I just needed to add more water, which I will add next time. Thanks again for posting such an amazing recipe!
Raia says
Now, I will definitely be trying this soon. 😉 We'll be featuring it at this weekend's Savoring Saturdays - thanks so much for sharing!
Gay says
Hi Megan,
This is a wonderful, fail-proof recipe! I made an apple pie with it and was delighted with the flakiness of the crust as was the rest of the family. It was eaten up the same day it was made, so I was left wondering .... how would the crust have held up if it had been made the day before? So many GF baked goods need to be eaten the same day or frozen. It would be so convenient for a family gathering to be able to make this the day before; have you ever made a pie to serve the next day? Many thanks for persevering to produce great recipes
Megan says
Hi Gay,
Thank you so much for the compliments! I've had leftover pie several times - using this crust recipe. It holds up amazingly well. I wouldn't hesitate to make a pie 24 hrs in advance. I think you'll be just as happy. 😉
Kellie Miller says
I just tried this pie crust and it was a mess! The pie crust was difficult to roll out, and now after baking it is almost mushy in texture. I make GF pie crusts all the time, followed the directions and ingredient list exactly, and I really don't like it.
Megan says
Hi Kellie,
I have to be honest - this is the first comment I've received regarding this pie crust recipe that hasn't been positive. I'm sorry to hear you didn't like it.
Megan
julia knoth says
i am making a pie for thanksgiving tonight and i forgot the xantham gum, is there any replacement, i have tapioca, please let me know
Megan says
Hi Julia,
You can use guar gum to replace the xanthan gum in this recipe; using more tapioca starch will not work as a replacement.
Megan
kate says
DO NOT SUBSTITUTE COCONUT FLOUR FOR MILLET FLOUR
So I tried this recipe. The only thing I substituted was I used coconut flour instead of millet flour. The dough was SOOOO crumbly. I could barely roll it out. It just crumbled into a million pieces. I tried adding water again and again, but it remained crumbly. I'm baking it anyway and it looks nice, but I know when I cut into it it's going to fall apart. Oh well...will try again another time.
Megan says
Oh Kate! So sorry you found this out the hard way! Coconut flour is incredibly dry, and requires lots of moisture and eggs. It cannot be substituted 1:1 for other gluten free flours. For example, in your typical muffin recipe, you would use 1 1/2 – 2 cups of GF flour; however, a typical muffin recipe made with coconut flour should call for no more than 1/2 a cup (a little of it goes a long way!). I suggest only using coconut flour when a recipe has been written specifically for it.
Dick L. says
Yesterday my grandson (10 yo) and I made a pumpkin pie, using this crust recipe. It turned out great. Best I've had since I found out I had celiac disease, and as good as or better than those I was making before. We had the pie for dessert today, and I was impressed that the crust was not soggy under the filling even after standing overnight. Your work in formulating the flour mix is appreciated.
We rolled it out between parchment and plastic wrap, and I turned it over, peeled off the parchment, placed the pan (upside down) on the dough, and turned over the plastic/dough/pan combination. It was simple then to peel off the plastic, letting the dough drop into the pan.
We made three modifications: unsalted butter instead of the palm shortening, psyllium husk powder (1 tsp) instead of xanthan gum, and (inadvertently-- grandpa wasn't paying enough attention to the recipe) 1/3 C brown rice flour instead of 1/4 C. I don't know if they made a difference or not, but the result was certainly good, so probably not. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Thanks,
Dick and Kenny
Megan says
Hi Dick & Kenny,
I received your comment at the end of the day on Thanksgiving - what a great way to end the night! Thank you so much for all of your recipe notes and wonderful comments. I appreciate it so much! Very happy you enjoyed it!
Megan
Leela King-Sannyasin says
Megan! What a lovely website. Thank you for all your hard work and fabulous photos.
A big thanks to Dick and Kenny, "psyllium husk powder (1 tsp) instead of xanthan gum." Brilliant.
Just a heads up, this pie crust is not corn-free, therefore the Pecan Pie is also not corn-free. Xanthan gum is a corn derivatives, unless otherwise stated, e.g., xanthan gum from potato starch.
For some of us, corn and corn derivatives, even in tiny amounts is crucial. Thanks again,
Leela
Megan says
Hi Leela,
Thank you for your sweet comments!
Authentic Foods sells a corn-free xanthan gum, fyi!
Cindy says
I used this recipe to make a luscious GF unsweetened fruit pie for my husband's birthday. (What seems to help compensate for no sweetener is to use many different fruits & sweet spices, & cook them in a little fruit juice about halfway to compote before I bake it.) I didn't have millet flour, so I just used half brown rice & half sorghum flours. I also didn't have arrowroot so I substituted tapioca starch. I did add a little cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg for a bit more zing. I rolled it in one of those zippered pie crust bags, which helped a lot because I hadn't added quite enough water so it was a bit fragile. It held together well enough that I was able to top it with cute cutout dough shapes. It made a fantastic crust, agreed by all who tasted it to be non-identifiable as GF. My only problem was that I am terrible at fluting a pie crust, so my pies always look like a child made them. I now have the millet flour & arrowroot, so today I am going to try making the recipe with full compliance & anticipate it will be even better! And I am very excited to try the coconut cream topping. Thanks so much for all the work you have done to perfect your recipes and for sharing them!
Megan says
Cindy,
Thank you so much for commenting. Your pie sounds divine! Happy to hear everyone enjoyed the crust - and the pie. 🙂 I appreciate your recipe notes, too! 😉
fox says
This is an awesome crust :-). My husband and I made a pumpkin pie with it and it was fantastic. We did tweak it though, we used 1/3 cup Brown rice flour instead of sorghum, 1/3 cup quinoa instead of millet, and 1/4 cup buckwheat instead of brown rice and because buckwheat flour is so "glutinous" we didn't need the xanthum gum. We also used iced water instead of just cold, cut the butter into pea sized cubes and froze it before cutting it in, and chilled the dough for 30 minutes before using it. The changes were due to what we had on hand and because my grandmother always said to use iced water, freeze the butter, and chilled the dough for pie and my grandmother was one of the best cooks I've ever known.
Thanks for a great recipe 🙂
Megan says
Thank you for sharing your substitutions, Fox! Very happy it turned out well and that you enjoyed it! Grandma's advice is always the best! 😉
fox says
You're very welcome :-). I'm glad too, I've been looking for a good pie crust for a while. Very true, it is indeed 🙂
Jamie says
Fine food eatin woman of alaska.
The best is to be shy of what your crust is... I thank you dearly for sharing your brilliance so that I may feed the hungry gluten free rascals of my home with the most exquisite crust they have eaten. I did sub, for one of my boys is allergic to millet as well( can you believe that?), with more rice flour and butter. We love our butter.
It was the finest pumpkin pie and we will make many more.
So grateful that you share your magic
Bless to you and your kitchen
Megan says
Jamie, everything about your comment made me smile! Thank you so much for taking a moment to comment. 😉 So happy you enjoyed the crust and the pie! Hugs to you!
Samantha says
I have been gluten-free for nine years, and have tried a myriad of piecrust recipes with no great successes. I found your recipe on Pinterest, and decided to give it a shot making a chicken pot pie. This is the last pie crust recipe I will ever need! The crust was not the prettiest when I rolled it out because I am not a very good pie maker, but it was so tender and flaky and a huge hit with my family. Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. (For others who may be interested I subbed tapioca starch for the arrowroot.)
sylvie cholette says
Excellent crust!
Andrea says
Hey just curious whats the longest the dough can be chilled in the fridge? I don't want to roll it until I'm ready to bake the pie with the filling. But I'd like to prepare the crust before.
Megan says
Hi Andrea,
The more I make this crust, the more I think it shouldn't be refrigerated at all. The dough is so much easier to work with when it isn't chilled. I know that's not the best when you're trying to get a lot of baking done, but I truly think you'll be much happier not refrigerating it at all.
Megan
Andrea says
Ok thank you Megan!
Wendy says
Finally, finally, finally! This flaky, flavorful crust was a welcome addition to a chicken pot pie today.
I enjoyed being able to use a rolling pin directly on the pie dough for a change. Thank you Megan for all your efforts and providing us with delicious recipes! May your new year be blessed!
Megan says
You are so welcome! Thank you for your kind words! 😉
Peggy says
This is by far the best gluten free pie crusts I have had. Thank you, thank you! My search is over. I made this crust and the maple pecan pie and I couldn't believe how good it was. My family loved it, and they are not gf. I am so happy I ran across this website. Thank you for all your experiments. You have made me a very happy girl.
Megan says
Awe, Peggy! You're very welcome. I'm so happy to hear everyone loved it!
Peggy says
Just as a follow up. Some have been asking if this crust can be made ahead of time. I had a recipe long years ago before I was gluten free that made four pie crust and you would flatten the ball of dough down to about 1 inch, wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze in a ziploc. I decided to try this method on this recipe. I made a double recipe and froze one. It worked great. The crust once thawed rolled out perfect and nobody would ever have know it was frozen. It was still the best pie crust ever! The only difference in my recipe is I used butter. I have no idea if that matters.
Sacha says
Made this pie crust again today. OH Wow. It really is amazing. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING IT!!!! It is amazing. America's Test Kitchens' gf pie crust doesn't hold a candle to this one.
Megan says
Sacha, I am completely blown away by your comment! Thank you so much! You made my afternoon!! ((Hugs))
Krystle says
I'm not a big fan of xantham gum or guar gum - I get reactions from both. I've used flax, chia seeds and/or phsyllium fibre as binders before and they have worked out well, just wondering if anyone else has tried these instead of the gums?
Linda says
I just read another comment from Dave that replaced the xantham gum with 1 tsp. phsyllium. He said that worked great.
Cat says
This is the best gf df pie crust I've ever made. I can tell that you've done a lot of experimenting with pie crusts!!! It's SUPER flaky and SOO good. It would make a great crust for meat pies too, ... any kind of pie really. Just so people know, I didn't have arrowroot powder on hand so I used tapioca starch instead and it works great. I also added a couple of extra tablespoons of brown rice flour to the mix (made it with the minimum amount of water suggested but was still a bit too "wet"). And I followed other people's advice and added one tblsp of sugar. I'll be making this pie crust again and again. Thanks!
Catherine Nahas says
Can I substitute brown rice and oat flour for sorghum flour and millet flour? Or use a gluten free all purpose flour instead of your mixture?
Megan says
I’ve worked very hard over the last few years to develop a truly perfect gluten-free pie crust recipe. That said, the ingredients I’ve used in this recipe were chosen for specific reasons. If you substitute another flour or ingredient than that as listed, I can’t guarantee the end result of your pie crust. 😉
Lauren says
So I'm a very experienced pie maker and my chicken pot pie has won blue ribbon at the Oregon state fair. Everyone raves about my pie crust! The only thing is I developed a severe gluten and dairy allergy a few years ago and unfortunately I cannot eat anything I used to bake. Lol! So I have been looking for a good flaky pie dough recipe for a few years now and I can't wait to try this one out! I read all the comments and it seems like everyone has had good results. Has anyone subbed in crisco for the Palm shortening? Will post a more detailed review once I make the pies for thanksgiving.
Megan says
Hi Lauren,
Fingers crossed this recipes lives up to your expectations! 😉
Cora Regina says
This crust looks AMAZING! Unfortunately, it's extremely difficult to get ahold of so many different flours where I live; it's not a big city and often what is available is not the highest quality (trying to find something like superfine rice flours for pastry is a joke), plus I simply don't have the room to store so many individual components. Would a pastry-friendly pre-blend like Cup4Cup work in place of your custom mix, in equal total volume?
Megan says
Hi Cora,
I'd think Cup4Cup would work just fine. I can't speak to the flakiness, but I'd imagine it would be close. 😉
Sheryl says
Life changing pie crust and even more amazing that I can use flours I have on hand. Usually gf recipes ask for flour blends that are not available in Canada and its so frustrating. Not this recipe.. It is perfection!! Perfectly crispy and flakey and can be used for sweet and savoury pies.
julia knoth says
i couldnt find millet flour is it ok if i replace it with sorghum flour?
Megan says
Hi Julia,
Sorghum will work just fine, but it might not be quite as flakey. Millet flour has a wonderful crumb, which is why I include it in this recipe.
Kristy says
I want to thank you for an awesome pie crust recipe! It is SOOOOO much better than the store bought GF crusts! The only substitute I made was using GF oat flour in place of the rice flour and it turned out flaky, beautiful, and delicious!
Megan says
Wonderful, Kristy! 😉 I'm so happy you enjoyed it!
Monica says
Megan,
I am really looking forward to trying this tonight as a trial run before Christmas!! I am curious as to the reason for using ACV rather than an egg. Is that simply for allergy purposes? Would I nix the xantham as well? Let me know if there is a way to change that. I'm trying to combine your recipe with my favorite pie crust so it's compliant with a niece's Celiac disease and I'm pretty new to GF baking.
Thank you so much for a beautiful looking recipe!
Megan says
Hi Monica,
All great questions! The ACV isn't used to replace the egg, it's used to add to the flakiness of the crust. Xanthan gum binds ingredients together in GF baked goods, so you definitely don't want to omit that (I recommend the Bob's Red Mill brand of xanthan gum). In regular gluten-full flour, the gluten is the glue or the binder. In GF baked goods, you have to use something to replace that, that's why xanthan gum is so prevalent in GF baking. Otherwise, you would end up with a crumbly mess. 😉 Hope that helps!
Charlotte Moore says
I used this recipe this morning to make mini heart shaped strawberry pies/pop tarts. Which ever anyone wants to call them. They turned out great. One thing I wondered about was while baking lots of oil was bubbling all around them. I used non hydrogenated shortening. They seemed greasy so I wondered if I should have used less than half cup?? The taste was very good. I made these for our great granddaughter. She is 4 and started daycare today. I wanted her to have something special for the valentine party tomorrow. Wellll, turns out the party is today. So guess what I will be doing after while... taking her some and some GF sugar cookies I also made this morning.
BLESSINGS!!
Megan says
Hi Charlotte,
I bet your pop tarts were darling! I think if you tried to decrease the shortening you would find the pie crust dough possibly extra crumbly and hard to roll out/work with. That said, I haven't tried to decrease the shortening; you certainly could experiment!
Janet says
I used the same flours as in the recipe, butter instead of shortening, lemon juice instead of the vinegar and came up with a lovely crispy chicken pasty, the only problem I had was that it haemorrhaged fat, I mopped up lots when I turned it round at half time, then loads more when it had finished, it was still a little greasy when I ate it although very crisp and tasty. Has anyone tried cutting down on the fat?
Elizabeth says
I know you said in another response that the palm shortening is "key" to this recipe.
But... I live in a very small town, a long way from any city. There is no palm-anything around here. Not even in the little local health food store (which is our source for GF-flours that the grocery doesn't carry).
Like you, I come from a long line of pastry bakers. The kind of pastry that you "tolerate" the filling to get the pastry. The kind where you toss the scraps on a cookie sheet and bake them so people can eat them plain. So I'm fussy about flavour as well as texture. We grew up with lard as the backbone of pastry.
So. Knowing that you haven't necessarily tested these options but have tons of experience... your opinion:
Given that I can't get palm shortening, would it be better to try another shortening? or to try good old pastry lard?
Thanks!
Megan says
Hi Elizabeth,
I posted this recipe back in 2013. I've learned a few things since then. 😉 Butter is fine, vegan butter is fine, lard, pastry lard, vegetable shortening, Crisco... I think you'll be good with whatever you choose!
Chantal says
How would you tweek this using an all purpose GF flour?
Megan says
Substitute 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour for the flours listed above. I just can't guarantee the outcome. I've only tested this recipe with the above flours.
Tamara Green says
Do you know why we add apple cider vinegar to gluten free baking? I understand that acids help leaveners like baking soda but I haven't seen a recipe that uses wheat flour call for vinegar. So I'm wondering why do we add the extra acid to gluten free baking?
Megan says
Hi Tamara,
In this recipe, the ACV helps produce a flaky pie crust. In gluten-free bread though, ACV acts as a bread enhancer of sorts.
Susi says
This crust is amazing and I am extremely fussy about crust! For years folks have raved about my pies so I was sad when I had to go gluten free and the crusts were not so yummy. Where the crust is still tricky to get into the pie pan it is truly worth the effort. People are now raving about my GF pies too so I don't have to make both at Thanksgiving! Thanks so much for the great recipe. BTW, I use regular Crisco shortening and it turns out delicious!
Amy says
Just made this crust along with your pumpkin pie filling and it was absolutely DELICIOUS!!!! Who knew that a gluten free crust could be flaky and light just like a "normal" crust haha! Fantastic! Thank you so much for working so hard on this recipe, this will become my official crust! I did use coconut oil instead of the palm shortening and it seemed to sub quite well!
The pumpkin pie filling was very tasty too btw!
My grandma who is quite the baker gave this a stamp of approval!
Deb Perugi says
Looks like a tasty recipe. I wonder if the palm shortening you use is sustainable, and not from the indonesian area that is wiping out the rain forests . This is an important point to make when writing out recipes. Thanks for postingl
Sami Winners says
Megan, thank you for this recipe! I took the flours and xanthan gum, mixed them, then used the mixture in my standard biscuit recipe tonight! Oh my goodness, flaky, light, gluten free biscuits! Thanks again! That saved me from indulging in regular biscuits tonight. -Sami
Jamie Pitts says
Hi Megan, We tried your pie crust recipe for Thanksgiving and it did not disappoint! It was the best GF pie crust recipe we have every tried. We were making an apple pie so we added 1 TBS. of powdered sugar to the pie crust ingredients and used a little less water as we didn't need all that was recommended. It came out so good! Everyone raved and we told them about your recipe. Thank you! 🙂 Jamie
Dee says
I am wondering what brands of flours you use. I'm struggling to find these flours made on dedicated lines or with easy to track down manufacturing info so I know the risks of cross contact with our allergens (we've got a long list that includes anaphylaxis to all gluten containing grains, but also allergies to soy, egg, coconut, tree nuts, peanuts, lentils and chickpeas... so I'm writing emails and making phone calls all day to find out about shared lines)
Debi Arellano says
I made this for the first time last night and I substituted butter for the palm oil and used egg whites instead of the water. It came out great! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Nancy34110 says
This pie crust is great. My husband, who does not have to eat gluten-free likes it a lot. I'm baking my second pecan pie with it. The first one came out better than a traditional crust - the filling didn't break through the crust and make a sticky mess. For me, it's a keeper!
Lisa says
Well I guess I'm the only one who didn't suceed with this recipe! ???
It was dry and hard. Maybe I put too much rice flower because I couldn't roll the dough because it would stick all the time. Maybe I added too much water. I don't know. I couldn't roll the dough over the rolling pin it would be stuck on the paper...
I'm desperate to make this recipe work!
Megan says
Oh no! Oh Lisa... I'm sorry. It does sound like you added too much water. Try one of THESE BAGS. They make rolling out the crust a breeze. Just make sure you flour the bag, then keep stopping and re-flouring as you roll it out. It also makes transferring the crust to the pie plate much simpler. Good luck!
Danny says
I doubled the recipe and used arrowroot starch. The only modification I did was cutting the salt by half, but I think it was still too salty. Honestly, it did not work out great for my cherry pie. I can forward a picture if you would like because it does look nice, but it tastes like sand, more so than when I just use white rice flour and tapioca. I wonder if my brown rice flour was the problem. I used the minimum amount of water and the dough was sticky, but I wonder if there wasn't enough water to activate the xanthan gum. Do you have a newer recipe now? The pie just crumbled like sand when touched. It was easy enough to roll it out, but it would split when I tried to transfer it. I was working in a pretty warm room, though. Maybe a night in the fridge will help it to firm up.
Megan says
Hi Danny,
Sorry to hear the recipe didn't work well for you. It sounds like there may have not been enough water used, but that said, heat and humidity will definitely affect doughs of all kinds (and whenever I make pie in Alaska, it's never hot or humid here... good old Alaska!). I do not have a new recipe, as this one has always been successful for me and 98% of my readers.
Danny says
Okay, thanks. It did firm up in the fridge overnight and I was able to serve it after that.
Megan says
I'm glad to hear that! 😉
Marlyn Culton says
I've been looking for a pie crust that wouldn't cause my allergies to go crazy. Was so happy to stumble upon your recipe. Yay!! I had all the ingredients for the crust except the millet flour so I subbed it with sweet white rice flour. And, it turned out pretty good except a slight after taste might add a little bit of sweetener to the pie crust next time (could be the sweet rice flour giving off an after taste). I also subbed the palm sugar for maple sugar as I'm allergic to coconut. I will try the millet flour next time and will reduce the lemon juice in the filling by 1/2 as it's super sour with the maple sugar. Thank you so much for this great recipe! Finally a pie recipe that I can eat!!!
KailuaGirl says
Amazing crust recipe! I don't usually buy individual flours, but I had Pamela's Artisan Gluten-free Flour and decided to try it. I used 1 1/4 c flour (the total of your various flours), then 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp. palm shortening. I added 1/4 tsp. vanilla for flavor. It is soooooo good! Thank you for both a delicious and easy recipe! Now that I have the crust down, I have to try your filling recipes.
Megan says
Thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
Em says
In your blog you said chilled dough but in the recipe it doesn’t say to chill. Does it roll out better if chilled?
Megan says
Hi Em,
Oh... thanks so much for pointing that out. I used to chill it, but I found it makes it a little more difficult to roll out. I need to correct that. Thanks again for bringing it to my attention.
Em says
This recipe has become the new favorite in our family. I’ve been asked where I got it several times. So thank you from the bottom on my happy tummy for making such an amazing crust recipe. Pie is finally enjoyable again.
Megan says
You're absolutely welcome! Thanks, Em!
Penny says
I wanted to make a vegan & gluten free pie for Thanksgiving that would be so good that even my non-vegan family would eat it & enjoy it, and I made this crust, and everyone loved it! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Megan says
You're very welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Julie Lowry says
Can I switch regular butter flavored crisco in this? I have the little sticks of crisco that I use along with coconut oil for my butter in recipes. This looks like a wonderful recipe, can't wait to try it. I found out I had celiac in 1996. Things have changed so much since then. The last 2 years I have needed to also be dairy free. I just found this site. Thanks so much. Julie
Megan says
Hi Julie, yes, you can definitely use buttered flavored Crisco for this recipe. 😉
Elizabeth O Brien says
Thank you megan. Love from elizajanelio ireland..i am a grandmother youngish.and have resently needed to go all gluten dairy wheat etc free i am also helping napro clients to become pregnant. We are helping some clients gluten free towards conception. I will keep in with your great blogspot and give info to our cliends Thank you slainte and godbless from ireland
Pam says
Wonderful recipe - My husband was diagnosed with celiac a few years ago, and he has not had his beloved apple pie since. I made an apple pie and lemon pie with your recipe; both came out fantastic! In fact, I like the flavour of the crust even better than my previous Gluten-Full version. I used chilled butter and arrowroot starch, and I substituted guar gum for xantham gum and white rice flour for brown (wasn't able to find brown rice flour in the store). I had to use more water than the recipe indicated, but otherwise, it was perfection.
Thank you - I can't tell you how much I appreciate this recipe.
Megan says
You're so welcome, Pam! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Grace says
Does this crust get soggy. I made a beautiful gluten free crust. The darn thing turned soggy and I just ate the filling.
Megan says
Hi Grace, no, this crust does not get soggy. I've made several pies with it, ahead of time, overnight, etc. It holds up very well.
Alexis Hillyard says
MEGAN THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS! I cannot WAIT to try it. I'll let you know how it goes!!!
Megan says
Awesome! You're so welcome, Alexis! 😉
Sarah Cummings says
Yaaayyy! This pie is so mouthwatering! Thank you so much for sharing the video! Gonna try this too. Your dog is sooooo cute by the way. ?
Megan says
Hey Sarah! Thank you! I'm so glad you found the video helpful! And re: the dog. LOL. That's my sous chef, Thor. My constant companion standing just outside the kitchen whenever I'm in it! 😉
Tricia Guillou says
Hi Megan,
I can't wait to try your pie crust recipe. I am newly GF and looking for new recipes. After reading the comments this one seems to fit the bill. Just a question though. I use 9 !/2 inch pie plates so how much should I increase the recipe by. And is it okay to make a double batch together, as I tend to make several pies for special occasions for my family. Cheers to you. 🙂
Megan says
Hi Tricia, I actually wouldn't increase the recipe at all. I have an oversized pie plate (not pictured) that I use occasionally. This recipe still makes enough for it. 😉 And yes to making the double batch together. I've even tripled it and it still works out great! Happy Holidays to you and your family!
Megan
GD Daviau says
OMG!!! Once upon a time...I was the best pie maker of my village having developed a pastry dough that could not be matched anywhere around where I lived which is Quebec, Canada.
Then, in a matter of months I became allergic to gluten and lactose. My world just tilted to say the least.
For the past 2 years, I have tried and tried and tried and tried (you get the picture) pie dough recipes of all kinds even trying my own recipes. To say the least I was trying to mimic the taste of the one 'famous pie crust' I had developed over the years.
And then...TADA! Your BEST GLUTEN-FREE FLAKY PIE CRUST RECIPE is just DIVINE!!! Of course I played a bit with it (sorry couldn't help myself!), adding my secret ingredients to it to make it a bit more 'my own', but again TADA!!!
Your BEST GLUTEN-FREE FLAKY PIE CRUST RECIPE is the REAL THING or so close to the real thing (with gluten that is) that my own mother would be fooled (she probably eats a lot of those in the 'other world')!
THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH for sharing!!! THANK YOU, thank you, thank you, thank you and thank you!!!
PS: I think I know what your secret is...isn't Alaska close to the North Pole and Mrs Santa Claus?
Megan says
GD! I can't tell you how much your comment means to me! Thank you so much! You made my week! 😉
Kayla says
If I am out of arrowroot starch can I use corn starch? Thank you!
Megan says
Hi Kayla, I would just sub more tapioca starch.
GD Daviau says
Hello again Megan...
Small question...Can this recipe be made in a large quantity? Say to make 4 or 6 pies at the same time? Would I need to 'keep it cool'?
Thanks again a gazillion times!
Megan says
Hi GD,
The more I work with this pie crust, the more I think the dough is harder to work with when it is refrigerated. It makes it harder to roll out.
I wouldn't do more than a triple batch at a time - that's the most I've done!
Jennifer says
Now that there are combined flours that you like, ie Bob Mills 1 to 1, have you tried using them in your pie crust?
Megan says
Hi Jennifer,
I worked on developing this pie crust recipe over many years, which included testing different flour blends. My recipe that you see here was written specifically to produce a flaky, tasty pie crust. Any other flour blend may or may not produce the same results, which is why I probably will never deviate from using anything other than the flours I call for above. I personally would not use the Bob's Red Mill 1:1 blend in this recipe. It is very high in sweet rice flour, which can be gummy.
Joelle says
This pie crust is amazing! It's just like a gluten containing crust. This is my new go to pie crust recipe. I've avoided pie cause I didn't want to deal with a crust and store bought GF crusts taste like cardboard. I do have one question. Do you think I could substitute lemon juice for the vinegar?
Megan says
Hi Joelle,
Thank you so much! I'm happy to think that! Re: the apple cider vinegar, if you don't tolerate it, simply omit it. I would not sub lemon juice in its place.
Sakura says
Hi Megan,
This recipe sounds amazing!
Do you have any recommendations for what could be used as a rice flour alternative? Unfortunately my son is allergic. It sounds like you've done lots of experimenting so I wondered if you might have an idea of what to use instead.
Thanks so much!
Megan says
I would use half sorghum and half millet to replace it. 🙂
Bakeaweil says
What "flour" do you use to roll out the dough?
Mēgan says
Either brown rice flour or sorghum flour. 🙂
Sherry Quackenbush says
I just rolled out the crust and it has a strong smell of ACV (I used 1.5 tsp like it said) will the ACV smell or taste transfer to my pumpkin mix? I didn't see any other comments on this. I used Braggs ACV. Thank you 🙂
Mēgan says
Hi Sherry, no, the ACV smell and taste will go away after it bakes. I use Braggs, too, so I know it can smell overpowering. I've never detected it in any of my pies after baking them.
Noel says
Good morning Megan.
I am dying to try your pie crust but only see the instructions and not the recipe itself. I can't find where you list the measurements for the ingredients, please help me out.?
Noel
Mēgan says
Hi Noel,
Keep scrolling down! There's a printable recipe card further below. 🙂
Kathy says
Hello. My one daughter and I are vegan and gluten free. We don’t eat corn,wheat,milk or eggs. She recommended this recipe to make an apple pie but we don’t want to use the butter. Could coconut oil or MTC oil work or do we have to use the butter? Thanks
Mēgan says
Hi Kathy,
I would use shortening.
Nama says
Dear Megan, I did the pie crust last week and it's soo good! I would like to do it again but I don't have millet and it's hard to find right now.... do you have any suggestions for a good substitute? I thought to replace the 1/3 cup millet with 1/6 cup rice flour and 1/6 cup sorghum
Mēgan says
Hi Nama,
Yay! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Yes, I think your thought of replacing the millet with half rice flour and half sorghum is a good one. 🙂
Megan
naaly says
Hey Megan love your recipes! I tried this pie crust the texture was amazing! But the crust had a bit of bitterness I did research about the flours and found that millet has a bit of bitter taste....do you have Idea what to do? Maybe to add more sugar? I can imagine that it's hard to know because the flours are a bit different from each country but I really want to make this pie crust again:)
Mēgan says
Hi Naaly,
Thank you so much for telling me that! Every great once in a while I’ll get a flour that has a bitter taste to it. Sometimes it’s been the millet, sometimes it’s been the brown rice flour, and sometimes its been the sorghum flour! Which is totally frustrating, because it’d be easier if it was continuously just one flour that had that taste to it.
When I’ve noticed it’s been the brown rice flour, it’s when I’ve used additional to roll with. This happened to me when I was rolling GF sugar cookies, and it was very clear it was the brown rice flour.
Other times, I’ve wet my finger, stuck it into the flour, and tasted it. Now sometimes raw GF flours do taste bitter, but sometimes it’s overwhelmingly so. Smell your flours. If they taste yucky AND have an off-putting smell, throw them out and open a fresh bag.
I hope that helps!!
cynthia says
hi
last winter i got tired of my son's complaints about the crust i put on his chicken pot pies. he knows that i have been removing gluten from his diet as both I & my spouse, his dad are gluten free. trying to keep a clean kitchen. i had been randomly throwing crusts together, depending upon what was in the pantry.
i didnt want to reinvent the wheel. i tend to read a lot of recipes & adapt if i have to. i am a food scientist.
so i took 6 recipes for gf pie crust & made them side by side including your recipe. tried picking recipes having a variety of ingredients for comparison. 3 were objectionable (don't care for garbanzo beans as in bob's red mill). America's Test Kitchen was passable, but nothing to jump and down about (their gf recipes are so rice flour dependent). yours was number one with a close second by GF Girl (i am a fan of hers. great explanations).
we thought yours was perfect. texture, tenderness, flavor, browning, color. definite keeper just as it is.
Mēgan says
Your comment made my day, Cynthia! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know that! Really appreciate it!
Alene says
Your crust looks divine! I too can't eat rice at all so I was happy to see your recommendation to replace the rice flour for half millet and half sorghum. I tried that with another gluten free recipe and it worked perfectly. It was a cake, I think. So I am looking forward to trying this out in your pie crust. I am doing that asap since Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Thank you!
Mēgan says
Hi Alene,
You're so welcome - I hope you love it as much as we do!
Jen says
I made this crust and it was indeed wonderful! The texture was fantastic--flakey yet sturdy. It broke a little during rolling and transferring (despite using a pie bag), but way, way less than any other GF pie crust I've tried. I made it with all butter so that may have had something to do with it. However, there was a touch of bitterness in the flavor. Is this normal? Or could one of my ingredients be a bit off? All my flours smelled fine but I wondered if something could have been old and made it taste a little bitter? I'll definitely be back to try again, though! Thanks for a great recipe!
Mēgan says
Hi Jen, so happy you enjoyed the recipe! Occasionally, I'll get a bag of flour that doesn't smell rancid, but still gives off a bitter aftertaste. It's really strange - and I've experienced it with sorghum, millet, and brown rice flour - it's never just been one flour I've had that experience with.
Nancy says
Megan, Over the past year my body has developed a sensitivity to tree nuts and coconut, two of my favorite foods, unfortunately! The almond flour/tapioca crust I developed back in 2016 was now off the table. I have tried a number of crust recipes since then and was disappointed with each one. I ordered the correct flours before attempting your recipe.
I didn't want it to fail due to the use of a substitution. I used unsalted grass-fed butter as the fat. Bottom line, this was a wonderful, flaky crust and a big hit. Thanks!
Mēgan says
So happy to hear that, Nancy! Thank you for sharing!
Sue says
Will the recipe ingredients be enough to make apple pie crust? Top and bottom? It looks really good and I’m thinking to make it today. Thanks
Mēgan says
Hi Sue, You'll need to double the recipe if you want enough for a top and bottom crust.
Amber Boney says
This sound amazing! I like using Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 flour because I don't have to buy so many different flours. Will it work in this recipe? How much should I use? Thanks
Mēgan says
Hi Amber,
In this particular recipe, I wouldn't recommend using Bob's 1 to 1 blend. It contains high amounts of rice flour, which tends to lend a gummy texture.
Lucy says
This looks delicious and I adore that it's nightshade free, as my four year old has a problem with dairy, potatoes and wheat. I have a lot of white/brown rice flour mix; would it work with this instead of just brown rice flour, do you think?
Mēgan says
Hi Lucy, yes- I think that would work just fine!
Jill says
Hi Megan- just want to ask how you measure flours? Lightly spoon into cups and level off? I'm more accustomed to weighing but I saw the earlier question regarding this ; ) Thank you!!
Mēgan says
Hi Jill,
Yes, I lightly spoon into cups and level off with the back of a butter knife. 🙂 Great question - thanks for asking!
Alene says
Hi. I can no longer eat any rice at all. I have to be gluten free too, so what do you think I could replace the small amount of rice flour in the recipe with? Is it for texture or to hold things together? Your crust looks exquisite, and I so want to make it. Thank you.
Mēgan says
Hi Alene,
You could try subbing a mix of more sorghum flour and millet flour.
Jan says
Hi, Can I use regular vinegar instead? (Can’t have lemon juice either) Can’t wait to try this crust!!! 😀
Mēgan says
Yes, white vinegar will work just fine!
Alexandra Binder says
Hi, what do you think, can I replace the rice flour with cassava...
Mēgan says
I don't recommend that. Cassava flour requires more moisture than rice flour.
Alene says
What can I substitute for the rice flour? I can't eat any rice at all. I actually got arsenic poisoning from all the rice I was eating. It was frightening. I'm hoping that something can take its place. This sounds like a wonderful pie crust recipe. Thank you. And I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Mēgan says
Hi Alene, Thank you! You might try subbing more sorghum and millet flour for the brown rice flour.
Anna says
Megan, I just read ALL the comments under this recipe, and some of them mention ingredients that I don't see in the recipe currently posted. Did you at one time have coconut sugar as an ingredient? Maple sugar? Or did those comments get posted under this pie crust by mistake? And in one of your responses you suggested subbing in "more tapioca starch" but in another response you stated that you didn't recommend subbing tapioca for arrowroot because it could lead to gumminess. I don't mean this as a criticism, I'm just confused. I plan on using this recipe and want to have the best version.
Mēgan says
Hi Anna,
Great questions. This is an old recipe (I think at least 10 years??), and while I have updated the blog post here and there, I've never made significant changes to the actual recipe. It never has included sugar in any form. As far as the comments, my guess is they are older comments, and maybe were asking about another pie recipe (like my pumpkin or pecan pies). Now, after all these years, I can tell you that while I prefer using the arrowroot starch, tapioca starch works okay too. I hope that answered all of you questions! Happy Thanksgiving!
Lynn Waters says
I used your recipe (subbing chickpea flour for millet because it’s what I had in hand) and made blueberry hand pies. I would post a photo if it allowed, but let’s just say these giant hand pies held up completely sturdy when eating!
Mēgan says
I'm glad you enjoyed them!