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.
My roommate is vegan, so I was searching for a vegan pie crust to use for a cherry pie. This turned out so well! I just doubled the butter instead of using vegetable shortening, and it turned out swell. I also doubled the recipe to use the top layer and bottom. Made the dough, and stuck it in the fridge for a few hours before I took it out to roll it and lattice it. Definitely will use again! Very tasty and would never have guessed it is Vegan.
I’m so glad it turned out great!!
The pie crust looks so nice. Is it necessary to bake the crust before we use it for any kind of filling? Or do they bake well together?
Thanks! I do not pre-bake it, except for a no-bake pie. There may be some instances where you would want to pre-bake the crust, but for apple or pumpkin pie, for example, I do not.
Hi Nora,
Since making your “vegan basics butter” it is now the ONLY butter we use in our household. I remember reading that it is tried and tested and baking approved, so I pressume it will work in this recipe?
Also, I’m not familiar with vegetable shortening at all. I’ve never used this for anything before and I’m not even sure I’d find it in the stores near me. Is there any alternative to this or would I need to try the likes of Amazon to get vegetable shortening? Thank you so much for your brilliant recipes – it has made our transition from an omni diet to a vegan diet very easy!
That’s great to hear, thank you! Yes, I have made the pie crust using it. You don’t have to use vegetable shortening, but it does make the crust more flaky. However, sometimes I use all vegan butter and it’s just fine to me! So simply sub more of the vegan butter, but make sure it’s cold and do not handle the crust too much. Hope that helps, and thank you so much!
I made this pie tonight as a “trial run” for Family Day. It was literally the best pumpkin pie I have ever had. And to be honest, I don’t even like pumpkin pie. This is AMAZING. Thank you for sharing. I will make this over and over again.
Thank you so much, I’m glad you loved the pie!
Due to allergies, will it work, if i do not use shortening?
It does work with all vegan butter, but I find it’s harder to get the crust flaky. Make sure everything is very cold and try not to handle the dough much for best results.
So yummy!
I tried it already. my son love it much! Thank your sharing!
You’re welcome!! So glad it’s yummy!
It would be great if there is a converter to the metric system in the recipes.
Trying it out the recipe at the moment, but had to convert everything to grams first.
Thank you! There is a metric conversion available if you click the “metric” tab below the ingredients list. Hope that helps!
Amazing, delicious, easy, fast, flaky and yummy! Thank-you!!
You’re welcome!!
Fantastic recipe! I was nervous about making pie crust for a vegan quiche, but this came out perfectly. It was so easy to follow.
For a savory touch, I omitted the sugar and instead used ~1/4 tsp dried tarragon and ~1/4 tsp dried thyme. Delicious! Thank you Nora!
You’re so welcome!!
PHENOMENAL! Best crust I have ever had, not an exaggeration! I don’t ever leave comments/reviews but this was incredible and deserves recognition so thank you!
You’re welcome!
This is an excellent DIY vegan pie crust recipe! I loved that I could let the food processor do the work ! It was easy and delicious. I used it to make my vegan pot pies and the whole family loved the crust.
Thank you again Nora!
You’re welcome! Glad you liked it!
Does this make a single crust?
Yes.
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!
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!
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 🙂
Yes, I think you could but I haven’t tried it myself. Thanks!
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.
I’m so glad it turned out well!
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!!
You’re welcome! Thanks for the wonderful comment!
Delicious!
I don’t have a good processor. Suggestions without?
If you look in the “Notes” section, I give instructions on how to make it without one. Thanks!
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?
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.
Have you tried using Miyokos butter? Earth Balance is made from soy which I don’t eat –
Yes I love Miyoko’s butter, so good! It should work just fine.
Earth Balance has soy-free butters! They are great, and better than Miyokos in my opinion.
Hi Nora! Could I just add 1/4 more cup vegan butter instead of shortening? Or would that change the texture, etc?
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.
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?
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!
Hi, are there any premise vegan pie crusts
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.
What is vegetable shortening? (English is not my home language) thank you!
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.
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.
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!
my pie crust never turns out always fall into pieces whatever I do
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.
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?
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!
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!!!
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!