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.
I’ve been using this recipe for a while and it always turns out great!
Will this be too crumbly for a vegan Wellington (no pie plate to help it keep together) or do you think it’ll work?
I think it would work, but I would use puff pastry instead of possible, for a wellington.
AMAZING!!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
If I substitute regular butter do I need to make any adjustments?
It should work the same, it just obviously won’t be vegan. 🙂
This is my first time using vegan butter for a pie crust. I’m hoping to make a two crust blueberry pie for dinner with my vegan friends. Confused by your recipe when I click on “2” vs “1” because while the amount of flour and other dry ingredients double, the per tablespoon amount of the “fats” does not.
Yes, sorry about that but I can’t get that text (the tablespoons) to double automatically. But it would be 8 tablespoons of each doubled (1/2 cup each).
Best pie crust ever! I make it all the time.
Now I’m just wondering if Whole Wheat Pastry Flour will work in this?
Thanks! 🙂
I think whole wheat flour will work, it just just taste very different and not be as flaky. Glad you love it, thank you!
Hi Nora,
What brand of shortening have you had the most success with? The recipe says cut into pieces. Most of the ones I’ve seen like Spectrum All Vegetable Shortening comes in a tub. Thank you!
I like Spectrum brand the best, but I have used others and they all work the same. Hope this helps!
Hi Nora. Thank you for your great recipes! Do you use Earth Balance tub or sticks for the crust? Thank you!
You are welcome, Maria! Thank you for using my recipes! I use the Earth Balance sticks! Happy cooking!
Hi Nora
I can’t find any shortening in France.
Can I substitute with more vegan butter?
Merci
Flo
Yes, you can substitute more vegan butter, no problem. Enjoy!
I loved making this pie crust last Thanksgiving! Do you think I could use this recipe for mini pies?
Yes, you definitely could! That sounds fun! I know others have made mini pies as well. I”m glad you love the crust. Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
The recipe looks easy to cook. Thanks for sharing!
I made this for your vegan quiche recipe and it turned out PERFECTLY, (maybe, possibly just slightly undercooked). I will be using this pie crust recipe exclusively moving forward. Thank you!!!
You are welcome! I’m glad the crust turned out perfect for you! I’m thrilled this will be your go-to pie crust recipe! Thank you so much for taking time to share your great review and comments! Happy cooking!
I’ve always been a pretty good baker, but pastry dough has been my downfall for as long as I can remember.
It was, until I found your recipe. I had mixed up a vegan pumpkin pie filling and took yet another try at a pie dough recipe (not yours). It failed… Miserably.
Then I came here, because your recipes are always amazing, promising myself to give up on pie crust forever if I couldn’t pull it off. All I can say is that you completely saved my pie (and my butt haha), because it turned out *perfectly*. I can’t thank you enough!
Hi Thea. What a wonderful story about pie crust, with a happy ending! I’m am so glad my pie crust worked for you, and that you don’t have to give up on pie crusts! Thank you for sharing your great review and very fun comments! Happy cooking!
I’ve been searching for a great vegan pie crust for 6 years (since I became vegan) and this is it!! It’s even better than the ones I used to use that had egg and dairy in them. Thank you, Nora!!
Does this make 1 pie dough? If I want it for a double crust fruit pie should I double the recipe?
Yes, the recipe makes 1 pie crust. Double it for a top and bottom crust. Thanks!
I have a recipe for a pumpkin pot pie that I want to use for Thanksgiving guests who vegan. The crust is not vegan so I would like to use this recipe. The original recipe calls for some grated Parmesan cheese to be added in the pie dough. Could I add some vegan Parmesan to this recipe and if so, how much and what brand would you recipe? Thanks!
I’ve never added vegan parmesan to the pie crust, but I think you probably could. I love Violife’s parm so I’d probably use that, grated of course. Maybe 1/4-1/2 cup? You could try whatever the original recipe calls for. Sounds good, enjoy!
Thanks!
Is there any substitute for shortening?
You can just use all vegan butter if you want, it works well.
I absolutely love this recipe. It’s so good, yet healthy.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! I’m glad you love the pie crust!
Can I use margarine as a substitute to v. butter? It’s hard to get v. butter here.
You probably can, yes.
Could this be used to make Cornish pasties ?
I don’t see why not!
I am thinking of trying this recipe for thanksgiving and just wondering if the pie crust can be rolled out and frozen to be taken out of the freezer before using
Yes, that works well. Thanks!
Thank you for the recipe. I’m wondering if you can recommend an English alternative vegan butter as I don’t recognise the brand. Anyone else from England with any options gratefully received x
Any vegan friendly butter or spread should work, but I’m not familiar with what brands you have there, sorry! Maybe someone else can answer. 🙂
Hi, I live in London and I’ve made this before using either naturali block or flora plant butter block for the butter and trex for the shortening. You can find them in sainsburys or Tesco
Thank you for sharing this information!
Dreamy as always! I always add more salt to pastry recipes so I’d say I did at least 3/4 tsp per batch. Thank you for the amazing vegan recipes you share!
Could I use vegan butter instead of shortening? I’m using this for the pot pie.
Yes, you can use all vegan butter, it works well. Thanks!
How long and at what temperature do you bake it at? Thanks
That largely depends on what kind of pie you are making. Do you need a fully cooked crust for a no bake pie? If so, I place a large piece of foil in the pie dish with the crust, fill it with pie weights or sugar, and bake for 10-15 minutes at 425. Remove the weights and foil, poke with a fork a few times in the bottom, then return to the oven for about 10 more minutes until cooked.
Can you refrigerate or freeze it without any problems?
Yes, that is fine. You can refrigerate it or freeze before baking. It will only keep in the refrigerator for about 3 days before using.