This homemade Pie Crust recipe is easy enough for ANYONE to make and way better than store-bought! Perfect for desserts and main dishes.
Making pie pastry doesn’t have to be intimidating! Everyone can make tender, flaky pie crust with only 5 ingredients (one of which is water) and bring your pies to the next level.
What You’ll Find In This Post
Tonia’s Notes
After all of these years of baking and cooking, I decided it was finally time to start making homemade pie crust. I wanted a recipe that was super easy to make yet tasted delicious. This pie crust recipe comes together quickly in a stand mixer and rolls out beautifully after 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
How To Make Homemade Pie Crust
Start by putting the flour, cold cubed butter, and shortening in the stand mixer bowl. Mix on low speed until the mixture is crumbly, with some larger pieces of butter remaining.
Add the ice water and vinegar. Stir on low until just moistened. Do not overmix the dough.
To ensure that your water is ice cold, put ice and cold water in a bowl. Then, when ready to use the water, measure out the amount you need from the bowl of ice water, leaving the ice cubes behind.
Scrape the dough out onto a floured surface and use your hands to flatten it into a rectangle.
Fold the dough in thirds and then flatten and fold again. This folding action will help make flaky layers in your crust.
Divide the dough into two halves and wrap them in plastic wrap. Place the dough balls in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes or up to two days.
Remove the pie crust dough from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and place the dough on a floured surface.
Roll out the pie crust to be larger than the pie plate you plan to use.
Transfer the dough to the pie plate and press it onto the bottom and sides of the plate. Then, use a knife or kitchen shears to trim the excess dough.
Tuck the edge of the pie crust dough under itself and use your fingers to flute the edges. Or use a fork to crimp the edges.
At this point, you can blind bake the pie crust, add your filling, or cover it with plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator. Chilling it a second time in the refrigerator will result in the flakiest crust.
Frequently Asked
I like to use a combination of butter and shortening when making pie crusts. The butter brings the flavor, and since shortening is 100% fat, it makes for a flakier crust. That being said, you can use all butter, all shortening, or any combination you prefer.
Yes, you can make this pie crust recipe by hand if you prefer. You can use your fingers to crumble the butter and shortening into the flour. Or you can use a pastry blender. Another option is to pulse the dough in a food processor.
Yes, you can store this pie crust dough in the freezer. Place the prepared, wrapped dough in an airtight freezer bag and store it in the freezer for up to two months. When ready to use, allow it to thaw before rolling out.
Blind baking (or pre-baking) a pie crust means that you bake it empty without any fillings. This method is used when you want to make cold cream pies or to prevent soggy crusts for custard pies or quiches.
Once your pie crust is in your pie plate, line it with foil and fill the foil with pie weights or dried beans. Bake the crust at 400˚F for 20 minutes. Then, remove it from the oven, remove the foil and pie weights or beans, and return it to the oven for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden.
Here are some ways to use this dough:
- Easy Pecan Pie is hands-down our FAVORITE PIE EVER and a must for every holiday!
- Strawberry Rhubarb Pie is a sweet, tangy treat and a quintessential summer dessert.
- This Dutch Apple Pie tastes amazing and is super easy!
- Here’s a Peach Pie recipe that is just like grandma used to make
Homemade Pie Crust Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup cold salted butter, cut into small cubes
- ¼ cup shortening
- ¾ cup ice cold water
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
Instructions
- Mix flour, butter, and shortening on low until crumbly with some larger pieces of butter remaining.
- Add the ice cold water and vinegar. Mix until the dough starts to come together.
- Turn out onto a floured surface. Press into a rectangle. Fold the dough into thirds (see photos or video for demonstration). Press to flatten again and then fold into thirds again.
- Cut the dough in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days). Or place the wrapped dough in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to two months.
- Remove from the refrigerator, remove the plastic wrap, and place it on a floured surface.
- Roll the dough out until it is larger than your pie plate. Transfer the dough to the pie plate and press it onto the bottom and sides of the plate.
- Use a knife or kitchen shears to trim the excess dough. Tuck the edge of the pie crust dough under itself and use your fingers to flute the edges. Or use a fork to crimp the edges.
- At this point, you can blind bake the pie crust, add your filling and bake the pie, or cover it with plastic wrap and return it to the refrigerator. Chilling it a second time in the refrigerator will result in the flakiest crust.
Mary says
Best pie crust and best ‘pee-can’ Pie EVER!! I made 2 for Thanksgiving..overwhelming asks to make again for Christmas!!..and instead of birthday cake!! 😄
Tonia says
Yayyyyy!! That’s how much my family loves it too!!
Cindy Di says
Best crust recipe for star d mixer I have used
Cindy Di says
I have tried to make pie crust with a few recipes with no good results. I used this recipe to make her easy pecan pie and it is the easiest and BEST flaky pie crust. Used my stand mixer. The dough came together before I had added all of the water so I stopped and followed the recipe from there. Absolutely wonderful.
Tonia says
Thank you so much for stopping back to share your experience! I always found pie crust difficult so I wanted to figure out a way to make it easy and delicious. I’ve already made this crust so many times in the past month. Happy Thanksgiving! ~Tonia