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Our easy Pie Crust recipe makes the most flakey, tender, and flavorful crust, thanks to butter, shortening, flour and salt. The recipe makes two crusts, so you can make a double-crust pie or save one for another day.
Homemade Pie Crust is easy and inexpensive!
If you are going to make anything from scratch, homemade pie crust is the right choice! You only need 4 ingredients, and it takes just a few minutes of time. I’ve been making homemade pies for decades (since I was a pre-teen!) and I have several tips for a fail-proof pie crust.
Why use butter and shortening in pie crust? After years of making pie, I’m convinced the best crust uses both butter and shortening. Butter gives you that rich flavor and flaky layers. Shortening makes the crust tender and the dough easier to work with, and it helps the crust hold its shape in the oven. You CAN use all butter in this recipe if you would like (I have done so and it’s still delicious).
Pro Tip: Pie dough freezes great, so I like to make this pie crust recipe weeks ahead of time (especially for Thanksgiving), so that it’s ready to roll (pun untended 🙂 ).
Use this pie crust in any of our pie recipes, like Chocolate Pecan Pie, Fresh Peach Pie, Chicken Pot Pie, Eggnog Pie, Apple Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, and Coconut Cream Pie!
Pie Crust Ingredients:
- All Purpose Flour
- Kosher Salt – essential for flavor.
- Butter – helps with rich flavor and flaky layers. I use frozen butter and grate it into the flour, so that it stays cold but is easy to cut into the dough.
- Shortening – helps make the dough tender, easy to handle and prevents shrinking. I chill the shortening ahead of time. You want all the fats in the pie to be cold!
- Water – Using ice-cold water is critical because it helps keeps the butter and shortening firm throughout the mixing process. When those small pockets of cold fat melt in the hot oven, they release steam, creating the light, airy layers of a perfect pie crust.
How to make Pie Crust:
Make Pastry Dough: Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Ice water: Add ice cubes to a measuring cup, fill with ½ cup cold water, and set aside.
Add fats: Grate the frozen butter into the flour, or cut it into very small pieces. Add the chilled shortening and use a pastry blender or fork to cut in both fats until well combined and crumbly.
Combine: Mix in ice water a spoonful at a time until the dough begins to form a ball; you may not need all the water. Avoid over-mixing, just gently shape into a ball and divide in two. Gently flatten each piece into a disk.
Refrigerate: Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 2 hours, or freeze for 30 minutes (or you can stop here and freeze a few months if you want to make-ahead). This chill is required to keep the fats cold.
Roll and Shape: Roll the dough on a floured countertop, working from the center outward, into a circle about 1 inch wider than your pie dish. (If helpful, lay a damp cloth flat on the counter, cover with parchment, and lightly flour the parchment and dough. The damp cloth keeps the parchment from moving. Gently turn the pie crust dough into the pie dish and remove the parchment.) Settle rolled out dough into the bottom and sides of the pan (don’t stretch it), then trim and crimp the edges.
Fill or Blind Bake: For a pie that needs an unbaked crust, add the filling and follow that pie recipe’s baking instructions. To blind bake, line the crust with a large piece of parchment and add pie weights (or 1-2 cups dry beans or dry rice), to prevent shrinking. Bake at 375°F for 15-20 minutes. Carefully lift out the parchment and weights, prick the bottom with a fork, and bake another 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Let the homemade pie crust cool before filling.
Pie Crust Troubleshooting
My Biggest Tip: Keep your dough cold! I know it’s tempting to skip ahead, but let it chill before you roll it out (and even after you roll it out and place it in the pie pan). It really does make the difference between a good crust and a great one when the fats are cold going into the oven, so that you get the flakey layers you want.
Why is my crust tough instead of flaky?
This usually means the dough got overworked or had too much water. Both build up gluten, and gluten makes a crust chewy. Handle the dough as little as you can, and add ice water a little at a time, only until the dough holds together when you form it into a ball.
Why did my crust shrink down the sides of the pan?
Either the dough wasn’t chilled long enough or it got stretched to fit the pan. I like to chill it twice, once after rolling and again after it’s shaped in the pan, so the gluten has time to relax. Also, when you transfer the dough into the pie dish, let it drape in loosely and don’t pull/stretch it.
Why is my dough cracking when I roll it?
It’s either too cold or too dry. Let the chilled disc sit on the counter for 5–10 minutes before you roll it. If the edges still look dry and crumbly, sprinkle on a few drops of ice water.
How do I keep the edges from burning?
When the edges turn light golden, usually about halfway through baking, cover them loosely with a ring of foil or a pie shield. That keeps them from over-browning while the rest of the pie finishes baking.
Easy Pie Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup vegetable shortening, , chilled
- 1/2 cup ice water
Instructions
- Mix flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add ice cubes to a measuring cup and fill with ½ cup cold water. Set aside.2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Add fats: Grate frozen butter into the bowl, or cut it into very small pieces. Add chilled shortening and use a pastry blender or fork to cut the fats into the flour until well combined and resembles coarse crumbs.6 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter, ¾ cup vegetable shortening
- Add ice water a spoonful at a time, mixing until the dough begins to come together into a ball. Be careful not to over mix, and you may not need all of the water. Gently mold the dough into a ball.½ cup ice water
- Divide dough into 2 pieces and press each to flatten into a disk.
- Refrigerate: Cover dough discs with plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough for 2 hours (or freeze for 30 minutes). Refrigeration is mandatory as you need the fats in the pie dough to be cold when it's rolled out and placed in oven).
- Roll out dough: Lightly flour the parchment and dough and roll the dough into a large circle, about 1-inch larger then the diameter of your pie dish. Always start at the center of the crust, and roll outwards. If you're new to pie making, it may be helpful to use this method: dampen a large cloth and lay it flat on your countertop, with a large piece of parchment paper over it (the damp towel will keep the parchment from moving). Roll out the dough and then use the parchment paper to help lift the pie and gently flip into the pie pan.
- Place in pie pan: Gently place the dough into your pie dish and settle it into the bottom and sides of the pan. (Don't pull the dough to fit–just drape it gently in to fill the pan. This will help prevent shrinking). Trim and crimp the edges of the crust. (At this point I like to stick the pie in the fridge again, while I prepare the filling, to make sure the dough is cold before it goes in the oven.)
- For Pies requiring an unbaked pie crust (like pumpkin, apple, or even chicken pot pie): Fill the unbaked crust with pie filling, add top crust if needed, and bake according to pie recipe instructions.
- For a Blind-Baked Pie Crust (pre-baked crust) you need pie weights, dry beans or dry rice. (Without pie weights the crust will shrink into the pan as it bakes). Place a large piece of parchment paper into the pan, over the unbaked crust and add pie weights, (or 1-2 cups dry beans, or dry rice) on top. Bake at 375° F for 15-20 minutes. Remove pie weights by carefully lifting up on parchment paper. Prick the bottom of the pie crust with a fork, then return to oven for 10-15 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow crust to cool before adding filling.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe November 2016. Updated March 2018, November 2022, October 2024 and October 2026.
I use this recipe every time I make a pot pie or dessert and it has never failed me. If you are looking for a good crust recipe, this is the best imo. Flakey, tastes absolutely stellar.
I have tried this recipe for the first time and it turned out great. I will always use this one. Flakey, delicious. My pot pie was so good.
I got 1,000 compliments on the homemade crust at Thanksgiving. It also helped that the inside was filled with the delicious berry pie recipe on this website as well. Thanks Lauren!
Yay, that makes me so happy! Thanks for sharing Kendal <3
I thought I followed this recipe exactly, but when I put it in the oven to bake it all melted to the bottom of my pie pan in an unusable crusty puddle. (The result was flaky and amazing tasting… but more a floury cookie lump than a crust)
Any tips for troubleshooting where I went wrong?
Hi JJ, I’m sorry that happened–I wonder if the butter got too warm. If it takes you too long to roll out and shape the crust, next time you could put the finished crust (uncooked) in the fridge for 30 minutes or so before putting it directly into the oven.This will help re-solidify the butter. It’s really important that the butter and shortening are very cold.
With using butter and shortening, how do you think ths would this work in a food processor, instead of cutting in by hand, do you think it would work like pulsing with just butter or do you think it’d blend to much with the shortening….?
Hi Jen, I would cut in the shortening by hand. You could do the butter with the food processor.
Hi, I see at the top it says this recipe makes 3 pie crusts, then in the instructions it tells you to split it into two balls and chill, then roll them out. So is this recipe for two or three pie crusts? I’ve never made one from scratch and I don’t want to make it too thick.
Thank you!
Hi Talena, this recipe makes TWO pie crusts 🙂
Two questions, please. Your introduction says that this makes 3 crusts, but the directions indicate 2. Also, someone mentioned adding egg, but I didn’t see any egg in the Ingredients. Can you clarify, please 🙂
This is my grandmother’s pie crust recipe almost exactly! Thanks for the exact measurements – hers never had them.
Hi Lynda, sorry for the confusion, I did some tweaking to the recipe last month and eliminated the egg. It now makes 2 crusts. Enjoy!
Hello to you from Holland! I love this receipe and will use it today to preparere for my birthday tomorrow!
I just wonder what”crimping the edges ” is?
Hi Yolanda, it’s just a decorative wave you make along the outer edge of the pie crust using your forefinger and thumb. It’s just to make it look pretty 🙂 Happy Birthday!
hi, thank you for this wonderful recipe. I love the fact I can store away in the freezer! But I’m just wondering if I need to blind bake it before cooking the filling.? Thank you.
Hi Lina,
It depends on what your filling the pie with. Some pies, like pumpkin, apple, or other pies with a top crust you would fill in a unbaked pie shell. If it’s a cream filling like banana cream etc, you would want to bake it first…So it depends on what kind of pie you’re making…
I’m sorry if I missed something but I read Kami’s comment above and can’t find any butter in your recipe. Could she mean substitute Crisco for butter?
FYI, I’ve never put egg in my crust (anxious to try it though) but I ALWAYS use “Butter Flavored Crisco”. It’s the best of both worlds in my opinion. Good for cookies too!
The recipe calls for 6 Tablespoons of butter AND 3/4 cup of vegetable shortning and no eggs (not sure where you got that from). A post states that the butter flavored Crisco can produce a “fake” butter flavor. I agree. My mother, who was a fantastic pie crust maker, even put the bowl in the frig/freezer to ensure the ingredients stayed cold.
Everything tastes better from scratch! I can’t wait to try this. Do you think it would work if I substitute Crisco for real butter?
I couldn’t find the general place to comment so I just replied to Kami. I am 68 yrs old and been in the kitchen more than any other place, and made yeast bread and many other things, but if you want to hear me curse just come around when I am TRYING to make a pie crust, drives me crazy! I feel bad that I haven’t accomplished this feat, so I am going to hand this over to my husband, he is good with his hands. My problem was always the handling the dough to the pan, always wanted to break apart. This very different than making yeast dough which you can manipulate as much as you want to. When trying to mix with the water it is difficult to get it all mixed together without adding too much water. But, am going to give it another try or let my husband try. This is the basic recipe I used but didn’t add the butter. Wish me luck, and thanks for your recipe and help. You were able to give good instructions and tips.
I use a pastry sheet. Roll out dough to pie pan measurement put hand under plastic sheet flip crust onto pie plate, peel off pastry sheet. Using flour under pastry when rolling out makes it simple. I’ve used a pastry sheet since I bought my first one at a Tupperware party 40 years ago. I’ve been through many, my last one I bought on Ebay.
I use butter flavored crisco for my pie crust.
I love putting them in the freezer until I am ready to use them! I should do that more often! Looks amazing!
It was a little difficult to comment w/o sharing with someone else. You did not mention pie pan size in the instructions. So I scrolled down and read the instruction for an empty pie shell. There it mentioned 9 inch. With all the different pie pans out there I felt it was important to mention this.
Thank you.
This recipe is big enough for 2 crusts for any size of pie pan.
Ah. That answers my question. Thank you Lauren. Making Christmas pies from scratch. Last time was in the 60’s so must be very careful to follow these steps carefully. Huge pie lover.