Pies are such a beloved holiday tradition! And since I’m a firm believer that everyone deserves a great-tasting slice of homemade pie, I’m sharing my tried-n-true, always scrumptious, perfect grain-free pie crust recipe with you, including a helpful photo tutorial below.
Whether you’re a seasoned pie-baking master, or you’ve yet to roll out a flaky crust and fill it full of yumminess, this tasty grain-free, dairy-free pie crust is super simple! And best of all, it tastes great with whatever delectable filling is your favorite. It’s an exclusive recipe from my new cookbook, Everyday Grain-Free Baking.
In fact, I’ve included more than a half-dozen classic pie recipes in Everyday Grain-Free Baking, including my secret method for creating grain-free fruit-filled pies that are absolutely outstanding!
My heart in creating Everyday Grain-Free Baking is to transform the everyday comfort foods we each hold dear into delightfully flavorful and satisfying GF creations that are so remarkably similar to traditional gluten-based foods that everyone will enjoy these recipes, whether or not they’re living a GF lifestyle.
Finding recipes that will work for everyone that actually taste AMAZING is what Everyday Grain-Free Baking is all about! So if you haven’t already, I encourage you to grab a copy today and rediscover the joy of baking everyday favorites your whole family will love!
(P.S. It also makes a great gift for your gluten-free, grain-free friends!)
Recipe courtesy of Everyday Grain-Free Baking Cookbook
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups blanched almond flour
- 1 Tbsp coconut flour
- 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin, preferably grassfed
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 3 Tbsp palm shortening
- 1 Tbsp honey
- 1 large egg white
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, gelatin and salt. Pulse in the palm shortening, until it’s well incorporated. If you don’t have a food processor, use a pastry cutter (or two knifes) to cut the shortening into the flour.
- Add the honey and egg white and pulse until a dough ball forms.
- Carefully remove the dough and shape it into a disk. Wrap in plastic and place it in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a 9-inch pie dish with palm shortening.
- Once dough is chilled, remove it from the fridge and place it into the prepared pie dish.
- As shown in the photos below, starting with the sides of the dish, break off small strips of dough and press them along the edge of the dish to form a sturdy crust. (This will help keep your filling in place when you slice the baked pie.) Press the remaining dough evenly along the bottom of the dish to connect the bottom and sides together. Poke the bottom of the crust with a fork.
- Bake 12-14 minutes until crust is golden brown. Allow the crust to cool and then fill it as desired.
How to Make the Perfect Grain-Free Pie Crust
Step One: Shape the Crust
My simple method for an evenly baked, sturdy pie crust is to break off even pieces of the dough and press them along the sides of the dish. Place the remaining dough in the center. Start by building a nice thick and even crust along the sides of the dish. (This will help keep your filling in place when you slice the baked pie.) Then, press the remaining dough evenly along the bottom of the dish to connect the bottom and sides together.
Step Two: Add a Decorative Touch
A perfect pie crust should be pretty – pretty easy that is! I learned this simple technique for creating a decorative pie crust from my Grandma. Use your index fingers and thumbs as shown in the photo above to gently pinch the edges to create a scalloped pattern. Another simple method is to use a fork to press the crust gently against the side of the dish to create a decorative striped pattern.
Step Three: Bake, Fill & Enjoy!
Of course, the best part is enjoying your perfect grain-free pie crust with any number of your favorite fillings. And guess what, I have a secret for you … You don’t have to put up with over-baked grain-free pie crusts to enjoy classic desserts like pumpkin pie! I’ve got a simple method for making perfectly scrumptious pumpkin pie with a light flaky grain-free crust. What’s the secret? Pop over to my Perfect Pumpkin Pie recipe to get the delicious details!
The ingredient list calls for an egg but the instructions say to add an egg white. Would you mind clarifying that please? Thanks
My apologies, Holly! Thank you SO much for taking the time to point out this boo-boo! The ingredient list should read “1 large egg white” and I obviously missed typing “white.” I’ve made the correction now and again, appreciate you calling this to my attention. Happy baking! Blessings, Kelly 🙂
So if I was going to make a pumpkin pie would I bake the crust first or put the pie filling in and bake it all at once? I don’t want to ruin the crust. Excited to try this. Thanks!
I am so sorry I missed this. Hopefully you saw my pumpkin pie recipe I posted? I prefer to make a stovetop pumpkin filling so the crust doesn’t over bake. You can find the recipe here: http://thenourishinghome.com/2015/11/grain-free-pumpkin-pie/ Blessings to you for a Happy New Year! 🙂
My pie plates are 10″. Will this recipe work for a 10″ pie plate or do I need to increase it a little?
It will work, but the crust will be much thinner. 🙂
It worked beautifully. The crust was a little soggy on the bottom. Maybe that was because it was too thin. But it was the best GF pie crust I have ever had. Thank you for sharing it.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking time to send a kind note! 🙂
First Kelly, I want to thank you so much for all you do and all you have done to help people get well. You are such a blessing!!!
My question is, do you know if we can we use dehydrated coconut pulp leftover from making coconut milk that to replace the almond flour?
Thank you and blessings back at ya! 🙂 Allie
Hi, Allie. Apologies for the delay in responding to your kind note! Thank you so much for your sweet words! To answer your question, since coconut flour is a completely different type of flour (it’s highly absorbent), it requires a much different ratio of liquid and eggs than does blanched almond flour. So that means you need to completely change the recipe and cannot simply substitute with coconut flour. If you do a google search for “coconut flour pie crust” I’m sure you’ll find some options. Thanks again for your kind note! Hope you had a blessed Thanksgiving! 🙂 Kelly
Hi Kelly,
If I want to make my normal baked filling pumpkin pie, do I pre-bake this crust before putting in the pumpkin filling or do I fill and then bake? I have a pie shield and usually do not have a problem with the edges being overdone.
Thanks so much for the crust recipe!
Mary
Hi, Mary. Apologies for seeing this so late. When using this crust with a traditional pumpkin pie filling, I’d still recommend a partial pre-bake of about 5-6 minutes (just until the crust puffs slightly) before filling it. And as you said I’d definitely recommend using a pie shield. You may find as I did that even with the pie shield the crust overbrowns. But let us know how it turns out for you? Blessings and gratitude, Kelly 🙂
Kelly
You seem to bake a lot with almond and coconut flours. Do you use “gluten free” flours and if not, would you explain why you choose not to.
Thank you!
Hi, Diane. You are correct that I use blanched almond flour and coconut flour exclusively for all of my gluten-free baking. I explain in my cookbook, Everyday Grain-Free Baking, that I prefer to follow a grain-free lifestyle for the most part because of how instrumental this lifestyle has been in helping me to better manage my chronic autoimmune conditions. In addition, I prefer to avoid starch-based flours since they provide little nutritional value. Unfortunately many gluten-free flours are primarily starch based. And personally speaking, I don’t believe that starch-based GF flours create baked goods that taste as good as homemade baked goods using blanched almond flour and coconut flour. I understand that not everyone may agree or wish to bake grain-free, but since it’s my passion, I share grain-free recipes on my blog and via my published cookbook. Blessings to you, Kelly 🙂
Thank you for taking the time to explain!
Of course! My pleasure! 🙂 Thank you!
Wow that looks amazing! thank you for sharing!
XO Ellen from Ask Away
My son is allergic to nuts so I can’t use almond flour. Would it be okay to substitute the almond and coconut flour with an all purpose GF flour? Would this type of flour work with your recipes? Great website! Thanks!!
Hi, Kelly. Unfortunately, when it comes to grain-free flours, it’s not simple to substitute other flours because these flours require different ratios of liquid, fat and eggs. So the best bet would be to find a recipe using the all-purpose GF flour so you can ensure good results. Happy pie baking! 🙂 With blessings, Kelly