This healthy pie crust is so good no one will believe it's gluten-free, dairy-free, AND oil-free! Even if you don't *need* a pie crust with these characteristics, you'll fall in love with this one because it's the perfect combination of easy and delicious! One bowl, no fancy equipment, and no need to keep everything cold. Perfect for both sweet and savory recipes.
Why You'll LOVE It
This almond flour pie crust has me SO excited about pies! Can you tell?
My mind is swimming with possibilities, like lemon, coconut, chocolate, pumpkin, pear, salted chocolate pecan, and even healthy pecan pie!
And then there are the savory goals - tomato, kale, pot pie, and quiche.
Before we get into the easy step by step process, let me summarize for you exactly why I love this pie crust recipe and think you will, too!
- It contains no butter, oil or shortening yet still tastes buttery and rich.
- It looks just like traditional, white flour pie crust. If you're serving skeptical family and friends, you can imagine why this is important. The rice flour and tapioca starch combine with the almond flour to create the lovely, soft white color everyone is used to. And the natural fat in the almond flour creates a flaky, irresistible, almost shortbread-like texture.
- When I say this pie crust is easy, I'm not exaggerating. Even some experienced bakers find pie crusts intimidating, but this one will be your new best friend. There's no need to pre-chill the ingredients or equipment, and you don't have to rush or worry about your hands warming up the dough. You also don't have to worry about overworking the dough since we're not dealing with gluten.
- No need for pie weights! While traditional pie crusts tend to slump and slide down the sides of the pie plate during prebaking, this one stays exactly where you put it.
- The dough is very forgiving. You can literally just tear off pieces of dough to patch holes or imperfections.
- Use your favorite granulated sweetener, such as coconut, date, or organic cane sugar. Omit the sugar if using this crust with a savory recipe.
- Other gluten-free pie crusts made with 1:1 flour blends can be bland and gummy (and they require added fat), but the texture provided by almond flour is spot on.
- There's no need to oil the pie plate thanks to the natural fat content in almond flour.
- And if you're okay with gluten and follow a whole-food plant-based diet, you can replace the rice flour with a whole grain flour like spelt or whole wheat.
Can't do almond flour? Check out this nut-free vegan pie crust (made with sunflower seeds) or this gluten-free oatmeal pie crust.
Jump to:
How to Measure Almond Flour
Even though this crust is seriously easy, we are still baking. For a successful pie crust, it's important to measure accurately and pay attention as you move through the steps.
For the easiest prep and most consistent results every time, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale.
I use this affordable Escali digital scale. It's usually around $25 on Amazon, and there are plenty of other inexpensive options out there, too.
If you don't have a scale, thankfully, measuring almond flour is different than measuring other flours. So it's pretty easy to get an accurate amount even without a scale.
Instead of whisking the flour and then spooning it into the measuring cup, like you would with all-purpose flour, measure almond flour more like you would brown sugar. Scoop it up, and then lightly pack it into the measuring cup.
Step By Step Tutorial
If you're a visual person, be sure to watch the video (just before the recipe) to see the whole process in action.
Step 1: Whisk together the dry ingredients - almond flour, white rice flour (or substitute), tapioca starch, salt, and sugar, if using.
Step 2: Add 4 tablespoon of water, and mix well with a large spoon. Then add 1 or 2 more tablespoons of water, and stir again. The dough should look crumbly and moist, but when squeezed together with your hand, it won't completely hold together just yet.
Step 3: If needed, add just 1 more tablespoon of water and stir again. For me, it always takes 6 or 7 tablespoons of water to reach the proper consistency.
At this point the dough might remind you of sugar cookie dough (or maybe even Play-Doh), and when you squeeze a handful of it, it should look smooth and completely hold together.
If the dough still seems a bit crumbly, add half a tablespoon of water, and mix again. If you accidentally add too much water, mix in more almond flour.
Step 4: Form the dough into a ball.
Step 5: Place a piece of parchment paper (about 14 inches long) on the countertop. Place the dough ball on the parchment and use your palm to flatten it into a thick disc.
Step 6: As the outer edges crack, use your hands to gently smooth the cracks and reinforce the edges. Now you're ready for the rolling pin!
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Step 7 & Troubleshooting:
Slowly roll the dough with firm and steady pressure, from the inside toward the outer edges. Keep rolling, inside to out, moving around the dough until you have a circle about 12 inches in diameter (this is large enough for a 9-inch deep dish pie plate).
- If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle a little almond flour on top of the dough, and spread it around with your hand.
- If you realize the dough is too crumbly once you start working with it, return it to the bowl and mix in 1 more tablespoon of water. *Remember, you don't have to worry about over-mixing it because we're not dealing with gluten. So really get in there with your hand, and distribute the water!
Step 8: Pick up the parchment paper and flip the dough onto the pie plate (no need to grease the pan).
Slowly peel away the parchment. Don't worry if there are a few holes, tears or imperfections. They can easily be patched with scrap pieces of dough.
Step 9: Without stretching or tearing the dough, use your fingers to gently press it all the way into the corners of the pie plate. Use a knife to trim off excess dough around the edges.
Step 10: Make it pretty! Decorate the edges of your pie crust any way you like. I typically use the knuckle-crimp method because it's so easy.
Rotate the pie plate as you work your way around. The dough is very soft and forgiving, so you can use your fingers to smooth the tops and edges of the crimp as much as you need to.
Here's a great tutorial for various pie crust decorating methods: How to Crimp Pie Crust from Food52
And now you have a beautiful, oil-free, healthy vegan pie crust! Use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the crust before baking.
Baking Instructions
- To pair with a no-bake filling - bake in a 350°F oven for about 32 minutes or until crisp and golden. Cool completely before filling.
- For baked pies like pumpkin or pecan, pre-bake the crust for just 5 to 10 minutes before adding the filling, depending on the recipe.
- For pies with longer bake times (around 1 hour), a 5 minute pre-bake will suffice. Or skip it altogether, like I do in my vegan apple pie recipe. Cover the edges with foil or a pie shield if it starts to look too brown.
Can the dough be frozen or made in advance?
Absolutely! The vegan gluten-free pie dough can be made up to 3 days in advance and stored in the refrigerator. Wrap well with plastic wrap to maintain moisture.
It's also freezer-friendly. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then roll out and use as desired.
Ways to Use It
Use this healthy pie crust for:
- Vegan Key Lime Pie (GF, oil-free)
- Healthier Vegan Pecan Pie (GF, WFPB/oil-free)
- Vegan Chocolate Pecan Pie (GF)
- Cranberry Cream Pie (GF)
- Healthy Pumpkin Pie (GF, WFPB/oil-free)
- Fudgy Vegan Chocolate Pie (GF)
- Sweet Potato Pie (GF, WFPB/oil-free)
You can even create hand pies with it, and use it as a top crust for vegan pot pie (pictured above).
Find even more amazing vegan pie recipes here: 25 Pies for Thanksgiving!
More Ways to Use Almond Flour & Tapioca:
- Amazing Vegan Quesadillas
- Easy Oil-Free Vegan Queso
- Fudgy Almond Flour Brownies
- 3-Ingredient Almond Flour Cookies!
- Vegan Stuffed Crust Pizza
- Cauliflower Gratin
I hope I've inspired you to make your own vegan, gluten-free, healthy pie crust. If you try the recipe I would love to hear from you!
Leave a comment below and give it a star rating to let everyone know how your pie turned out. And if you're feeling social, tag a photo on Instagram with @myquietkitchen.
Recipe Video
Tap to play the video and see how easily the pie crust comes together!
Recipe
Vegan Gluten-Free Pie Crust (Easy & Oil-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups fine blanched almond flour (168 g) - This is critical to the recipe. See Note 1 for tips on measuring. For nut-free, see this pie crust recipe.
- ½ cup white or brown rice flour (70 g) - Can also use a wheat flour here, if you don't need gluten-free.
- ⅓ cup tapioca starch (40 g) - See Note 2.
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt (use ½ teaspoon for savory pies)
- 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar (omit for savory pies) - Can use another granulated sugar such as date, coconut, or brown sugar.
- 5 to 7 tablespoons water
Instructions
- NOTE: the color of the pie crust is affected by the flour you choose. White rice flour creates a more pale-colored crust. Brown rice flour, whole-wheat, or spelt give the crust a slightly darker color.
- In a large bowl whisk together the almond flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, and sugar.
- Add 4 tablespoons of water, and use a large spoon to thoroughly combine. Drizzle in 1 more tablespoons of water, and mix again. Refer to Notes section below and/or photos and video for help determining proper consistency. Be judicious with the water at this point. Add another 1 to 2 tablespoons of water (1 tablespoon at a time), if needed. When the dough is thoroughly moist and holds together when squeezed with your hand, form it into a ball.
- Place the dough on a large piece of parchment paper, about 13 inches long. Use your palm to gently flatten the dough into a disc. If the dough is too sticky, sprinkle with almond flour.
- With a rolling pin, use firm and steady pressure and slowly roll the dough until it's 12- to 13-inches in diameter. NOTE: It's important that the dough not be too thick, especially around the edges. After flipping onto the pie plate in the next step, you should have excess to trim away.
- Pick up the parchment paper and quickly flip the dough onto a 9-inch glass pie plate. Peel away the parchment. Without stretching the dough, use your fingers to gently press it into the bottom of the pie plate. Patch any holes or tears with excess dough from the edges.
- Use a knife to trim away the excess, and decorate the edges of the pie crust as desired (refer to post above for tips). Use a fork to poke vent holes in the bottom of the crust.
Baking Instructions:
- IMPORTANT: This crust doesn't brown exactly like traditional pastry. If you use white rice flour, the crust will still look somewhat pale even when it's done. Attempting to brown it further may result in an overbaked, hard crust. For pies with a no-bake filling, bake the pie crust in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 28 to 33 minutes or until crisp. Cool before filling.For pies that will be baked, like pumpkin or pecan, prebake the crust for 5 minutes before adding the filling. Cover the edges of the crust with foil or a pie shield if it begins to look too dry or crisp.
Notes
- If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle a little almond flour on top of the dough, and spread it around with your hand. Another option is to place a second piece of parchment paper on top.
- If you realize the dough is too crumbly once you start rolling it out, return it to the bowl and mix in 1 more tablespoon of water. *Remember, you don't have to worry about over-mixing it because we're not dealing with gluten. So really get in there with your hand, and distribute the water throughout.
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used.
Nina
This recipe was a real hit for Thanksgiving! I made 2 savory pies and two sweet pies with it! Amazing!
Lori
Thank you so much for the feedback, Nina! I'm thrilled that you put it to such good use and that everyone enjoyed it. 😀
Margo Pineau
Hi,
Thanks for sharing this recipe. Looks and sounds great.I'm about to try this recipe to make a millet pie for Christmas. Have you ever used this recipe to make a pie with crusts on top and bottom? If so, do I just double the recipe?
Lori
Hi Margo,
Yes, doubling the recipe will work great. I’ve made pot pies with it but so far with top crust only. Your millet pie sounds wonderful! Let me know how it turns out!
Margo Pineau
Thank you so much for this recipe. It is definitely the best gluten free vegan pie crust ever. I would almost go so far as to say that it is the best pie crust ever although perhaps not quite as flaky as my mother's old pie crust recipe made with Tenderflake lard! I have had several vegan gluten free pie crusts that were very sandy texture and downright hard on the edges. This one turned out beautifully. I wish I'd taken a picture since everyone commented on how beautiful it was and couldn't believe it was gluten free and contained no oil or butter. Then when they tasted it which was the real test, everyone exclaimed how wonderful it was and I was asked for the recipe by more than a couple of the guests. I am directing them to your site. You now have me as a loyal follower. Can't wait to see what else you have in store for us! Bravo on this one!
Lori
Wow Margo, what a lovely review! Thank you so much for taking time to come back and share it, and thanks for sharing my site with your friends. It means so much!
Vanessa
This is THE BEST recipe I have found for gluten free vegan pie crust, and the fact that it is oil free as well just makes it so much better. I have made it several times so far this year and it turns out great each time (for pies with a longer bake time, I do recommend covering the edges with foil for part of the bake so it doesn't overbrown). I'm also considering using it to make "crackers" for chocolate hummus dip. 🙂
Lori
Thank you, Vanessa! I'm so happy you're enjoying it. And your cracker idea is awesome! I've been meaning to experiment with a shortbread type of cookie. 😀 Maybe once the holidays are over I'll finally get to it. Thanks for the feedback!
Emily
I've been diagnosed coeliac since I was 1, and vegan for 13 years and I had honestly written off pastry. So many recipes would be impossible to roll, rock hard when baked or just fall apart. I found some prerolled pastry in a shop which was ok, but the ingredients list was things I couldn't even pronounce and the hi I've amount of oil in it gave it a strange taste and was pretty gross. This pastry recipe is exactly what I was looking for. I've finally been able to make pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and I'm in love with pastry again. I'm in the UK so used almond meal not flour, but it worked so well. This is now my go to recipe. Thank you for sharing it!
Lori
Emily, this makes me so happy! I love that you were able to make and enjoy pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and that is has you excited about baking. 😀 So SO glad! Thanks for the lovely review!
Emily Paine
I'm making pies with this right now. So happy that I could roll it out without a crazy mess and so far it looks great in the oven! Thanks
Lori
Thanks, Emily! Yes, I love the simplicity, too, and easy cleanup without flour and added fat covering everything!
Ellen Sweeney
You mentioned weighing it, but didn't say how much it should weigh.
Lori
Hi Ellen,
In the ingredients list to the right it says 168 grams.
Ellen
sorry, I forgot that that's a weight and not a liquid measure.
Lena
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it because I was attracted by its simplicity. The quantity of water you indicate was not enough for me at all, I had to double it (if not more) to make the dough sticky and not crumbly.. It wss soft and elastic, but when I baked it in the oven it turned very hard and the texture reminds clay. Haven't yet tasted it but I think the clay texture will be dominating the rest and I will struggle to cut my pie.
How to avoid it next time? Shall I possibly try oat flour instead of rice (it's 'stickier'), shall I add some coconut oil and/or bake it in in humid heat not dry heat mode in the oven?
Thank you again
Lori
Hi Lena,
Thanks for your comment! I would love to figure out what's happening with that pie crust of yours, so I'll need to ask a few Qs... First, did you use almond flour, not almond meal? And did you measure the ingredients with a scale or with measuring cups? The discrepancy in amount of water could be as simple as a difference in measurements.
I'm not sure what to think about the "clay" aspect, but I wonder if the dough became *too* wet, and that led to it over-hardening in the oven.
Was your bake time similar to the recipe? Also, are you in the U.S. or elsewhere? We typically only use regular bake or convection (fan) instructions in recipes so I'm not sure what you mean by dry and humid modes for the oven.
Please let me know how it tastes once you've tried it. Hopefully, we can figure out what happened so that you'll feel successful next time! 😀
Lena
Hi Lori,
I'm in Europe and unfortunately here there is no such thing as almond flour, only almond meal (almonds grinded into powder?). I used a 250 ml cup. Gosh I just discovered that by clicking "metric" I can see all the ingredients in grams!
Yes right the dough became too 'wet'.
I will give it a few more tries coz it's a no-fuss pie crust I've been looking for a long time! Even if I don't find almond flour there must be a way
Lori
Great, Lena! I'm glad you found the metric "button."
Someone just commented on my pumpkin pie recipe that they didn't have almond flour so they ground up whole almonds for the crust and it still worked great! So yes, you may have luck on your next try with almond meal. Essentially the crust will be darker (because of the skins) and have a stronger almond flavor, but it should still work. Another option: If you can find skinless blanched almonds, you can grind them up to make your own almond flour. Of course, you can also blanch almonds and remove the skins yourself, but that's SO much work I would never expect anyone to try that. Ha!
Good luck on your next try, and keep me posted!
Wendy Karagöz
Could I use glutenfree flour instead of almond flour ,because my my daughter is allergic to nuts
And I have a gluten allergy.
I would love to try this.
Lori
Hi Wendy,
The almond flour is key to this particular recipe. Its natural fat content is what allows the crust to be crisp without the addition of shortening, oil, or butter. To use a gluten-free flour blend you would need some form of fat, otherwise it will be soft and bready. Your best bet will be searching for a crust recipe that uses GF flour, like this: https://minimalistbaker.com/vegan-gluten-free-pumpkin-pie/
Hope that helps!
Christine
Tried this pie crust today and it is as close to “original” pie crust as it gets. I used oat flour in place of the rice flour and I appreciated the texture and flavor. Thank you ?
Lori
Wonderful! Thank you for the feedback, Christine. Happy you enjoyed it!
Winona Davies
Thanks for solving my concern with the holiday coming up! I've long been making pie crust gluten-free, but this year I am also working on ditching oil. I love that this is a great solution that lets me enjoy pie crust as a treat for this time of year! Thank you.
Lori
I’m so glad you’re excited about it, Winona. 🙂 Almond flour does a wonderful job here for both taste and texture!
Ann Leenhouts-Shane
Thank you, will check it out and let you know!
Ann Leenhouts-Shane
Your crust looks wonderful! We avoid nut products due to my husband's heart disease. Could I substitute whole wheat white flour for the almond meal?
Lori
Hi Ann,
Sadly, replacing the almond flour with wheat flour won't work in this particular recipe. It's the natural fat in almonds that makes it crust-like. It would be bready otherwise. But you do have a couple of options! You could go crustless. With certain pies, especially pumpkin, crustless works very well.
Another option is to try a recipe like this one: https://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/12/calamondin-or-lemon-pie-with-oatmeal.html I haven't tried it before, but I know Susan creates wonderful recipes.
I hope this helps!
diane
Made this crust today , I cant believe how easy and delicious it was.! Fantastic recipe, thank you
Lori
So glad you love it! Thanks, Diane.