The best easy paleo pie crust for your favorite dessert pies or savory pies and quiches! The dough comes together in minutes in a blender and is gluten free, grain free, dairy free, family approved, and very versatile.
Three years of blogging snuck up on me just like that! Seriously, if I’d remembered my third blog-iversary prior to Wednesday of last week, I would’ve planned something with frosting and a candle. But, oopses, no cake in sight today!
Instead of a piece of cake though, I have something that just might be more appealing to you, and certainly versatile. It’s THE best, (or at least my favorite) Paleo pie crust.
Did you know that for the longest time, making a pie crust intimidated me? Must be the traumatic pre-paleo memories of bathing myself in flour while failing to properly roll out the dough (it was always sticky, I don’t get it) followed by a crust that never browned quite evenly and just downright frustrated the heck out of me.
Maybe it was simply inexperience, or maybe it was the heavens calling upon me to go paleo – not sure. Either way, I want you to know that this PALEO pie crust is WAY easier to make, in my opinion, than the gluten-filled pie crusts of my cooking past.
You can see in the photos above, that the “easy” part of this whole thing might be me letting my food processor do all the heavy lifting, so to speak. I recommend you do the same! However! If you don’t happen to have a food processor, or prefer to combine the dough by hand using a pastry blender, it will work just as well.
The dough is made up of a (many times tested) ratio of almond flour, coconut flour, and tapioca flour. I measured the coconut flour in Tbsps to ensure you get just the right amount (darned sensitive coconut flour!) I then used palm oil shortening for the fat, though refined coconut oil would be an option if you can’t locate palm oil shortening.
BUT! The palm shortening version REALLY has my heart – and makes this crust taste sort of like a Ritz cracker, which is a good thing. If you do wind up going with coconut oil, you must use the refined kind to avoid a heavy coconut flavor in the final product.
After testing several times, I achieved the “perfect” flavor with fine grain sea salt and just a bit of maple sugar or coconut sugar. Even for savory pies, I recommend adding 1/2-1 tsp of either of those sugars to cut any bitterness and enhance the flavor.
See how pretty and smooth that dough looks? It feels that way too! Not sticky at all, which made me happy. If yours feels a bit sticky, you can chill it wrapped in plastic for 10 minutes or so before rolling and pressing into the pie dish. Using parchment paper for the rolling/pressing helps quite a bit, too. Whatever you do, don’t add any extra flour!
Depending on the recipe you’re making, you’ll either bake the crust after filling the pie (for recipes using an unbaked pie shell), halfway, or fully. If you need to make a double crust pie, you can easily double all the ingredients and then form the dough into two equal balls.
I have not tried freezing the dough, but you can definitely keep it wrapped in the refrigerator for a couple of days before using it. It will harden quite a bit when chilled, so you’ll need to let it sit out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before rolling it out.
One other recipe note! This dough is very smooth, however, it breaks easily once rolled out, so simply pressing it into the pie dish might work better for you.
On the positive side, it can be repaired as easily as it breaks, so no worries about overworking it the way you have to for a gluten containing crust. Once baked, the crust is very stable, flaky and flavorful and goes perfectly with any pie!
Mainly due to my many many fails at a paleo lemon meringue pie (ugh, don’t ask!) I’ve made this crust over and over and each time it’s consistent in texture and flavor. Since giving up on the lemon meringue, I’m now working on a coconut cream pie (needs some tweaking) and have a delicious broccoli quiche coming soon! Are you ready to swoon over pie? Let’s bake!
Best Easy Paleo Pie Crust {Grain Free, Dairy Free}
Best Easy Paleo Pie Crust {Grain Free, Dairy Free}
Ingredients
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 Tbsp coconut flour
- 2/3 cup tapioca flour
- 1/2 cup palm oil shortening*** or grass-fed butter, or a combination of both
- 1 tsp for sweet pies or 1/2 tsp (for savory) maple sugar OR coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp fine grain sea salt
- 1 large egg
Instructions
-
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse all ingredients EXCEPT egg to create thick crumbs*, then pulse/process in the egg until a dough forms** Gather the dough into a ball prior to rolling or pressing into your pie dish.
-
If the dough is overly sticky (I haven't had it happen), you can wrap it in plastic wrap and flatten into a disc, then chill until it firms up. You can also chill the dough this way until ready to use - simply remove from the fridge to soften it up prior to using.
-
To get the dough into your pie dish, you can either:
-
Roll out the dough into a circle between two sheets of parchment. Place your pie dish upside-down over the dough, then using the bottom parchment paper, flip the dough into the dish. Finish by pressing it into the bottom and sides of the pie dish to fit - this dough will break easily since it lacks gluten, however it also repairs incredibly easily and can withstand a lot of manipulation without affecting the final product!
-
If you don't wish to roll out the dough, you can simply press it into 9 inch pie dish using your hands or a piece of parchment paper as shown in the photo above.
-
Once pressed into the pie dish, gently pierce the dough with a fork all over so it doesn't puff up while baking.
-
For a partially baked crust, bake at 375 degrees F for about 6-8 minutes, or until barely set.
-
For a fully baked crust, bake at 375 degrees F for 15 mins or until very lightly browned. You can use a foil tent to avoid the edges browning too much.
-
Use for quiches, or any one-crust pie, sweet or savory! For double crusted pies, the recipe can be doubled and the dough formed into two balls of equal size. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
*If you don't have a food processor, you can use a pastry blender to blend the flours with the shortening until a thick crumb forms as shown in photo
**If not using a food processor, whisk the egg prior to adding, then stir in with a wooden spoon until a workable dough forms
***If you can have dairy, solid, cold grass-fed butter will work well. If dairy isn't an option and you don't have palm shortening, you can also use refined coconut oil, solid, at room temp or colder, BUT the crust will break/crumble more
Nutrition
Products I Recommend to Make My Pie Crust:
Want more Paleo baking recipes? Try one of these!
Paleo Key Lime Pie with Coconut Pecan Crust
Paleo Lemon Bars with Coconut Whipped Cream
Tell Me!
Two things:
Favorite sweet pie? Um, can I list 10?!
Favorite savory pie? Any quiche. Seriously, any quiche at all!
Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Paleo Running Momma!
Can I use this “easy pie crust” as a tart base? Will it work?
Yes! You might not need all of the dough depending on your tart dish. Then you can make a mini tart too :p
This is the best grain free pie crust ever! It’s indistinguishable from traditional crusts and so delicious.
Best tasting crust ever, used it for quiche and it was delicious . Also enjoyed how simple this was to make!
I make your pie crust all the time! I was wondering if you have ever used this crust for mini pies?!!! If you have what temp/time would you suggest?
Excellent!
I am very new to paleo but I’ve tried keto recipes for baking and done terribly. Is the coconut and tapioca flour absolutely necessary for this recipe? I’m so gun shy because I’ve had terrible luck with these flours.
Hello, I’d like to try your paleo pie crust this Christmas to make a pumpkin pie for my husband. Would I bake the filling in an unbaked shell and cook it for 40-45 minutes per the pumpkin pie and regular pie shell recipe? Thank you!
Thank you thank you thank you OMG.
Buttermilk Chess pie is my all time favorite pie, and I really thought I would never be able to have it again since I can’t have corn or gluten anymore.
I used this crust recipe, mine did turn out sticky as all get out, but I blame the fact I made it with real butter, and in a stand mixer for lack of a food processor. A quick chill and rolling between parchment paper helped. After peeling off one parchment, I dusted the top with sweet rice flour (luckily I can get away with rice in small quantities) added a new sheet of parchment, flipped it over, peeled the 2nd parchment, and then was able to flip it into the pie pan with absolutely NO breakage despite how sticky it was.
The pie came out amazing, and my husband (with no dietary restrictions whatsoever) said it was the best pie crust he had ever had. WIN. 😆
Honestly I feel like this recipe is dangerously close to a shortbread/Pecan Sandies recipe 🤔🤔🤔
I made this recipe for a Paleo lemon tart that I wanted to make. I love it! So easy to make and to work with. I used ghee as my fat and that worked out beautifully! I made a batch and a half and that fit perfectly in my 10 inch tart pan.
This crust is so successful! I’m allergic to almonds as well as most grains so I swapped tiger nut flour for the almond. Perfect.