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–+ servings
an uncooked pie crust

Vegan Pie Crust

Author: Melanie McDonald
5 from 1 vote
Learn how to make an easy, perfectly tender, flaky and crispy vegan pie crust with my easy step-by-step recipe. This vegan shortcrust pastry is suitable for sweet or savoury pies with either cooked or no-cook fillings, tarts, pot pie crusts, quiches, pastries, pasties and galettes.
PREP TIME: 10 minutes
COOK TIME: 17 minutes
Servings: 8 Will make a 9 or 10 inch pie crust (double the recipe for a top & bottom pie)

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour , (plain flour in the UK)
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt
  • ½ cup + 1 tablespoon (120 grams) vegan butter , or refined coconut oil. The butter or coconut oil must be very cold and hard.
  • about ½ cup (120 mls) iced water

OPTIONAL (only for a sweet crust)

INSTRUCTIONS
 

With a food processor

  • To a food processor add the flour and salt (and optional sugar if you are making a sweet crust).
  • Add the butter to the food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like very coarse bread crumbs. You should be able to visibly see small lumps of butter.
  • Gradually add the ice-cold water (making sure no ice cubes fall in), pulsing the food processor until there is enough moisture for the dough to come together. You might not need all of the water. You might need a teeny tiny bit more. It varies a little every time.
  • Remove the blade and use your hands to bring the pastry dough together then turn out onto a well floured, clean surface. It should come together easily and feel pliable and soft.
  • Sprinkle the top of the pastry with a light dusting of flour and roll out to 2 or 3 inches larger than your pie/quiche/tart dish.
  • Lift carefully by partially rolling the rolled out pastry around the rolling pin, and gently lower into the dish.
  • Use a scrap of pastry from the overhang to roll into a small ball and use it to push the dough into and up the sides of the pan. The less you handle it with your hands the better. The ball of dough stops your body heat from melting the fat in the dough.
  • Trim around the edges with a sharp knife or crimp if you are lining a pie dish. If you are lining a quiche/tart pan, use the ball of dough again to push the edges up just a tiny bit (a few millimetres at most) above the rim of the pan. This helps compensate for any shrinkage that might occur. 
  • Prick all over the bottom of the crust with a fork, then place the pastry crust in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes. There is no need to cover it unless you are storing it for longer (details RE storing for longer are in the recipe notes).

To make by hand

  • Add the flour and salt (and optional sugar if you are making a sweet crust) to a bowl and mix them up to combine.
  • Cut the butter into smaller chunks and add it to the flour mixture, cut it in either with a pastry cutter or a fork until it looks like coarse bread crumbs.
  • Gradually add the ice-cold water (making sure no ice cubes fall in), stirring with a knife until the dough starts coming together. You might not need all of the water and you might need a teeny tiny bit more. It varies a little each time.
  • Use your hands to bring the pastry dough together (but don't handle too much). It should come together easily and feel pliable and soft. Turn it out onto a well floured, clean surface.

To blind-bake

  • Preheat oven to 400°F (200 °C) with a metal baking sheet or tray big enough to fit your pie dish on in there as it preheats.
  • Line the chilled pie crust with parchment paper. Cut a piece the size you need then screw it up in your hands really tightly like you are going to throw it in the trash. then straighten it out and push it gently over and into the pie crust. It makes it much easier to nestle it in there nicely.
  • Fill with baking beans, dried beans or dried rice and put on the preheated tray in the oven. Bake for about 17 minutes or until the edges of the crust are just beginning to turn a gentle golden brown.
  • Remove from the oven and gently lift out the parchment paper along with the baking beans/rice. Then return to the oven and bake for around 7 to 8 minutes more, or until the bottom of the crust is just beginning to turn a gentle golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

To fully bake

  • Follow the blind-baking instructions but when you remove the parchment paper and baking beans/rice, then return it to the oven, bake for about 15 to 16 minutes or until the bottom crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

NOTES

When the pie is being filled with a no-cook filling, it is essential to fully bake the pie crust and cool it completely before adding the filling. For pies that will go back in the oven, like quiche or pumpkin pie, the crust can still be warm when you add the filling.
Making in advance & freezing
  • Uncooked and unrolled pastry dough - Make the vegan pie dough up to 3 days ahead. Place in a tightly sealed freezer bag, airtight container or wrap tightly and thoroughly in cling wrap and place in the fridge until needed. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge. You might need to leave it out at room temperature for a few minutes to warm and soften very slightly before rolling it.
  • Rolled, lined and uncooked - After lining the pie dish you can carefully store it in the fridge for up to 5 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. Be sure to cover it tightly so it doesn't dry out and be very careful it doesn't get knocked while in the fridge or freezer. Blind-bake or cook it completely straight from the fridge or freezer. Add an extra minute onto the bake time if it's coming from the freezer.
  • Blind-baked or completely baked - Stored in an airtight container in the pantry for up to 4 days.
Avoid a soggy bottom
Blind-bake or fully bake the crust as per my instructions. This makes the pastry drier and liquid doesn't absorb into it as easily. This means it stays crisper. Another step that really helps when a wet filling is being used, is brushing the crust all over with a very thin coat of oil (olive, canola, vegetable or sunflower oil) before adding the filling. The oil creates a forms a protective barrier and stops the liquid from seeping into the pastry.

NUTRITION

Serving: 1serving (⅛ of the crust | Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 38mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 573IU | Calcium: 5mg | Iron: 1mg
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