3-Ingredient Pie Crust

This 3 Ingredient Pie Crust recipe is an easy homemade pie crust recipe perfect for any sweet or savory pie.

Save money and avoid the additives from store-bought pie crusts and learn how to make your own with the most basic pantry ingredients.

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Can A Pie Crust Be Made With 3 Ingredients?

I know it sounds too good to be true, but this perfect pie crust is indeed made with 3 of the most basic ingredients.

It’s a low-cost, easy, and versatile pie crust recipe that can be made in a few minutes.

How To Make 3-Ingredient Pie Crust

It’s ridiculously easy to make pies, and if you are after some healthier homemade recipes that are easy and save you money at the grocery store, start by making pie crust.

Ingredients

All you need to make an easy pie crust recipe are:

• All-Purpose Flour – You can use white wheat flour, but it’s also possible to make this recipe with spelt flour or 1:1 Gluten-Free alternatives.
• Cold Water – Straight out of the refrigerator or cold tap. Do not use warm water.
• Diced Cold Butter – Prefer grass-fed butter.
• Sea Salt

Preparing The Icy Water

The trick to nail any pie crust is to use super cold ingredients. To make sure your water is cold, fill a bowl with ice cubes and top them up with cold tap water.

Then, when the recipe calls for ice water, measure the water straight out from the bowl so this ensures super cold water every time.

Making The Dough

In a large bowl, whisk all-purpose flour, salt, or sugar if you are making a sweet pie crust.

Now, fold in the cubes of cold butter, and using a pastry cutter or two forks cut the butter into the flour.

Keep pressing butter onto the flour mixture until all the butter is coated and until the mixture resembles pea-sized bits of floured butter

Drizzle some cold water, that you scoop out of the icy water bowl, over the bowl with dry ingredients.

Always add the water gently about 2 to 3 tablespoons at a time, stirring with a spatula or blade of a food processor after each addition.

Stop adding water when the dough forms a ball that sticks together.

Refrigerating Pie Dough

I recommend preparing the pie crust at least 3 hours to one day before using it because refrigerating the dough makes the crust so much easier to roll.

Fold the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead a few times to form a dough ball.

Divide the dough ball into two balls of the same size and wrap tightly each ball with plastic wrap. Press each ball into a thick disc and place it in the fridge.

Refrigerate the dough for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Rolling The Dough Ball

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) if you intend to prebake or blind the crust, otherwise preheat to 350°F (180°C).

Grease a 9-inch pie plate with butter or coconut oil. Set it aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, place the dough ball and start rolling with a rolling pin pressing the dough as you roll from the center to the sides.

Roll the crust into a 12-inch circle to fit a 9-inch pie pan. The dough needs to be wider to cover the edges of the pan.

Place the rolled crust onto the pie plate.

You can flute the edges with your fingers or use a fork to shape them. Use a fork to prick the crust all over its bottom.

Prebaking The Crust

Not all pie recipes call for prebaking the pie crust, but if it’s required this is how you should proceed.

Top the rolled pie crust with pie weight or dry beans and place in the center rack of the preheated oven.

• Cold Fillings – Fully bake the crust for a cold filling that doesn’t require any baking time. It takes about 20 minutes to fully bake the crust.
• Warm Fillings like quiche – Blind the crust, it means cook only until it’s golden and pale in color, for about 12-15 minutes. Follow the instruction below for the additional cooking with the filling.

Filling The Pie Shell

Remove the pie crust from the oven and cool it down in the pie dish before adding any cold filling like custard or fruits.

You can transfer the pie crust safely to a cooling rack after 10 minutes.

If you are using this 3-ingredient pie crust recipe for a quiche or pumpkin pie or any pies that require the filling to be baked, don’t cool down the crust.

Immediately spread the mixture evenly over the pre-baked crust.

Return to the oven until the filling is baked. You can tent the pie with foil to prevent the sides of the pie crust from browning too fast.

Storage Instructions

You can freeze a pre-baked pie crust in the freezer for up to 3 months and use frozen to make a quiche.

You can also store the pie crust, unbaked for up to 1 week in the fridge.

How To Use This 3-Ingredient Pie Crust

You can use this 3-Ingredient Pie Crust as a butter pie crust or flaky pie crust for:

• Homemade Quiche like Florentine quiche, Spinach Quiche
• Pumpkin Pie
• Lemon Pie
• Blueberry Pie
• Apple Pie
• Cream Pie

Frequently Asked Questions