How To Make An Easy Pie Crust (No Food Processor)

Perfect pies start with the crust! Store-bought pie crust is great but let’s learn how to make Easy Pie Crust with no Food Processor. Whether you’re familiar with baking or a beginner in the kitchen, mastering a homemade pie crust is easy peasy. Get your pie dish ready- and let’s get into how to create a flavorful pie crust using simple ingredients and easy-to-follow instructions.

Why this recipe works

• This is a simple go-to pie crust recipe that uses only a few ingredients.
• It’s a double pie crust. It’s a good pie crust for pies, galettes, empanadas, hand pies or turnovers. 
• All you need are your hands! This easy homemade pie crust recipe doesn’t need any food processor. 

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Ingredients

To create the perfect pie crust, you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour. Cold flour makes a difference. I normally store my flour in the freezer but you can also refrigerate the flour as well before making. 
• Kosher salt.
• Sugar. 
• Unsalted butter. Make sure the butter is cold and cut into cubes. 
• Ice water. Just a few ice cubes in a 1/4 cup of water works. 

Along with the ingredients, here are some helpful tools that will help with the pie crust-making process:

• Plastic wrap. You are going to be wrapping the dough to store in the fridge. 
• Rolling pin. Whether you are making pies or empanadas, a rolling pin is a must have!
• Pastry cutter. This is perfect for lattice crust. You can also use biscuit cutters if you are making hand pies. 
• Measuring cup and measuring spoons. 
• Large mixing bowl. 
• Pie pan. I love my ceramic pie dishes! 
• Pastry slab. This isn’t required. But I find it to be the most effective work surface versus using my kitchen counter. My pastry slab is dedicated to all baked goods in the house so I don’t ever worry about cross contamination. 

How to Make Easy Pie Crust with No Food Processor 

1. Start with cold ingredients, even the flour. Cold butter is essential for creating a flaky crust. Cut the butter into small pieces and place them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before using. You can also place the flour in a large bowl and place it in the fridge or freezer. 

2. Make the Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. Add the cold butter pieces and blend them into the flour using a pastry cutter or your fingers. The mixture should resemble corn meal and you might have some clumps. (and that is ok.)

3. Add Cold Water: Sprinkle one tablespoon of cold water (or ice water for extra coldness) over the flour-butter mixture. With your hands to gently mix the dough. Add more water, one tablespoon at a time, if needed, until the dough starts to come together. Be careful not to overwork it.

4. Form the Dough: Once the dough begins to clump together, transfer it to a clean work surface lightly dusted with flour. Divide the dough into two equal portions for a double-crust pie. Form each portion into a disk, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight. Chilling the dough allows the gluten to do its thing in the flour mixture. 

5. Roll Out the Dough: Remove one dough disk from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes to slightly soften. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle about 12 inches in diameter for a standard pie plate. For ease, roll the dough around the rolling pin and unroll it over the pie plate. Gently press the dough into the plate, trimming any excess overhang with a sharp knife.

Serving suggestions

Depending on how you want to use your pie crust will determine your next steps.

You can:

1. Pre- Bake the Crust (if needed): Some pie recipes call for “blind baking” the crust before you fill it. Line the pie crust with parchment paper or aluminum foil, then fill it with pie weights or dry beans to prevent it from puffing up during baking. Bake the crust for about 10-15 minutes, then remove the weights and parchment/foil and follow your recipe to continue baking.
2. Assemble Pie: Once your crust is baked and cooled (if prebaking), fill it with your desired pie filling, whether it’s a classic apple pie or a savory pie such as quiche or chicken pot pie. If making a double-crust pie, roll out the second dough disk and place it over the filling. Trim the excess dough and crimp edges to seal.
3. For pies or empanadas: Brush the top crust with an egg wash (one beaten egg mixed with a tablespoon of water) for a golden brown finish. Cut small slits in the top crust to allow steam out while baking(I do this for pies not empanadas). Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
4. You can add your flare to this crust for example: add dried culinary lavender to it such as in my Stone Fruit Galette. You could also add vanilla sea salt. Or add in toasted nuts or infuse with other kinds of flavors like chocolate. 

Can you freeze homemade pie dough?

You can totally freeze homemade pie dough. Here are a couple of tips- wrap it heavy duty foil and place it in plastic freezer bags. I like to write the date on the bag as well to ensure freshness. The dough should keep for about 6 months. Thaw the dough by placing it in the fridge overnight. 

Helpful tips for Easy Pie Crust (No Food Processor)

During the holiday season I like to make my dough disks ahead of time and let them sit in the fridge for a couple of days. 

To avoid adding too much water to the flour when first preparing the dough, add the ice water in small increments. 

This crust recipe works for both sweet and savory pies. I have used this dough recipe for my apple empandas, galettes, quiches and pies. 

Inspiration

I have been using this pie crust dough recipe for well over 20 years. It’s adapted from a restaurant I used to work at many years ago named Andaluca. This recipe never disappoints and gets rave reviews every single time. 

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