Easy Vegan Pie Crust

This easy vegan pie crust is tender and flaky and comes together in just a few minutes. It works equally well for both pies and tarts and can be used with a sweet or savory filling. We love using it for this vegan Just Egg quiche.

So basically it's the only pastry pie crust recipe you'll ever need!

this Recipe

Table of Contents

• Ingredient Notes
• Step By Step Instructions
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Storing and Freezing
• Related Posts
• Recipe

Ingredient Notes

• All -purpose flour
• Dried thyme or other dried herbs of your choice if using with a savory filling like quiche or pot pie. If using this pie crust with a sweet filling substitute with sugar.
• Salt
• Vegan butter - this should be very cold
• Vegetable shortening - this should also be very cold and if you don't have shortening can be substituted with additional vegan butter
• Ice cold water

Step By Step Instructions

This easy vegan pie crust dough can be made in a food processor or mixed by hand using a pastry cutter or a couple of forks. It's best not to use your hands too much because they can start to warm up the butter.

1. In a medium bowl or food processor mix together the flour, salt and thyme or sugar. Then add in the cold butter and vegetable shortening and cut into the flour using a pastry cutter or two forks until the mixture has a sandy texture with small pebble sized chunks of butter. Alternatively, if using the food processor pulse until it's reached this consistency. Add in the ice water one tablespoon at a time until the dough holds together when squeezed.
2. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface (there will still be some loose flour) and working quickly bring it together into a ball. Try not to work the dough any more than is necessary. Then using a floured rolling pin roll it out until it's roughly 12" in diameter.
3. Transfer the dough to your pan. This doesn't need to be perfect and you can use leftover pieces to patch any bare spots. If using a tart pan push the dough up the sides and trim off any excess. If using in a pie plate flute the edges or use a fork to form a pattern. Check out this article for some fancy pie crust edging ideas. This dough will make extra to account for different sizes and depths of pans. I used a 9.5 inch tart pan in these photos and still had a bit of extra dough. Place the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer and use a fork to poke holes in the bottom and sides of the crust. This will help prevent it from puffing up as it cooks. If you are using this with a filling that doesn't require baking or to prevent a soggy bottom (no one wants that!) when using with a very wet filling such as a quiche go ahead and blind bake the crust. Line the crust with parchment paper and top with pie weights or dried beans and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Then lift off the parchment and the weights and bake for another 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool if necessary before filling.

Frequently Asked Questions

Storing and Freezing

If you want to make this easy vegan pie crust a few days ahead of time -

Once it's been formed into a ball use your hands to flatten into a disc. Then wrap it up well and keep in the fridge for a few days. Let it sit on the counter for 10-15 minutes before rolling out and using.

There are a couple of options when it comes to freezing the dough -

1. You can freeze it right in the pan and then wrap the whole thing up pan and all. It can then be baked from frozen, but you will need to add few extra minutes.
2. Or you can flatten the dough ball into a disc and freeze in a ziptop bag. When ready to use, this will need to thaw in the fridge for at least 8 hours until it's soft enough to be rolled out.

It should keep frozen for 3-4 months as long as it's well wrapped up.

Related Posts

If you enjoyed this recipe, try these related posts!

Print

Recipe