Posted Nov 04, 2018, Updated Jun 10, 2024 Homemade butter pie crust is so easy to make, and significantly more delicious than store-bought crusts. It only takes 5 ingredient and 5 minutes to make the best butter pie crust you’ve ever eaten – flaky, buttery, slightly sweet and a little salty and 100% delicious! Plus, when you make homemade pie crust, you skip all the undesirable ingredients (preservatives, etc.) in store-bought crusts and instead, make it with real, whole ingredients. We will discuss in great detail how to make a butter pie crust that’s perfect for fruit pies (like this fresh peach pie, blueberry pie, etc.) and even pumpkin pie – and you will become a pie-crust-making expert.

Butter Pie Crust: Ingredients and Substitutions

All-purpose flour. Pastry flour works well in place of all-purpose flour in this pie crust recipe. Use a 1:1 all-purpose gluten-free flour to make this recipe gluten-free. Salted butter: Unsalted butter can be used in place of salted butter. For a dairy-free, vegan pie crust you can substitute vegan butter (like Earth balance) (which is what was used to make this dairy-free pumpkin pie)! Granulated Sugar. white or organic cane sugar are great substitutes. If making a savory pie like chicken pot pie, you can omit if desired. Sea Salt. I always recommend baking with pure sea salt. If you have iodized table salt, you may need to decrease the amount of salt. Egg Wash. this is optional. Heavy cream can also be used in place of eggs, or a 1:1 mixture of the two.

How to Make Butter Pie Crust

I will show you how to make a pie crust, step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video. Cold ingredients results in pockets of cold butter in the dough, which makes the crust flaky.
Begin by placing the dry ingredients in the container of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade. Pulse to combine (about 5-10 seconds). Then, add the cold butter and water and process until the mixture holds together when pinched (15 to 30 seconds).

Make it By Hand

You can also mix the crust by hand in a large bowl with a pastry cutter or fork. Both methods work well, and the benefit of both is that homemade pie crust is worlds tastier than anything you can buy in a store! Next, turn the pie crust dough out onto a well-floured surface or into a large bowl and form it into a ball. Remember it’s important not to overwork the dough. After you have one large ball of pie crust dough, cut it in half and form it into two circles that are the same size. If your’e not great at eyeballing things, use a food scale. Weigh the whole batch of dough, divide that number in half and make sure each portion of dough weighs that amount. Make two 1″ thick discs of dough. When making this double pie crust recipe it’s important to shape the dough into two discs about 1″ thick. This will make rolling it out much easier!

Chill the Dough

Once you have two dough discs, individually wrap them in plastic wrap (tightly) and put them in the refrigerator to chill for at least 1 hour and up to overnight. If you are chilling the dough overnight or for a long period of time (more than 2 hours), I recommend putting the wrapped Butter Pie Crust dough into a plastic bag or another airtight container to ensure that it does not dry out.

Form the Bottom Crust

Once you’re ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven and roll out the dough. You will need to remove the circles from the fridge, place them on a well-floured surface and let them sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes so they’re soft enough to roll (shorter if it’s a hot day). Tip: Measure the crust with a pie plate to make sure it fits with enough hanging over the sides to form a fluted edge.

Use a Pastry Cloth

I usually roll my pie crusts out on a pastry cloth. It makes transferring it from the counter to the pie dish so much easier. You can also use wax or parchment paper to roll out the crust if you do not have a pastry cloth! Once you have transferred the crust from the rolling surface to the pie dish, put in the the fridge to chill while you form the top crust. Or, at this point you can blind bake the crust. If you want to make one all-butter crust to blind bake, you will need to halve the recipe. Or make two crusts. To blind bake, line the homemade pie crust with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Then bake until golden-brown.

Form the Top Crust

Or, if you’re making a double-crust pie, form the top crust while the bottom chills in the fridge. If you want to make a lattice crust, watch the video for further instructions. If you prefer to just have a solid piece of crust on the top (no fancy shapes), simply roll both of the crust circles in this way. Cut an “X” in top crust to vent the steam while baking. Or, use pie crust cutters. I have a few sets of pie crust cutters from Williams Sonoma and love them! I also use fondant cut & press sets. Both work well to make pretty pie crust shapes to top your pies with!

Assemble the Pie

Once the pie filling of your choice is made, it’s time to complete this Flaky Homemade All Butter Pie Crust recipe! Pour the filling into the bottom pie crust and then put the top crust over the filling. Pinch the edges. Start by folding the crust and making a nice edge around the pie dish. Then, use your thumb and pointer finger to pinch the edges of the crust and make a nice design.

Use an Egg wash

Brushing an egg wash over the crust gives it a shiny, golden-brown finish. It’s not necessary but it is highly recommended! Simply beat 1 egg yolk with 1 Tablespoon heavy cream. Then, use a pastry brush to brush the crust gently with the egg before baking. If desired, sprinkle raw sugar over the egg wash for a nice sugary crispy finish.

Bake the Pie

Most butter pie crusts with filling are baked at a higher temperature in the beginning, and then after 20 minutes the temperature is decreased and baking continues. This helps bake the crust without it becoming soggy. I suggest using one of our many pie recipes.

Pie Crust Tools

There are a few tools that I consider essential in the pie crust-making process. Obviously you can make a crust without these things (well except for a rolling pin)…but if you anticipate there will be lots of pie-making in your future, I highly recommend checking these out!

Pie Recipes

Here are some of my favorite pie recipes that use this easy pie crust recipe.

For savory options – make this quiche recipe or chicken pot pie. Apple pie! We love both of these: Homemade apple pie and Apple Crumble Pie recipes. Who doesn’t love this Classic Pumpkin Pie From Scratch or Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie! This Strawberry Pie From Scratch, raspberry pie and this fresh peach pie are perfect for summer! Fresh Blueberry Pie Recipe might be my favorite! This Apple Galette tastes just like an apple pie, only it’s even easier to make! Also try peach galette. Cherry pie is a delicious fall/winter treat. Brownie pie and chocolate chip cookie pie are extra decadent desserts that use this butter pie crust.

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