This gluten free pie crust is SO easy to make! The recipe uses just 3 simple ingredients, for a sweet or savory crust. There’s a dairy free option, too!
Gluten free kitchen hacks
Okay, so I really don’t like the word “hack”. But, I’m going to use it anyway because the only other word I can think of to use is shortcuts. Which is, in a way, the same thing.
I love to create shortcuts that can save time. Especially during the holidays, when we’re stressed and need a sanity saver.
My favorite kitchen shortcuts are ways to use basic ingredients to make unique recipes.
For example, I use juice from a can of chickpeas to make aquafaba, which I then use as a vegan substitute for egg whites. It’s amazing, especially for making coconut macaroons!
That simple hack saves a lot of time, and of course, it’s a money saver, too. But my new favorite ingredient hack is using gluten free bread to make pie dough.
I think you’ll be as excited about this recipe as I am, especially because it’s SO easy to make and resourceful! And take a look at the gorgeous pies (sweet and savory) you can make with it!
3 Ingredient Gluten Free Pie Crust
There really isn’t much to say about the ingredients here, because there are just three of them. BUT, in true Cotter fashion, I have dairy-free (no butter) substitutes for you.
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
- Gluten free bread – Now, some brands and types of bread work better than others.
I don’t recommend using vegan bread at all, and no sprouted bread that has to be kept frozen. They tend to create more of a mealy dough.
I tried two different vegan breads and the texture just isn’t right. The best bread to use is one that’s soft, white, and gluten free. - Butter – If you’ve ever had traditional pie crust, you know that butter is the key to deliciousness! If you need a dairy free or vegan substitute, refined coconut oil works well. You could also try plant-based butter but some brands don’t bake as well as others.
- Sugar – If you plan to use the crust for a dessert, you may want to sweeten it with a pinch of sugar or sugar substitute
To make this spiffy (ohhh, i love that word) pie crust recipe, all you do is:
- Cut up the gluten free bread into cubes. I use a half a loaf of gluten free white bread.
- Place the bread in a food processor and give it a whirl to grind up the bread.
- Blend in your whisked egg.
- Add in the butter or coconut oil (softened, not liquid) and blend again until you have pie dough!
It’s like the simplest recipe EVER!
NOTE: If the crust dough seems really dry and isn’t coming together well, you can add a tiny bit of liquid. Water, juice, or apple cider vinegar all work well. pie crust recipe video
Video: How to make a 3-ingredient pie crust
Here’s a super quick video, just so you can watch how easy the crust comes together.
Uses for this recipe
As I mentioned earlier, you can use this crust to make sweet or savory pies. Here are a few ideas:
- Mediterranean Quiche
- Chicken Curry Pot Pies (Gluten Free, Dairy Free)
- Gluten Free Fruit Hand Pies
- Gluten Free Honey Baked Ham and Potato Empanadas
- Best Quiche EVER
I can’t wait for you to try this recipe!
TELL ME… Have you ever made a pie crust from scratch that was THIS easy?
Do you think you think you’ll try this one out for your holiday menu?
3 Ingredient Gluten Free Pie Crust (Dairy Free)
- Total Time: 2 hours 35 minutes
- Yield: 1 9-inch crust 1x
Description
This gluten free pie crust is perfect to use for preparing sweet or savory recipes for a quick meal or dessert. Dairy free with a vegan option.
Ingredients
- 7 pieces (36 grams each) gluten free bread, diced
- 2 ½ Tablespoons butter or refined coconut oil, softened (not melted)
- 1 egg, whisked
- Water, as needed (1-2 Tablespoons water)
- Optional – 1-2 Tablespoons sugar or sweetener of choice (if you will be using this for dessert pie)
Instructions
- Cut your bread into smaller pieces. Place it in a food processor. Process until a bread-meal texture is formed. Add in whisked egg and pulse a few times.
- Next, add the coconut oil or butter and blend again. If batter is still too thick, add a tiny bit of water, ONLY as needed. Then, process again to blend into a dough.
- After the dough is formed, form into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate to chill for at least 1 hour.
- After chilling, move the dough to a work surface. Place a sheet of plastic or parchment paper over the pie crust dough and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to ⅛ to ¼ inch in thickness. This amount of crust will make enough for one 8-inch pie crust or 4 -5 hand pies.
- Fold dough over an 8-inch pie pan. The dough should begin to slowly slump into the middle of the plate. Gently press the edges of the crust against the sides of the pan and middle. With a sharp knife or scissors, remove the excess dough that is hanging off the edges. Patch any tears as needed.
- Flute the edges and poke the middle sections with a fork (dock the dough).
- Place in a preheated oven according to the pie recipe instructions. To par-bake, bake at 400F for 10-12 minutes. To bake completely, bake at 350F for 25 -35 minutes (depending on the thickness of the dough), or until lightly brown.
- Baking times depend on your oven and type of bread, so check at 30 minutes.
Notes
- If you want to make a 9 inch gluten free pie crust, I recommend makings 2 batches and then combine dough. Roll the dough out into a 10-inch circle for a 9-inch pie. Save the remaining dough for future recipes.
- Hand pies bake faster and the dough needs to be rolled out into a thinner crust.
- Prep Time: 2 hr
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Category: dessert, brunch
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ of a pie crust
- Calories: 125
- Sugar: 1.7g
- Sodium: 158.4mg
- Fat: 7.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.1g
- Carbohydrates: 12.6g
- Fiber: 1.1g
- Protein: 3.2g
- Cholesterol: 26.7mg
Keywords: gluten free pie crust, gluten free desserts, dairy free pie crust, healthy pie crust
This is now my go to gluten free dough for baking. Yep, there is no looking back.
A gluten free pie crust recipe that doesn’t require skill or time. Plus you can make a few batches and then freeze it. Which is what I do… and it is totally genius if you ask me.
Especially during the busiest time of all – the HOLIDAY SEASON!
Let me know if you have any questions or need substitutes; I’m happy to help!
Cheers,
LC
This recipe post was originally published on December 12, 2016. The recipe was retested, and content and images were updated on November 5, 2020.
I love this!! So perfect for me!! Love that it is so easy to make too!
Thanks, Toni!
This is the easiest pie crust to make!!
★★★★★
Thank you, Laura!
This comes out perfectly every time! I just made a delicious quiche!
★★★★★
I love thinking out side of the box – even in cooking – live your ideas- will try this dough this week –
Awesome! KEep me posted Cat!
What a cool idea! I always find homemade pie dough so hard to work with and I always end up with a big mess–but it sounds like, at least, making the dough is really easy. I’ll have to see if my roommate will let me borrow her food processor so I can try it sometime.
I so agree! Let me know if ou give a shot Joyce. Be sure to try and patch it up in the pie pan. It’s pretty easy to do. The dough will be a little thicker and less flexible than real pie dough. But so good and easy!
This is SO creative Lindsay. I’ve never thought of or even SEEN using bread to make pie crust! So great for savories like pot pie, too.
Well… this is 100% GENIUS!!! What a great little life hack!!!! Love how pretty your pie is too.
it’s so awesome! I swear
A super simple dough is always a good thing to have in your arsenal. I have one too for quiches that freezes well, although it’s not gluten free. Yours looks amazing and full of delicious and simple ingredients. I love it.
Every time I see a quiche (or cheese) or a banana I think of you. LOL!
As if I didn’t already think you were a genius… you can use BREAD to make a pie crust?! Lawd, I love you. Definitely crashing Utah. 😉
scrappy chef cotter at your service!
My mind is blown! This is amazing!
haha thanks friend
OMG, I love this trick! How simple! Now I’m wondering if this would work with aquafaba or flax egg instead of the real egg. I’ll have to give it a go! Looks beautiful!
I actually made this without egg on accident and it still worked. Just a little crispier. YOu might add a tad ACV. But i bet flax egg would work too!
THIS IS SO FANCY!
haha hardly. I like shortcuts! LOL!
You, my friend, are a GENIUS! I cannot wait to try this! Looking forward to seeing those 3 recipes you made with this GF pie crust!
Ahhh well I get my genius factor from being friends with you!
This is SOOOOOOOO clever! I need to try this ASAP!
I LOVE EASY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you make this with gluten bread too? I am passing on the my youngest stepdaughter. Her hubby has to be careful of gluten.
yes! this is gluten free bread from Udis gluten free. So easy!
What a great idea to use bread!! I love that seriously every single diet type can be accomodated these days!
totally agree! <3
i am so amazed at how this is possible! Never would I thought to use bread as the main ingredient in pie crust! Maybe I’ll actually start liking pie crust…….
Wow, this is a genius idea! I love how simple it is to use any bread you may already have on hand. I would love to enjoy quiche in this yummy crust 🙂
Never would have thought of making it this way! maybe, just maybe I could make a cherry pie from scratch this year!
you know I made an egg free version for you! xxoo
I won’t lie to you – I’m pretty dang stingy with my Udis bread. That stuff is NOT cheap and for someone who is a major penny pincher, it’s hard for me to use it so quickly! This pie crust is just too good to resist though. And I bet it makes using half a loaf so worth it.
Haha I feel ya! Totally gonna covet it!
This is literally the best idea I’ve ever heard! So creative!! I can’t wait to try it out 🙂
Oh I’m intrigued by this! I even have that loaf of bread in the freezer and those pie pockets look delicious! I need to find time to try this!
Awesome idea!
thanks friend! p.s how are you feeling?
All great comments but what is the taste and the texture like ?
The texture is thicker than normal pie crust dough. It bakes up pretty well and taste a little like crust/buttery toast. I loved it! Let me know if you try it
Also, it depends on the bread you use. I think a white bread or rice flour bread works best , gluten free
THIS IS GENIUS!!!!!! (insert 10 thumbs up emojis here!)
THIS IS AMAZING. WOW. WOW. Thank you Lindsay!
anytime friend!
Ok Lindsay this is genius! Perfect for our favorite savory dishes!
What an awesome idea!
This is so crazy creative! Totally takes the intimidation out of pie crust!
right? My plan exactly!
This is genius and it looks delicious!
Oh snap! When I read the recipe, I was not expecting to see that it called for bread. But that’s such a genius idea! Love it, Lindsay!
i like to shock people on a monday. LOL!
Mind BLOWN! Such a genius idea! I can get behind this kind of baking! 🙂
half lazy half genius, right?LOL!
You deliver, right Linds?
for you,yes!!
This is genius and life changing!
OMG you will love this megan!