Want to learn how to make the flakiest crust that will take your pies to another level? Our pie crust recipe is easy and uses simple ingredients from the pantry. You can make it ahead or freeze it, making this an ideal recipe for holiday baking.

A delicious homemade pie crust in a pie dish.

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Why you’ll love this easy homemade pie crust recipe

Homemade pie dough is easier than you think to make and tastes so much better than store-bought.
This delicious flaky pie crust recipe is perfect for both sweet and savory pies.
Make them ahead and freeze them, which means you can have a flaky pie crust to hand whenever you need it.
You’ve probably got all the ingredients you need in your pantry.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

Ingredients needed, ice water, unsalted butter cubes, flour, sugar, and salt.

How to make the perfect pie crust with step-by-step instructions

The recipe card below shows a complete printable recipe and the US customary and metric measurements.

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl or food processor (but a food processor is not essential).

Someone adding salt to flour. — Add salt and sugar to the flour, and stir to combine.

Unsalted butter cubes in the flour mixture. — Add cold butter cubes and mix until you have coarse crumbs.

Cut the cold butter cubes into the flour mixture until you have coarse crumbs.

If you don’t have a food processor, then use a pastry cutter or your fingers.

Slowly add the ice-cold water into the mixture, one tablespoon at a time, then mix together gently until a dough is formed, be careful not to overmix the dough.

Ice cold water being added to the flour and butter mixture. — Slowly add ice water and mix the dough.

Pie dough in a ball in a bowl. — Shape into a ball shape.

Pie dough wrapped in kitchen wrap. — Wrap tightly in kitchen wrap and chill.

Pick the pie dough up and, using your hands, make it into a ball shape; cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400°F/190°C.

When chilled, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and flatten the ball until it’s an approximately ¾- inch thick disc.

Roll the dough into a 12-inch diameter circle using a rolling pin and gently lift it into a 9-inch pie plate.

Someone using a rolling pin to roll out a pie crust. — Using a rolling pin, roll out the pie dough.

Pie crust in a pie plate. — Place it in the pie dish and trim the excess dough.

Trim any excess pie dough and place parchment paper on top of the dough. Add pie weights, baking balls, rice, or dried beans to the paper and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the pie dish from the oven and discard the pie weights and parchment paper.

If your pie recipe calls for a partially cooked single-crust pie: Place the crust in the oven and cook until the bottom is dry approximately 5 minutes.

Baking beans on the uncooked pie crust. — Place parchment paper on the base of the crust, add baking beans, and bake for approximately 5 minutes.

Someone removing the parchment paper from the cooked pie crust which is in the pie pan. — When baked, remove from the oven, remove the baking beans and the parchment paper.

If your pie recipe calls for a fully cooked crust: Place the crust in the oven and cook until golden brown, approximately 15 – 20 minutes.

If the recipe calls for a double-crust pie, then repeat the steps, but don’t blind bake. And instead, lay the pie dough on top of the pie filling, use kitchen scissors, and carefully trim the edges to a 1-inch overhang, folding and pressing into the bottom crust.

Enjoy your pie!

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Recipe notes and expert tips

Cold
Keeping the ingredients cold is crucial; place the butter in the freezer, and then a couple of hours before you use it, transfer it to the fridge; this way, it’s very cold and ideal and will set you up to make the best pie crust. Mix the flour, salt, and sugar together, then place it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.
Hot kitchen
If your kitchen becomes too hot, place the pie dough mixture in the fridge to cool it down.
Storage
Make the recipe but stop before rolling the dough. Wrap the dough tightly with kitchen wrap and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Make ahead

The great thing about homemade pie crusts is that you can make them ahead.

Follow the instructions and stop at the point of rolling the dough. Wrap the dough tightly using kitchen wrap, then store it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze pie dough for up to 3 months; place it in the fridge overnight to defrost before using.

A slice of cinnamon pie on a plate. — Cinnamon Pie.

What makes a pie crust flaky?

A flaky pie crust gets its light and delicate layers from a few key factors. Firstly, using a high-fat ingredient like cold butter or shortening is important.

These fats create steam when they melt during baking, forming air pockets that result in flakiness.

Keeping the ingredients cold is crucial, as this helps the fat stay solid longer and prevents gluten development.

Don’t overmix, as the pie dough will toughen; gradually adding just the right amount of liquid is also essential, as too little or too much can affect the texture.

Resting and chilling the dough before rolling it out relaxes the gluten and solidifies the fat, and you’ll need to gently handle the dough and roll it thinly to create those distinctive flaky layers and the perfect flaky crust.

What can I fill my pie crust with?

You can use your flaky pie crust to make a quiche or fruit pie like apple pie or cherry pie.

It’s perfect for sweet pies like pumpkin, sweet potato pie, or vegetable pot pie.

Its light, butter crust will enhance the flavor of the pies, and you’ll never go back to store-bought again.

A cooked flaky pie crust with someone holding the pie plate.

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