Gluten-Free Pie Crust

Finding a good pie crust when you're not gluten free is already tough (our classic pie crust took us several tries to get just right)—imagine when you need to avoid flour! Fortunately, our gluten-free pie crust has been tested and perfected.

New to gluten-free baking? We’ve got you. With the right ingredients and a few tricks, it’s surprisingly straightforward. You’re still following the basic steps and “rules” of pie crust making, with some easy tweaks here and there. So the result is flaky, light, and tender. Keep the following in mind and you’ll crush that GF crust. 

Choose the right flour. 

Two words: xantham gum. Wait, don’t run away! This is your secret weapon. Using all-purpose gluten-free flour that has xantham gum in the mix will help fight that dreaded crumbly texture that GF baked goods sometimes suffer from. Xantham gum actually imitates gluten by making your dough stretchy and workable. Keep in mind, it’s not going to be quite as pliable as standard pie dough, so be delicate! Our favorite brand is Cup4Cup. It’s so easy to work with, and as the name suggests, you can use it just how you would regular all-purpose flour.

Nail the texture—with sour cream.

Adding sour cream to your dough might sound wacky, but it works. Sour cream not only adds flavor, it also transforms your crust by making it tender and prevents your dough from becoming too dry. Tastier and easier to handle? Yes, please. The same goes for adding a little bit of baking soda. Using a leavener ensures that your crust won’t turn out too dense. 

Repeat after us: The food processor is your friend. 

Using a food processor is kinda key here. It guarantees that everything is evenly incorporated, but more importantly, that you’re working ultra fast. The golden rule when it comes to making pie dough is keeping your ingredients cold. Ice cold. That means freezing the butter and flour before you start. Take it from someone with dreaded “hot hands,” the food processor is your friend. If you don't have a food processor, you can definitely use your hands, but you gotta work quickly.

Starting with a perfect pie crust sets you up for greatness. Then, you can move on to the fun part: filling it. Double the below recipe for a classic apple pie, or par-bake a single crust and fill it with pumpkin custard. No gluten, no problem.