Gluten Free Pie Crust

Ingredients & Substitutions

Here I explain the best ingredients for my gluten free pie crust recipe, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card.

• Wholesome Yum Blanched Almond Flour – The buttery base. I highly recommend using this brand because it’s superfine. Many brands are too coarse and will make your gluten free pie crust grainy.
• Tapioca Flour – I love using this resistant starch in my gluten-free baking, because it makes such a big difference in texture. Sometimes I see it labeled tapioca starch. In this recipe, it’s key to making the crust more pliable, brings the texture closer to wheat flour (it mimics gluten), and makes it taste less like a shortbread cookie. You can substitute arrowroot starch, which is similar, but the crust will be more fragile.
• Wholesome Yum Organic Coconut Flour – Even though it seems like a small amount, I recommend it for texture and to prevent the dough from being too wet. You can try replacing it with triple the amount of tapioca flour, but in my experience the blend works better. And in case you’re wondering, you can’t taste it.
• Butter – For a swap, ghee works well, or coconut oil if you need dairy-free.
• Egg – You can replace the egg with more butter, ghee, or coconut oil, but only if you’re pressing this in as a bottom crust alone. When I need this gluten free pie dough to be sturdy enough to roll out for a double-crust pie, I find I need the egg for binding. 
• Honey & Vanilla Extract – For sweet pies only! I prefer Wholesome Yum Zero Sugar Honey for my sweet pies. I don’t normally recommend replacing liquid sweeteners with dry ones, but in this case it’s a very small amount, so I’ve had success replacing the honey with Besti, too.
• Sea Salt – A pinch balances the sweetness. I add extra for a savory crust.

How To Make Gluten Free Pie Crust

I have step-by-step photos here to help you visualize the recipe. For full instructions with amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card.

1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond, tapioca, and coconut flours with a little salt.
2. Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, egg, and honey. I like to mix the vanilla into the butter first, so it blends better.
3. Mix the dough. The mixture will look crumbly at first, but just keep pressing and stirring until it turns into a uniform dough without dry spots.

3. Shape the crust. Press the dough into your pie plate (I prefer to line the bottom with parchment paper) and smooth it out. I find it helpful to flatten the dough into a disc first, then spread up the sides of the pan. You can flute the edges like I did below, or just keep it simple.
4. Bake. For parbaking (a.k.a. a “blind bake”), poke a few holes with a fork so it doesn’t bubble up. If you’re baking it with filling, start hot to set the gluten free pie crust, then cover the edges and lower the heat so it cooks through without burning.

Pies To Make With This Gluten Free Crust

I first made this homemade gluten-free pie crust recipe for my gluten free apple pie, but it works beautifully with so many others. Try it with any of my pie recipes below, or any filling you like.

• Sweet Pies – Try it with sugar free coconut cream pie, give my crustless pumpkin pie a proper crust, pair it with sugar free pecan pie, or swap in the dough for my pear tart. And if you want more inspiration, you’ll find plenty of ideas in my low carb dessert recipes collection.
• Savory Pies – This gluten free crust isn’t just for sweets. It makes a great base for my Greek spinach pie, zucchini quiche, or even chicken pot pie.