This website may contain affiliate links and advertising so that we can provide recipes to you. Read my disclosure policy.
Tender, buttery, and easy-to-make, my Grandma’s perfect pie crust is everything you need this Thanksgiving. It’s so foolproof, you won’t use store-bought ever again!
A Reader’s Review
“Thank you for posting Grandma’s Perfect Pie Crust recipe! I have tried dozens of recipes but could never get the crust to stay together. It makes me happy to be able to make a good pie crust that not only stays together but tastes fantastic!!!”
Super Easy Homemade Pie Crust Recipe
My grandma made the best pies for Thanksgiving—her crusts were always tender and flaky, and her fillings were divine! Every year, we looked forward to her cooking. She raised eight kids and still served home-cooked meals every night, all from scratch. I remember summers with her, enjoying freshly baked bread or peanut butter cookies straight from the oven. You can find that bread recipe here!
But the highlight of Thanksgiving was always her pies, especially the cherry pie—nothing compares! Her crusts were perfect, and I’m here to show you how easy it can be to make your own from scratch. This crust comes together in minutes with simple ingredients you likely already have. Trust me, it’ll take any pie to the next level! I’ve also included a printable graphic for your baking needs. Let’s keep this delicious tradition alive!
Ingredients to Make a Pie Crust from Scratch
Simplicity is key! The best pies start out with a flaky, golden crust with no frills. This pie crust will bring your whole pie together with just pantry staples! Measurements can be found in the printable graphic or recipe card at the end of the post.
- All-Purpose Flour: All-purpose flour works great for achieving a soft, flaky crust. It doesn’t have a high protein content, so it will keep the structure nice and light. You can also use a low-protein pastry flour.
- Salt: You need a little salt to enhance the overall flavor.
- Shortening: This is needed for fat content. You can also substitute it with butter, margarine, or even coconut oil!
- Cold Water: This is used to moisten the dough. Be sure to keep it cold! Cooler temperatures is the secret to a nice and flaky pie crust.
How to Make the Perfect Pie Crust
Making a solid pie crust isn’t difficult at all. All you need is a little love and attention to detail! You’re going to love it. It’s better than anything you can get from the store!
- Mix Dry Ingredients and Shortening: In a medium bowl, stir together flour and salt. With a pastry cutter, cut in shortening till pea-sized.
- Moisten: Next, we add some cold water. Sprinkle water on top one tablespoon at a time, tossing with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side. Mix until all flour is moistened. Don’t mix too much, or your crust will be hard.
- Shape and Roll Out: Form into a ball and roll with a rolling pin on a floured surface. Turn and flour the dough a few times till it’s the size you need. It’s now ready for all of your favorite fillings! If you are using this for a cream pie, check out this How To Blind Bake a Pie Crust post on how to cook the crust first.
Pie Filling Ideas
Whether you want a classic pie, or you’re looking to switch things up a little, I’ve got you covered! From chocolate to citrus, cinnamon to sweet, there’s a pie for everyone. And the good news is, it will taste amazing on your freshly-made pie crust! You can find more delish pie recipes here.
Tips and Tricks
Making a pie crust from scratch is both tasty and impressive! Here are a few simple tips and tricks to make your crust bakery-worthy. You’re going to love how it turns out!
- Use Chilled Ingredients: The secret to a flaky crust is to use refrigerated ingredients. Warm ingredients can make your dough tough and dense.
- Don’t Overmix: As with other homemade pastries, don’t overwork your dough. It can cause gluten to develop and make your crust chewy and hard. You only want to mix your dough until it sticks together, and you can start shaping it into a ball.
- Add Water as You Go: Add too much water, and your pie dough might be hard to salvage. Add too little water, and it will be dry and crack. To avoid these extremes, add a little bit of water at a time and mix gently until you have reached your desired consistency.
- Use a Food Processor: Instead of using a pastry blender to cut ingredients together, you can pop your mixture in a food processor and blend for short intervals. Once it is blended smoothly, you can remove it and add water to moisten it.
- Adding Flavors: One often overlooked tip is that you can flavor your dough! Whether it be a hint of pumpkin spice, fresh herbs, lemon zest, vanilla, almond extract, or sugar and cocoa powder, it can really take your pie up a notch! You’ve got a flavorful filling- why not add flavor to your crust, too?
Make Ahead of Time
You can easily store your pie crust and use it later if you’re not ready to bake! It will be just as flaky and delicious as the day you prepared it!
- In the Refrigerator: Wrap a ball of uncooked dough in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container. It will stay good for up to 3 days. Let it come to room temperature before rolling out, or it may crack.
- In the Freezer: Pie crusts are great for freezing and using later. I recommend shaping your dough into a pie pan before freezing. This way, you don’t need to thaw it; it can go straight into the oven. If you’ve frozen a dough ball, allow it to thaw overnight and then come to room temperature before rolling it out. Both shaped crusts and balls of dough need to be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap before freezing.
More Homemade Baked Goods
Now that you’re familiar with making pie crust dough from scratch, you’ll have to give some of my other recipes a try! It’s a fun activity and leaves you with the most amazing breads and pastries! Warning: once you start making them from scratch, you’ll never go back! The flavor is undeniable!
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Grandma’s Perfect Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup shortening
- 4 to 5 Tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- In a medium bowl stir together flour and salt. With a pastry blender cut in shortening till pea-sized.
- Sprinkle water on one tablespoon at a time tossing with a fork. Push moistened dough to the side. Mix till all flour is moistened. Don't mix too much or the crust will be hard.
- Form into a ball and roll out on the floured surface. Turn and flour the dough a few times till it's the size you need.
Video
Notes
add 1 more cup flour
1 more 1/2 t salt
Double the shortening
Double the cold water
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If I use butter, would I use salted or unsalted butter as a substitute for the shortening?
Hi Mindi, thank you for your question. Use unsalted butter in place of shortening!
Love it
Why does the video show to use butter and then direct me to a written recipe that uses shortening ?
Hi, Alyssa.
I have been thinking of making my own pie crusts. Thank you for this recipe. My mother used to make crisps in the oven from pie crusts. Of course, I would like to do this also. I have also been wondering about flavoring the crusts with cinnamon and sugar for the crisps. How much seasoning in the crust mix would you recommend?
Thank You
JD
I use 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon cinnamon! You should also try this recipe for pie crust cookies. They’re great!
Hi Alyssa! I was wondering what the measurement would be for the butter substitution in place of shortening? I just want to make sure I’m doing this correctly 🙂 Thank you so much! Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Kristen, you can substitute 1:1 butter to shortening. So you’d need 1/3 cup unsalted butter. I would actually recommend making this butter pie crust recipe if you are wanting to use butter.
i will try.my mother came from italy, an she keep everything in her head, she made the best pie dough. i will try, i need a good apple dumppling reciepe an the syrup.
You don’t have to bake it?
This is just the recipe for the crust itself. You can find my guide to blind baking here!
First time making any pie crust. Turned out great, followed recipe to the letter. Will be making more pies with this recipe. Made a rhubarb pie this time
I’m new to eating gluten free so I was wondering if I could use gluten free flour in place of the AP flour used in the recipe for a pumpkin pie
I haven’t tried that before! Let me know if you do and how it turns out.
is lard as good as shorting or not
You can use lard as a substitute for shortening.
It’s healthier than shortening that’s for sure. There shouldn’t be any difference in how the crust turns out with either.
I tried this pie crust recipe and it was great! I appreciated the little tips (like the cold water and why it was important). This was my first attempt at making my own pie crust (and I tend to loath eating pie crusts cause most are not tasty or are too dry, so I felt the pressure), and this was phenomenal! It has been firmly cemented in to our family recipe binder! Thank you!
So maybe im just dumb but it says to bake the crust before using but gives no specifics on time or temp to use or if the pan needs to be greased for this.
If you need to bake the crust beforehand ( for a crem pie or custard filling etc, you need to “Blind Bake” the crust. Here are the instructions on how to do that! How To Blind Bake a Pie Crust