This is Anna’s favorite pie crust recipe. She makes it each year for her pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, and she’s been making it for the past 10 or more years.

If you feel intimidated by the thought of making pie dough from scratch, don’t worry! This homemade pie crust recipe is simple and has easy-to-follow steps that even beginners can master.

A pie crust in a circular baking dish on a wooden surface.

So grab your rolling pin, and let’s get started making easy homemade pie dough. This pie crust recipe makes enough for one single crust pie. If you’re making multiple single crust pies, a fruit pie or other type of double crust pie, simply double (or more) the recipe.

Why you’ll love this easy all-butter pie crust recipe

This pie crust dough easy to make and to work with. And is a great pie dough for your Thanksgiving pies and other favorite pie recipes!
It’s flakey, tender, and delicious. While there are great store-bought crusts, and I use them often, homemade pie crusts are more flaky and tender, I think.
You can make it ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator or freezer wrapped in plastic wrap and then in a zipper-top freezer bag. Storing the pie dough this way prevents it from absorbing any odors in the refrigerator or freezer.
It works well for or savory pies like Tomato Basil Pie. Just omit the sugar.

Top-down view of a food processor with flour on a wooden table. Also show are butter, water, salt and sugar to make pie crust.

Ingredients to make it

Ice water
Table salt, like Morton’s salt
Sugar
Unsalted butter
All-purpose flour

How to make this easy homemade pie crust

Top-down view of a food processor with flour. Nearby are two small bowls with salt and sugar, a glass of water, and sliced butter on wax paper, set on a wooden surface.

1. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor and pulse the flour mixture 2-3 times.

A food processor bowl filled with flour and butter cubes sits on a wooden surface. Nearby are glass bowls and a butter wrapper.

2. Add the cold butter and pulse 10 times until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.

A top-down view of a food processor containing a mixture of flour and small chunks of butter, ready for blending. The bowl is set on a wooden surface with a glimpse of a nearby empty glass bowl.

3. This is what the pie crust dough will look like after pulsing it 10 times in your food processor or using a pastry blender.

A hand holds a tablespoon over a bowl of flour with a wooden spoon resting inside. The focus is on the preparation of baking ingredients on a wooden surface.

4. Remove the mixture from the food processor bowl and put in a medium mixing bowl. Add the ice water, a little at a time, and begin to bring the mixture together.

A ball of rough dough rests on a sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface, lightly dusted with flour, ready to be rolled or shaped.

5. Form the dough into a disk and wrap in a sheet of parchment paper. Put in the freezer for 30 minutes to chill before rolling it out.

A wooden rolling pin rests on a sheet of rolled-out dough on parchment paper. Nearby are a green-rimmed bowl with flour and a round metal pie tin, all on a wooden surface.

6. Remove the pie dough disk from the freezer and place it on your work surface. Sprinkle some flour on the parchment paper that you just removed from the dough. Then, sprinkle more flour on the disc of dough. Roll out the dough on the parchment paper turning the parchment paper a half turn every few times you roll out the dough. Roll the dough until it is about 1/4 inch thick, a little larger than the pie plate.

7. Place the pie pan upside down on the rolled-out dough and turn over the parchment paper/dough/pie plate all at once. This will place your pie dough right into your pie pan. Remove the parchment paper.

A hand is crimping the edge of an unbaked pie crust in a pie dish. The dish is on a wooden surface, and there are small bits of dough scattered around.

8. Tuck the overhanging dough under and decorate the edges, (or not), with your finger or a fork. From here, follow the directions for the pie you’re making. Some pie crusts need to be blind baked before filling and some do not.

Tips for Success

Make sure the butter is well chilled. Cold butter helps create a flaky pie crust by creating layers in the dough that are created from steam released as the butter melts.
If the pie crust dough is too dry, add more ice water 1 tablespoon at a time. You can always add more if needed.
Roll the pie dough out on a piece of parchment paper dusted with all purpose flour. Doing so, makes it easier to transfer the rolled out dough to the pie plate.
If the pie crust edges begin to get too brown before your pie is fully baked, cover the edges with pieces of aluminum foil. You can also use pie crust protectors.

What to do with leftover pie dough

If there’s any leftover pie dough, you can make pie crust cookies. Simply use cookie cutters or a biscuit cutter and cut out the shapes. Place them on a parchment linked baking pan.

When I was a child, we brushed the pie crust cookies with melted butter and sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar before baking. They make the house smell comforting and the cookies taste great.

What if I don’t have a food processor

Good news! You can make this easy homemade pie crust with out a food processor. In a large mixing bowl, gently mix the dry ingredients together using a wooden spoon or whisk. Then add the small chunks of butter that you chilled and blend using a pastry blender (sometimes called a pastry cutter).

Move the pastry cutter back and forth in a rocking motion until the butter is about the size of small peas and is combined with the flour. From here you can follow the recipe as written.

Pie Crust

Elizabeth Davenport, MPH, RD

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s Flaky Pie Crust from How to Cook Everything

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Prep Time 15

Total Time 2

Course Dessert

Ingredients

▢ 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour plus a little extra for dusting when rolling out the crust
▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
▢ 8 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
▢ About 3 tablespoons ice water you might need more if the dough seems too dry

Instructions

Place the flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine the ingredients.
Add the butter and pulse about 10 times or until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal.
Remove the mixture from the food processor and place in a medium mixing bowl. Drizzle the ice water over the flour-butter mixture. Bring the mixture together using a wooden spoon or spatula. You can also use your hands. If the mixture seems too dry, add more water starting with another 1/2 tablespoon.
Form the dough into a disk and wrap it in parchment paper. Place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the freezer. Sprinkle some flour on piece of parchment paper you just unwrapped from around the dough. Then sprinkle some flour on the disk of dough.
Roll the dough by turning the parchment a half turn after rolling a few times. Roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and 10 inches in diameter ( a littler bigger than the pie plate).
Place the pie plate upside down on the dough. Pick up the parchment/dough/pie plate and turn it all over at once. This will place the pie dough right into your pie plate.
Remove the parchment. Gently press the dough into the pie plate. Fold any extra dough under to make the dough even with the outside edge of the pie plate. Then decorate (or not) by pressing with a fork or your fingers.
Place the pie plate in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. Remove from the freezer and add the pumpkin pie filling. No need to pre-bake the crust this time.