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Paleo Pie Crust Recipe (Grain Free)
The holidays wouldn’t be complete without that perfect pie, right?
Well today is your lucky day because I’m giving you my perfect paleo pie crust recipe today. You are going to love this!
I’m willing to bet that no one will ever know it’s grain-free, too! In fact, my gluten loving, picky taste testers all gave it two thumbs up and couldn’t even tell a difference between this grain free version and regular white flour versions. Woo!
Now let me tell you something: I love pie. Love, love, LOVE it. Pumpkin pie, apple pie, chocolate cream pie, key lime pie. I don’t think there’s a pie out there that I wouldn’t like.
But when I was experimenting with a paleo pie crust, I actually got sick of pie. I know. It’s hard to believe for a pie lover like myself. But you see, I want to make my recipes perfect for you. So we had pie for days and days …..and days. Sounds so horrible, right? The things I do for you 😉
I tried making a pie crust using all butter. I tried making a crust with lard. I tried using both. I tried all coconut flour. I tried all tapioca flour. I tried chilling the dough versus unchilled. I tried combinations of all the above and so many more. And at last, I came up with this recipe that I am confident will be a winner at your holiday table.
Check out my paleo pumpkin pie recipe using this crust, too. It’s our favorite 🙂 I’d love to hear how you are planning to fill this paleo pie crust. So leave me a comment and let me know – I adore hearing from you!
Paleo Pie Crust Recipe (Grain Free)
- ½ cup arrowroot flour (I use THIS) or tapioca flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅓ cup coconut oil (I use THIS one - it's refined so it doesn't taste like coconut)
- ⅓ cup milk of choice (I use coconut milk, but you can use almond milk, dairy milk, etc.)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup, honey or other sweetener of choice
- 1 egg (use chia or flax egg for an egg-free version)
- ⅓ cup coconut flour (I use THIS)
- ½ to 1+ cup of additional arrowroot or tapioca flour (enough to form a dough)
- Add ½ cup of arrowroot flour and sea salt to a medium sized mixing bowl.
- Combine the coconut oil, coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla extract over medium heat on your stove and bring to a boil. Once boiling, take it off the heat and pour the it into the arrowroot flour bowl.
- Stir until combined.
- Crack in one egg and stir until combined.
- Add in the coconut flour and stir until combined.
- Add in additional arrowroot or tapioca flour until the mixture forms a dough. I suggest starting with ½ cup. If that's not enough, add more until a dough forms. I usually have to add in about 1 cup of extra arrowroot/tapioca flour. Just like a traditional pie crust, you can't go wrong with adding more flour 🙂
- Press the dough into a 9 inch lightly greased pie pan.
- Fill your crust with your pie filling of choice. Put a pie shield (I use THIS one) around the crust and then bake as directed per your pie filling instructions. Enjoy!
Pin Paleo Pie Crust Recipe HERE:
Definitely going to be using this for my holiday baking! My strengths lie in the filling not the crust, but this looks like an amazing recipe. Thanks Kelly!
Vanessa, I can’t wait to see what you come up with – you are always so creative with your recipes!!
That looks great! I’ve been thinking about trying a grain-free pumpkin pie for my family’s Thanksgiving, but I don’t think I’ve ever attempted any kind of pie before. Can’t wait to see your recipe!
I have never tried a grain free crust. How does the taste and texture compare to a traditional crust?
You’d never be able to tell the difference 🙂
Wow great work! All the experimenting definitely paid off!
Thanks, Mark!
You may have just saved Thanksgiving, Kelly!!! 🙂 It’s been difficult to find a pie crust that doesn’t use nuts or copious amounts of almond flour! Thank you!
Woo!! 🙂
Serendipity!
I’ve been on the hunt for a great pie crust recipe sans almond flour –
and this one appears to be just what i am looking for!!
I’ve not worked much with tapioca flour, so I’m super excited to try this out …
I will be doing some ‘test runs’ this weekend …
Thanks so much!!
Awesome, Susan!! 😀
do you think mixing this in a food processing would work?
Yes, that’d be perfect, Karen.
Thanks for all your ‘hard’ work, lady 😉 I have NO doubt that this recipe will be amazabells and my non-paleo supporters will be fooled. Ha. Now to get my darn lard rendered….I’m hoping this will be the push that I need!
Can’t wait for the pumpkin pie recipe 🙂 When are we gonna get together and cook?!
Ohmigosh, Jess! I would love to cook with you!! 🙂
And go you for rendering lard. I just buy mine lol. I’m seriously beginning to think you are superwoman – I don’t know how you do it all!
Aw, thanks 🙂 I don’t know how I do either sometimes…but feeding the family good food is important!
I so need to try this…but scared as I’m not much of a baker. What kind of lard do you use? do you render your own or ??
I have an awesome butcher that sells heritage pork from pasture raised pigs that I get it from (Rooster Street Provisions in Elizabethtown, PA for anyone reading in the Lancaster County area). If you don’t have that option, butter also makes a really great crust!
Thanks for the great recipe. Can’t wait to try it. Live in the Central PA area. The tip about Rooster Street Provisions in Elizabethtown is just the kind of advice I am looking for. Can you give more tips on where to buy clean meats and vegetables? We are looking for chickens for example now that Eberly’s is out of business.
Hi Georgeann! Check out http://www.lancasterfarmfresh.com They have an incredible CSA with drop off points all over Central PA. Also http://www.localharvest.org — I’m not exactly sure where you are located, but you can type in your zip code in local harvest and all the farms with meat/veggies for sale in your area will come up with great descriptions of each farm (grass-fed, non GMO, etc.). Smuckers in Mount Joy carries grass-fed beef, heritage hogs and no nitrate curing and smoking. Central Market in Lancaster is AMAZING for pesticide free produce and clean meats at great prices. Country Meadows at Central Market in Lancaster carries all clean, pasture raised meats, including chicken. I’ve been to a lot of farmers markets all around Central PA and you can almost always find at least one pesticide free and pasture raised, clean meat stands. If you have a close farmers market nearby, be sure to check them out! Hope that helps!
Meadow Run Farm in Ephrata (but has a Lititz address) raises GMO-free/pastured chicken and meats. Ebenezers in Ephrata is a discount grocer that sells organic veggies for cheap and also has grass-fed meats. Lemon Street Market in downtown Lancaster carries grass-fed meats and organic veggies. Recently someone told me that Fairview Fruit Farm not only has organic fruits but organic chicken as well.
Hi Kelly!
Have you tried baking a double crust (top and bottom) using your pie crust? I would love to make an apple pie using your crust for the bottom and top. I’m notorious for burning! :p Would I just prebake bottom shell, then fill with my apple filling and place the second (uncooked) crust on top and bake covered with foil perhaps? Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
I have, Amy! I prebaked the bottom crust, filled it and then placed the 2nd crust on top, crimped the edges and then baked it for about 20-25 minutes before I had to put the pie shield on (edges were starting to get dark). So I put the pie shield on and baked it for about 20-25 more minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time, I kept checking the top to make sure it wasn’t getting too dark. If your filling needs more time to bake and your top crust looks done, just stick some foil over it and it should be perfect! Happy Thanksgiving, Amy!! <3
Very excited to make this! Was wondering if I could make the crust the night before and make the pie the next morning? Will it mess up the crust?
Yes you can for sure do that.
I’m so happy to have found this crust recipe! I usually make a yummy grain free crust with almond flour but since my nephew who is allergic to nuts will be here for Thanksgiving I’ll be making this one and filling it with this http://www.everydaymaven.com/2014/paleo-chocolate-pudding/
Thanks!
Ooo! A chocolate pudding pie sounds amazing! Happy Thanksgiving, Nicolle!
Yikes! I’m a little nervous now! I haven’t yet made my pies and I was counting on this recipe for the crust, but Candy’s comment above is giving me reservation. Has anyone else tried this yet?
Okay! I just took a beautiful apple pie out of the oven and it smells delicious! The crust appears golden and flaky…it’s a bit springy (springs back when touched), but not hard and that I’m sure is due to the tapioca flour which I’m accustomed to working with. Hubby had a nibble of the crust from the edge and said it was really good. I’ll report back more after it cools and when we actually get to have a slice! 🙂
Amy, please keep me posted. This is embarrassing to admit, but I got so worried after hearing about the hard pie crust. I seriously lost some sleep over it worried that people counted on me for a good Thanksgiving pie and I let them down — I clearly have issues (ha). Your apple pie sounds delicious and I hope it is – wish I could have a bite! Happy Thanksgiving to you!
So what could have caused it, Kelly? I’m really interested! Thanks!
So excited to try this!! do you think gelatine egg would work for this recipe? Thanks!!
It should, Robin. You may need to add a bit more water if you’re finding the dough is difficult to work with. Only add it if it’s not easy to work with and start with a teaspoon or two at a time until it comes together and acts just like regular dough.
Oh no, Candy! That is not good and I am so sorry! I have been racking my brain as to why it would be as hard as a rock. Did you make sure to turn the oven down when you were making the filling (not leaving it at 425 the whole time)? That is the only thing I can think of 🙁 I hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving! Tell Wes hi for me!
How much chia/flax seed would be used as an egg substitute?? Thank you for your time.
Kelly, OMG!!!!! I have to tell you what happened with this crust!! I made it as a Pot Pie crust. I did not add the maple syrup or vanilla since it was to be for a savory dish. I put one in the rectangle glassware and then I placed a second one on the bottom oven rack in the shape of rectangle on a pizza pan… both for the 15 minutes. I removed them both, put the pot pie filling in then put the flat rectangle piece on top and cooked another 20 minutes.It was absolutely fantastic! My whole family raved about it and no one has been very impressed with any crust i have tried to make since going grain and nut free 3 years ago. But the best part is that my MIL was visiting and saw the leftover dough i had. She asked if she could flatten it and cook in on the comal (flat non-stick pan on the stove). We ended up with the FIRST EVER FLOUR TORTILLAS that actually looked/tasted/flexed like a REAL WHEAT FLOUR tortilla!!!! Thank you sooo much for this recipe!~!!
Lori, this is SOOO cool!!! I can’t wait to try your pot pie and also the tortilla!!! You and your MIL are brilliant! I’m so excited!!
Hi – I was just told this week I need to go completely grain free due to inflammation. I’ve been gluten free for a while (among other things – dairy/soy/nuts/eggs), but totally grain free is new to me. I’m going to try your pie crust tomorrow – fingers crossed!
Good luck, Sandy!!!
I’m just starting out on this Paleo journey, I had a ovarian cyst rupture and I have another one on my other ovary. So I said nope no more I need to change the way I eat and heal myself with food and fitness. I can’t do dairy either just like not using regular flour. So my question to you is what should I use instead of butter? Could I use coconut oil or would that be too oily?
Coconut oil would be great, Lindsay! I wish you the best in your journey!
I am not sure what I am doing wrong but have tried this recipe twice and after adding the coconut flour it becomes quite thick but never a dough. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Tricia! I had a big oops with this recipe and I’m SO embarrassed about it. The wrong variation (one of my experiments when I was working on it!) somehow got posted, not the final version, and I didn’t catch the mistake until just last week when I went to make a pumpkin pie. I’m normally a perfectionist and feel so terrible about the mistake. I recently edited it to the real, final version recipe. I am SO sorry!!! (And I totally learned my lesson – I will quadruple check everything in the future). I hope you will give the real version a try – it’s really good!
I’ve been making your pizza for at least a year now and love it so i had an idea how this was supposed to turn out. Not sure what I’m doing wrong, it’s coming out like soup. I even did it twice in case I got the portions wrong. I’m also not seeing baking instructions that are mentioned in the comments. Thanks
Hi Nancy! I had a big oops with this recipe and I’m so embarrassed about it. The wrong variation (one of my experiments when I was working on it!) somehow got posted, not the final version, and I didn’t catch the mistake until just last week when I went to make it. I’m normally a perfectionist and feel terrible about the mistake. I recently edited it to the real, final version recipe. I am SO sorry!!! (And I totally learned my lesson – I will quadruple check everything in the future). I hope you will give the real version a try – it’s really good!
Hi Kelly,
I made the pie crust last Thanksgiving and had the same issue as Candy – mine was hard as a rock. I just want to make sure I have the correct one for our day after thanksgiving celebration tomorrow. There is NO lard in the corrected version, only coconut oil? And in the final (final) version, there are no directions to chill the dough before rolling it out. Just want to make sure I have the right one!
Yes, Yes! The final one is just coconut oil, no chilling and directions to add tapioca flour again at the end. You’ll love the new version! And I am SO sorry about last year – ugh, I feel so bad about the mix-up 🙁
Love this recipe! Do you think it would work as a hand pie? Thanks so much!
Yes, for sure! I make little apple hand pies often using this crust.
I am a little confused. Do you use Tapioca starch or Arrowroot. They cook up differently, at least in my experience. Want to make turkey pot pies and would love to know which to use for best results.
I’ve used both and they both work out very well. I have a very slight preference to using arrowroot (it produces a slightly airier texture – is that even a word?! haha), but either one works great.
I want to make a lemon tart – would this crust work well for that?
I think it would be great for that, Deborah!
Would you recommend pre baking the crust?
It depends how long you have to bake (or if you have to bake) your lemon filling. The pie crust can be done in as little time as 15- 20 minutes at 375 degrees F…or it can be baked much longer if needed with a pie shield. If your lemon filling needs less time than 20 minutes, I’d pre bake the crust for about 10 minutes. If the lemon filling needs longer than 20 minutes, pre baking isn’t necessary. Hope that helps!
Yay! I have been looking for a crust that doesn’t use almond flour! This looks great – going to try it tomorrow. Thanks for sharing
This is our favorite, Shay! Hope you love it, too!
Wonderful!
I left out the Maple & Vanilla, pre-baked the crust for 10 minutes, allowed it to cool for awhile, & then made a quiche! It was wonderful!!! With your permission, I’d like to share your crust recipe (including a link to your page) on my blog, Terri’s Airy Fairie World, along with my paleo quiche recipe as well. May I?
Oh that sounds delightful, Terri! Brilliant! And of course! The more people to know about healthy yumminess, the better 🙂
What type of Coconut milk did you use? Full Fat? Do you prefer to work with a certain brand?
I do use full fat, Paula. I use the Aroy-D brand – love it! It’s comes in a box, with no preservatives and no fillers – just pure coconut milk 🙂 I usually get the 6 pack from Amazon – the cost works out better that way and I use a little in my smoothies each morning 🙂 http://amzn.to/2eCvFpJ
Has anyone tried freezing a pie – say pumpkin – made with this crust? How did it turn out?
Do you partake this crust before adding the pumpkin pie filling?
Do you parbake, not partake 🙂
I don’t, Alicia!
Hi there! This recipe looks like exactly what I’ve been searching for… Except in my part of the world we eat savoury pies as opposed to dessert pies. How much would removing the sweetener affect the quality of the crust, do you think? I’m wanting to make a bacon and egg pie and a steak and cheese pie, but a sweet crust would not really fit these flavours.
Hi Jenn, great idea and they both sound so good! I make a beef and chicken pot pie often and use an adaption of this crust as the base. You can see it here: http://www.primallyinspired.com/beef-pot-pie-paleo/
Thanks! I doubled the pot pie crust recipe, blind baked 3/5 as a base for 15 mins, filled with vege mince and cheese, topped with the remaining 2/5 pastry, and baked for a further 30 mins. It. Was. AMAZING! My super fussy 3yo couldn’t get enough of it either. Which was a pity as I wanted to eat his portion!
Awesome, Jenn!! Thank you for sharing all your tips, too!
Hey, Kelly! You mentioned here that your crust doesn’t save well becuase it hardens up….microwave it! The reason it’s so incredibly soft and plyable is because of the melted coconut oil, and when you microwave/heat it on the stove it melts the coconut oil again, the dough goes back to it’s original softness. That way, this dough keeps quite well! I love the crust, and want to make sugar cookies straight out of it…it’s that good!
Oh, Julie, that is brilliant! Thank you for that tip!
Total flop for me. The boiling water turned my arrowroot into a giant gummy mass…BTW, am I reading this recipe wrong??? Boiling water right into the arrowroot??? (I can’t figure out why boiling water is needed in the recipe either…why wouldn’t you mix the coconut flour w the arrowroot (all the dry ingredients) then add “cooled” liquid rather than boiling? Also, the boiling water will start to cook the egg too, right?). Lol! Anyways, went against my better common sense to test out this recipe to see if some sort of “magic” happens when working w/ gummy, boiled, arrowroot, (I work w/ arrowroot a lot, & the boiling water is a first for me) & followed the recipe exactly, worked the remaining ingredients into my big, boiled, gum ball of arrowroot & ended up w/ a hard as a rock crust. Flavor was bad too. Way overpowered by all the arrowroot starch it says you need to turn this mix into a dough. Nothing at all like my flaky melt in your mouth spelt crust, but I have a friend who is intolerant of grains so was looking for a grain free crust. No way I’m serving this to anyone. I can’t figure out how this recipe could possibly be palatable for anybody, but per the comments someway, somehow, it is. I’m confused.
Bummer, Shanon. I’m sorry it was a flop for you. That was so thoughtful of you to make a grain free crust for your friend and I can imagine how frustrating it was not to work out. Ugh!!!
To answer your question about the boiling water and arrowroot….
Something cool is *supposed* to happen to arrowroot flour when it gets mixed with boiling water. It acts (in texture only) very similar to what gluten does for regular flour. Right at the boiling point (or just a few degrees below the boiling point if anyone wants to get technical lol), the heat causes the starch in the arrowroot to bond with the water molecules. When that happens, the ridged structure of the arrowroot starts to separate, which is what we want. Because when that happens, the starch and water molecules bond together and act very similar to what gluten does for regular flour. When it works, you’ll notice the dough is extremely pliable and easy to work with. That’s because the bonded water molecules and starch make it that way. Hope that makes sense and I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you the way it was supposed to 🙁
Tried this last night for a paleo chicken pot pie. Followed the recipe, just omitting the sweetener. Turned out great!! I was skeptical about adding the boiling water, and it did produce a strange gummy mass of tapioca flour that worried me. I let it cool slightly before adding the egg, to prevent it cooking, however once I added the egg, coconut flour and remaining tapioca flour (I only used 1/2 c.) it transformed into a beautiful pie crust dough!
Does dry out very fast so needed to work with very soon after mixing. Once baked up it was great and my husband couldn’t tell the difference!
Thank you!!
Awesome, Nicole! Thanks for leaving me a comment 🙂
Hi! Can I substitute the coconut oil with butter or another oil (avocado oil)? Thanks!
Avocado oil will work for this!