This easy vegan pie crust comes together effortlessly in minutes in a food processor which means you don't need to spend time rubbing in the butter.
Made using just 5 simple ingredients and without dairy, eggs, or shortening. This vegan shortcrust pastry uses buttermilk instead of water which enhances the buttery flavor and creates a flaky and light crumb.
This pastry is perfect as a base for homemade vegan cherry pie, blueberry pie, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, or apple pie, it even tastes amazing just on its own!
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📖 Recipe Overview
- Made with 5 simple ingredients.
- Less than 10 minutes of hands-on preparation.
- Buttery rich flavor and light, flaky texture.
- Completely eggless, and dairy-free.
📋 Ingredients Needed
Ingredient Notes
- This pastry calls for vegan block butter, not the spreadable kind from a tub. I use flora unsalted plant butter, but you can use salted vegan butter and omit the extra salt from the crust if preferred.
- Plain flour (all-purpose flour) is what you'll need. I have not yet tried making this recipe with gluten-free flour, but will update you here when I do!
- You can use any non-dairy milk of your choice. Soy milk, almond milk, and oat milk all work well. Plant-based milk is mixed together with apple cider vinegar to create a vegan buttermilk alternative.
🥣 How To Make Vegan Pie Crust
Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
(1) First add the dry ingredients (flour and salt) to your food processor and blend until combined. Add in the cold butter cubes and pulse for 20-30 seconds until combined. Do not overmix the dough, a few lumps of butter are fine.
(2) Add the chilled buttermilk to the food processor and pulse for 10-15 seconds until combined.
(3) Turn the dough out onto a clean surface that's been lightly dusted with flour.
(4) Carefully shape the dough into two separate discs. Wrap them well in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour (or longer if preferred).
(5) Before rolling out the dough, allow it to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes. Then roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a circumference wider than your pie tin.
(6) Using the rolling pin, very carefully lift the dough into the pie tin.
(7) Trim around the outer edges of the pastry with scissors, being careful not to stretch the dough.
(8) You can either crimp the outer edges of the vegan pastry using a fork or by using your fingers as shown in this video by Epicurious.
(9) It's important to dock the pastry dough and pierce several holes in the base. This prevents steam from building up under the dough so that your pastry doesn't puff up during baking.
(10) Roll out the second disc of dough as done with the first piece. You can either leave the disc whole or create a lattice design as shown on Sally's Baking Recipes.
(11+12) Once you have added the top piece(s) of pastry, trim away any excess pastry that hangs over the edge and crimp the edges of the pastry to secure it. If leaving the top piece hole, use a knife to create slits in the pastry to prevent steam from building up underneath it.
Lastly, brush some extra vegan melted butter over the top of the pastry and sprinkle with granulated sugar. This will create an incredibly crisp and golden pastry shell once baked.
How to make vegan pastry dough without a food processor
Personally, I have found the best results with this vegan pie crust by using a food processor. But if you choose to make it by hand, it will still be amazing! Here's how:
(1) Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl until combined.
(2) Add the cold butter cubes and use the tips of your fingers to rub the butter into the flour. You'll be left with somewhat of a crumb consistency, but be careful not to overwork the dough. It's perfectly fine to have a few larger lumps of butter in the mixture.
(3+4) Add the ice-cold vegan buttermilk to the bowl and use your hands to carefully bring the dough together. Separate the dough into two discs and continue the same steps as with the regular food processor method.
📝 Recipe Tips
Make sure that you work with cold fats. The vegan butter and vegan buttermilk both need to be cold for the best results and to get a crisp flaky pastry shell.
Measure the recipe in grams: As with all baking, measuring with a kitchen scale will always give you the most accurate results. Therefore I highly recommend that you measure the recipe in grams. If you plan on using cups, check out how to measure flour without a scale on Ambitious Kitchen.
Preheat your oven properly: The temperature of your oven affects the texture, flavor, and browning of the pastry. So it's important to allow enough time for it to heat to the correct temperature. I usually aim to preheat the oven a good 30 minutes before baking.
💬 FAQs
You can freeze the uncooked pastry in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before using it.
I have only tested this recipe using vegan butter. As vegan shortening is used mainly for structure, it will likely give a different consistency without the buttery flavor.
➕ More Vegan Basics
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Description
Ingredients
- 80 ml (⅓ cups) non-dairy milk, chilled
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 320 g (2 ½ cups) plain flour
- 235 g (8.3 oz) vegan block butter, chilled, cut into cubes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons vegan butter, for glazing
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar, optional
Instructions
Method when using food processor
- To make the vegan buttermilk, add the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar to a bowl and place in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Add the flour and sea salt to the food processor and blitz for a minute until evenly mixed. Add in the cold cubed vegan butter and pulse the mixture until roughly combined, about 20-30 seconds (see images in the blog post above for reference). Add the ice-cold vegan buttermilk to the food processor and blitz again for 10-25 seconds until combined.
- Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into 2 separate discs. Wrap the pastry discs in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
Method when making by hand
- Add the flour and salt to a large bowl and mix well. Add in the cold butter cubes and rub the butter into the pastry with your fingertips using the rubbing in method. You should be left with almost a crumb consistency, but do not overwork the dough, a few lumps of butter in the mixture are fine.
- Add the cold buttermilk to the bowl and carefully bring the dough together using your hands. Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into 2 separate discs. Wrap the pastry discs in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
Rolling out the dough
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (392°F).
- Remove the dough discs from the fridge and allow them to sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling out. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough discs to a circumference wider than your pie tin. Carefully lift the pastry into the tart tin using your rolling pin.
- Gently press the dough into the base and sides of the tin, being careful not to stretch it. Use scissors to trim off the excess pastry around the edges of the pan. To crimp the edges of the dough using the pinch method as shown in this video. You can also crimp the edges using a fork. Pierce several holes into the base of the pastry using a fork.
- Roll out the second pastry disc, add the pie filling to the pie, and top with the second round of pastry. Trim and crimp the edges of the top layer of crust.
- Melt the 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and brush it on top of the pastry in an even layer. Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Baking the pie crust
- Bake in your oven which has been preheated to 200°C (392°F) for 20 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 190°C (374°F) and bake for another 30 minutes until golden brown.
Storage
- You can freeze the uncooked pastry in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before using. It can also be stored in the fridge for 3 days prior baking wrapped well in plastic wrap.
Notes
- Make sure that you work with cold fats. The vegan butter and vegan buttermilk both need to be cold for the best results and to get a crisp flaky pastry shell.
- Measure the recipe in grams: As with all baking, measuring with a kitchen scale will always give you the most accurate results. If you plan on using cups, check out how to measure flour without a scale on Ambitious Kitchen.
Nutrition
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