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.
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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
Here's everything you need to make this non-dairy buttermilk pie crust from scratch:
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.
Step 1: Add flour, salt, and cold butter cubes to a food processor and pulse for a few seconds until combined. Add icy cold buttermilk to the food processor and pulse until just combined.
Step 2: Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into a large disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
Step 3: On a lightly floured surface, roll out the chilled dough to around ⅛ inch in thickness, then fold it over and roll again. Repeat this process so that you have folded the dough around 4 times, dusting with flour as needed.
Step 4: Carefully lift the pastry into the tart tin using your rolling pin. Press the edges down using a fork and pierce several holes into the base of the pastry using a fork.
For unbaked fillings: For fillings that are not baked, par-bake the crust with pie weights and then fully blind-bake it without the weights until golden.
For baked fillings: Add the pie filling to the pie (eg: apple pie or cherry pie), and top with the second round of pastry. Brush the top of the pastry and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake according to the pie recipe instructions.
How To Make Pie Crust 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:
- Mix together the flour and salt in a large bowl until combined.
- 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.
- 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.
🥧 Ways To Use It
This pastry is perfect as a base for all of your homemade vegan pie recipes including:
- Cherry Pie
- Blueberry Pie
- Sweet Potato Pie
- Pecan Pie
- Apple Pie
- Chocolate Pie
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Mince Pies
- Pumpkin Pie
- Savory Pies (pot pie, quiche, etc.)
📝 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
- Note: This recipe makes enough for a 9" double pie crust. If you just need a bottom crust, I recommend making ¾ of the recipe so you have enough to work with. Or you can make the full recipe and freeze any leftovers for another time.
- Make the buttermilk: To make the vegan buttermilk, add the non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar to a bowl and place in the freezer for 10-15 minutes until icy cold.
- Preparation: Lightly grease a 9-inch pie tin with oil or vegan butter, dust it with flour, and then knock off any excess flour so it is lightly coated. You can also add a round of parchment to the base.
- Method 1 (when using a food processor): 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 seconds or less (see images in the blog post above for reference).
- Slowly pour the ice-cold vegan buttermilk into the food processor while blitzing to incorporate it into the dough - this should take no longer than 5-10 seconds, do not overmix.
- Turn out the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and gently shape it into a large disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
- Method 2 (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 ice-cold vegan buttermilk in 2 parts to the bowl and carefully bring the dough together using your hands. If the dough is very wet, you can add a few more tablespoons of flour to bring it together but do not mix it for more than a few seconds.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 them in the fridge to chill for at least an hour.
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to fan 190°C/374°F or conventional 210°C/410°F. Also, preheat an aluminum tray or baking sheet in the oven.
- Remove the dough disc from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before rolling out. If using a top and bottom crust, divide the disc into 2 portions - making the bottom crust slightly more as it will take up more surface area.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to around ⅛ inch in thickness, then fold it over and roll again. Repeat this process so that you have folded the dough around 4 times, dusting with flour as needed. Finally, roll the dough to a ⅛ inch in thickness with a circumference larger 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 simply press the edges down using a fork. Pierce several holes into the base of the pastry using a fork.
- Top crust (for fillings that are baked): If using a top pie crust, roll out the second pastry disc, add the pie filling to the pie (eg: apple pie or cherry pie), and top with the second round of pastry. Trim and crimp the edges of the top layer of the crust. Melt the 2 tablespoons of vegan butter and brush it on top of the pastry in an even layer. Sprinkle with granulated sugar. Bake according to the pie recipe instructions.
- Blind-Baking (for fillings that are not baked): Take a sheet of parchment paper and cut it into a circle slightly larger than the pie tin. Scrunch up the parchment, and place it on top of the dough. Fill the base with pie weights (you can also use dried beans, rice, or lentils). Place the pie into the oven on the preheated baking tray and par-bake it for 20 minutes.Carefully remove the baking beads and parchment and continue to bake the crust for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Cool completely to room temperature, but do not remove the crust from the tin until completely cool.
- 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. It can also be stored in the fridge wrapped in plastic wrap for 3 days prior to baking.
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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