Easy Flaky Pie Crust Recipe (Made with Avocado Oil)

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Who doesn’t love a homemade pie? This is my grandma’s oil pie crust recipe, loved and passed on through all the family. Her original recipe called for a generic type of oil such as canola oil, but I love to make this easy, flaky pie crust recipe with avocado oil for a healthier fat. Just a few simple ingredients make this easy crust a staple recipe for any kitchen. 

This crust is an excellent base for any pie filling, such as apple pie, cherry pie, coconut cream pie, pecan pie, pumpkin pie, or my personal favorite: pear-ginger pie. It can even be used with savory recipes or pot pies.

Pies have been a favorite in my family for years. While I was growing up, my mom was the queen of pies. We’d often have homemade pies rather than cakes on birthdays or other special occasions. Once, my mom made SEVEN pies for Thanksgiving when our family was celebrating with only one other family. 7 pies for 9 people! 

I grew up making homemade pies, such as Granny Smith apple pie with homemade caramel drizzled on top. And as a teenager, I was thrilled to win a blue ribbon at the fair for my lemon meringue pie.

Making a homemade pie for someone is a great way to show them how much you love them! 

Or if you’re a bit of a practical joker like my mom, you may even fill a pie with gravel and bake a beautiful meringue on top to give someone a shocking surprise. (Just be sure to have a backup of the real thing, or they may never recover from the disappointment!)

Pie-making is such a fun art, and a good skill to have when the holidays come around. Don’t be afraid if your first few don’t turn out quite like you hoped. Keep practicing and it’ll come easier each time.

Many people are intimidated by making a pie crust and choose to buy a pre-made crust. But once you try this easy dough recipe, you will never go back. Just 4 simple ingredients and a little careful handling, and you will be a pie expert.

One of my traditions the last several years has been to make a Gravenstein Apple Pie for our first day back to homeschool. My kids look forward to it so much! I serve it for breakfast before we start our studies, snapping a few pictures to remember each new year. This year, my kids were all up at the crack of dawn, almost as if it were Christmas morning or something!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Flaky Pie Crust

This is a no-butter pie crust, with no chilling time required before rolling it out. Just a simple oil crust recipe that comes together in minutes. Mix up the ingredients and roll out between sheets of wax paper, and you’re ready for your favorite filling. It handles well for making a lattice crust or other pretty crust designs and supports any type of filling. It can be blind-baked or filled raw. It’s the perfect pie crust for even a beginner pie maker. You will wonder why you ever bought a pre-made crust! 

Pie Crust Ingredients

Flour – Unbleached, all-purpose flour works best. I have also used artisan bread flour if that’s what I have on hand, with maybe a tiny splash of more oil. I like King Arthur or Central milling flours. 

Salt – Just a little bit of salt to bring out the flavors

Oil – I prefer avocado oil, but you can substitute another neutral oil such as sunflower oil. I’ve used extra virgin olive oil in a pinch, but it has a stronger flavor and may be better suited to savory pies.

Water – Cold water works best, so I prep a little cup of ice water before mixing the crust

Tools You Will Need

a standard 9″ pie dish

wax paper

a rolling pin

a smooth work surface

Steps to Making the Easy Flaky Pie Crust Recipe:

Note:

This recipe makes a single crust. If you need both a top crust and a bottom crust, double the ingredients.

Step 1:

Mix the dough

In a medium bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Add half of the oil and use a fork to combine the flour mixture until even crumbs form. 

Pour in the rest of the oil and the ice water and use the fork to gently bring it together. It is important to handle the dough as little as possible, so gently mix a bit with a fork and then use your hands to bring it together just enough to form into a ball. 

If you made a double recipe for a two-crust pie, divide it in half and let one ball of dough rest under plastic wrap until you’re ready to prepare the top crust.

Step 2: 

Roll out the dough. Prepare two sheets of wax paper on a smooth surface. Place the ball of dough in the center of a piece of wax paper, and place another sheet of wax paper on top. Use your hand to flatten into a round disk. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough evenly in all directions until it is about 1.5 – 2 inches wider than the pie dish. I like to flip it over at least once during this process, to ensure that the underside is smooth and no wax paper is wrinkling up. 

Step 3:

Transfer the pie crust to the pie plate. One trick is to peel off the top sheet of wax paper, then lightly set it back down. Then flip the whole thing over and gently peel off what was the bottom sheet. This ensures that the pie dough is loose and will easily transfer to the pie pan. Next, gently invert it onto the top of the pie pan, centering it, and carefully peel off the wax paper. 

With your hands, ease the crust down into the sides of the pie pan. 

Now you have a few options:

If you are doing a double crust, you may choose to wait to shape the edges. Fill your pie now and repeat the same steps to roll pie crust for the top. Then move on to crimping the edges of the crust.

For a lattice crust, sometimes I shape the edges at this point, and sometimes I wait until the lattice top is in place.

For single-crust pies, you’re now ready to shape and crimp the edges.

How to Give Your Crust a Nice Edge

For best results, I prefer to gently fold the edge of the pie crust under all the way around, rather than trimming the edges. This helps the rim of the crust look smooth. If it is quite uneven, you may want to trim a little first. Using your fingers, gently shape and even out the dough neatly all the way around.

Next, use your thumb and forefinger to create a crimped, scalloped-looking edge. Gently pinch and twist, repeating all the way around. Be sure that your thumb rests in the previous scallop as you pinch and twist the next one. This will make it nice and uniform all the way around.

And that’s it! You just created a beautiful pie crust base for any recipe!

You may also choose to use a fork or other tool to create a different look for your edge. 

Fill the Pie Crust

Fill your crust and bake as directed, according to the recipe and depending on your filling of choice. 

Generally, this is approximately an hour of baking time at 350-400 degrees.

If your pie will bake for an hour or more, consider placing the crust in the freezer for 15 minutes or so while you mix the filling. This will help the crust edges not to over-brown while the filling is baking.

I will often place a tented sheet of foil over the pie about halfway through, if it starts to look a little dark. 

For a blind baked crust: preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and bake for 12-15 minutes until very lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before adding a filling. (This is great for pies such as lemon meringue pie or coconut cream pie.)

To freeze this crust: If you’d like to make this crust in advance and freeze it, simply place in the freezer, and once it is frozen solid, remove it and wrap well with plastic wrap (and maybe a layer of foil too depending on how long in advance you are making it) and freeze for up to 2 months. When you are ready to use it, remove it and allow it to defrost nearly all the way before filling. It’s okay if it is still a little cold.

To make a lattice top crust: follow a step-by-step visual HERE. I plan to write a more thorough post soon on how to make lattice top pies.

I hope you enjoy this easy flaky pie crust recipe! Let me know if you try it!

Pair it with my low-sugar Gravenstein Apple Pie Recipe for a delicious fall dessert! 

Pin the pie crust recipe for later:

More Recipes to Try:

Easy and Beautiful Pumpkin Cheesecake

Healthy Homemade Granola Bars (no refined sugar)

Easy Sourdough Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Sourdough Discard Triple Ginger Scones

Skills to Learn:

How to Score Sourdough Bread Like a Pro