Since I always love a good culinary challenge, I decided to wing it and just make one up based on some of the grain-free baking I’ve done so far.
My first attempt was good but not amazing.
My family was pretty gracious about it and everyone had Pumpkin Pie on Thanksgiving but I couldn’t leave it alone.
I had an idea of what could make both the crust and pie filling recipe amazing and kept making both all weekend until I got it perfect!
I am so excited to share this paleo pie crust with you.
It is light and flaky, holds together beautifully, doesn’t crack when cut, and tastes like a traditional pie crust.
You can grab the Pumpkin Pie filling here!
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating below!
This popular Paleo Pie Crust is so versatile. Free of gluten, grains and dairy, stays crispy and doesn't crack or break when filled and cut.
- 1.33 cups blanched almond flour
- .33 cup tapioca flour / starch
- 1/2 tsp finely ground sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup organic palm shortening
- 3/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
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Preheat oven to 350F.
Combine almond flour, tapioca flour and sea salt in the bowl of a food processor (or blender). Pulse a couple of times to get out any lumps. (You can also use a hand mixer).
Add egg, palm shortening and vanilla extract.
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Pulse until dough starts to come together in the processor. It won't form a ball, you will have to scrape it together to get it out.
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Scrape all of the dough out, making sure that all of the egg and shortening were incorporated thoroughly. Place into a pie pan and begin the press the dough with your fingers from the middle out.
Keep pressing until the center is thin enough that you can see a shadow of the pan but the dough is not ripping or breaking. You need to be gentle and press slowly in short strokes.
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As you press the dough from the center and up the sides, you should begin to have a bit extra come up the sides and over the top. Use your finger to scrap this off.
Keep pressing until dough has a pretty even thickness all around. Take special care to flatten the "seam" or crease of the pan so you don't wind up with a thick doughy bite at the seam.
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Use a fork to poke several holes on the bottom and to gently indent the rim of the crust.
Place on a baking sheet and into the oven on the center rack for 12 minutes. Remove and place pie pan on a wire cooling rack.
Allow to cool and use in your favorite pie recipe! Enjoy!
- Almond meal (ground raw almonds with their skins on) and blanched almond flour (finely ground blanched and skinless almonds) are different. This Pie Crust used blanched almond flour and will not work with almond meal.
- I usually use Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour and have good results. I have heard that some tapioca flours can have a strong or bitter taste. This crust shouldn't have any off-taste, if it does, I would look at the brand of tapioca flour.
- Since every filling is different, I can't say for sure how this crust will hold up to every pie but with the Pumpkin Pie it stayed light, crisp, firm, and flaky after cooking for an additional hour at 350F, cooling, being refrigerated, and even later that night. It wasn't until about 24 hours later that I noticed the crust had gotten soggy.
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Update Notes: This paleo pie crust recipe was originally published in December 2013 and was last updated in November 2018.
Hi! I’m looking forward to trying this. Have you tried making it with leaf lard instead of the palm shortening?
Hi Tracey, I have! It works. I do think the taste is better for a sweet pie with the palm shortening but if you are making a savory type of pie, the lard shouldn’t impart any dramatic flavor difference. good luck!
Hello! I just wanted to say that I have been using this recipe for a couple years and it has never failed. I get rave reviews from even the gluten eaters. I have used it for a few different types of pies, but my favorite (and most raved over) is lemon tartlets. I bake the crust in a mini cupcake pan and fill the crust cups with a paleo lemon curd. Thank you for your hard work and sharing your recipes with us. 🙂
Hi Jennifer! Those lemon tartlets sound AMAZE. So happy to hear that and thank you for taking the time to comment and let me know about your experience with this recipe – it means a lot to me!
Hello! I would like to make this pie crust recipe a day in advance, then fill it will apple pie filling/crumb top, on Thanksgiving day. Do you think the crust will be ok if cooled and kept in the refrigerator overnight?
Thank you!
Hi Lisa! You can make the crust in advance and I’ve kept it in the fridge or on the counter (loosely covered with foil) so it should be fine either way for 1 day. Enjoy and Happy Holidays!!
Thank you!!
can I use smart balance, coconut oil butter or ghee?
I have heard many readers use Ghee successfully but not sure about the alternative butters!
Does the crust have to be pre-baked or can I put filling in and then bake it–as in a traditional pie crust?
Hi Sarah!
I’ve achieved the best results when I par-bake this in advance. I know some readers how baked it with the filling in it but I find it gets soggy much quicker and isn’t nearly as sturdy!
I am concerned about using any shortening or coconut product because of the high saturated fat content. Has anyone found an alternative to that?
Why are you scared of saturated fat? It’s healthy, (as has been proven by many, many studies as well as cultures all over the world) and has never been proven in a single study to be unhealthy. I’m not going to make a long, rambling comment, but seriously don’t be scared of saturated fat. That’s just politically correct science, not real science. For more info, I seriously recommend the book The Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz
This is the best paleo pie crust hands down! Thank you so much! I made this just today. I wanted to make a spinach pie but without phyllo dough of course. I made the bottom crust and pre-cooked it like the instructions stated, then filled it with the spinach pie mixture and then also made a top crust to place on top. I just made a second batch of your pie crust and rolled it out between parchment paper and placed it on top of the spinach pie. It came out beautifully! This crust is flaky and just pure perfection.
Hi Eunice! Thank you so much for the kind words and taking the time to comment. Glad it worked out as a double crust for you 🙂