This homemade gluten-free pie crust is extra flaky and tender. No one will ever guess this recipe is both gluten free and dairy free!

Every baker should have a tried-and-true pie crust recipe in their repertoire. This recipe has quickly become mine. It’s wonderfully flaky and tender, has a rich buttery taste (despite not having any butter in it), and is easy to work with. It’s both gluten and dairy free, but best of all, no one will be able to tell.
While traditional pie crust recipes often consist of just flour, salt and fat (butter, lard or shortening), like so many gluten-free recipes, you’ll need a few more ingredients to get the same taste and texture. Fortunately, all of these ingredients are pantry staples for most gluten-free bakers. The little bit of extra time and effort tossing in these few extra ingredients will make it so worth it when rolling and handling your dough, and in the deliciously flaky crust that’s produced.
This recipe makes a single pie crust. It's great to use for my gluten-free apple galette and my gluten-free pumpkin pie recipes, where you just need a single crust.
Making a double-crust pie, like my gluten-free apple pie? Then use my gluten and dairy free, double pie crust recipe.
Ingredients

- gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend
- almond flour
- salt
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- vegetable shortening
- vegetable or canola oil
- egg
- apple cider vinegar
- cold water
See the recipe card for quantities.
Ingredient Notes
Gluten-free all-purpose flour blend: Use a blend that contains xanthan gum, so the pastry has enough structure and stability. Make sure your blend doesn’t contain any ingredients with strong flavours, such as bean flour. For pastry, I prefer to use a blend with a higher starch content. Refer to baking with gluten-free flour for more information.
Almond flour: The addition of almond flour helps to keep the crust tender and also adds a richness in flavour.
Granulated sugar: A little bit of sugar help balance the overall flavour.
Vegetable shortening: Using vegetable shortening, such as Crisco, keeps the crust dairy free and also makes the dough easy to handle. The combination of the other ingredients in this recipe all come together to create a nice, rich flavour, so don’t worry, you won’t miss the butter. Is Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening Gluten Free? Yes, it's gluten free in Canada and the United States.
Apple cider vinegar: A splash of vinegar keeps the crust tender. You might notice the amount of vinegar in this recipe is slightly more than traditional pie crust recipes, that’s because most all-purpose wheat flour is slightly acidic, whereas most gluten-free blends (depending on the blend’s ingredients) are closer to pH neutral. The additional vinegar helps to balance the flavour and keep the taste closer to what you expect with wheat-based pastry, but don’t worry, you won’t taste the vinegar.
Baking powder: A bit of baking powder adds a lightness to the dough, helping it expand and add flakiness.
Vegetable oil: Gluten-free pastry is a little more delicate than traditional wheat-based versions because of the lack of gluten, which is what creates that elasticity in wheat-based doughs. The addition of a little vegetable oil makes the dough more pliable and easier to work with. If the dough cracks, you can just pinch and seal it to patch up.
Instructions

- In large bowl, stir the gluten-free flour, almond flour, salt, sugar and baking powder until blended.
- Cut the shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or fork until shortening pieces are the size of peas.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, vinegar, oil and water together.
- Gradually add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, stirring the mixture together until it comes together and forms a ball of dough. Do not over mix, you should still be able to see specks of shortening in the dough.

- Flatten the dough into a ½ inch thick disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour and place a second sheet of wax paper on top. Rolling from the centre outwards, between the two pieces of wax paper, roll the dough into a roughly 12” circle.
- Remove the top piece of wax paper. Trim any rough edges. Carefully flip the rolled dough into the pie plate and peel off the back sheet of wax paper. Tuck edge under and crimp or flute as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Thoroughly prick the bottom sides of the unbaked pie crust with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Top Tips for a Perfect Gluten-Free Pie Crust
- Don’t over mix – to ensure a flaky crust, don’t over mix. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture, just until the shortening pieces are pea size. Don’t work the shortening into the flour so much that it becomes a solid mass. After adding the liquid mixture, just stir until the dough holds together. Again, don’t over mix, should still be able to see small flecks of shortening in your dough.
- Don’t stress about cracks – gluten-free dough is more delicate and not as elastic as compared to a traditional wheat-based version. When removing the wax paper or transferring to the pie plate, it might stick, and cracks might happen, but if they do, don’t stress. This dough is rather pliable, just pinch and seal to patch up any cracks and no one will be the wiser.
- Roll out between wax paper – the dough is a little wetter/sticker than traditional wheat-based pastry. I find it easiest to roll it out between two pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking. It also makes it easier to transfer the dough into the pie plate. Once rolled out, remove the top piece of wax paper and then flip it into the pie plate, remove the second piece of wax paper and then gently press the dough down into the pie plate.
Storage
Baked: once baked, best used the day of. Once filled, follow the storage directions of the recipe used.
Unbaked: Keep the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days before using. Can be stored unrolled in disk, or rolled out in pie plate. Ensure tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
Freezer friendly: The dough can be frozen and kept up to 2 months. Ensure well wrapped. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.

Recipe Card

Gluten-Free Pie Crust, Single Crust (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 1¼ cup gluten-free flour, all-purpose blend (see note)
- ⅓ cup almond flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoon cold water, see note
Instructions
- In large bowl, stir the gluten-free flour, almond flour, salt, sugar and baking powder until blended.
- Cut the shortening into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or fork until shortening pieces are the size of peas.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the egg, vinegar, oil and water together.
- Gradually add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture, stirring the mixture together until it comes together forms a ball of dough. Do not over mix, you should still be able to see specks of shortening in the dough.
- Flatten the dough into a ½ inch thick disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour or up to 2 days.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured sheet of wax paper. Sprinkle the top of the dough with more flour and place a second sheet of wax paper on top. Rolling from the centre outwards, between the two pieces of wax paper, roll the dough into a roughly 12” circle.
- Remove the top piece of wax paper. Trim any rough edges. Carefully flip the rolled dough into the pie plate and peel off the back sheet of wax paper. Tuck edge under and crimp or flute as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Thoroughly prick the bottom sides of the unbaked pie crust with a fork. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Don’t over mix – to ensure a flaky crust, don’t over mix. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture, just until the shortening pieces are pea size. Don’t work the shortening into the flour so much that it becomes a solid mass. After adding the liquid mixture, just stir until the dough holds together. Again, don’t over mix, should still be able to see small flecks of shortening in your dough.
- Don’t stress about cracks – gluten-free dough is more delicate and not as elastic as compared to a traditional wheat-based version. When removing the wax paper or transferring to the pie plate, it might stick, and cracks might happen, but if they do, don’t stress. This dough is rather pliable, just pinch and seal to patch up any cracks and no one will be the wiser.
- Roll out between wax paper – the dough is a little wetter/sticker than traditional wheat-based pastry. I find it easiest to roll it out between two pieces of wax paper to prevent sticking. It also makes it easier to transfer the dough into the pie plate. Once rolled out, remove the top piece of wax paper and then flip it into the pie plate, remove the second piece of wax paper and then gently press the dough down into the pie plate.
- Baked: once baked, best used the day of. Once filled, follow the storage directions of the recipe used.
- Unbaked: Keep the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days before using. Can be stored unrolled in disk, or rolled out in pie plate. Ensure tightly wrapped in plastic wrap.
- Freezer friendly: The dough can be frozen and kept up to 2 months. Ensure well wrapped. Thaw in the fridge overnight before using.
Nutrition
Nutritional information shown is an estimate only.
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