Suuuper flaky, buttery and tasty, this keto pie crust is ideal for anything from pies (think pumpkin and ‘apple’!) to empanadas and quiches.
Gluten Free & Keto Pie Crust
Suuuper Flaky!
Whip it up easily, roll it out, and go make some pie. Or empanadas, sweet hand pies, pop tarts (!!!), roll-ups… pfff! Endless possibilities await.
And did I mention just 2g net carb per serving?!
The Flours
I like a mixture of super fine almond flour and coconut flour best. Add a touch of xanthan gum, and we’re golden.
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds. And for the coconut, I always favor Anthony’s (best taste and texture by a mile!).
And don’t be afraid of the seemingly long list of ingredients, as you’re likely to have most in your cupboard/fridge already.
Just One Rule
You must chill your pastry for 1 hour (at least) before using it. Similar to your good-old wheat flour, the almond and coconut (in particular) need the time to soak up the moisture evenly.
So chill for one hour, and up to 3 days.
On the subject of temperature, make sure that your filling of choice is completely chilled before filling up empanadas (or whatever it is you’re cooking up!). Otherwise you will (quite literally) see the pastry melt before your very eyes.
And remember that, like with any pastry dough, you need to work quickly and over a cool surface. Though do note that if the dough becomes too hard to manage, you can always pop it back in the fridge/freezer for 15 minutes before carrying on!
The Deets
When rolling out you may want to use parchment or wax paper. Given the lack of gluten, the crust is more fragile and it will break easily if not handled with care. So I suggest rolling it out between two sheets of parchment paper (see video).
And talking about lack of gluten, this is the reason why the dough will crack slightly when baked. I’ve noticed that the cracking can be lessened by allowing the dough to rest overnight (probably because moisture is distributed more evenly), though note that taste and texture will be the same.
I also noted that by increasing the xanthan gum you can get a silky smooth crust, but at the cost of losing a bit of flakiness. So I did sacrifice some aesthetics for the sake of taste and texture.
One last thing (promise!). Like with any pastry dough, make sure not to over-process the dough. The mixture ought to resemble coarse breadcrumbs rather than cookie dough. It will make the pastry much more flaky and (perhaps surprisingly) easier to handle.
And… The Video Story!
(The Flakiest!) Keto Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 96 g almond flour
- 40 g coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange zest optional
- 100 g unsalted grass-fed butter cold
- 55 g cream cheese cold
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- egg wash optional (for glossy finish)
Instructions
- Please see recipe video for guidance!
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, salt and zest (optional) to food processor and pulse until evenly combined.
- Add butter and cream cheese and pulse for just a few seconds until crumbly. Add in egg and vinegar and pulse until the dough just begins to come together (but stop before it forms into a ball). Like with any pastry dough, make sure not to over-process the dough. The mixture ought to resemble coarse breadcrumbs rather than cookie dough.
- Turn out the dough onto cling film (i.e. saran wrap) and pat into a round.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 3 days. You can, alternatively, freeze the pie crust at this point and thaw out as needed (just as regular pie crust!).
- Roll out the crust between parchment paper. It's more fragile than regular pie crust, so you need to work quickly and in cold conditions. You can patch up any cracks that occur by pinching the dough together. And if at any point the crust becomes unmanageable, simply pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before carrying on.
- Once shaped (pie, empanadas, etc), pop it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes prior to baking (as it will help to keep its shape better and come out flakier). Brush with egg wash for a glossy finish (optional, but highly suggested).
- Bake at 390°F/200°C for 10-12 minutes if making something small such as crackers. And up to 30 minutes for empanadas and such. Just keep an eye out for it, as grain free flours have a tendency to brown suddenly rather than gradually.
Have you ever made turkey wellington with this?
I have not! But I’ve done a salmon Wellington and it did work out (does require a bit of care though as the dough is more fragile) xo!
This was delicious and fake and tender. Loved by all!
Hi! I am a very beginner baker and new to Keto! Your site is changing my life! I have a kitchen aid food processor and I put the butter in in whole stick form, I didn’t cut it up. By the time my processor chopped it all up the dough was cookie dough form. Nooooo! So my question now is, what can I do with this dough? I was hoping to make the bre cheese dish and to use the crust for individual muffin pan chicken pot pies. I’ve alresdy wrapped the dough up and put it in the freezer until I can figure out if it is still useable. Also, next time should I use frozen butter and cream cheese? Also I was making a double recipe, I used a scale, and it was very sticky but figured that was due to over processing
Hi Ally! No worries, I actually didn’t learn to bake until my 20s so I’ve had plenty of over processed pie dough in the past 😂! OK so the good thing about keto pie crust is that there’s no gluten to overdevelop (i.e. rock hard pie crust!), so what you did isn’t the end of the world… your crust most likely just won’t be too flakey. After a thorough chilling it should also no longer be sticky and you can make it into crackers in case you don’t want to do the brie. I hope this helped! xo
Aerial might have answered my question, but I’ll ask anyway… Do I need to blind bake the crusts? I usually make pumpkin pies for the holidays, and fruit/nut (Ollie Berry, Blue Berry, pecan) pies throughout the year. Thanks for sharing the recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
It depends? Check out the pumpkin pie recipe for more details Greg (I didn’t blind bake it there or for the ‘apple’ pie… but I did for the quiche!) xo!
Hi, when you say eggs, what size are they? 🙂 approx. how many grams?
large xo!
I used dough for crackers but had too much so left it in fridge for a couple days. Then having some sausages decided to use it as a test for a sausage slice! (A big sausage toll that’s flat, like a pasty here in uk) well, it came out fabulous! So impressed don’t know whether it was because left a few days but will be making it loads of times. Thanks for recipe 😋
Could I add erythritol or powdered erythritol to this for a sweeter pastry, in dessert use? I was thinking 20g.
I made two pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving yesterday; one with this gluten free crust, and one traditional. I covered the top of this crust with foil, did not blind bake, chilled it over night in the fridge, popped it in the freezer twice before baking (first time because I didn’t move quickly enough to get it off the parchment paper and it started sticking, the 2nd time for the recommended 15 minutes.
This crust was phenomenal!!! I liked it much better than the traditional pie. I will be using this recipe for all kinds of glorious creations. Paola, you are a game changer to the ketogenic lifestyle!
Ariel how wonderful to hear it worked so well! Thank you also for sharing in detail, always super helpful 🙂 xo!!
Is this just for the bottom and sides of the pie? I want to do an apple pie. Will this recipe yield enough dough to cover the top?
You need to double it xo!
Where is the video? I see the words :The Recipe Video” but it isn’t a link and neither is the picture above it.
This generally happens because of ad blockers 😉 xo!
This recipe is perfect, thank you so much, you are brilliant. I thought I had to say goodbye to pastry forever after going keto. This opens up so many more baking possibilities. I made Pop-Tarts today and they turned out beautifully. Next time I hope to attempt croissants.
Has anyone tried this with all ghee, leaving out the cream cheese and butter? Or maybe part ghee and part lard?
Has anyone fully pre-baked this crust and then filled it with a no-bake cheesecake filling or a refrigerator cream pie type of filling (like chocolate mousse)? In other words, the crust would be baked, cooled, filled, and then refrigerated without being baked a second time. I was wondering if the crust becomes soggy with fillings like these. Thank you.
I’ve done it for a chocolate silk pie and it worked fine (make sure to use piecweights etc )
This pie crust was great for a pumpkin pie I made! Unfortunately, I’ve found out I’m allergic to coconut. How much more almond flour should I use?
Do you bake the crust first or bake it all together?
When I made it I baked the crust first. Then baked again with the pie. It got very dark on the edges but still good.
Hello, I really need to try this! I am wondering if arrowroot will work instead of xanthan gum? Thanks!
Unfortunately no… arrowroot isn’t a gluten replacer xo!
I definitely over processed this dough. I should have read the whole recipe first. It’s in the fridge now. Any recomendations on how to save it?
Unfortunately no, but you could also turn it into crackers now? I think those should come out quite good (just not as flaky!)
This looks wonderful. Is there a way to make it dairy free?
I haven’t tried Megan, maybe lard would work to some extent but I haven’t been able to test it (nor the ratios) xo!
Nutiva makes a coconut oil, palm oil shortening I’ve heard is quite good. I just ordered some to use to make roux for our Christmas gumbo. That might work for this recipe.
Hi Cat! Have you been sole to try it when the Palm shortening? I would love to know.
Thanks
Hi, in UK here. Love your recipes and most work out well except, when you state super fine almond flour you mention Anthony’s but we cannot get it here. Is it a very fine grind that is defatted and looks like flour? Only I used that for your bread and it was so stiff it cane out like scones (biscuits)! Tasted good though! Only I am trying to find a flour that will work properly. Thanks
Hi Lynn! No it’s basically like Bob’s, just a little finer (Anthony’s has two grades, they both work great!). I haven’t found defatted almond flour anywhere (would love to though as defatted peanut flour behaves almost like regular!- but you do need to adjust for the lack of fat). So yeah, something like Bob’s works? I actually lived in the UK for 7 years…. but way before my keto days so not sure what’s in stock nowadays! xo!
Thanks for reply, we can’t get Bob’s here either except if we import and the shipping is around £15 which makes it really expensive for 1 lb flour!!! I will add the info for the defatted almond flour for your info.
https://www.realfoodsource.com/product/organic-extra-fine-almond-flour/
But I’m using the same company’s ground almond that is not so fine so will just use that for your recipes.
Lynn,
I noticed the following on the website you linked to: “Standard Gluten Free Recipes such a Those by Elena Amsterdam will Need to be Adapated, You will Need Less of our Fine Flour than the Equivalent Amount of our standard Blanched Ground Almond Flour.”
The blanched ground almond flour is exactly what Paola uses in her recipes, so hopefully that will help!
I made it yesterday for the blueberry pie.
The recipe is easy to make, I used the food processor from the getgo. Put the dough in the fridge for one hour. Rolled out between two sheets of parchment paper, laid it out in the pie form and filled it with chilled blueberry filling.
Baked for 35 minutes (Yes! It was surprising to see how quickly it browned, so stay near the oven ar the 25 min mark to ensure that it’s not burnt).
The taste was fantastic! Flaky, buttery – all the good traits of the amazing pie dough. Saving it to my recipe box.
Thank you for reporting back in such detail Anelya! So honored its going into your recipe box 😉 xo!
This pie crust is the bomb! I used it to make a broccoli and cheese quiche. Blind baked it for 10mins with foil, tossed in the filling and then lowered the oven temp to what was needed for the quiche.. left the foil in place, and let it cook for about another hour. Cooked up perfectly! The rest of my family that wont usually touch anything unless it’s loaded with carbs, were none the wiser. A win for me! 🙂
😂!! So wonderful to hear it worked so well for you Bronwyn! Totally craving your broccoli quiche right now 😍!!
Can anyone provide any tips on freezing/thawing? How long would it take to thaw? Is the dough any harder to work once it thaws out, like stickier or anything?
I would just treat it like regular pie crust Christy, thaw it out overnight xo!
Hi Paola. I hope this isn’t sacrilegious, but would it change the texture or mess up this amazing crust if I added a Tablespoon or two of Lakanto Classic White or Golden, for a tad of sweetness to go along with my Pumpkin and Pecan Keto Pies? And if so, which and how much would you suggest? Thanks so much!
Hi Maya! Yeah no problem at all! I add a couple tablespoons myself if I’m making tart pies (say cranberry pecan etc) xo!
Oh and you can add 1-2 TBSP to taste (depends a bit if you want?)
Would it be possible to use for a medetarian crescent roll not sure if bottom would be soggy would love if you gave a recipe on this
Sorry, I should have clarified this but I always forget that butter is considered dairy. The butter is no problem for us just the cream cheese…
Hi Holly! There is an all butter pie crust recipe in our summer ebook. With this one you’ll want to roughly sub half the cream cheese with more butter xo!
Where do I buy the ebook?
So what I hear you saying is in this recipe I need to keep half the cream cheese regardless for the recipe to perform correctly? Just want to be clear. Thanks!
You are a GENIUS in the kitchen Paola!!!
No you don’t need cream cheese, but you don’t need to sub the entire amount with butter (cream cheese has less fat) xo!
Paola, is there any way to make this dairy free? Could one possibly use kite Hill almond cream cheese ( we can’t use soy products either so daiya is out for us). I really miss my wheat based crust in which I used cream cheese before all of our food allergies years ago and this looks like the perfect recipe for gluten-free flaky crust! I hope you have time to answer this! Thanks 🤗
I’m making the pie crust for my Pumpkin Pie for (Canadian) Thanksgiving tomorrow. The dough is in the fridge and I’ll leave it there until tomorrow morning. Should I blind bake the crust first? If so how long, since I’ll have to bake it again with the filling and I don’t want it to over brown. The pumpkin filling recipe I’m using calls for it to be baked 35-40 min at 325. Advice?? Thanks so much!
Hi Stephanie! Wow it’s already Canadian thanksgiving!! I would blind bake it first, 10-12 minutes (with beans or ceramic beans!). Be sure to cover all the egdges with foil (you want these covered ALL the time to be sure they don’t turn black!). xo!
Hello, I love this recipe and have used it a num er of times. I would like to use this for a pumpkin pie. Pumpkin pie takes a fair amount of time to bake. Should I still prebake the crust some first or bake it all together?
Hi Paola, how are you? First off, I would like to say, that my entire family loves your recipes and I have had great success in all of them. The thing is I had never baked (never thought I could) before I discovered your website. I wanted to try this recipe, however, there is one thing I am seeing being done in the videos that isn’t listed on the recipe. I have scrolled through your other recipes as well and through the comments. So my question is in the video, the baker sprinkles white powder on the wax paper before rolling it, can you tell me what that powder is? at first I thought it was almond flour, But it looks so white I am assuming it is something else. Please share I want to continue being a successful baker.
Hi Uzomaka! I’m doing good how are you?! So happy to hear you’re enjoying baking!!
Regarding your question, I sprinkled a bit or arrowroot for the video (but I since noticed that if the dough is thoroughly chilled, there’s no need to add the extra carbs… apologies for the confusion!). Thanks for letting me know your qs, I’ll add a note to the recipe.
xo!
Just wanted to add that I managed to make this crust with unblanched almond meal instead of superfine flour (& otherwise followed the ingredients exactly). It was what I had on hand & also lowered the carb count a bit. The trick is to keep the dough VERY cold (transferring it to the freezer the moment it becomes too soft/sticky) & use cling film during the rolling/cutting/shaping process for pork curry empanadas & prosciutto hand pies.
Made a super tasty, flaky dough even with my big substitution. Thank you for your creative & delicious recipes!
I followed the directions exactly, weighed the ingredients, etc., but my dough would not hold any shape. I rolled it out and cut circles but I could not pick them up without breaking (I tried different thickness too). The dough felt like pure butter…. I kept putting it back in the freezer to cool it off, but still didn’t work. What do you think happened? Should I try less butter next time, or more flour?
Hi Gabriela! Mmmm, this is super weird given that butter will always be solid in the fridge, so even if you added too much butter your dough would be solid after refrigeration. So honestly not sure whats up here and why it would be liquid (are your eggs super large? only thing I can think of). Or are you working in super hot climate? 🤔
I’m having the same issue. Which is very frustrating but it could very well be the fact that I live in Hawaii and am just not meant to enjoy this deliciousness due to the weather here. Only recipe on this site I’ve run into an issue with 😭
Oh man yeah sorry about that Chris! I believe it’s somewhere in the comments, but I did try this crust when I was on holidays in Acapulco and it was a bit of a nightmare. Top tip? A lady who lives there told me that she actually ices the counter before working with pie crust (or if it’s way hot she puts her tortilla press in the freezer and does a little bit of dough at a time 😂). Maybe worth a shot?!