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.
Can one substitute xantham gum with pysillium husk? Thanks in advance
Hi, I can’t access the video. Is there an alternative way I can get to it.
Thanks!
It seems this is a problem for many and there has been no reply’s for any 🙁
MIND blown
Another amazing recipe!!! This is excellent. I used it with a quiche.
Hi there, I’m going to be trying this today for the empanadas, but if all goes well I want to use it later as a pie crust. A question on that, though. You mentioned it’s best to freeze the formed pie crust for 10-15 min prior to baking. However, I have a glass pie dish, so I’m worried about the temperature shock and the glass shattering. Should I skip that step?
Can a person use coconut milk instead of cream cheese? If so, how much?
Hi, I would love to make this as my children love pies, like chicken and mushroom (as do I!) and I really wan to move us to as keto as possible, but a lot of keto recipes contain almond, is there a substitute here I can use instead, especially for this pastry… or other recipes too?
Thank you!
Sunflower seed flour is the closes sub (similar fat and protein ratios to almond) xo!
Thank you so much for replying, for some reason I was thinking pumpkin seeds and bought them! Will they do, if I make my own flour ( I was going to make my own flour, as it;s hard to find some seed flours in the UK)?
I was skeptical after I mixed the egg in but this was truly fantastic crust. Buttery and so Light and flaky! I used it as a chicken potpie crust. It was delicious! Thanks so much!
The texture of the crust was nice and flaky. Thank you for the recipe! However, I followed the suggestion to add lemon zest (against my better judgement) and that is all I could taste. I made a savory quiche and it is a strange flavor combination. The lemon zest mostly overpowers the quiche filling. I will definitely be using this recipe again, but omit the lemon zest. Maybe add that the zest should only be used for sweet recipes and will flavor the crust? I am new to keto and trusted the recommendation, but really wish I hadn’t.
I make this crust and never add the zest for savory or sweet pies. Just doesn’t seem necessary.
very excited to try this! Mine is in the fridge. I want to make a quiche. Do I need to blind bake the crust first? With baking beads?
Hi! I can’t get the videos to load properly. I’m not sure if they are now broken or if it’s my iPad. I did try on both google chrome and safari and neither worked. I will still try the recipe but I always like to watch the video first if it’s available.
Now it’s working all of a sudden!
Hi, can you use Xanthan Gum, if your on a keto diet? is there a substitute I can use?
Yes you can use Xanthem gum on Keto just calculate the macros. It’s a pretty much essential for gf baking, plus the small quantity doesn’t add much to the carb count.
Yes, you can use Xanthan gum and remain in ketosis. It does not impact blood glucose levels.
Can this be made dairy free?
I made this dough as a top crust for the chicken pot pie recipe. I let the dough chill in the fridge for 2.5 hours and rolled it out straight out of the fridge between two Silpat baking mats, and it stuck to the mats pretty badly. So I just peeled it off as best as I could and mushed it together on top of the pie. I slightly overprocessed the dough too, ie I stopped as soon as it started trying to form a ball. I’ve read all the comments for this recipe, and next time I would make sure to chop the very cold butter into 1/4” cubes and distribute the butter and very cold cream cheese evenly in the processing bowl. I’d only process until the dough looks like wet sand, then chill in the fridge, transferring to the freezer for 15 minutes before rolling it out. I’d roll it between two pieces of parchment paper sprinkled well with coconut flour and set it in the freezer again for 5-10 minutes if it gets too sticky. I would also be careful not to roll it too thin. As for the taste, it was frigging delicious!!! I couldn’t tell it apart from a normal pie crust, and it browned up nicely and was flaky and melted in my mouth. Amazing. I’d definitely try again using the tips above, and I’m sure I’ll get better at rolling it out and placing it on top of the pie filling as I go. If I do a bottom crust with it, I’d blind bake with pie weights at 350F for 10-15 minutes, then let cool and maybe freeze for 15 minutes before filling.
Other than browning, I successfully made this crust (your quiche recipe)! However, perhaps this is low-quality coconut flour talking, but I found the crust a bit sweet. Is there anything I can do to make it more savoury next time? I am Australian, so I tried my best to address the recipe conversions.
Excellent dough, that is so versatile and delicious I double the recipe everytime and just know I have something almost ready in the fridge fr the week.
Is there any way the butter and cream cheese be replaced by some lactose free ingredients?
Butter is pretty much lactose free and you can purchase lactose free cream cheese.
Can you post the recipe of that blueberry whatever it is with the ice cream please? It looks amazing!!
It’s in the Summer Favorites eCookbook Pam! xo!
There is nothing in the ingredients or directions about the star of the recipe and how much to use. It
Paola, do you know if the vegan cream cheese made by Violife foods would work in this recipe as a dairy replacement for cream cheese?
I’m sorry Holly I haven’t tried!
I am using a mini food processor and accidentally overprocessed the dough. It now has the consistency of cookie dough. Can it still be used or should I start over?
I measured this correctly with the metric (grams) and I ended up with a gooey wet cookie dough looking batter. Not even remotely enough flour… There is no way this is going to firm up in the fridge enough to roll out like a crust. I’m so confused right now.
Did you follow the steps as written? Grain free flours need time to absorb moisture, so you really do have to add fast and liquids slowly. And process in pulses.
You might have over or under processed. What size egg did you use? Eggs can be very variable!
This looks awesome! Can I be made without a food processor?
Hi. Can the cream cheese be substituted with a dairy free option?
Elena
I usually use my kitchen aid mixer or a blender and pulse the ingredients once or twice because I don’t have a food processor.
Sooo glad I made this. Bit fiddly but really worth it. I think I rolled mine too thick but it still tasted delicious. Thank you SO much for sharing this divine recipe!!
Bottom crust did not brown. Tasted raw. The top part was OK. I made a cherry galette.
Your cherries were likely super juicy Pam! Consider next time precooking them a bit and allowing them to cool (this is a great trick for juicy fruit pies, whether keto or not!) xo!
What happens if you over process the dough and it looks like cookie dough? Instead of crumbly? The taste was good. I will use it as a top like a cobbler next time.
Hi
Tonight I made the crust and realized i used 6oz of cream cheese instead of the 2oz i cut .. am i doomed for tomorrow’s easter pie brunch ? it’s chilling in the fridge – i made it the right way the second batch as i need a top and bottom crust
Thank you !♥️
Do you have to blind bake it before making the pie to avoid a soggy bottom? Or is it fine to just put the filling in and pop it in the oven?
Hey Paola! The guide video for the crust is not loading and I would like the guidance when I try out this recipe. Can you re-upload it? Thank you!
Hello! Do you think this would work to make Resurrection Rolls with? If so, can you offer any advice? I will need to find sugar free marshmallows for the interior stuffing. Thank you for any tips – I’m trying to make Easter Dinner special for my family while we are in quarantine.
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I have a beloved family recipe I’d love to convert to keto. But is the blueberry pastry in the pics! That’s a recipe I would LOVE to try as well! Thanks!
My crust tasted like vinegar.. did i do something wrong? I put in the 2 tsp