Vegan Pie Crust Recipes

VEGAN PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour and salt to combine. Add the cold, cubed shortening and toss with your hands to evenly coat each piece in flour.
• Use a pastry cutter or your hands to cut the butter into the flour until the pieces are the size of peas. If the shortening feels sticky at any point, refrigerate for 10 minutes before proceeding (see Tip 2).
• Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add 2 tablespoons ice water and gently toss with the flour to combine. (Gentle tossing encourages moisture incorporation without allowing for too much gluten formation.)
• Continue to add ice water 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time until the dough begins to come together. Once it comes together, fold it over itself a few times to make sure it's fully combined. The dough should hold together without noticeable cracks (a sign of underhydration), but it should not be wet or tacky to the touch (a sign of overhydration).
• Form the dough into a disk about 1-inch thick. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using, and up to 2 days. (It can also be frozen for up to 3 months, then thawed overnight in the refrigerator before using.)
• When ready to roll out the dough, lightly flour the dough, and roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper to your desired size. (The crumbly shortening has a tendency to stick to a counter or work surface and parchment helps.) Continue to flour the dough as needed while you work. To do this, peel the top parchment back, sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour, then place the parchment back down. Holding the two pieces of parchment together, flip dough so that the side that was the bottom is now on top. Peel back this piece of parchment, and flour the surface of the dough as needed. Replace the parchment and continue to roll.
• Transfer the prepared pie dough to a pie plate, trim away excess dough, and crimp as desired. The pie is now ready to be par-baked, blind-baked or filled and baked as directed.

EASY VEGAN PIE CRUST

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold cubed vegan butter and cold water. Knead with your hands until the dough starts to clump together (or use a food processor). Then transfer to a working surface and continue kneading until a smooth dough forms.
• Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic foil and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• After the chill time, roll out the dough between two sheets of cling wrap or parchment paper a little larger than your pan (see step-by-step photos in the blog post). Then use the foil or parchment to lift it into a 10-inch (25,5cm) tart pan (or 9-inch pie dish). Remove foil and press the bottom and sides firmly to form an evenly tart shell. (If your baking pan has a different size, you can adjust the quantities of ingredients using my cake pan conversion converter).
• Cover the pie crust and chill in the refrigerator until ready to use or continue immediately with the desired recipe. (You can make the dough up to 5 days ahead of time or freeze it, *see recipe notes).
• Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
• Prick the bottom a few times with a fork, then line the crust with parchment paper and top with pie weights (such as dry rice, beans, or chickpeas, *see tip/note below).
• Blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove tart from the oven and carefully lift out the parchment paper with the weights. Return the tart to the oven and bake until the bottom crust is golden brown, about 10 minutes longer.
• Let the baked crust cool completely before adding the filling. Enjoy!

FLAKY VEGAN PIE CRUST

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.
• Cut in the vegan margarine , mixing until crumbly.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil and water.
• Then add to the flour and sugar mixture, mixing just until dough forms. You may want to use your (clean) hands at this stage, in order to make sure all the flour gets incorporated well.
• Once the dough pulls together and there's no extra flour, cover the dough with plastic wrap, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll out onto a lightly floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness.
• Once your dough is rolled out, gently press it into a pie tin, trimming any extra bits along the edges.
• Your perfect flaky vegan pie crust is now ready to be filled up with whatever amazing ingredients you have planned. Enjoy!

VEGAN PIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Put the flour, sugar, vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a food processor, and pulse to combine. Add the coconut oil in small spoonfuls, and pulse until the largest pieces are pea-size. Add 8 tablespoons ice water, and pulse until evenly combined. Squeeze a handful of the dough together; it should just hold its shape. If the mixture is very powdery, pulse in an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons ice water. Divide the dough between 2 large pieces of plastic wrap, pat each into a 1/2-inch-thick disc and chill for at least 1 hour up to overnight.
• To make rolling easier, let the dough soften up a bit-it should be slightly soft when pressed-at room temperature (this may take anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes depending on the temperature of your kitchen).