This is the only pie crust recipe you’ll ever need! Buttery, flaky, and foolproof, my easy homemade recipe is perfect every single time, thanks to a key secret ingredient. No messy pastry cutter needed! Recipe includes a video tutorial.
Why You NEED to Make This Pie Crust Recipe This Year
- It’s easy. No heavy lifting with this recipe as a food processor makes quick work of the dough, no pastry cutter needed (and I’ve include notes in case you don’t have a pastry cutter).
- It’s flavorful. And flaky, and buttery, and I could go on…. My secret ingredient (sour cream, trust me on this) adds beautiful depth of flavor to the pie, without revealing its origin to the taster. This pie crust is truly tasty enough to eat on its own.
- It makes enough. This recipe will fit easily in a 9″ or a 10″ pie plate. It makes enough that you won’t have to worry about fussing with a paper-thin, fragile sheet of pie dough. It folds under itself on the edge of the plate for a sturdy, substantial crust (which you’re going to want, once you taste it). I’ve been using this recipe for over a decade, but several years ago bumped up the ratios a bit to make sure I had plenty to work with, without it being too much excess to handle, either.
- Great for blind baking, too. Or making a lattice pie crust, or pie crust cookies, or just using anywhere you need a pie crust. Oh, and did I mention it doubles like a dream?
This shockingly simple pie dough works perfectly for blind baking (great for making apple pie or pecan pie), and can easily be doubled for two-crust pies or a lattice pie crust.
What You Need
You don’t need anything fancy or complicated to make my homemade pie crust recipe–just five common ingredients you probably already have:
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour, and make sure you’re measuring your flour properly, or you may end up with a dry, crumbly crust.
- Sugar. The small bit of sugar in this recipe can be eliminated, but I like that it adds a subtle flavor to the end result.
- Salt. Just a little salt flavors this homemade pie crust without making it salty.
- Butter. Your butter should be very cold when you drop it into your dry ingredients. You can pop it in the freezer for a few minutes before you are ready to start making your crust to make sure it’s cold enough. Use unsalted butter since we are adding salt ourselves. For an even more flavorful crust, splurge for European-style butter.
- Sour cream. Yep, sour cream! Sour cream is the secret ingredient in my pie crust recipe (and in my sour cream pound cake, among others!). Using sour cream takes a lot of the guesswork out of this recipe and there’s no fussing with various amounts of ice water. It gives this homemade pie crust a lovely depth of flavor that is not overwhelming or obvious, but does add an extra special subtle touch to the finished product. Mostly, though, I just love it because it makes this recipe so easy! If you don’t have sour cream, full-fat Greek yogurt will also work, but try to use sour cream if you can!
SAM’S TIP: That’s right, you don’t need ice water to make my pie crust recipe! I use an exact amount of sour cream instead. No more guessing how much ice water to use or worrying if your water is cold enough.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Homemade Pie Crust
- Pulse dry ingredients together in the bowl of a food processor. Add cubed cold butter and pulse a few times until your mixture is combined and resembles coarse crumbs, but note that you should still have distinguishable pieces of butter remaining in the food processor, aim for chocolate-chip-sized bits!
- Add sour cream, and pulse a few more times until mixture is still crumbly but beginning to cling together.
- Transfer dough onto a clean surface and gently, quickly work into a ball before flattening into a disk. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 45-60 minutes.
- Remove dough from fridge and roll out to a 12″ circle. Arrange in pie plate and crimp/flute the edges before blind baking or filling.
SAM’S TIP: Making a pumpkin pie or a chocolate pie? You’ll need a blind-baked crust! While I share some notes on blind-baking in this recipe, I will be sharing an entire post dedicated to blind-baking very soon. Stay tuned!
Tips for Success
While this recipe is designed to be straightforward, here are a few things you can do to guarantee your success:
- Make sure your ingredients are cold. This is so important, the butter should be ice cold (I place mine in the fridge for up to 30 minutes before beginning). Cold butter = flaky, tender pie crust. Warm butter could even leak out of the dough.
- Don’t overdo it. Don’t overwork the dough. The food processor is a boon to the pie making process but can quickly overdo it if you’re not careful. You want to have some pieces of butter remaining, go just until the dough will cling together. If it’s overdone, the crust could be too tough or it won’t be flaky.
- Pulse means pulse. Do not simply blend the dough nonstop. Pulse in 1-second intervals, otherwise you’ll end up with a wet, overworked dough.
- Don’t let it stick. As you roll your dough, it will warm and becomes prone to sticing to the counter surface. To avoid this, generously flour your surface before beginning and, periodically, turn the dough. If it sticks, slide a thin spatula to pry it free and add more flour beneath the crust.
- Move it carefully. This is a sturdy crust, but kitchens get warm, especially if your ovens are blazing cooking Thanksgiving side dishes and whatnot. Take care when transferring your dough, gently wrap it up around the rolling pin and use that to carry it to the pie plate and gently unroll it (I demonstrate this in the video).
- Chill the dough. Again, cold dough is key to perfect pie crust. However, if yours is cracking as you try to roll it, it may be too cold. Let it rest at room temperature for 5 minutes, then try again.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have a food processor, you can use a pastry blender, knife, or a grater to cut your butter into your dough.
I highly recommend investing in a food processor though–it will make your baking so much easier and less messy!
Yes! Just make sure your pie dough is tightly wrapped before freezing. It will keep for several months in the freezer. When you’re ready, let it thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
I know it seems like an unusual pastry ingredient, but I’ve found that sour cream yields an exceptionally tender, flaky, and shockingly flavorful (it’s delicious even on its own, or as pie crust cookies) crust. Plus, using sour cream means this pie crust recipe is much easier and less fussy to make than many traditional recipes. Worried about the flavor? Don’t! Sour cream adds flavor without making your crust taste like sour cream (no one will be able to tell what the secret ingredient actually is).
If you’re looking for pie crust alternatives, try my graham cracker crust or puff pastry.
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter and make sure to follow along on YouTube where I have over 500 free video tutorials! 💜
Pie Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar optional
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 8 Tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter very cold and cubed
- ¼ cup (60 g) sour cream
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar (if using), and salt in the canister of a food processor and pulse briefly to combine.1 ¼ cups (156 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, ¼ teaspoon table salt
- Scatter butter pieces over the top of the flour mixture and pulse again until butter is mostly combined and mixture resembles coarse crumbs (there should still be discernible pieces of butter remaining in the mixture, some as large as a chocolate chip).8 Tablespoons (113 g) unsalted butter
- Add sour cream and pulse again until mixture just begins to cling together. The mixture may still seem dry, but if you pinch it between your thumb and forefinger and it clings together, you’re ready to move on — don't overdo it!¼ cup (60 g) sour cream
- Transfer dough to a clean surface and work into a ball (try not to over-handle the dough, you want it to stay as cold as possible to keep the butter from melting and your hands are very warm!). Flatten into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and transfer to refrigerator to chill for at least 45-60 minutes before proceeding/using as desired.
- If arranging into a pie plate, remove the dough from the refrigerator once it has chilled and transfer to a clean, lightly floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll into a 12” circle (add flour as needed and be sure to lift the pie dough and add flour beneath it while rolling to keep from sticking, if needed) and arrange into a pie plate, crimping or fluting the edges (I provide a visual on fluting the edges in my video above).
- Transfer to pie plate and use according to your pie filling recipe’s instructions, or see my detailed tutorial on how to blind bake pie crust.
Notes
Sour cream
Full-fat sour cream is your best bet for this recipe, but in a pinch you could substitute full-fat plain Greek yogurt.Making without a food processor
If you do not have a food processor you may use a pastry cutter, grater (freeze the butter for 20 minutes then grate it into the flour mixture), or even a knife to cut the butter into the flour mixture before stirring in the sour cream.Blind baking:
To blind bake this pie crust (that is, bake it completely without any filling so it can be cooled and filled with a filling that does not need to be baked), see my detailed tutorial on how to blind bake a pie crust.Lattice crust
I have a detailed tutorial on exactly how to do a lattice pie crust. You will need to double this recipe in order to do so.Making in advance:
This pie dough may be made up to 5 days in advance of rolling out and using. Store tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. If chilling for this long, you will likely need to let the dough soften on the counter at room temperature for 15 minutes or possibly longer to make it soft enough to roll without cracking.Freezing:
This pie dough may be frozen and will keep for several months in the freezer if tightly wrapped. To use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then use as desired.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Cherine Berg
I just mixed this recipe, using a food processor. Measured flour very carefully, measured sour cream (full fat) carefully. Put butter cubes in freezer for about 20 minutes, after cutting into cubes. Followed each recipe step very carefully, and dough never did clump together. Mixture for crust is so dry. I have cooked for years, never had pie crust dough so dry. Mixture would not form into a flat disc. I tried to get dough to lump together as much as possible, and wrapped tightly with thin plastic wrap. Put in refrigerator. Waiting for 1 hour to pass. If dough is still crumbly and dry, should I put back in food processor & mix for a few more seconds/minutes? Should I add cold water, few teaspoons? Or should I add more sour cream?
Sam
Hi Cherine! This is very frustrating and I’m sorry to hear it. honestly if it is that dry it sounds like something must have been accidentally mis-measured. I’m not sure what exactly would salvage it at this point since I am not sure what the issue is specifically, I’m sorry! You can try adding more water or more sour cream but it sounds like something is just not right with the dough 🙁
Cherine G Berg
It turned out good. I was ‘TOO CAUTIOUS’ about over-mixing the dough. I use a small Kitchen Aid food processor, and I had not pulsed it enough. Put dough back in container, and pulsed it more. Until it looked like the pie dough in your video. It turned out good. Did not have to add anything else. The measuring…I am a home economics major/instructor, so exact measuring is a problem for me. Everything was measured exact amount. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Cindy
Hi! I just put my first batch of dough in the refrigerator and can’t wait for the results! Question: When I removed the dough from my food processor it seemed overly dry. I had a hard time keeping it formed together and not crumbling as I was wrapping it in plastic wrap. Did I over process it in the food processor or maybe something else? I did freeze the butter for about 30 minutes.
Sam
Hi Cindy! There may have been a little too much flour, or it possibly could have needed to stay in the food processor for just a few more pulses. I hope it still turns out for you. 🙂
Bruce
Hi again, Sam,
This is now my favorite pie crust. I happened to have some sour cream in the refrigerator, so I decided to try this for my chess pie, which is now in the oven. I was afraid of it as I was rolling it out, because the sour cream aroma is very strong before it is baked. I had some scraps, so I rolled them out, covered them with butter and cinnamon sugar, and baked them. This crust is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO tender from the sour cream, and SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO flaky from the way the butter is incorporated, and there is no sourness to it at all. Even the scraps, which i had to squeeze together (because the dough itself is very flaky) before I rolled it out, are tender and flaky. Also, this rolls very nicely right out of the refrigerator. Mine was cracking a lot at the edges, so I let it rest a few minutes, as you suggested, then it was great.
Oh, since I’m older than your mother, I played it safe like she does, and let the food processor run until it started to hold together in clumps, and I will continue to do it that way, as will she.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much Bruce! The sour cream really steps this pie crust to the next level. 🙂
Bruce
Now that I’ve made it twice (and forgot the sugar both times. I can’t wait to do it right, because I know it will be even better), I am 100% with your mother, and here’s why. When you stop mixing where you do, you have to work the dough on the counter for a while to get it from crumbs into an actual dough. With your mother’s method of mixing it until it actually clumps together (but before it forms a ball in the food processor), you have a dough, and all you have to do is shape it into a ball. Bottom line: her way is less work. Either way, it rolls out like a dream, and is the best pie crust I’ve ever eaten.
Bruce
I made it for the third time and finally remembered the sugar. As I said before, it was fine without it, but it is even better with it.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Wonderful! We’re so happy to hear that Bruce 🙂
Ella
I have a question re: unsalted butter. I notice many recipes call for unsalted butter and then add salt, and I wonder if using plain salted butter and omitting the separate salt comes to the same? I can’t wait to try this crust, have never made one using sour cream before!
Sam
Hi Ella! The purpose of using the unsalted butter and adding salt is to control the salt in the recipe. I actually have a post that talks about salted or unsalted butter. There is a formula to reduce the salt based on how much butter is in the recipe. 🙂
Ella
Thank you!! I’d been curious about that for a long time and had never found the answer!
Bruce
Another reason for using unsalted butter is that it is probably fresher. Salt is added as a preservative, not for flavor. Salted butter can sit in cold storage for a long time without going rancid. Unsalted butter can’t, so it has to be sold much sooner (read that fresher) than salted.
Christine
It is better to use unsalted butter because salted butter varies in the amount and with unsalted butter you can control the salt content.
Vicki Rivrud
Looks like u use a glass pie plate, putting it in the freezer and in a hot oven, wouldn’t the glass shatter? What about ceramic?
Sam
Hi Vicki! You are correct. Removing it from the refrigerator and placing in the oven is not a good idea. You want to refrigerate the dough only and then roll it out and place it in your pie plate when ready to use. 🙂
Vicki Rivrud
I am a little confused about the step to put in freezer for about 20 minutes while the oven preheats to 375. Also are the pie weights in the parchment paper/ pie crust while its in the freezer. Don’t laugh, I am 70 & have been baking for many years and thought I would try something new, never made a blind baked crust – so to be safe I am using a “tin” pie pan tonight – its actually in the oven now for T-Day. It smells incredible – and I left out the cloves for the first time.
Vicki Rivrud
I re-read the recipe – I see that the pie weights go in right before going into oven. Didn’t have weights so I used some old pinto beans – Pumpkin pie just came out of the oven. Looks incredible-smells yummy! Thank you 🙂
Nichole
I am excited to try! One question- I want to prepare the crust 1 day in advanced. Should I roll it out and put it in a pie dish, or keep it in a ball, until I’m ready to fill it?
Sam
Hi Nicole! Either will work fine. If you do roll it out into the dish make sure to keep it covered tightly so it stays fresh. 🙂
Elese
I’m getting ready to try your pie crust recipe. I notice you don’t specify the kind of butter other than unsalted. I don’t know if you are able due to brand issues, but do you have a recommendation. I have read that the European-style butters, some of which are now made in US, are better because of the higher fat content. Do you find this to be true?
Sam
Hi Elese! Standard unsalted butter is what I generally use, any brand will work so long as it is butter (not margarine). And YES, I do love to use European-style butter whenever I can find it. While it’s not a necessity for this recipe, it will only make your pie crust taste even better. I hope that helps! 🙂
Elese
I did it!!! After (not saying how many) years of attempting homemade crust and then resorting to boxed, I finally had success with your crust. Thank you so much. I still struggled a little with size because my new pie pans are slightly bigger than the old ones made by same company :/, so I rolled it dangerously thin but it held up during baking and was unnoticeable when eaten—just delicious.
Sam
Yay! I’m so, so happy to hear the crust worked so well for you, Elese! Thank you so much for trying my recipe 🙂
Anna
Hi, I had to drop by and leave a comment. I’ve always had trouble with pie crust, but this one was so nice to work with. It came together easily, and rolled out so well. It came out super buttery and flaky, but also held up well under the pumpkin and apple pies I made. I broke my food processor, so I grated the butter into the flour with a box grater and it still turned out lovely. Thanks for the recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Anna! Thanks for the feedback! 🙂
Channen Garrity
Hi Sam!
I am a lover of all your recipes. I have had some dietary restrictions lately and it makes me sad that I can no longer have gluten. I know… it’s just not fair. I was wondering if this pie crust recipe would work the same if I used Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour?
I love how easy this crust comes together in the food processor. Please give me your thoughts. I’m hoping to have a delicious pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.
Warmly,
Channen
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear that Channen! I hope you are feeling better soon! I’m not sure how the gluten free flour would work. Unfortunately I just don’t have much experience using it. If you do try it I would love to know how it goes. 🙂
Karen
Hi Sam could the sour cream be substituted for cream cheese instead?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Karen! The only substitute we’d recommend is full-fat Greek yogurt. Hope that helps!
Sara
Thank you for this! After trying all sorts of recipes, this is THE pie crust recipe I’ll use from now on! Easy and delish!
Sam
I’m so happy to hear this, Sara! Thank you so much for trying my recipe, I appreciate it! 🙂
Erin
Wonderful recipe. I made this with my favorite apple pie filling. The crust was flaky, buttery, and tender. Thanks again for another great recipe Sam!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked the pie crust, Erin! Thanks so much for commenting. Enjoy 😊
karen gilmore
So EASY and delicious! Thisis my NEW pie crust for~ EVER!
Sam
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it as much as I do, Karen! Thank you for commenting 🙂
Tammy
I love the ease of this crust as well as flavor and texture but I may have to double it. I thought since my pie plate was 9 & 1/2” from the inner edge it would work but my crust did not cover it enough to come over the edge. I will try again. 🤗
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Tammy! We’re so happy you loved this pie crust! The recipe fits a 9 or 10″ pie plate, so it should’ve worked perfectly for your size dish. Did you roll it out to a 12″ circle before transferring it over to your dish?
Tammy
I did roll it out into a bit of a sloppy circle with a wooden rolling pin but it was very thin.. altho I still used it and it worked but without the overlapping edge. It barely went up the sides…My lemon meringue pie recipe called for a pre baked crust, so it baked up nice just quite thin and none over the edge of the plate. I really think doubling it will work for me next time. Its the only pie crust recipe I have been able to do so far, so I do love it. Just need more of it lol
Diane
Can I use this recipe with pie filling and a crumble topping ?
Diane
How long do I bake it and at what temp for using pie filling and crumble topping
Sam
You can absolutely use it with a filling and a crumb topping. As for how long it needs to bake that I can’t be sure about. It really depends on your particular filling and the topping you put on it.
Lori C
I use this recipe all time. Crust is so delicious and flaky. I always get compliments. It’s the sour cream that makes this so good.
I even make dough plain, cut it into strips, sometimes sprinkle a little sugar on it and bake. Great for a little yummy snack.
Sam
I’m so glad you have enjoyed it so much, Lori! 🙂
Manveen Duggal
Hi Can I prepare the pie crust dough and freeze it for using it at a later day ¿
Sam
That should work just fine. 🙂
Courtney
I’ve made this again and again – it’s now a firm family favorite! Love all your recipes. Thanks so much for this!
Sam
I’m so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Courtney! 🙂
Christine
I just made a double-batch of this. I think I followed the instructions very carefully but had a considerable amount of crust shrinkage & slumping when blind-baking. When you blind bake, should the weights fill the whole pie plate, right to the top? That may have been the issue. I am making your chocolate pie and have no doubt it will still be delicious.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Christine! Yes, the weights should fill the pie and go all the way up the sides. Definitely check out our how to blind bake pie crust post for helpful tips!