Name: Easy Butter Pie Crust
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/8 tsp baking powder; 8 tbsp unsalted butter (cold); 2-4 tbsp ice water

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This all-butter pie crust is everything you want in a homemade crust—flaky, golden, and so rich with buttery goodness it almost melts in your mouth. Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, it’s versatile enough to pair with any filling, whether you’re going classic apple, decadent chocolate, or savory quiche. And best of all, it’s easy enough for beginners but still has that professional bakery finish. You’ll be proud to serve it up with any pie, any time!

Pie Crust That Never Fails

This pie crust is the one I grew up on—the same recipe my mom used for every family gathering and holiday. It’s stayed perfectly unchanged because it’s just that good. Sure, I’ve picked up a few modern tricks for mixing the dough (thanks to my mom again!), but the buttery flavor and flaky texture? Pure nostalgia.

I used to find pie crusts intimidating, but once my mom showed me her method, it finally clicked. Now I’m so excited to share this classic recipe with you, so you can create the perfect crust for all your favorite pies!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

Flaky Texture: The all-butter base makes it perfectly flaky every time.
Incredible Flavor: Rich, buttery goodness in every bite.
Simple Ingredients: Just the essentials, no fuss.
Beginner-Friendly: Easy enough for first-timers with a few helpful tips.
Versatile: Perfect for sweet or savory pies, quiches, and more!
Family-Approved Classic: A tried-and-true recipe passed down through generations.

Ingredients Needed

Flour: This recipe uses all purpose flour. You can swap it for a gluten free 1:1 if needed.
Baking powder: A small amount is used to improve the texture, this helps it become tender and flaky.
Salt: for flavoring. A fine sea salt is great for this pie crust.
Water: I love using ice water to help keep the temperature of the butter cold in the crust before baking.

How to Make Flaky Butter Pie Crust:

Find the complete recipe card below with measurements and full instructions.

Flour, salt, and baking powder in a food processor with pieces of butter added to make a pie crust.

Combine the flour, salt and baking powder in a food processor. Give it one to two pulses to mix the dry ingredients.
Add in cold butter that has been cut into small squares. Pulse the food processor until the butter is incorporated into the flour. It will look as though it’s just flour in the processor.

Pie crust dough that came together in a food processor.

Gradually add the ice water, starting with 2 tablespoons and pulsing until combined. Then, add more water one tablespoon at a time, mixing fully after each addition. Once the dough comes together and forms a ball in the food processor, stop—your pie crust dough is ready

Pie crust on a floured surface ready to roll out.

Lightly sprinkle a clean countertop with flour. Dust your hands with flour and rub it over the rolling pin. Place the pie dough on the floured surface, then roll it out to about 1/4-inch thick.

Pie crust that has been rolled out to fit into a pie dish.

Gently roll the pie crust around the rolling pin and lay the crust in a pie dish.

Pie crust laid over a pie dish ready to flute.

Cut off the excess pie crust dough and flute the edges. Here’s some instructions on fluting, and making other decorative edges.

Beautifully fluted pie crust in a white ceramic pie dish.

Make Ahead

Make Ahead Instructions: this pie crust can be made ahead of time, formed into a disk shape and wrapped in plastic. Place this in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. You could roll the pie crust and place in a pie dish and freeze this way also, it just takes up more space in the freezer.

Pie crust filled with pie crust weights for blind baking.

How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust

For recipes needing a pre-baked crust, like quiche, follow these steps:

Bake: Bake for 20 minutes. Then, remove the parchment and weights, and bake for another 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Prepare the crust: Line it with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans (save these beans for future baking only).

Tip: I skip poking holes in the crust to avoid mess with runny fillings, especially for quiches. Using weights keeps the crust in shape without holes.

Recipes that use Pie Crust

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Easy Butter Pie Crust

4.50 from 2 votes

Prep: 10

Cook: 30

Total: 40

Servings:

Author: Serene

This all-butter pie crust is everything you want in a homemade crust—flaky, golden, and so rich with buttery goodness it almost melts in your mouth. Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, it’s versatile enough to pair with any filling, whether you’re going classic apple, decadent chocolate, or savory quiche. And best of all, it's easy enough for beginners but still has that professional bakery finish. You'll be proud to serve it up with any pie, any time!

Ingredients

Instructions

In a food processor add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse just to mix.
Slice the cold butter into tablespoon size slices, add to the food processor. Pulse until combined together.
Add in two tablespoons of cold ice water, pulse and check consistency. Add water slowly and pulsing the food processor until the dough clumps together. (check pictures above to see what it looks like).
Sprinkle a small amount of flour on a clean, flat work surface. Remove the dough from the processor and place on the counter. Gently shape the dough into a circular disk
Using a rolling pin lightly sprinkled in flour roll out the dough into a large circle shape, about 1/4 inch thick.
Carefully lift the pie crust and place in a glass 9 inch pie dish. Cut off the excess crust and crimp or flute the edge of the crust using your fingers.
Either blind bake or fill with pie filling and bake according to recipe.

Video

Equipment

Rolling Pin

Notes

NOTE: This recipe is for 1 pie crust. IF you are making a pie requiring a crust on the top also, you will need to double this recipe.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Pie Crust FAQs

Why Use Cold Ingredients?
Keeping ingredients cold, especially the butter, ensures a flaky crust. When cold butter melts in the oven, it creates steam, forming layers. Warm ingredients can make the crust tough and crunchy instead of flaky.

Should I Use Vodka in Pie Crust?
Vodka is a trick from Cook’s Illustrated, suggesting that 40% of the crust’s moisture come from cold vodka for added flakiness. While my recipe doesn’t need this, if you’re curious, replace half the cold water with cold vodka.

Is Chilling the Pie Crust Necessary?
I bake this crust right after making it. If you’re not baking immediately, chilling is fine, but it’s not essential if you’re ready to bake!

What if my pie crust is getting too dark before the pie is done?

If your crust is browning too quickly—common with pies that bake a long time, like pecan—use a pie shield. This handy tool covers the edges, leaving the center open so the pie can finish baking without burning the crust. In a pinch, you can also use strips of foil along the crust edges, but a pie shield is much easier to work with.

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