This Almond Flour Pie Crust has a buttery texture that turns out perfectly every time. All you need is 5 simple ingredients to make it!
This Paleo recipe is the perfect option when you need a dairy-free and grain-free pie crust. It pairs well with any pie filling you love and is an excellent addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas menu.
Use it unbaked with your favorite pumpkin pie, or bake it first, so you can use it with your favorite no-bake option, like French Silk Pie.
Unlike working with wheat flour, this gluten-free pie crust recipe is relatively forgiving and easy to work with. The ingredients don’t have to be chilled, so mixing together the pie dough is a breeze! There’s no stand mixer or pastry cutter required.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Since almond flour is naturally gluten-free, it needs a binder to help hold it together. The classic choice is to use eggs as the binder, but that could create an “eggy” flavor that can sometimes compete with the flavor of your pie filling.
Instead, this almond flour crust uses tapioca starch (or tapioca flour) as the binder. It adds a crisp, flaky texture similar to a classic pie crust! Arrowroot or cornstarch should work similarly if you need an alternative.
How to Make Almond Flour Pie Crust
In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca starch, and salt. Whisk well to combine the dry ingredients.
Next, add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and water. Stir well until the dough sticks together with a uniform texture. (This works best if the maple syrup and water are not chilled, so they won’t cause the coconut oil to firm up as you work with it.)
Use your hands to scoop the dough up into a ball, then transfer it to the center of a large piece of parchment paper. Flatten the ball out slightly with your hands, then place another large piece of parchment paper on top of that.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a large circle, about 11 to 12 inches in diameter. You want it to fill the bottom of a pie dish, with room for it to go up the sides.
Remove the top piece of parchment paper, and then use the other piece of parchment paper to lift up the crust and flip it into the pie plate. It’s okay if it breaks!
In fact, expect it to break.
Just push any broken parts of the crust back together with your fingers, and smooth out the edges, until it looks good enough to bake. Then use it with your favorite pie recipe, as directed.
Tips for Baking this Pie Crust
If you need to bake this almond flour pie crust for a no-bake pie recipe, preheat the oven to 350ºF. Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes, until it looks lightly golden. Let the crust cool completely before adding in a no-bake pie filling.
Using this crust for a baked pie? If your pie needs to bake for longer than 40 minutes, you will want to cover the edges with a pie shield or aluminum foil. Covering the crust for the last 15 to 20 minutes of baking will prevent the edges from burning, just like a traditional pie crust.
This crust may feel fragile while it’s hot, straight from the oven, but it will firm and crisp up as it cools.
Frequently Asked Questions
For a low-carb pie crust, you can replace the starch and maple syrup with 1 large egg. In this case, I recommend increasing the salt to a 1/2 teaspoon, for more of a savory option.
Yes, for a savory pie crust, replace the maple syrup with water, adding just enough for the dough to stick together. Increase the salt to a 1/2 teaspoon to boost the flavor. Quiche usually requires that you pre-bake the crust for at least 15 to 20 minutes before adding the filling, so follow the directions for your favorite recipe.
You can use almond meal (which includes the brown almond skins) in this recipe, but it won’t have the exact same buttery texture.
Looking for an easy pie filling? Try my Vegan Pecan Pie, Chocolate Pie, or Pumpkin Pie.
Almond Flour Pie Crust (No Eggs!)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups blanched almond flour
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup , at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and have an ungreased 9-inch pie plate ready. In a large bowl, combine the almond flour, tapioca starch, and salt, and whisk well to combine. Add in the melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and water, and mix until the dough sticks together, with a uniform texture.
- Use your hands to scoop the dough into a ball, then transfer it to a large piece of parchment paper on the counter. Top the dough with another large piece of parchment paper, and flatten the ball slightly with your hands.
- Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large circle, roughly 11- to 12-inches in diameter.
- Remove the top piece of parchment paper, then use the bottom piece of parchment paper to carefully lift up the pie crust, and flip it into the pie plate, so the parchment paper will now be on top. It's okay if the crust breaks during the flipping process! Just press any broken pieces back together, and smooth out the sides of the crust with your fingers.
- Once the crust is evenly pressed into the plate, bake it at 350ºF for 18 to 20 minutes, until it looks lightly golden. Let the crust cool, then fill it with your favorite no-bake pie filling. If you plan to use this crust in a baked pie, add the filling before you bake it. Cover the edges of the pie crust with foil or a silicone crust cover (see equipment) to protect them from burning, if you plan on baking this crust for longer than 35-40 minutes. You can uncover the crust for the last 20 minutes of baking so it can get golden.
- Let the pie cool completely, then slice and serve. This crust should last as long as the pie filling does, up to a week, when stored in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try this almond flour pie crust recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like it.
Have you tried pre baking and freezing the crust ( to have readily available)
Just wondering
Looking forward to trying this out very soon
I haven’t tried freezing this one yet! I imagine you could prepare the dough and roll it out to freeze unbaked, similar to the pie crust dough you can buy in the freezer section of the store. I would just make sure it comes to room temperature before you try to fit it into your pie plate. I don’t have a pie plate that would fit well in my freezer, but you could probably freeze a baked crust, too, as long as it’s very well wrapped to protect the flavor.
I was drawn to this recipe because it said it was egg-free since I am allergic. But we’ve discovered that my son has problems with coconut oil. So I am wondering if you have any suggestion for an alternative to the coconut oil. Thank you.
Butter would be the most similar substitute for coconut oil. If you can find a vegan butter at the store made without coconut, that should work, too!
This looks like a wonderful replacement for wheat flour crust. Will this work with quiche?
I hope so! I’m planning to try a savory version of this one soon, so I can use it for quiche and pot pies. I’ll be sure to share once I know how it goes!
Sounds great 👍
I’m wondering what you imagine the result would be combining this almond flour crust with your oat flour crust – maybe half the amount of each of each- almond flour is so expensive and a bit harder to digest. Any thoughts or modification ideas? I can’t wait to try the pumpkin pie with dates. Just made the pumpkin muffins with dates and rhey were delish! Thank you!
I imagine that would probably work, since the recipes are similar, but I haven’t tried that myself so I couldn’t say for sure what the ratios would be. Let me know if you experiment with it!
Will try for Thanksgiving
This recipe is so easy and so delicious! I made it with a caramel apple crumble filling inside. I baked it for 25min with foil around the edges and then 25 minutes uncovered at it turned out perfectly! It’s definitely a new family favourite!
This looks amazing. I wish i had this idea the other day. Can’t wait to try this! I have a question, do i need to put in the maple syrup (or any sweetener) in the recipe, can i leave it out? Not sure if it will change the texture without it.
I haven’t tested this without the maple syrup yet, but I plan to for a savory pot pie recipe in the future. I’m guessing it will need another source of moisture if you leave it out, but I’m not sure if water will do the trick or not. I’d probably start with only 1 tablespoon of water to replace it, and see how the dough comes together.
I haven’t made this yet. I’m wondering, why the maple surup? I would guess that adds sweetness that you usually don’t have in a traditional pie crust. I’m also guessinf that it could add a maple flavor to the crust.
Would like to know the answers to all the questions posted here. 🤷
I’ve been looking for an almond flour crust recipe for my husband who has celiac. Looking forward to giving this a try.
Can you please give the recipient for the chocolate filling?
Here you go! https://detoxinista.com/vegan-french-silk-pie-soy-free/
Can you substitute arrowroot for the tapioca starch? I am going to try this with the almond pulp I have in freezer from milk making. Won’t be as pretty or delicious but I have to do something with it! Thank you for all your testing and retesting. :-))
I think arrowroot should work fine as a swap for tapioca starch. I’m not sure this will work as well with almond pulp, since it’s much lower in fat than blanched almond flour, but I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
Made a pumpkin pie today using this crust recipe. It is so good. Not as flaky as a wheat crust but tastes a lot better! My gf family loved it so it will become a staple for pie making. I didn’t change a thing, didn’t need to!
I’d like any suggestions about using this recipe for a double-crust pie. Thanks!
Seriously, when I took my first bite, my jaw dropped open, and I said, “No way!” This was my first vegan, gluten-free pie, and it was amazing because this crust is SO good. It tastes just like the “regular” home-made crust that I made as a child. I am impressed. The crust did fall apart between rolling it and putting it on the pie plate, but I easily pieced it back together and basically built it onto the pie plate until it looked great. I will be making many pies from here with this amazing recipe! Thank you!
Worked really well! I don’t have a rolling pin, so I just shaped the dough right in the pie tin. Perfect! Another winner from Detoxinista!
Great pie crust recipe 👍👍I have used this recipe for many different pies, and other baked goods, I omit the syrup for quiches and other savory pies, add a tablespoon extra water to get the crust to come together.
I also will add a quarter cup coconut sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon for lower carb Snickerdoodle cookies👍👍
I hope to try this on top of chicken pot pie today! Thanks for the advice.
Made this for the pecan pie, but the crust was super crumbly. I followed the recipe to a T, weighed everything in grams. Not sure where I went wrong. It was crumbly when pressing it in the pie dish, and crumbly after baking the pecan pie for 45 min. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Used this for a quiche. I left out the maple syrup and added 2 T of water to make up for it. Was not as crispy to some people’s liking but I enjoyed it. I didnt serve it right away sobthe crust may have softened some because if that. Might try a bit less water next time. Simple to prepare.
Thank you for another delicious recipe! Since I made a savory pie, I left out the maple syrup and added a “chia seed egg” (1 tbsp of chia seeds + 3 tbsp of water).
I filled my pie with caramelized onions, steamed carrots, and zucchini.
I have all your books and use “The Fresh and Healthy Instant Pot Cookbook” every day!
Another great recipe! Blind baked in a shallow 10″ fluted tart pan. It worked beautifully with a tart curd filling, topped with fresh mango. Lovely shortbready texture. Thank you!
This recipe is a keeper. I did make some modifications because I’m moving and my tapioca flour/starch is packed. Instead, i used ground flax seed as my binder. Also, I wanted somewhat of a graham cracker flavor, so I added some cinnamon (I’m one of those dump cooks, so I don’t know how much I used). The pie met with rave reviews at the church potluck.
This worked fantastically and it was so easy! I’m going to teach my 10-year-old how to do it and bring pies back big time. The kids foraged about 4 cups of mullberries, strawberries and raspberries from a nearby park, so we combined them with 4 cups of blueberries and made a pie that we can all enjoy, even with gluten and egg allergies. I over-baked it on accident once the filling was added, and we all STILL loved it, and I have four opinionated children to please. Thank you!
This crust came together so easily and with minimal cracking (though I appreciated the warning!). Loved that I didn’t have to worry about keeping everything super chilled as with a typical pie crust. Thank you!
What is the recipe for your chocolate meringue filling? Thanks
It’s my vegan french silk pie! Recipe here: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-french-silk-pie-soy-free/
What kind of coconut oil do u use? Refined or unrefined?
Thank you
Either will work here, but if you don’t want any coconut flavor in your crust use refined coconut oil.
This looks so good. I would like to make it as miniature tarts for a buffet. Will either of the crust recipes lend themselves
to shaping in small tart pans?