Paleo & Keto Pie Crusts

Today I want to share a recipe for Pie crust with you that is free of: grain, gluten, dairy, sugar, and soy! 

So you’re craving pie... BUT you’re wisely health-conscience? Yeah, I get that. The dilemma is REAL!

But can we even make a pie that is not only Paleo and grain-free, but KETO? Is that even possible? I am SO GLAD you asked! Why Yes, of course it’s possible and much simpler than you may realize! The secret is in a good quality butter, be it vegan or the real deal, a finely ground almond flour... and plastic wrap. Yes, it really is THAT simple!

Now, since we won’t be working with gluten, a binding agent, we “knead” to help the dough a bit more: *Ahem- okay, corny pun, I know… but humor me. With the support the plastic wrap provides, we can easily roll it out and transfer it to our pie pan. See, I told you it was easy!

Combining almonds with a good butter creates the most satisfying flakey crust that can be used to make sweet dessert pies and even the most mouth-watering, savory pot pies.  

It’s important to note that while my recipe is free of dairy, there are flexible options here. For my fellow dairy-free connoisseurs, you can simply use your favorite vegan butter.  I highly recommend Miyokos Vegan Butter or Earth Balance Vegan Butter (to remain soy-free, snag the red one!). This recipe also works perfectly fine with real-deal butter. OR, you can skip the “butter” altogether and go a more traditional route! Choose a healthy shortening, such as Spectrum Organic Shortening- made with organic palm oil; when using shortening, I like to add an extra pinch of salt to mimic a butter-rich flavor (don’t be afraid to taste your flour/butter mixture and add a bit more salt if you do not detect a buttery saltiness).

Seriously, that’s it! I love simple, wholesome ingredients! Having said this, it is my opinion that a good pie crust always tastes better with that hint of butter. For my vegan friends or those needing to avoid eggs, NO worries! This recipe can be easily made using a flax “egg.”

To make a flax egg, simply whisk together:

1 Tbsp of finely ground flax seed

2 tbsp water

When the mixture becomes gelatinous its ready to be added to the recipe!

This recipe makes one, 9” pie crust, with enough dough to give our artistic side the wiggle room it needs to create a pretty border. If your pie recipe calls for a top crust, you will want to double this recipe.

What you will need:

Rolling pin

Plastic wrap

9” pie pan

Flakey Paleo Crust:

2 cups finely ground, blanched almond flour

½ cup arrowroot flour

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg, whisked

½ tsp salt

*Optional. For sweet pies ½ tsp almond extract and 1Tbsp maple sugar or coconut sugar can be added (but is certainly not needed)

Strict Keto Crust:

2 cups finely ground, blanched almond flour

1/3 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes

1 egg, whisked

½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. Whisk together the almond flour and salt.

2. Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the butter until it resembles a coarse meal

(*meaning, you will still see tiny chunks of butter), or looks like ‘fine crumbs,’ with a few larger chunks of butter.  You don’t want to overwork the dough here.  

3. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg until smooth and then stir it into the almond/butter crumble by hand.  As you stir in the whisked egg, begin forming a ball.  *While you want the egg thoroughly distributed, do not over mix the dough, as you do not want the butter to start melting. 

4. Once your dough forms into a ball, cover it with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 325°

6. Line workspace with a generous piece of plastic wrap

7. Center dough onto the plastic wrap and gently start fashioning a disk, flattening with hands. 

8. Cover with another piece of plastic wrap and begin rolling out the dough to roughly 12”.  You may need to lift top sheet of plastic wrap to reform cracked and/or separating edges.  They will crack a little and that is ok. Simply use the top plastic wrap to aid you in forming your desired disk shape.  As you roll out the dough, this is where the tiny chunks of butter will stand out.  This is a good sign you did not overmix the dough.

9. Remove the top layer of plastic wrap and gently place your inverted pie pan onto the center of the dough.  Pull edges of plastic wrap free if it is sticking to your surface and carefully turn the pan over.

10. The dough should settle into the pan with plastic wrap still intact. Gently guide it, making sure it comes in contact with all surface areas of your dish. Carefully remove plastic wrap. If any cracking or separation occurred, it can be fixed by pressing the dough back together, or by pressing a scrap piece of dough into the area. At this point, you can clean up the outer edge of the crust by cutting away excess along the edge of the pie pan with a knife, or make a decorative edge by folding the excess dough under and fashioning it (playdough style)

11. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes (you don’t want it to start browning just yet. That will happen when you fill it and re-bake)

12. Let cool completely on a wire rack before filling

TIPS: 

*If you have 2 identical pie pans, you can pull the dough onto a pan that is face down on your workspace. Carefully pulling the plastic wrap and dough onto the back of the pan. Next, place the second pie pan over top of the first, so that they fit into each other (like they would be stacked on a shelf, except opening down).  Flip both pie pans back over and make sure dough is resting nicely inside the second pie pan. Voila!

*If you have a decorative pie edge, lightly cover it with a strip of foil to shield it from over-browning. I have even chilled extra dough and have added my decorative edge half-way through the bake time (when the pie is filled for second baking).  This keeps it from over-browning and yields a yummy, flakey crust edge.

*To add shine and to enhance a savory pie, an egg wash can be used.

1 egg white and 1 tsp water

Whisk together and simply brush the mixture onto your crust before baking

Notes:

For a crumble top, follow steps 1-6. Instead of continuing on to form a ball, leave the dough crumbly. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill while preparing the pie filling.