Suuuper flaky, buttery and tasty, this keto pie crust is ideal for anything from pies (think pumpkin and ‘apple’!) to empanadas and quiches.
Gluten Free & Keto Pie Crust
Suuuper Flaky!
Whip it up easily, roll it out, and go make some pie. Or empanadas, sweet hand pies, pop tarts (!!!), roll-ups… pfff! Endless possibilities await.
And did I mention just 2g net carb per serving?!
The Flours
I like a mixture of super fine almond flour and coconut flour best. Add a touch of xanthan gum, and we’re golden.
In terms of brands, for the almond either Anthony’s or WellBees work great. Both are super fine grinds. And for the coconut, I always favor Anthony’s (best taste and texture by a mile!).
And don’t be afraid of the seemingly long list of ingredients, as you’re likely to have most in your cupboard/fridge already.
Just One Rule
You must chill your pastry for 1 hour (at least) before using it. Similar to your good-old wheat flour, the almond and coconut (in particular) need the time to soak up the moisture evenly.
So chill for one hour, and up to 3 days.
On the subject of temperature, make sure that your filling of choice is completely chilled before filling up empanadas (or whatever it is you’re cooking up!). Otherwise you will (quite literally) see the pastry melt before your very eyes.
And remember that, like with any pastry dough, you need to work quickly and over a cool surface. Though do note that if the dough becomes too hard to manage, you can always pop it back in the fridge/freezer for 15 minutes before carrying on!
The Deets
When rolling out you may want to use parchment or wax paper. Given the lack of gluten, the crust is more fragile and it will break easily if not handled with care. So I suggest rolling it out between two sheets of parchment paper (see video).
And talking about lack of gluten, this is the reason why the dough will crack slightly when baked. I’ve noticed that the cracking can be lessened by allowing the dough to rest overnight (probably because moisture is distributed more evenly), though note that taste and texture will be the same.
I also noted that by increasing the xanthan gum you can get a silky smooth crust, but at the cost of losing a bit of flakiness. So I did sacrifice some aesthetics for the sake of taste and texture.
One last thing (promise!). Like with any pastry dough, make sure not to over-process the dough. The mixture ought to resemble coarse breadcrumbs rather than cookie dough. It will make the pastry much more flaky and (perhaps surprisingly) easier to handle.
And… The Video Story!
(The Flakiest!) Keto Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 96 g almond flour
- 40 g coconut flour
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon or orange zest optional
- 100 g unsalted grass-fed butter cold
- 55 g cream cheese cold
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- egg wash optional (for glossy finish)
Instructions
- Please see recipe video for guidance!
- Add almond flour, coconut flour, xanthan gum, salt and zest (optional) to food processor and pulse until evenly combined.
- Add butter and cream cheese and pulse for just a few seconds until crumbly. Add in egg and vinegar and pulse until the dough just begins to come together (but stop before it forms into a ball). Like with any pastry dough, make sure not to over-process the dough. The mixture ought to resemble coarse breadcrumbs rather than cookie dough.
- Turn out the dough onto cling film (i.e. saran wrap) and pat into a round.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour, or up to 3 days. You can, alternatively, freeze the pie crust at this point and thaw out as needed (just as regular pie crust!).
- Roll out the crust between parchment paper. It's more fragile than regular pie crust, so you need to work quickly and in cold conditions. You can patch up any cracks that occur by pinching the dough together. And if at any point the crust becomes unmanageable, simply pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes before carrying on.
- Once shaped (pie, empanadas, etc), pop it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes prior to baking (as it will help to keep its shape better and come out flakier). Brush with egg wash for a glossy finish (optional, but highly suggested).
- Bake at 390°F/200°C for 10-12 minutes if making something small such as crackers. And up to 30 minutes for empanadas and such. Just keep an eye out for it, as grain free flours have a tendency to brown suddenly rather than gradually.
Excited to try this! Can I make this the day before? If so, is it best to store in the fridge or freezer?
For sure Patti, just let it hang out in the fridge (up to 3 days!)
Hi Patty, I’m excited too. I made the crust on Monday and put it in the frig. I just made my chocolate KETO pudding to go in it. I’m about to roll out the dough and bake it. Fingers crossed. HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
Paola… In the pie crust recipe can I use all almond flour? I can not do coconut flour.
Thank you
Can you sub the coconut flour for some whey isolate? That would improve the texture tremendously without the cocnut flour
Is there a substitute for the cream cheese? My son can’t tolerate dairy.
Cora, I have an all butter recipe in my ‘Summer Favorites’ ebook xo!
very tasty, hard to work with the dough but using freezer and parchment helps a lot. Also brushing dough with egg wash made it pretty.
What if you don’t have vinegar ? I have wine vinegar
Works fine!
Hi Paola,
Can you add oat fiber & vital wheat gluten with the almond flour & coconut flour? It may add to the texture.
You know Patrice I’ve never experimented with vital wheat so I can’t tell you (I had a celiac misdiagnoses for nearly a decade and nowadays if I’ll indulge in gluten I’m going for the real deal).
And on the oat fiber, in my experience you end up with a weird chalky (fiber-y?) texture that isn’t too pleasant. But I have since come up with an all butter recipe that adds whey protein isolate. I used that for my blueberry galette here: https://www.gnom-gnom.com/almond-flour-keto-blueberry-galette/
xo!
If you do not have a food processor, will a hand mixer work with this recipe?
No as it will cream the butter Haley. What I suggest you do is freeze the butter, grate it and gently and rapidly rub the flour into it (like making biscuits!). You want those pea sized pieces of butter to remain as they’re what gives you the flakiness.
(I need to do a video on this for you guys, but I know that if you google pie crust videos with grated butter you’ll get a visual 😅) xo!
I’m used to shortening based pie crust, can the butter be replaced?
This pie crust recipe was so AMAZING!! Everything that I make from your recipes are always on point and great!!
🥰
Do you happen to have the measurements in cups and tbps?
Blanca yessss!! Please click on the US Cups button on the recipe card for an instant conversion
OMG!!! This was amazing. I was blown away at how flaky, buttery, and just perfect this crust was. I am one of those weird people who like the pie crust almost more than the pie itself and am always disappointed in Keto crusts. This is so easy and practically fool proof. My dough was super wet, tore like crazy getting it into the pie plate, I didn’t blind bake it, which I usually do, and I over cooked it to the point it was dark brown. My expectations were really low and even had a plan B to just scoop out the filling and make a deconstructed pie. But that first bite evaporated all my worries. This even was better than most of the non Keto crusts I have tried. The flavor was perfect despite the dark color. This will be my go to crust.
I really do not like the taste of coconut, I’m assuming it will have a light coconut flavor?? I’m new to keto doing pretty good but this is something I’ve wondered.
Thank you in advance
No it won’t, trust me! People have reviewed on it before too (also, check out Anthony’s brand of coconut flour, it’s taste is much milder so when used in small quantities it improves texture without the taste :)!) xo!
Can I add some sweetener to this mix or will it change the “flakiness” ?
Feel free to add up to a couple tablespoons 😉
When I processed the dough for the pie crust, I noticed the chunks of cold butter. Is tha normal? or did I do something wrong? Please forgive me if this has already been asked.
That means you did it perfectly Susan! The trick is not to over mix the dough so you get those little chunks of butter throughout = a flaky pie crust (they’ll melt in the oven, leaving you with little pockets of air!). xo! Paola
Will your keto pumpkin pie with this crust freeze and thaw well after being baked?
It does, but *only!* if you use allulose or xylitol as your sweeteners (as they work as inverted sugars, ensuring your pumpkin custard stays nice and smooth). If you use erythritol it will crystallize and be crunchy (big no no, needless to say!).
And if you want to be a bit extra, you can freeze the unbaked pie crust decorations (say, my leaves) and just bake them on the day (about 12 mins)- so those do taste freshly baked (and thus, it’ll be assumed that your pie was too as the texture there doesn’t change much. 🤌🏼)
Hope this helped!
Hi can I use all coconut flour instead of almond flour as I have allergy to almonds?
Have you tried sunflower seed flour? It’s a straight sub to almond I’m pretty much ever recipe (all coconut simply won’t work) xo!
Made this today and it was the best Keto pastry recipe I’ve tried. Did it with your pumpkin pie recipe and husband (Mr. Picky) loved it. Thank you so much.
Just made the doe and put in the fridge for overnight. To make a pumpkin pie do I blind bake the crust and at what temperature and how long? I’ve been looking for a good recipe for Keto pastry crust and am really excited about this recipe. Thank you so much for posting this.
Hi there! All I have on hand is fat-free cream cheese. Can I use this i place of regular cream cheese??
Is it possible to make this without the xanthum gum?
Loved all the great reviews, but noticed that the video is not there…just a blank space.
Any chance you’re running an ad blocker? That’s usually the culprit here as it blocks the video player too :-S
(Also I know ads are a pain, but keep in mind that they allow me to create all the free content for y’all!) xo!