Coconut Oil Pie Crust
At very outset of this post, let me tell you that I’m in no way a pie-making expert. As a matter of fact, I’ve always steered away from making pies, even though it’s my husband’s favorite dessert in the whole world. There’s something about rolling out a crust that you’ve made from scratch that scared me. What if it falls apart? What if it’s underbaked? What if Mitch hates it? Okay, that last “what if” never crossed my mind because I could serve up the most “questionable-looking” dish and Mitch seriously would eat it and not complain. But you catch my drift–I was NERVOUS when it came to pie-making. So when my friend and I started talking about making a pie together, the concept of making the crust with coconut oil came up in the conversation. I really wanted to try it. I figured people have been making crust with shortening for ages, so why not substitute the shortening with coconut oil? Sure, there are recipes out there that use a combination of different fats–all butter, all shortening, a mix of both butter and shortening, etc. But I wanted to see how an all-coconut oil pie crust would turn out. So I put my fears aside, and rolled up my sleeves.
The ingredients to make a crust are simple: flour, sugar, salt, water, and fat (in this case, coconut oil).
You simply measure out your oil (I put mine in a measure-all type container that pushes out the oil when you’re ready). You want to make sure that your coconut oil is at a soft-solid consistency, at around 70 degrees F, or normal room temperature. If it’s too warm/liquid-y, stick it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to harden up. If it’s too cold/solid, stick it in the microwave to soften it. You want to be able to scoop it out easily.
Throw everything (minus the water) in a food processor, pulsing until mixed, then add the water a little bit at a time until your dough comes together and forms a ball. (I stuck my water in the freezer for a few minutes beforehand so it was really cold…you definitely want to use super cold water here.)
After that, sprinkle flour on your clean work surface (marble is a great choice for crust-making), and shape your dough into a disk. You don’t want to mess with it too much. No kneading! (This was Bryce’s (my 5 yr old) first crust-making experience so he definitely wanted to shape the dough 🙂 I just love those cute little hands!)After that, wrap it in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for 30 min–1 hr. I ended up refrigerating mine overnight, which was fine, but it needed more time to sit out and soften a bit the next day. I made two crusts for the pie I wanted to make. (This recipe is enough for one pie crust, so if you want a double crusted pie, make two portions. I did them separately, just so I knew each crust was exactly the same size.)
After your dough has chilled, take it back out and let it set for about 15-20 minutes or so on a floured surface.
See those little white specks throughout the dough? That’s the hardened coconut oil. Since I had my dough in the refrigerator overnight, I had to work my dough a bit (knead it) to make it pliable enough to roll out.Now it’s time to roll out your dough! Roll out with a rolling pin, picking up and rotating the dough as you go. Make sure you keep sprinkling flour on both your surface and rolling pin.
Wrap it around your pin, and roll out over your pie pan, pressing it ever so slightly to the inside of the pan.
This is the finished product–a fresh double-crusted apple pie with my coconut oil pie crust! I was very pleased and proud of myself when I pulled this out of the oven. As you can see, the crust browned beautifully and was tender and flaky–everything you want in a crust. And it tasted pretty dang awesome as well. Yes, Mitch was very happy with my pie baking experiment that day. Stay tuned for the upcoming recipe for this double crusted apple pie–you won’t want to miss it!
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp Golden Barrel organic cane sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup Golden Barrel Coconut Oil room temperature
- 1/3 cup water, cold (use as-needed; I didn't use all of it)
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor and pulse several times until mixed. Add the coconut oil and pulse until combined. With the processor running, pour the cold water, pulsing as you go until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out on floured surface and shape into a disk shape. Wrap with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Place dough on floured surface and let set for 15-20 minutes, until it becomes workable. Roll out dough from center to the edges, picking up and rotating dough as you go. Be sure to keep work area and rolling pin floured to prevent sticking. Wrap dough around rolling pin and unwrap in the pie pan.
Does this mean one, double pie crust? Or do I need to double the recipe to have top and bottom as in the photo? Thanks!
Sorry, found my answer ^^
Kat,
I was delighted to discover your coconut oil crust recipe…my shell is baking in the oven now. When I read your dilemma concerning rolling the dough out, I thought I’d try rolling it out between two pieces of waxed paper…as I do with my olive oil stir and roll crust. It did beautifully and even supported the crust as I was fitting it in the pie pan.
At 70, I’m always looking for ways to update my bad cooking habits. Thank you for this recipe. OBTW, as my husband can’t do sugar, I omitted it…and the raw dough still had great flavor.
This is the most delicious pie crust I have ever had or made! It was a HUGE hit with my family and is now our go to pie crust! It even cooked beautifully in the oven with no soggy bottom crust which is my biggest problem with a regular pie crust! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I have tried other coconut oil recipes, and they have never worked. The food processor definitely made things a whole lot easier. Now I’m hoping that this crust turns out better than the others did.
There was no temperature for single crust or how long to bake it.
Hi Colleen, the time and temperature would be based on the actual pie recipe that you are using this crust to make. For example, see this pie recipe that uses the crust: https://www.goldenbarrel.com/recipe/double-crust-apple-pie/.
This is the recipe I’ve chosen for my first homemade pie crust ever… I am hoping to make a pumpkin pie today, though not sure I’ll hear back from you very soon. But I have a couple questions.
I’m guessing I should pre-bake this before adding the filling…should it be around 375ºF for what, 15 minutes? Should I use parchment paper and pie weights with this recipe?
Thanks for your help!
Yes, for a pumpkin pie, prebake the crust after filling with weights and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Hope you love it!!
Thank you for your speedy reply! I’ll let you know!