• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Recipe Diaries
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Press
  • About
  • Shop
  • Foodie Styling
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipes
    • Press
    • About
    • Shop
    • Foodie Styling
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
  • ×

    Home » Dessert Recipes

    Perfect Pie Crust Ina Garten

    Published: Jul 21, 2014 · Modified: Oct 6, 2022 by Jenna · This post may contain affiliate links · 39 Comments

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

    perfect pie crust 004

    Ladies and gentlemen, this is my new favorite pie crust recipe and will be my go-to pie crust recipe from now on. It comes from none other than Ina Garten, my favorite Food Network Chef.  Her new cookbook comes out in September and Food Network has been showing her new shows on Sunday mornings. I even made her Blueberry pie tonight and had a piece of that before dinner. Dessert always comes first.

    perfect pie crust 008

    If you have a food processor, pie crust is super easy to make. If you don't own a food processor you can use one of those pastry cutters and your hands to form the dough. The only thing I changed about this recipe was to leave out the Crisco that the recipe called for. I have made this recipe before with just the butter and added more water until the dough forms a ball in the food processor. Now that I'm good at making pie crust, I can focus on pie fillings like a quiche.

    Can I make pie crust ahead of time?

    If you want to get ahead of yourself on the prep work for Thanksgiving you can make this pie crust ahead of time and freeze it. Just defrost it before ready to bake. Pie crust is a great keeper in the freezer. Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap or store in freezer bags.

    What Ingredients do I need? 

    In this section, you can find substitutes or suggestions for certain ingredients. I also will try and list out what the ingredients' purpose is for. 

    Butter   - very cold unsalted butter 

    Flour - all-purpose flour, measure in cups and level off with a knife 

    Sugar   - white 

    Vegetable Shortening - Very cold vegetable shortening. I usually keep mine in the pantry but place it in the fridge a couple of hours before making pie crust. 

    Equipment Needed 

    Here are some handy kitchen tools that will help you get through the process faster. Just a friendly reminder that some of these aren’t necessary and there are always other ways of getting the recipe done. All links will open up in a new window via Amazon.

    Food Processor - Hamilton Beach Food Processor and Vegetable Processor (10 Cups)

    Rolling Pin - Faber Ware Classic Wood Rolling Pin

    Plastic Saran Wrap 

    How to make Perfect Pie Crust 

    To print the full recipe please see the recipe card below. 

    Cut the butter in ½-inch dice and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

    Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle at least 1 inch larger than the pie pan, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough so it doesn't stick to the board. (You should see bits of butter in the dough.) Fold the dough in half, ease it into the pie pan without stretching at all, and unfold to fit the pan. With a small sharp paring knife, cut the dough 1 inch larger around than the pan. Fold the edge under and crimp the edge with either your fingers or the tines of a fork.

    Other Recipes to Try 

    25 Slow Cooker Recipes for Dinner 

    Maple Bacon Corn Bread Muffins 

    Knock you Naked Brownies 

    Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash 

    Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos 

    Sour Cream Noodle Bake 

    If you’ve tried this Perfect Pie Crust from Ina Garten or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out. Snap a picture and upload it to Pinterest.

    Print

    Perfect Pie Crust Ina Garten


    ★★★★★

    4.6 from 18 reviews

    • Yield: 2 (10" crusts) 1x
    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe
    Scale

    Ingredients

    • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) very cold unsalted butter
    • 3 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 tablespoon sugar
    • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
    • ⅓ cup very cold vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
    • ½ cup ice water

    Instructions

    1. Cut the butter in ½-inch dice and return it to the refrigerator while you prepare the flour mixture. Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Dump out onto a floured board and roll into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
    2. Cut the dough in half. Roll each piece on a well-floured board into a circle at least 1 inch larger than the pie pan, rolling from the center to the edge, turning and flouring the dough so it doesnt stick to the board. (You should see bits of butter in the dough.) Fold the dough in half, ease it into the pie pan without stretching at all, and unfold to fit the pan. With a small sharp paring knife, cut the dough 1 inch larger around than the pan. Fold the edge under and crimp the edge with either your fingers or the tines of a fork.

    Notes

    This recipe is directly from her cookbook.

    • Category: Easy
    • Method: Mix
    • Cuisine: American

    Keywords: perfect pie crust

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @recipediariesww on Instagram

    perfect pie crust 009

    More Dessert Recipes

    • Beatty's Chocolate Cake Recipe | Ina Garten
    • Peanut Butter Monster Cookies
    • Rhubarb Dump Cake Recipe
    • Spring Dessert Ideas

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jenna says

      October 18, 2020 at 10:36 am

      It will vary depending on what type of pie you want to make for the time and temperature. Find a pie recipe that you want to make using this crust and just go by that!

    2. Kait says

      October 18, 2020 at 8:12 am

      How long do you bake it for and at what temperature?

    3. Jenna says

      October 13, 2020 at 9:13 pm

      I don't have any recipes that use up leftover pie crust but there are lots of ideas on Pinterest that use it! 🙂

    4. Sona says

      October 13, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      Maybe this is a dumb question, but I haven't seen anyone mention it. This makes a double 10 inch crust. It seems like a waste since standard pie recipes are all 9 inch. What do you do with the extra crust?

    5. Roslyn S says

      August 20, 2020 at 5:25 pm

      I LOVE this pie crust recipe, and it has become my go to recipe when I make peach pie/cobbler, sweet potato pie or lemon meringue pie. It's easy and truly foolproof. I am getting into the habit of not becoming nervous when the dough does not form into a ball inside the food processor. However, at times I have done the first step: flour mixture and butter in processor and pulse until butter/flour mixture become pea size. I then dump this mixture into a bowl and add the water gradually as I mix by hand. I know I am using another bowl, but I become less nervous making pie crust this way. Keep in mind I have done well using the food processor to make this pie crust. So, I guess it depends upon me. Either way, I LOVE this pie crust recipe!

      ★★★★★

    6. JoAnna Antonacci says

      May 16, 2020 at 5:52 pm

      Best Crust Ever. Everyone wants to know how I make it. I tell them to use Ina Garden’s recipe , follow it exactly and you will always have success! Thanks Ina

    7. Jenna says

      November 27, 2019 at 6:53 pm

      Butter or Crisco works just fine.

    8. Kate says

      November 27, 2019 at 5:44 pm

      I use solid coconut oil and it works perfectly.

    9. Michelle says

      November 27, 2019 at 4:49 pm

      Leaving out the crisco is a terrible idea. There's a reason it's in there. Ina knows what she is doing. Crisco makes it flaky and tender. I do not like crisco that much either but it works like a charm in this instance. There are also organic versions of crisco available.

    10. Jenna says

      November 26, 2019 at 11:58 am

      No, I haven't tried that but I'm sure it works.

    « Older Comments
    Newer Comments »

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    Primary Sidebar

    Hey, I'm Jenna! I'm a graphic designer, photographer, and home cook from From Fargo ND. My air fryer is my favorite kitchen appliance to cook with. I created this blog to share recipe tips and tricks with everyone, enjoy!

    More about me →

    Seasonal Recipes

    • Paula Deen's Baked Acorn Squash
    • 5 Easy Recipes with Cake Mix and Canned Pumpkin
    • Weight Watchers Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips
    • Weight Watchers Pumpkin Fluff Dip Recipe

    Popular Recipes

    • Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs
    • Oven Roasted Smoked Sausage and Potatoes
    • Paula Deen's Crockpot Mac and Cheese
    • Tiktok Ramen

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy

    My Other Site!

    • My other blog is Foodie Styling and it's all about my favorite grocery store Aldi!

    Contact

    • Press
    • FAQ
    • Drop me a message!

    Copyright © 2022 Recipe Diaries