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This whole wheat pie crust is light, flaky, buttery and made from wholesome whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour. It’s super easy to make and great for both sweet and savory pie recipes.
This homemade whole wheat pie crust recipe has everything you love about traditional pie crust, just made a little healthier with whole grains and less butter. It’s perfect for my healthy apple pie and healthy pumpkin pie!
A Healthier Pie Crust
A classic buttery pie crust made with wholesome ingredients. Here’s why you’ll love it!
- A healthier twist. It’s made with whole wheat pastry flour instead of white flour and a little less butter than you’ll find in traditional pie crust.
- Buttery and flaky. It still has the perfect buttery and flaky texture for all of your favorite pie recipes.
- Super easy. There’s no need to be intimidated by homemade pie crust because this one is SO simple and only needs 30 minutes of chill time in the fridge.
- Perfect for any pie filling. This whole wheat dough works for all different recipes and both sweet and savory pies from apple pie to quiches and chicken pot pies.
Ingredients
For full recipe instructions and complete list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Whole wheat pastry flour: Or white whole wheat flour, but I like pastry flour for a flakier crust. Whole wheat flour will work but will be a little denser. All purpose flour would also work.
- Cold salted butter: This crust calls for butter, but a little less than your standard pie crust. The key to a flaky pie crust is cold butter to create tiny steam pockets as it bakes!
- Milk: Adds some moisture and helps the dough come together.
- Ice cold water: Keeps the dough cold to prevent the butter from melting too soon.
- Maple syrup: Adds just a little bit of subtle sweetness.
- Salt: To enhance the buttery flavor.
- Egg (optional): A simple egg wash with whisked egg and 1-2 tbsp of water gives the crush a glossy golden brown top.
- Sanding sugar (optional): Perfect for sweet pies like pumpkin pie and apple pie.
How To Make Whole Wheat Pie Crust
- Start dough. In a large bowl, whisk together whole wheat flour and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or 2 forks until the butter is roughly in pea to chickpea sized pieces.
- Add liquids. Add milk, syrup, and ice water to flour mixture. Mix dough gently with a wooden spoon until evenly combined. Note: if dough is not sticking together, add 1-2 more tbsp of ice cold water.
- Form dough ball. Switch to clean hands and gently form dough into a dough ball. Cut in half and form two even balls.
- Refrigerate. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and flatten into discs. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Note: This makes two pie crusts, so if you only need one (like for pumpkin pie), you can freeze the second dough ball.
- Roll. Transfer dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough and lightly coat rolling pin with flour. Roll each dough disk into a circle that is roughly 12 inches in diameter.
- Use in your favorite pie recipes! Carefully place dough into a 9″ pie pan, gently pressing into the dish. Use your fingers to crimp the dough or shape edges as desired.
How To Store
- Fridge: Store tightly wrapped dough balls in the fridge for up to two days before using.
- Freezer: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight before using. This makes a bottom and top crust, so you can freeze the second one for recipes that only need bottom crusts, like pumpkin pie.
Recipe Tips
Recipe Tips
- Prevent burning. Make sure to not roll your edges too thinly on top of the pie plate and bake pies in the lower-middle position of the oven. If you notice your pie crust is browning too quickly, wrap the edges in aluminum foil. You can also use a silicone pie crust protector.
- For single-crusted pies (like pumpkin pie), fill the pie crust and then bake as directed according to pie recipe.
- For double-crusted pies (like apple pie), fill the pie crust with filling and then top with second rolled out pie crust.
- Brush with an egg wash: Whisk together 1 egg + 1-2 tbsp water and use a pastry brush to brush on the surface of the crust before baking.
- Add a sprinkle of sugar. For sweet crusts like apple pie, brush with egg wash and then sprinkle with sanding sugar or turbinado sugar for a little bit one extra sweetness.You can also sprinkle with some sanding sugar or turbinado sugar for sweet crusts, like apple pie.
- Use a food processor. You can also make this pie crust in a food processor by pulsing the ingredients together until they form moist crumbs, then transfer to a bowl and use clean hands to form a dough ball.
If you’ve made and loved this Whole Wheat Pie Crust or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
More Healthier Baked Goods
Whole Wheat Pie Crust
Light, buttery and flaky pie crust made with whole wheat pastry flour.
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tbsp cold salted butter, diced
- 3 tbsp milk, whole or 2%
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 4 tbsp ice cold water
Optional
- 1 egg, whisked for egg wash
- 2-3 tsp sanding sugar or turbinado sugar, for topping sweet pie crusts, like apple pie
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine whole wheat flour and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or 2 forks until the butter is roughly in pea to chickpea sized pieces.
- Next, add milk, syrup, and ice water. Mix dough gently with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until evenly combined. Note: if dough is not sticking together, add 1-2 more tbsp of ice cold water.
- Switch to clean hands and gently form dough into a dough ball. Cut in half and form two even balls. *Note: This makes two pie crusts for a top and bottom crust, so if you only need one pie crust (ex: pumpkin pie), you can halve the recipe to make just one or freeze one.
- Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and flatten each ball into a disk. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has refrigerated for at least 30 minutes, transfer dough to a lightly floured flat surface. Sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough and lightly coat rolling pin with flour.
- Roll each dough disk into a circle that is roughly 12 inches in diameter.
- Carefully place dough into the pie dish, gently pressing into the dish. Use your fingers to crimp the dough or shape edges as desired. Be careful that the edges are not too thin on top of the pie plate to prevent burning.
- For a single-crusted pie (like pumpkin pie), fill the pie crust and then bake as directed according to pie recipe.
- For a double-crusted pie (like apple pie), fill the pie crust with filling and then top with second rolled out pie crust.
- Optional: Whisk together 1 egg + 1-2 tbsp water and use a pastry brush to brush on the surface of the crust before baking. You can also sprinkle with some sanding sugar or turbinado sugar for sweet crusts, like apple pie.
- Bake pie as directed in pie recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 212kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 239mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 358IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 23mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
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Food photography by Marie-Catherine Dubé.
