Easy Flaky Oil Pie Crust (video)
This tender, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth pie crust is made with just 4 simple ingredients and only takes 15 minutes to prepare. It is unbelievably easy to make and works well with both sweet and savory fillings. 
I was given this recipe by my friend Mary. It was her grandmother’s recipe and she told me it was very unique in that it uses oil instead of butter or shortening, yet it is the flakiest pie crust ever. She also mentioned that the key to this recipe is to sift the flour twice: the fluffier the flour, the flakier the pie crust. I wasn’t sure what to expect the first time I made it, but let me tell you, as soon as I cut into the crust, I knew it was a winner. You could feel how crispy and flaky it was. You can also see layers upon layers of thin delicate pastry when you lift that first slice. This crust is so tender that it just melts in your mouth when you eat it. 
Why this recipe is so great:
- It’s only 4 ingredients, you don’t need a food processor or pastry cutter, and there is no chilling required. You just mix, knead, and roll. And in less than 15 minutes, you have pie crust that is ready to be filled and baked.
- Easy as playing with Playdoh. The texture of this pastry dough is not as elastic as most others. The delicate texture is what makes this pie crust so tender and flaky. When handling this pie crust, it might crack or break, but not to worry, just pinch and seal and patch it up as if you’re playing with Playdoh. This pie crust is very forgiving and easy to work with in that sense.
- Vegan and dairy-free option. You can use any kind of milk with this recipe, so if you are vegan or have a dairy allergy, simply use a non-dairy milk like almond, rice or soy.
- Here’s what some of my readers have to say:
“I made the blueberry pie for dessert yesterday and it was a hit. I’ve never had luck with pie crusts until now. I’ll be using this recipe from now on.” – Kris
“Love this recipe! It so easy and the crust turned out so light, flaky and crispy. My family loved it and it’s now my go-to pie crust recipe. Thanks for sharing it.” – Caroline
How to make oil pie crust:
(the ingredient amounts are listed in the printable recipe card further below)
- You start by sifting the flour twice. Then you whisk in the salt and create a little well in the flour mixture. Pour in the oil, then milk, and stir everything together with a rubber or wooden spatula.
- Once the dough starts to come together, finish working it by gently kneading it all together on a sheet of wax paper.
- Divide the dough into two parts, one slightly larger than the other if you are making a pie with a top crust. Divide the dough into two equal parts if you are making two open-face pies.
- Roll the dough in between 2 sheets of wax paper. The base crust should be about 2 inches in diameter larger than your pie plate. I have a 9-inch pie plate, so I rolled my base crust to about 11 inches in diameter. Remove the top sheet of wax paper. Then use the bottom sheet to lift the dough and flip it onto your pie plate.
- Fill your pie as desired (about 5 cups of filling). Roll the top crust to about 10 inches in diameter.
- Place on top. Press to seal the edges, trim, and crimp or leave as is. Cut a few slits and your beautiful pie is ready to bake!
Bake at 425F for 15 minutes, then 375F until the crust is golden and the filling is cooked. Depending on the filling, it usually takes about 30-45 minutes at 375F.
Expert tips:
- Add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk if you find that your dough is too dry to come together when you are mixing it in the bowl.
- Moisten your hands with oil if you find that the dough is not coming together when you are trying to knead it into a ball.
- If the dough cracks at any time when you are trying to fit it into your pie plate or on top of your pie, just pinch and seal to patch it up.
FAQ:
- Can I make oil pie crust in advance? Yes, divide the dough into two balls, double wrap each in plastic and store in the fridge for up to 2 days. When ready to use, remove from the fridge for about 30-60 minutes to bring to room temperature, and proceed as instructed.
- Can I freeze oil pie crust? I was told no, because of the milk in it. And to be honest, I’ve never had to since this pie crust is so quick and easy to make, plus you can make it up to 2 days in advance.
You might also like:
- Easy Apple Pie
- Homemade Blueberry Pie
- Coconut Cream Pie
- Lemon Meringue Pie
- Easy All-Butter Pie Crust
I am so grateful to Mary for sharing her family recipe with me, so I can share it with all of you. There is a reason this recipe has been passed down from generation to generation. Try it for yourself and see how truly amazing this pie crust is! Watch the video below for a demonstration of how I make this oil pie crust.
Did you make this recipe? Please kindly leave a comment with your star rating below.
Print
Easy Flaky Oil Pie Crust
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: a double crust for a 9" pie
- Category: dessert
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This tender, flaky, melt-in-your-mouth pie crust is made with just 4 simple ingredients and only takes 15 minutes to prepare.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp (5g) salt
- 3/4 cup (188ml) vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup (83ml) milk plus 1–2 tbsp extra if needed (any kind, dairy or non-dairy works)
Instructions
- Sift the flour twice, then whisk in the salt and create a little well.
- Pour in the oil, then milk and stir everything together. If the dough seems too dry, add 1-2 tbsp of milk.
- Once the dough starts to form, finish working it by gently kneading it on a sheet of wax paper.
- Divide into two parts. Roll the dough out in between 2 sheets of wax paper. Remove the top sheet of wax paper. Use the bottom sheet to lift and flip the dough onto the pie plate and on top of the filling.
- Trim and seal edges. Cut some slits for ventilation.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 425F for 15 minutes, then bake at 375F until the crust is golden and filling is cooked. Usually about another 30-45 minutes.
Notes
- Add 1-2 more tablespoons of milk if you find that your dough is too dry to come together when you are mixing it in the bowl.
- Moisten your hands with oil if you find that the dough is not coming together when you are trying to knead it into a ball.
- If the dough cracks at any time when you are trying to fit it into your pie plate or on top of your pie, just pinch and seal to patch it up.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 280
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 236.7 mg
- Fat: 16.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Protein: 4.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0.2 mg
Awesome!
I forgot to mention that I used coconut oil…
I’m excited to try this recipe. Two questions: (1) room temp milk or chilled or does it matter? (2) Do you sift the flour before measuring the 3 cups or after? Thanks!
Hi Jana, the temp of the milk does not matter. I fluff the flour before measuring then sift after. Let me know if you have any further questions and I hope you like the crust!
Once I combined all the ingredients it the dough seemed a bit too oily so I added extra 4 tbs of four and it turned out perfect.
Thanks for the recipe!
You’re very welcome and glad it turned out perfect! Enjoy and happy Sunday!
Worst internet recipe ever. I followed metric measurements by weight and 188ml/grams is way too much oil. Thanks for wasting all my precious ingredients out in my current remote location.
I’m sorry about your ingredients, but 188 ml of oil is not equivalent to 188 grams of oil. Perhaps that’s what went wrong.
Alice, this is the MOST ridiculous thing I’ve had the misfortune of reading today. The recipe is incredibly simple, how did you screw up?? Common sense would tell you to measure liquids in ml NOT in grams.
As far as I had tried with these pie crusts, you need at least 39% of oil to form a shapeable thing without the need to adding water, but in the normal pie crust the oil should be around 34% so the water can be add in later.
It said 0.92 gram per ml, and my cup of flour is around 150gram so the recipe will be around 38% of oil, kind of workable without much liquid, I don’t know, gonna try it by my time.
This is a great recipe I’ve used many, many times. It’s flaky, and retains crispness in the crust at least through the second day, if the pie lasts that long and if baked at a good, high temp to start.
I tend to use a little less oil, and a little more alt-milk. I usually use a homemade, unfiltered walnut & hemp heart milk, since some folks are dairy-intolerant and my allergy-kid can’t have any palm or coconut derivatives that are common in store brands as vitamin A palmitate, et al. Although nothing beats a butter-based pie crust, this is a great, fast, satisfying weeknight alternative.
Terrific recipe! A Flaky, tasty pie crust . I used walnut oil. Thank you.
You’re very welcome, Sarah, and thank you for your kind words!
I would like to use this pastry for fresh strawberry pie so it needs to be prebaked before filling with fresh strawberries. How long and what temperature should it be baked? Thanks!
Bake at 425F for 15 minutes using foil and pie weights, then removing the pie weights and foil, and continue to bake for 20 minutes at 375F or until the crust is nice and golden. I hope this helps and enjoy the pie!
The crust was so delicious, my new favorite, no need to ever go back to butter crusts!!
Will the top hold together if cutting it into strips for a woven crust?
Oil-based pie crust tends to be more delicate to work with, so I would not recommend it for a woven crust.
My momma always used this recipe. She called it “no fail pie crust”. I’m super excited with your directions, because I fail at it every time. It’s my favorite crust and I thought I’d never have it again. Thank you so much for sharing!
Also, Mom would make pies (lots of them) and freeze unbaked. They were perfect.
You’re very welcome, Angela! I’m so glad you came across the recipe. Enjoy and have a very merry Christmas!
I baked a quiche in this crust. Very nice though it seemed a little underdone in the middle of the crust. So I used the other half of the dough to make another one which I parbaked for a few minutes.
The quiche was fine but the crust stuck to the glass pie plate like glue!! Why??
There’s quite a bit of oil in the pie crust so it shouldn’t have stuck. I’m wondering if perhaps some of the filling leaked through or got underneath causing it to stick to the pie plate.
I think that’s exactly what happened. Some egg mixture seeped past and stuck like glue! It was my fault, not the dough 🙂
I’d rate this six stars if I could. I used this pie crust recipe to make sweet potato pies for this year’s Thanksgiving. I made butter pie crusts two times in the past, and they always came out chewy and dense. This pie crust was flaky, tender, and delicious! Never did I think I could make pie crust this amazing with just a few staple ingredients! When we had Thanksgiving dinner, my sisters loved the flakiness of this pie crust. I highly recommend this recipe.
Thank you for your rave review, Jason! I’m so happy to hear it was very much enjoyed at Thanksgiving:)
So easy and it came out perfectly. I live alone and only wanted to make one pumpkin pie for my Thanksgiving, so I halved the recipe.
I have no idea how anyone was able to roll the dough out without ripping, pulling, or tearing. I tried to use this recipe to make mini pies. I followed every step exactly but as I rolled it out it pulled, tore, and got stuck. I put flour on my counter to prevent sticking, i rubbed flour on my roller, i rubbed oil on my roller nothing worked. I had to throw the dough away after around 30 trys of rolling it out i managed to get two pieces “good” enough to make one mini pie. I hoped this would be a lovely treat but it made me want to cry. Anyways tge single mini pie i was able to make was pretty good i guess.
Hi Rachel,
I’m sorry to hear you had so much trouble. Did you roll the dough in between 2 sheets of wax paper? If so, it should have not stuck to your counter and rolling pin. Let me know and again, sorry for your troubles.
hi
looks amazing but i cant find the video !!
Hi Michal, the video should be right above the recipe. It’s my homemade apple pie video where I use the same pie crust. Let me know if you still don’t see it.
Would olive oil work in this recipe?
Would I be able to use sunflower oil in this pie crust recipe…?
Yes, you can use sunflower or olive oil in this recipe. I would suggest sunflower oil due to its neutral taste. Enjoy and have a great week!
Why do you have to sift the flour?
According to my friend, Mary (who gave me this recipe from her grandmother), sifting the flour twice makes the pie crust flakier. In theory, sifted flour is easier to mix and combine with other ingredients because there are no lumps.
I have made this twice now and it was perfect both times! This is my recipe from now on!!
I’m so happy to hear and thank you for your lovely feedback!
I have been making your flaky oil pie crust for a while. It takes no effort and comes out flaky and light each time. People love it. Will use no other recipe.
Aww, thank you for your kind words, Roger! I’m so happy to hear everyone loves it:)
Can I use thIs pastry recipe for a large savoury mince pie or is it better for sweet fillings?
It’s great for savoury meat pies! This pie crust can be used for sweet or savoury fillings.
Excited to try with my Thanksgiving pies! When replacing butter dough with this one, should I follow the baking instructions here, or use the instructions from the original recipe?
I would follow this one to ensure the crust is nice and flaky. Enjoy and happy Thanksgiving!