My search for the perfect pot pie crust was inspired by my love of chicken pot pie, one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. However, homemade pie crust has never been my forte. I’m much more confident in my ability to make easy dinners like chicken casserole, or to execute simple baked goods like English muffin bread.
I tended to avoid pie-making altogether until this foolproof pie crust recipe came into my life. My desire to make a delicious pot pie won out over my fear of homemade crusts, so I went looking for a reliable pie dough recipe I could use as the crust for chicken pot pie.
Not only did I find the perfect foolproof crust recipe, but it also turned out to be perfect for making homemade pies of all kinds! Whether you’re making a fresh peach pie or hearty chicken pot pie, this crust is perfectly flaky, has a delicious buttery taste, and turns out perfect every time.
When making this recipe, be sure to keep the fat and water cold, and work the dough only as much as you absolutely need to ensure it turns out tender and flaky. The addition of an egg to this pie crust dough helps bind it together so it’s easier to work with. Give it a try!
Foolproof Pot Pie Crust Recipe
Ingredients (for one double crust pie):
- 4 cups flour
- 1 3/4 cups butter-flavored shortening, chilled
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup cold water
Directions:
Using a pastry blender or fork, mix flour, shortening, sugar, and salt together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (You can also use a food processor, just be very careful not to over mix.)
Combine the vinegar, egg, and water and stir to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until liquid is absorbed and the pie dough comes together. Divide the dough in half, shape each half into a flat round, then wrap them in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before rolling.
This dough can also be frozen for a chicken or turkey pot pie down the road. Speaking of which — let’s make one! It’s such a treat to have a pot pie made from scratch.
Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed (I use rotisserie chicken)
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup sliced celery
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
- 2/3 cup milk
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F. In a saucepan, combine the meat, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover; boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, then drain the chicken and veggies and set aside.
In the same saucepan, melt butter and cook onions over medium heat until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper, celery seed, and garlic, then slowly add the chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick, then stir in the chicken and vegetables and remove from heat.
To prepare the pie crust, roll out one of the portions of dough on a lightly floured work surface to form a circle about 2-3 inches wider than your pie plate (12 inches or so for a 9-inch pie plate. Press it into the bottom of your pie pan. Pour hot chicken and vegetable mixture into the bottom crust, then roll out the top crust and place it on top. Trim any excess dough, then seal and crimp the edges of the crusts together.
More Ideas You'll Love
Make several small slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Then bake at 350° F for 50 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
5 Tips for Avoiding a Soggy Bottom Crust
To prevent the bottom crust from getting soggy, try one or more of these pie crust hacks:
- Rather than dividing the pie dough in half, split it 60:40 and use the larger portion as your bottom crust.
- Use a metal pie pan to for a crisper crust.
- Preheat your oven with a baking sheet inside, then place your pie on the hot baking sheet when you put it in the oven.
- Brush the bottom crust with an egg wash and bake it for 15 minutes before adding the filling.
- Add a thin layer of bread crumbs, flour, or cornmeal to the bottom crust before adding the filling.
More Ways to Use This Pie Dough
With the holidays coming up, you can give yourself a head start by preparing a few make ahead crusts now and sticking them in your freezer. Use them to make apple, pecan, mince, or pumpkin pie down the line.
You can even go a step further by rolling half the dough out, situating it in pie pans, and freezing them — pans and all! Make sure to wrap them tightly to keep the air out, then simply thaw and fill. It’s a great way to save time on future single-crust pies.
You can also use this pie dough to make delicious pot pies with leftover turkey or beef, too! If you have leftover mashed potatoes, try using it in place of a top crust — it’s pot pie meets shepherd’s pie!
What’s your favorite comfort food?
Foolproof Pot Pie Crust (Recipe)
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 1 3/4 cups butter-flavored shortening
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup cold water
Instructions
- Using a pastry blender or fork, mix flour, shortening, sugar, and salt together until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
- Combine vinegar, egg, and water, then add wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir just until liquid is absorbed.
- Divide dough in half, wrap the portions in plastic, and refrigerate them for at least 15 minutes before rolling.
I am looking forward to using this recipe for pie crust. Can I substitute distilled white vinegar in place of what appears to be apple cider vinegar? Thanks, can’t wait to try it.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been looking for a flaky melt in your mouth crust since I lost the recipe I used for years when we moved 26 years ago. I’ve tried butter with great disappointment. The crust always came out tough and not flaky. I tried using butter in biscuits because everyone said it made fluffy biscuits. No it doesn’t. They come out heavy like hockey pucks. I use only shortening now and have light fluffy biscuits everytime. Maybe it’s the vinegar that makes this crust so puffy and fluffy crispy flakey and delicious. Now I will copy this recipe and put it in my safe so I never lose it, lol. It truly is the best easiest pie cri ust ever. It rolls out so easy and doesn’t break apart when I put it in the pan. I simply can’t say enough good things about this recipe. Thank you! I can now make pies this holiday season and be proud of the crust!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I apologize if I missed something, but you cook the chicken and vegetables together? I don’t see where chicken is cooked.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.try this recipe. It’s totally unique
Easy All-Butter Flaky Pie Crust (inspiredtaste.net)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ve been using this recipe for years for every type of pie! It’s always a hit at family gatherings. The only thing I do different because I don’t have butter flavored shortening is I use 1 cup butter and 3/4 cup vegetable shortening. This pie dough really is amazing, thank you for the fantastic recipe!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thank you for this recipe, I’ve always been hopeless with pie crusts! I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m certainly looking forward to doing so. I’m confused about one thing, sugar in a savoury pie crust?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just a little bit to bring out the other flavors! You can leave it out, if you want :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just a note for the vegetarians/vegans….this is awesome with tofu cubes or “chicken” strips, and even the veggie beef crumbles for a “beef” pot pot pie. I added a bit of nutritional yeast and used veggie broth instead of milk since we have a dairy allergy in the house, and I used nondairy butter instead of shortening. I used asparagus tips instead of peas, too. I added some really healthy noodle twists, too (made of lentils and chickpeas as well as wheat), so it was hearty, and I added a few cubes of potato another time instead of noodles.
So I ended up with a seriously delicious “chicken” strip pot pie this time and a tofu cube pot pie the time before, and next time it will be the “beef”. Thanks for the pie crust recipe and the idea…:)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I am in need of a good pie crust recipe. I have tried a few but they just haven’t turned out quite right. I am excited to try this one. I totally was in need of lots of tips for making pie crust because I find them a bit intimidating lol, this along with what else I found should get me well on my way. Thanks!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can you sub canola oil for the butter???
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I made this pie crust yesterday.
A bit of background- I suck at pie crust. Mine always comes out like sheet metal.
After I got the shortening cut in, I was pretty skeptical about this. It was almost capable of forming dough before I even added the liquid. But I went ahead and added the liquid; it seemed too wet, but I put it in the fridge and hoped for the best. Half an hour later I rolled out some, and still not believing it would work, I baked a small piece in the oven.
OMG! It was flaky! It was crisp! It was…pie crust that actually worked! Yahooo! I went ahead and rolled out some more, put in my chicken filling (I kind of winged that part), and made beautiful chicken pot pies for the first time ever with my own pie crust! Thank you! :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.OK, My Dear Sister-Inlaw, I wasn’t hungry until I saw your post on pie crust and I’m trying to diet here! I love to cook and bake but my pie crust skills are not so great! They have always torn and haven’t been stretch-able. When my daughter (who is now a mother of 4) was 9 years old I came home from the market to find she had made the perfect pie crust from the same cookbook I had used with my failed pie crust! She still bakes perfect ones! So I’m going to try this recipe this weekend and I’ll keep my fingers crossed (well, not while I’m rolling it out) and see how it goes!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee:
I’ve emailed you before and never got an answer on this. I’m sure you must get a ton of email. So, I’m mentioning it here.
There are a lot of websites that have it so that when someone posts, they can choose to get an email if someone answers their post. That way they can see that someone bothered to answer them. Otherwise, they would have to continually check the comments section.
Any way this could be incorporated into your comments section?
Thanks.
Rita
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I use a different recipe with tons of butter (sorry, can’t stand the taste of crisco in dough). But I use my food processor and it takes less than a minute to make! I use it for biscuits too! You can use half frozen butter if u forget to pull it out. LOL.
With 3 young kids, recipes have to be made quickly, and they love to pulse the food processor and much less mess for me.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Amen.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Just thought I’d throw in a comment. I wet my countertop and put two strips of overlapping saran wraps down. Then I put my pie dough down and press into a circle…now put another two overlapping strips on top of the dough. Roll the dough out to the size and thickness you want. Now lift the top layer of saran wrap off the dough. Then pick up the other two saran wrap pieces while holding onto the pie dough edge and flip it onto your pie plate. Do the same with your top dough. No more pie dough stuck to the counter and you won’t need to keep adding flour to turn your dough after rolling it out. It helps make the crust a little less dry so it won’t break apart.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Same idea as you, but I use parchment paper. I tape it down to the countertop. If I’m not in a rush, I also cover my rolling pin with it. Makes for a super super easy rollout.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I wish I had checked this site a bit earlier. I literally just popped a chicken pot pie into the oven before getting on here. It’s the first one I’ve ever made. If it doesn’t work out I know where to look for help, at least!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.For the Foolproof Pastry recipe, could you please tell me if it is Plain Flour, or Self Raising flour that you’ve used. There doesn’t seem to be any raising ingreadient at all. Also, I guess that it is fine to use butter?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Regarding how many pies/pie crusts this makes:
Based on a similar recipe that I use (my recipe uses 1 cup of butter and 3/4 cup of shortening instead of the 1 3/4 cups of shortening in this recipe), I believe this will make 4-5 equal portions. In other words, you could make 4-5 bottom crust only pies or 2 pies with a bottom and top crust.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Since it’s still not clear to me, could you please revisit the question regarding the quantity of crusts this recipe will make. Three complete 8″ pies, or three individual 8″ crusts? Two complete 9″ pies, or two individual 9″ crusts?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Please see my post but I believe this will make 4-5 equal portions. In other words, you could make 4-5 bottom crust only pies or 2 pies with a bottom and top crust.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It makes 2 9″ pie crusts or 3 8″ pie crusts.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Southpaw,
Single pie crust. Hope this helps.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Love the cocottes and have a couple of questions about using them. From the photo it is hard to tell if you used the bottom crust on them. Can you estimate how long for them to bake? my sets are cast iron (yours look ceramic) will that make a significance difference?
Also, I think the shortening may be the key–my crusts were always passable, but never great. All my recipes say to use icy cold butter. I’ll be trying this one.
Going over to your site right now. THANX!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.From reading the directions it looks like they did use a bottom crust. And they say to bake for 50 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. I’m not sure if cast iron would make a difference.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Re: the pastry blender. I use the wire one with the handle. It cuts better, is faster and does not get gunked up so that you have to stop and shove it off every few minutes. Try one and you sill see what I mean. It’s also much easier to clean.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I like recipes of pies because I think that they are universal. You can add different ingredients and receive whether a meat pie with vegetables or a delicious sweet pie with fruits and chocolate. This weekend I`m definitely going to bake the same pie as you did.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Maria,
Let us know what you think! Thanks for the comment.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I love your blog & read daily!
I am willing to try to make my 1st scratch made pie crust with this recipe, but need to know how many 9″ it makes??
Thanks!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Kate,
Please log in or create a free account to comment.This pie crust recipe is suppose to make three 8 inch pies or two 9 inch. Everyone rolls there pie crust out a little differently, so it may vary a bit.
Thanks for asking and happy pie making!
three 8 inch pies OR Pie CRUSTS? two 9 inch pies OR Pie CRUSTS?
Judy Ann,
I believe this will make 4-5 equal portions. In other words, you could make 4-5 bottom crust only pies (depending on the thickness or the dough) or 2 nine inch pies with a bottom and top crust.
Thank You!
It makes 2 9″ pie crusts or 3 8″ pie crusts.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you use self-rising flour or plain, all-purpose flour?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Nellie, you can rest assured, whenever the type of flour is not specified, it will be all-purpose. (I have never bought self-rising flour in my life and won’t start now. LOL)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.No doubt I’m missing something, not reading properly or just being too cautious but when do the chicken and veg get combined with the liquid? Do you do that just before pouring into the crust or after mixing liquid into the onion flour mixture so they warm together while thickening? Seems like a lot of liquid for pouring in a pie crust to me. Though I have never attempted pot pie or eaten it much, can you tell? :)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The directions are a bit muddy there, huh. LOL. Yes, you would mix your drained chicken and veggies into the broth/milk mixture after it has thickened but before you pour it into the crust. If you’ve never cooked with milk, be cautious and do not exceed the Low to Med-Low heat setting on your stove once you’ve added the milk you’ll need to stir near constantly to avoid scorching or “breaking” the milk. It’s a low and slow process once the milk goes in and could take 5 to 10 minutes to thicken up.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh my – that looks so yummy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks Kelly,
We love this old fashioned comfort food.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.