Name: Flaky Butter Pie Crust (No Shortening Needed!)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 165 min
Ingredients: 2 ½ cups flour; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 20 tablespoons butter ((2 ½ sticks)); 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar; ½ cup ice cold water

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Ready to ditch store-bought and make a buttery, flaky pie crust that actually tastes like something? This homemade butter pie crust is simple, crisp, golden, and holds up like a champ with any filling, sweet or savory. No weird ingredients, no shortening. Just real butter and a little pie crust magic.

Why Choose an All-Butter Pie Crust

It’s the kind of basic you want in your back pocket, especially if your grandma handed you a Crisco-based recipe you never loved. Let’s fix that.

So maybe your grandma made hers with shortening. Or maybe you’ve been grabbing the frozen kind because, well, life. But here’s the thing: a pie crust made with real butter is rich, flavorful, and flaky in all the right ways. And yes, it’s 100% doable from scratch, no culinary degree required.

The Case for Making It Yourself

Here’s what you’re getting with this recipe:

Flaky layers: Thanks, cold butter.
Simple ingredients: You probably have everything on hand.
Make-ahead magic: Make the dough now, roll it out later. Freeze it if you want.
Double crust: One for now, one for next time.

Pro Tip: Dice your butter and toss it in the freezer for 10 minutes while you gather everything else. Cold butter = flakier crust.

What Makes This Crust So Good? Let’s Break It Down.

You’ll find the full ingredient list in the recipe card, but here’s a closer look at the real MVPs:

butter pie crust ingredients on a gray background.

Butter: The colder, the better. It creates pockets of steam as it bakes, which gives you those flaky layers everyone raves about. Unsalted is best so you can control the salt.
Apple cider vinegar: It’s not just a quirky additio, it helps tenderize the dough and prevents too much gluten from forming. Your pie crust will thank you.
Ice-cold water: Keeps the butter from melting before baking. Don’t skip the “ice” part.
Flour and sugar: All-purpose flour holds the structure. A little sugar adds flavor and helps with browning.

Step-by-Step: How to Make Pie Crust with Butter

Step One: Make the Dough

butter pie crust dry ingredients in a food processor. — Combine dry ingredients in a food processor.

cubed cold butter on a gray background. — Cut cold butter into cubes.

butter pie crust dough in a food processor. — Add in cold butter and pulse until it looks like small crumbs, then add vinegar and cold water. Pulse again until it forms a dough.

Step Two: Chill it out

pie dough disks on a wooden cutting board. — Turn your dough out onto a lightly floured surface, shape it into two disks, wrap them in plastic, and let them chill in the fridge for at least two hours.

Step Three: Roll and shape

rolled out dough on top of plastic wrap on a wooden cutting board with a rolling pin on the side. — Take one disc of dough and use your rolling pin to roll it out on the plastic wrap into a circle that’s slightly larger than your pie pan.

pie dough with plastic wrap inside of a pie dish. — Use the plastic to help transfer it to the pie plate.

Step Four: Pre-bake

pie crust inside of pie plate on a wooden cutting board. — Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork.

pie weights inside of parchment paper inside of the pie crust. — Line it with parchment paper and add pie weights.

baked crust on a wire rack. — Bake until golden. Let the baked crust cool on a wire rack before filling.

Troubleshooting Tips You’ll Be Glad You Knew

The dough’s too crumbly? Add a tiny splash of water. Like, teaspoons at a time.

Too sticky? Dust with a little more flour while rolling, but not too much.

Butter melting while rolling? Chill the dough again for 10–15 minutes. It’s worth the pause.

Crust shrinks? It’s probably overworked or under-chilled. Try chilling the shaped crust in the pan before baking.

Use This Crust With… Pretty Much Anything

Make It Ahead or Freeze It

Fridge: Wrapped tightly, the dough keeps for 2–3 days.
Freezer: Wrap each disc in plastic and foil. Good for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before using.

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Flaky Butter Pie Crust (No Shortening Needed!)

This buttery Double Pie Crust is simple to make and results in a flaky, golden crust. With just flour, butter, and a hint of vinegar, it’s great for any pie.

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Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Refrigeration Time: 2

Total Time: 2 45

Servings:

Calories: 397kcal

Author: Barbara Curry

Ingredients

2 ½ cups flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
20 tablespoons butter (2 ½ sticks)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup ice cold water

Instructions

In a food processor, add flour, sugar and salt. Pulse to combine.
Cut very cold butter into 1 inch cubes and add to the food processor Pulse until the butter is pea size and no large chunks are visible.
Add vinegar and ice cold water and pulse until the dough comes together, if it does not come together, add a tablespoon more of water. Place on a flour surface and form into two round discs. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Roll out one disc on the plastic wrap it was wrapped in, into a circle 2 inches wider than the pie pan. Use the plastic to transfer the dough to the pie pan. Pressing it into the edges. Crimp the edges and fill for a pie that is being baked.
To pre-bake the pie crust, take a fork and punch holes around the bottom and the sides of the pie crust. Preheat the oven to 425º and place a baking sheet in the oven while it preheats. Add a piece of parchment paper to the top of the pie crust and add pie weights. Place on the hot baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, remove the pie weights and return to the oven and bake an additional 15 minutes until the bottom and sides are golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack before filling.