No-Roll Oat Flour Pie Crust - This easy, wholesome pie crust is what I use for all of my homemade pies! Made with just five ingredients, including oat flour and olive oil. It's gluten-free, egg-free, and nut-free, making it a great allergy-friendly option for you or holiday guests!
With the holidays fast approaching, many of you are probably planning out your dessert menus, which may likely include some type of delicious pie!
Ergo, a good pie crust recipe will be a valuable asset, so I wanted to share the crust I use for nearly ALL of my pie making.
This recipe makes just enough for a base, as I originally created it for my Clean Honey Pumpkin Pie.
It also works well for this Tart Berry Pie, which has a crumble topping in lieu of the traditional lattice weave.
Ingredients needed
You'll need just five ingredients for this recipe.
Oat flour - I love the naturally sweet taste of oat flour. To make your own oat flour, simply grind your oats until they are a flour consistency. I like to use the flat blade of my Nutribullet for this job.
Sugar - I use coconut sugar in my crust, but any granulated variety will work!
Sea salt - This is essential for bringing out the crust's flavor.
Olive oil - While I often find the taste of olive oil overpowering in certain dessert recipes, I really enjoy it in this crust. You can use melted butter or coconut oil, if you prefer.
Cold water - The amount of water will vary a bit depending on how you measure your flour. I generally use 4-5 tablespoons. You should only add enough water to bring the pie dough together. It shouldn't be too sticky nor too dry.
How to make an oat flour pie crust
Begin by stirring together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt). Then, stir in the olive oil, which will create a 'pebbly' texture.
Finally, add in the water one tablespoon at a time until you form a dough.
I generally use about 4-6 tablespoons of water, depending on the exact flour measurement (well-packed flour will need more water).
Once the dough appears to be well-moistened, let it sit for 1-2 minutes, as the oat flour will absorb moisture during this time.
Test the dough by pressing two fingers on it to see if it sticks.
It should be plenty pliable, but not sticky.
At this point, you will just press the dough into your pie plate, NO rolling needed!
Recipe notes
If you're NOT gluten-free, I sometimes like to substitute 1/2 cup barley flour for 1/2 cup of oat flour, as it lends a itself to a more tender crust.
Feel free to use coconut oil or grapeseed oil in place of the olive, if desired.
These are nice glass pie plates if you're looking for a good buy!
Please enjoy the video below showing you exactly how to make this easy recipe!
No-Roll Oat Flour Pie Crust
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups oat flour
- 2 teaspoons natural granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4-6 Tablespoons cold water as needed
Instructions
- Mix the flour, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Stir in the olive oil until the dough has a 'pebbly' appearance.
- Add in the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, as needed until the dough is moistened.
- Wait 1-2 minutes, as the oat flour will absorb more water during this time. The dough should be pliable, but not sticky.
- Press the dough into a pie plate, pressing it up the sides as desired.
- Add your filling and bake according to pie directions.
- To pre-bake the crust, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 10-12 minutes.
Charlotte Moore
How would you do this for a top crust? Would it be easy to roll out. I love how easy this looked from the video.
Lauren
Hi Charlotte,
I haven't tried making a top crust, but I think it would work. I would just double the recipe and roll the top half out between two sheets of wax paper. Hope that helps!
vanessa
hello, what size of pan do you use for this crust?
thank you
Lauren
Hi Vanessa,
I use a 9 inch pie plate. 🙂
Celia
I do not eat white or coconut sugar. Could you sub homey or maple syrup?
Lauren
Hi Celia,
I think that would work...I would mix it in along with the oil and then follow the remaining recipe as stated. 🙂
meg
I used maple syrup in place of sugar adding it with the oil. It turned out great and smelled really yummy baking!
Lauren
Awesome, thanks for the comment Meg!
Lisa
Can you use coconut oil instead of olive oil?
Lauren
Hi Lisa,
Yes, I think that will work! 🙂
Sandi
Can you sub any healthy flour for the optional barley flour? I have spelt, light spelt, whole wheat, kamut, brown rice, and coconut.
Lauren
Yes, those should all work fine, except for the coconut. 🙂
Patti
This sounds great, but I'm intolerant of oats & GF. Is there another flour that would be suitable? Thanks.
Lauren
Hi Patti,
Spelt or barley flour would be nice here, or a GF blend would work, if you're gluten-free. 🙂
Lauren
Sorry, just saw you're GF...duh moment for me! I'm not sure about another single flour, sorry!
Cindy
Would this hold together if I made little hand-held pies? I sure hope so...I think we could actually eat this dough!! 🙂
Lauren
Hi Cindy,
Do you mean like tarts or actual enclosed pies? Tarts should be fine, but I'm not sure about the latter...
Cindy
Not necessarily something completely enclosed, just something small and portable to eat with a packed lunch.
Stefanie
Hey,
looks great... what do you recommend putting on top of it before baking?
and do you think it's a good idea to add some cocoa powder into the mix to make a chocolate base?
Lauren
Hi Stefanie,
I don't put anything on top...do you mean dried beans or the like? I haven't found it necessary with this. I've never tried the cocoa, but you'd probably need to lower the amount of flour by the same amount. 🙂
Rose
Made this crust for my gluten-free mother-in-law and it was a big hit! She loved it as did all of the non-GF members of the family. It was easy to make and delicious.
Lauren
Yay, that's great Rose, thanks for letting me know! 🙂
Souzanna
Hello. I have made this before and I loved how it worked out, but I wanted to know if I could maybe put some almond meal in with it, just to break up the oatmeal taste.
Lauren
That should be fine, just sub out equal amounts (for example, 1/2 cup of oat flour for 1/2 cup almond meal).
Souzanna
Thank you for replying. Will give it a try in the next couple of days and see how it goes. Am sure it will be nice. MMMM I love my sweet potato pie. I am making it vegan this time around.
Sienna
This is my go-to crust now. I use gf oats and regular sugar. thanks so much for the recipe!!!
Joan Stewart
I left out the sugar, added some oregano instead and used this as a crust for quiche. Super yummy and my teenage son loved the quiche. Mom for he win! Thanks for a great basic and versatile recipe!
Emily
Hi! I'm so happy to see this because my dad is gluten intolerant, I'd like to ask though if I could sub coconut sugar and maybe add cinnamon?
Lauren
Yes, coconut sugar should be fine, and cinnamon sounds like a delicious addition!
Alma
Hi Lauren,
I will be trying the pie crust recipe this weekend, and thought that I would pass along a tip to you. When I have made other press in the pan pie crusts in the past (think graham cracker or vanilla wafer crumb crusts) I use a glass that has straight sides on it to press the mixture into the pan and it works wonderfully, produces a nice even top to the crust as well as even sides. I have had our son also help with making crusts this way in the past and it is helpful to have another set of hands helping do this when I am preparing the filling. 🙂
Kind regards, Alma
Lauren
Ooo, that's a great tip Alma. I love being able to have my kids help too, so I'll have to enlist one of them for this! 🙂
Annemarie
Tried this crist today for the first time and I love it! My new go to. I used coconut sugar and coconut oil. So easy and cheap to make too!
Lauren
Thanks so much Annemarie, I'm so happy you liked the crust!
Celina
This is a nice piece crust! I used this instead of a graham cracker crust for my Thanksgiving cheesecake last week, and I found it to hold up really well! The dough came out a little sticky at first, but I think that's because I didn't add the water gradually (like one normally should with a pie crust!). Next time I'll be more conscientious 😀 Thank you!
Lauren
I'm happy you enjoyed it Celina! 🙂
Evie
What if you accidentally put too much water, do you recommend adding more flour? I keep my oat flour in the freezer and after adding 2 tbsps of water I noticed that was already too much. ( I suppose putting the flour in the freezer makes it absorbs moisture?) I was using this in the berry crumble recipe. When the pie was done the bottom crust was very soft and didn’t form a crust. I wonder if it is because I added too much water to the pie crust. Also I measured the flour with a scale. Thanks for your help!
Lauren
Hi Evie,
Yes, I'd probably add more flour until it wasn't 'wet'. Not sure about the freezer aspect, so just add water slowly. Everyone tends to measure flour differently (some pack it, some lightly spoon it), so that can account for some of the error here. Hope that helps!
Alexis
I'm super sad because I just made this, just as you instructed, but the crust was extremely crumbly and didn't hold together. The only thing I changed what using canola oil instead of olive oil. Help?
Lauren
Hi Alexis,
Sorry it didn't work out for you...maybe you didn't add enough water? If you pack in your oat flour as opposed to lightly spooning it in, it would need more water. Another thing, it isn't a gluten crust and won't ever hold together as well as one with gluten or egg. You can see a bit better what it should look like here with this pie: https://www.oatmealwithafork.com/tart-berry-crumble-pie/
Alexis
Thanks for the note! You know, I might have not baked my tarts long enough either because I was scared of burning them - I think I could have left them in for another 8-10 minutes or so and they would have turned out a bit more solid. And actually, when I let the tarts cool in the fridge before taking them out of the pan, I was actually able to take the tarts out in one piece! Look like I'll just need to practice it a few times 🙂 Thanks for the advice!
Angela Dogagis
I tried this crust today for the first time and it turned out perfect. I used a whole stick of butter with almost two cups of ground gluten free organic quick cooking oats. And I added the ice cold water as needed.. about 5 teaspoons. I cooked it for the time that the recipe says on the temperature specified. But when the timer was up, I turned on the broiler to brown it a tad bit before taking it out and filling it. I used it for a pumpkin pie, and my husband was freaking out over it!! 😀 This crust will definitely be a go to crust from now on in my house. Thanks for the recipe!
Lauren
Oh, yay! This made my day, Angela. Thanks for the comment and sharing how you made your version! 🙂
ilana
Angela, did you prebake the pumpkin pie crust?
Victoria Shepard
This is a wonderful pie crust recipe. I am happy that I do not have to roll out dough to make a tasty pie crust. Thank you for posting this winter!
Corinna
I can't wait to try this crust for my friend's son who has egg allergies and my son's classmate, who has nut and egg allergies! Since it is a pressed pie crust, how do you use it for a top on an apple pie as you had alluded to the possibility?
Lauren
Hi Corinna,
You'd have to roll out the dough for a topping, which gets a bit messy here since its all oat flour. You might consider a 'crumble' type topping, which is what I did for this berry pie: https://www.oatmealwithafork.com/tart-berry-crumble-pie/
It works a bit better!
Kathryn Day
For a pumpkin pie is it recommended that one pre-bake the crust? or can I just fill it and bake the whole thing? I've never understood the rules of when one needs to pre-bake a pie crust.
Lauren
I don't pre-bake for pumpkin. The filling recipe should tell you, though I know some can be confusing! Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you enjoy this if you try it!
Hayley Muir
depends on the pumpkin, I make a pumpkin chiffon and you prebake. The rule is if you aren't going to bake the pie, prebake
Begum Karim
Would this work for hand pies?
Lyne
I will definitely try the oat flour no-roll pie crust over the holidays ❤️
Deb Germana
would adding in guar gum or xanthum gum make it more rollable??
Lauren
I can't eat gums, so I don't work with them and can't say for sure, sorry!
Talia
I've made this twice in the last week and it's been great both times. I've used filtered avocado oil and unfiltered olive oil in it and they both tasted good. I used it for pumpkin pie and didn't prebake the piecrust. This recipe didn't burn or fall into a million pieces when you tried to remove a slice from the pan. It crumbled in some spots, kind of like a graham cracker crust does, but generally held its shape. Very good recipe. I printed it out for my recipe binder. 😀
Lauren
I'm so happy it worked out for you! I use it for just about every pie here as well. 🙂
Brenda
You are Awesome! Thank you 🙏🏽 I was looking for an easy oat crust recipe- you definitely came through🌹🤗 🥧
Lauren
Thanks, Brenda! So glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
Rachel G.
I want to make muffin-sized savory pot pies with this recipe (minus the sugar) but I'm not sure of the cooking time...any idea? It would have a lower and upper crust in a silicone muffin pan. I could do trial and error but I don't want to waste food either so any advice would help. Thanks!
Lauren
Hmm...first off, I'm not certain how this recipe would fare as a top crust, as I haven't tried that. For the base baking time, I would wager it would be similar to what I have here, 10-12 minutes. 🙂
Lisa
Could I use egg whites instead of oil for the crust?
Go for fat free?? Thanks lisa
Lauren
I've never tried that, so I can't say for sure. Sorry!
Jazmin
Hi, this recipe looks great, and I'm currently searching the web looking for a pie crust to use for a chickpea pot pie! My only concern is can I take out the sugar completely, and would I have to put something else as a substitution? Thank yuo for your time. 🙂
Lauren
It would be fine to take out the sugar, no sub needed. 🙂
Brenda Baldwin
This recipe is absolutely extraordinary! My husband loves his Pumpkin Pie but we are on a healthy eating plan now and I haven't made any pies for a long time. I thought I would give this recipe a try - thank goodness I did! We are totally hooked on this and now we can enjoy more pie desserts! I used Splenda Granular sugar substitute and it turned out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I cannot wait to try your Sweet Potato Brownies now!
Lauren
Thank you so much, Brenda! I hope you enjoy the brownies too. 🙂
Brad Reynolds
Thanks ! This is a lot like the non rolling whole wheat pie crust I have made for my pumpkin pies. My Gastrologist told me to start up a FODMAP diet, so this recipe is literally what the doctor ordered. I'm certainly not giving up my pumpkin pies.
Linda
Why is olive oil used instead of butter or coconut oil cut into The oat flour like you do on regular wheat flour crusts. Can you use hard butter or Crisco and use a pastry cutter or two knives and blend that with the flour and then add the cold water?
Lauren
That's just my preference. I think the other would work fine, though I haven't tried!
Liz Hijar
Coconut oil can cause a nut allergy. If you are not worried about that then it should be fine.
Hannah
Coconut is not a nut, nor does it create a nut allergy. A coconut allergy is different from being allergic to nuts and is not as common.
Brenda
You can do whatever you want. Seems like you’re picking at Lauren’s process. 1/2 butter - 1/2 evoo is a reasonable fix if you’re not opposed to animal products- you probably used regular salt - which tastes a lot saltier than sea salt- but you could cut that in 1/2 if it’s still too salty for your taste.
Charlene
I use this super easy and really delicious recipe for my pumpkin pies all the time. I love how simple, easy and tasty it is! If I were to use it for an apple pie (with a bottom crust only), would I need to pre-bake it?
Angie
Pretty good crust. It was a little too oily and salty. Worked fairly well otherwise.
Sherri Brown
Thank you for posting this recipe. This is by far the most delicious and easy pie crust to make that I've ever tried. I now use it for all my pies and couldn't be happier as I have a very small kitchen and rolling out pie crust was always problematic .
Lauren
Aw, thanks, Sherri! I'm very happy you like it. 🙂
Z
Hi. Any tips on making this in advance and freezing?
Lauren
I've not tried myself, but here is a link filled with tips: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/10/31/make-and-freeze-pie-crust
Brenda Baldwin
I've written a comment previously, but just wanted to thank you once again for sharing this recipe Lauren! I use this recipe weekly for making my Hubby's favorite dessert - PIE!! He loves his Pumpkin Pie and Blueberry Pie and just loves this pie crust. Healthy and so delicious! I am so thankful I found your website!
Michelle
Do you think this could be used for pot pies?
Lauren
Hi Michelle,
I think it could be used as a bottom crust. I would just leave the sugar out.
Charlene
I use this super easy and really delicious recipe for my pumpkin pies all the time. I love how simple, easy and tasty it is! If I were to use it for an apple pie (with a bottom crust only), would I need to pre-bake it?
Lauren
Hi Charlene,
I'm so happy you like it for your pumpkin pie! Depending on what apple pie recipe you follow, you generally will NOT need to pre-bake this crust. 🙂
Charlene
Thank you so much! A friend has just given me a bag of apples from the home of a friend of hers, and an apple pie just feels like a great idea!
Lauren L.
You really are a God-send! Thanks for this recipe. I have tons of food allergies so I can’t wait to try this tonight!
Lauren Goslin
Lol, thanks, Lauren, I hope you liked the crust!