Learn how to make pie crust in a food processor for the easiest homemade pie crust ever!

pie crust disks stacked in front of a food processor

There are times when I just don’t have the energy or patience to go through all the steps of my foolproof flaky pie crust. I need a shortcut so I can get it done fast, throw it in the fridge to chill and move on to other things.

Food processor to the rescue!

This pie crust method saves time and effort, but still yields a perfectly flaky all-butter double pie crust.

It’s not entirely foolproof— you can accidentally add too much water or overwork the dough if you’re not careful. But if you pay attention and follow my instructions below you can have your pie crust together in almost no time at all with the help of your food processor.

Table of Contents

pie crust ingredients and food processor

What You’ll Need

  • All-purpose flour
  • Cold unsalted butter, cubed
  • Granulated sugar (optional)
  • Salt
  • Cold water
  • A food processor
dry ingredients in food processor

How to make pie crust in a food processor

Step 1— Add ingredients to food processor

Put the dry ingredients— flour, salt and sugar (if using)— into a large food processor and pulse a few times to combine.

add butter to food processor

Step 2— Pulse to break up the butter

Add the butter and quick pulse 3-5 times until the smallest butter pieces are the size of large peas, it’s okay if you have some bigger pieces at this point. You don’t want them any smaller than that as the butter will be further broken up in the next step.

add water to food processor

Step 3— Add liquid

Begin to add the cold water (or buttermilk if you are using my buttermilk pie crust recipe) and then turn on the food processor while continuing to add all of the liquid.

pie crust mixture in food processor

Step 4— Let dough start to come together

Let it run until the dough begins to come together (the food processor will actually start making a louder sound when this happens). Once you’ve added all the liquid, you should only need to let it run for a few seconds more, less than 10 seconds total.

Do not over process, use the photo above as a guide to what it should look like. It looks loose, but holds together when pinched. The dough should not come together completely into a ball.

dump pie crust out on clean surface

Step 5— Form into disks

Dump the dough out onto a clean surface and gather into 2 equal disks.

form into 2 disks

Use right away or store for later

Cover in plastic wrap and chill for 1-2 hours before using. If making pie crust ahead of time, you can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze it for a few months or more. If freezing, double wrap in plastic wrap first. When ready to use, let thaw in the fridge overnight.

My favorite pie recipes

Now that you’ve mastered pie crust, here are a few pie recipes you should definitely make!

This cranberry blueberry pie is the perfect combination of sweet and tart, with plenty of cozy spices and a buttery flaky pie crust. It's perfect for the holidays!

Recipe for making pie crust in the food processor

2 disks of pie crust with food processor
4.73 from 33 reviews

How to Make Pie Crust in a Food Processor

Servings: 2 pie crusts
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Chill Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Pie crust made simpler with the help of a food processor!

Ingredients
 

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (300 grams)
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup unsalted butter , cold and cut into cubes (226 grams)
  • cup ice cold water (80 ml)

Instructions
 

  • Put the flour, sugar (if using) and salt in a large food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a few times to combine. Add the cubed butter and quick pulse 3-5 times until butter is broken up into pieces the size of large peas.
  • Slowly begin to add ⅓ water and then while still pouring, run the food processor until all the water has been added and mixture begins to come together (mixer will actually begin to make a different sound), but stop before it forms a complete ball. Some crumbs are okay.
  • Turn dough out onto a clean surface and form into 2 equal disks. Cover in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hours and up to 5 days. Pie crust also freezes very well, up to 2 months.
  • Proceed with pie recipe as instructed.

Notes

NOTES

  • Makes two 9-inch pie crusts (for 2 single crust pies, or 1 double crust pie).
  • Be sure to also check out my full tutorial on how to make the flakiest pie crust.
  • You can find my buttermilk pie crust variation here. It’s my favorite for fruit pies!
  • I have only used this method for traditional all-butter pie crusts. It’s possible that other types of pie crust will have different results.
  • Nutritional info is for one entire pie crust (approximately 10 servings).
Calories: 1406kcal, Carbohydrates: 125g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 94g, Saturated Fat: 59g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 24g, Trans Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 244mg, Sodium: 1178mg, Potassium: 195mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 2836IU, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 7mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Dessert
Author: Annalise
Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.