This easy Amish make-in-the-pan pie crust (Amish cooks call it pat-a-pan pie crust) will transform your baking world. I've been tempted before to "cheat" on pies and use a frozen pre-made pie crust and there's nothing wrong with doing that. But, when you can have a homemade crust in literally 5 minutes? I mean, this crust is amazing. It does not take long to make at all.
What we like about this is that you don't have to roll it out, you just make it right in the pan! So no worrying about where you put your rolling pin or finding a medium bowl, mixing bowl, or any other kind of bowl! Just mix it up in the pie pan, press, and presto, you have a really good pie crust. This is a great one for kids to work on and hurried adults. My daughters have helped make this pie crust and it's just super easy.
The top photo is a whole-wheat version of pat-a-pan crust. The whole wheat flour makes it darker, the photo directly above is all-purpose flour which makes a lighter crust.
On the other end of the age spectrum, my grandma recently marveled over the crust, For an 89-year-old who still loves to cook but doesn't have the dexterity she once had, this will be a great crust. Rachel will be going over there soon to show her how to make it.
I'm always amazed that this crust only has like five ingredients.
I've used this pie crust recipe for many kinds of pies: lemon meringue, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, blueberry and the like. It really works for almost any pie recipe. The only thing I've not tried it for and I have my doubts it would work is for a lattice-top pie crust. I think lattice would be tough to construct with this recipe, but the crust really does cut well. I've never used this recipe for a full top crust. I think you could do it with some imagination, but the beauty of this crust is its easy so if you going to get into top crusts you might be better off with another recipe.
Wash your hands and then mix the dry ingredients in a pan with your fingers just like above(yes, that's me).
You can use your fingers and the tines of a fork as your main tools on this. It works in either an 8 inch pie pan or a 9 inch. I usually use a 9 inch. SIGH, the only additional advice I'd give...I used this nice glass pie dish that has bevels or "flutes" in the side, because you mix in the pan, the flour can get into the grooves and you have to clean that out. A minor nuisance, but just a regular smooth glass or metal pie pan is the easiest for this.
The only other dish you really need for this is a separate bowl (I just a measuring cup) for the milk and vegetable oil and then pour it right over the dry ingredients in the pan. I stirred the vegetable oil and the milk together for about 30 seconds briskly. You can use a whisk. I used a fork. But, really, 30 seconds was all it needed.
Since I was going by feel on this, I realized quickly the dough was going to be too moist so I simply added more flour until it felt right (not too moist, not too try...think Goldilocks)
The only time I've ever tinkered with this recipe is by swapping out all-purpose flour for whole wheat. You get a nice, dark crust and wheat flour is widely considered to be more nutritious than white flour.
I know a lot of pie crust recipes call for ice water, ice cubes, or cold water and this one calls for cold milk. I've not experimented swapping milk out for water, this recipe works so well I've never felt the need to tinker with it. I do use all-purpose flour. Like many Amish recipes, this one is short on specifics. But all-purpose flour performs well. I just use vegetable oil for this recipe. There is no butter, salted or unsalted butter, in this crust. No shortening either. And I've never been tempted, again, to tinker with the recipe since it works so well.
I've made this crust many times and that I can now make it without even using measuring spoons and cups, which cuts down even more on the mess. Once you get a feel for the proportions, you'll be able to do that too.
Definitely a great, flaky crust! This is a picture of the crust we used for the lemon pie.
This recipe makes a single crust, not a married crust (okay, dumb "Dad joke"). But, yes, it makes one crust. But if you need to make two, that's easy also. Also, some recipes may call for this crust to under go a "blind bake" or par-bake, you can read more about it here from someone who can explain it better! But for most pie recipes this works fine. I've used this for pumpkin pie without a problem, but you can par bake if you want an extra crispy crust.
🥧 Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 Tablespoons cold milk
🥄 Instructions
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the pie pan and mix with fingertips until evenly blended.
- In a measuring cup combine the oil and milk and beat until creamy.
- Pour all at once over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork until the flour mixture is completely moistened.
- Pat the dough with your fingers, first at the sides of the plate and then across the bottom.
- Flute the edges.
- Shell is now ready to be filled.
- If you are preparing a shell to fill later or your recipe requires a prebaked crust, preheat oven to 425.
- Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake 15 minutes.
- Check often and prick more if needed.
🥧 Perfect Pie Recipes
🥧 Full Recipe
Pat A Pan Pie Crust
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups of flour
- 1 ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp cold milk
Instructions
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt in the pie pan and mix with fingertips until evenly blended.
- In a measuring cup combine the oil and milk and beat until creamy.
- Pour all at once over the flour mixture. Mix with a fork until the flour mixture is completely moistened.
- Pat the dough with your fingers, first at the sides of the plate and then across the bottom.
- Flute the edges.
- Shell is now ready to be filled.
- If you are preparing a shell to fill later or your recipe requires a prebaked crust, preheat oven to 425.
- Prick the surface of the pastry with a fork and bake 15 minutes.
- Check often and prick more if needed.
I actually have an easier recipe yet! 1 cup flour, 3 T. powdered sugar, 1 stick of melted butter. Mix together and pat into pan. Bake 400 for 10-12 min.
Wow, Julie, thanks for sharing...I'm not sure it would be possible to have an easy crust recipe than that! We'll have to try it!
Can this pie Crust be rolled if desired?
Hmmmm, Pat, I have actually wondered the same thing, but I don't think this would work as a roll-out crust, the texture is meant for "patting." You can try and let me know if it works!
I have not heard of either of these pie crust recipes. Usually I would buy a frozen pie crust if I were going to make a pie. But, both these crust recipes sound like something I would be glad to try out. Thanks for sharing them with all of us readers.
Sure, good luck with it, if I can do this crust, ANYONE can!:)
Thanks for easy recipe. Came out great. Will be my go to recipe from now on.
Glad it turned out, Faye, definitely is my go-to crust!
Thanks, Jen, glad you like that crust!
I am so glad to get the crust recipe as I cannot make a pie to save my life! Hate rolling out the crust and trying to get it in the pan without tearing it all up! Thank you for this, I will definitely try it!
Good luck with it, Nancy, it definitely is a much more hassle-free alternative yet still a delicious homemade crust!
This is the only pie crust recipe I have been using since I found it in an old cookbook 1 year ago. It is tender, flaky, and very forgiving. Unlike the butter/shortening crusts, it does not have to be refrigerated prior to rolling so that the crust will not shrink. I use it for pies, quiche, pot pies of course adjusting the sugar.
We love this crust, so easy and it really is good!
My granddaughter cannot have any dairy or eggs.she likes sweets every so often. I make her pie dough cookies using veg. Oil, and almond milk in the pat in the pan recipe. I roll the dough between parchment paper .put crust on the paper,sprinkle with cin. And sugar mixture. Bake 10 - 15 min. On 400 % Yummy [ bake on cookie sheet.]
Thank you for sharing that variation, Linda!
Do you use plain flour or self rising flour?
Plain!
This one of my favorite piecrusts I found it in marsha adams cookbook 'Cooking from quilt country'; however I would like to know if using olive oil or melted butter instead of veg oil would still give me a flakey, tender crust, as I have experimented with using coconut oil & bacon fat in this recipe instead of the veg oil and both produced crusts that were rock hard, I tried these in an attempt to try to avoid using the highly processed canola oil, which unfortunately is the only oil that I have tried so far that actually gives this crust the tenderness & flakeyness that its supposed to have. Also if use either butter or olive oil would I have to heat the milk up first to avoid have the fats solidify once it hits the cold milk? thank you so much for sharing these wonderful time tested heritage recipes with all of us so they'll never be forgotten.
Monica, melted butter would be your best bet for the flaky, tender crust.Actually, lard would be the best of the best, but if you can't do lard, use better. Thank you for the kind words and good luck! - Kevin
Can I use Butter Crisco? Can I use a metal aluminum pie pan?
To fill the pie before baking, do I bake it at 425 degrees or follow recipe instructions? If not filled, do I bake it 425 degrees for 15 minutes? Thanks for this recipe. I can’t make a crust, but only buy the frozen kind. I will try this soon. Barbara
Barbara, butter Crisco is fine...metal, aluminum, ceramic, glass...I have used them all for this pie crust. And don't pre-bake the pie crust...I've never done it that way, just put whatever filling it is in the crust and bake according to pie instructions. It is a super easy pie crust and tasty!
In a two crust pie, can one of these be put on top or will it fall apart?
Sure, Kate, absolutely you can do that. Enjoy!
I have been looking for this recipe for years. My grandmother used to make her crust like this. There is none better. It always tastes like home.
Marilyn, this is the single easiest - and tastiest - pie crust recipe ever, glad you found this version of the recipe!
Hi! I am excited about trying both of these recipes. Since I cannot eat wheat, I will try them with a good gluten-free flour blend. It is so difficult to roll out a gluten-free pie crust compared to a regular crust, that this may be a dream come true. Thanks for the recipe!
Let us know if that works, I am thinking it would. This pie crust doesn't "roll" well, but it tastes great, bakes and firms up fine, cuts well, it really is a perfect scratch-made crust and it is quick!
Kevin, this pat-in-pan pie crust is really a dream come true for those who cannot eat wheat flour. I made a pie today and used “Better Batter” Gluten-free flour, and the crust came out perfectly. I made a Southern Buttermilk Pie, and was wonderful. My husband loved the crust! I imagine that another quality gluten-free flour, such as Cup-4-Cup would work just as well. Love your website, your blog and all the good recipes. Thanks, Betsy
Thanks, Betsy, for letting me know...nice that the crust can be adapted for gluten-free, I'll have to make a note of that for others!
Made this for Pumpkin pie. Looks wonderful and baked up well. Hope it tastes as good as it looks.
Glad it looks good, hope you like the taste, I always do!
What size pie pan do I use?
9 inch pan, you can use an 8", you'll just have a slightly thicker crust (which I like!)
Does this crust hold up well when cut? Especially if there is a heavier fruit filling?
Hi, Linda - I've made this crust many times and, yes, I've been surprised how well it holds up...even when pressed super thin. For a heavier fruit filling I might try to make the crust in a hair thicker, but, no, I don't you you'll have a problem at all. I don't think I'd ever do a "roll-out crust" again...
I've used this recipe multiple times for pumpkin pie and I love it! It is not quite as flaky as regular pie dough but it takes WAY less time.
I also tried the recipe from Julie in the comments (1 cup flour, 3 T. powdered sugar, 1 stick of melted butter. Mix together and pat into pan. Bake 400 for 10-12 min). This one was not good at all, as the sides just collapsed while baking.
I do like the pat-a-pan, as you said, it's maybe not quite as flaky as a rolled out crust, but the savings in time and convenience of just patting it in the pan make it worthwhile!
Wow, what a great recipe for those of us who hate making pie crust! I can't wait to try it for pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.
Thanks for all the good recipes and interesting stories.
Good luck with it, Linda, it's super easy and super!
Hi Kevin,
I always enjoy your articles. Being a retired weather person from Environment Canada; you have a feeling for weather, recognizing changes with the movement of lows and fronts. I have experience as a teacher in the training school for Air Traffic Controllers. They had to learn something about meteorology in a pass-fail course before tackling driving airplanes. I would emphasize movement to begin to understand weather. Understanding Lapse rate was to follow.
I write because I was trying to make a pie crust this week. It was a total failure. I will use your way from now on.
Good to hear from you, John...I'm envious, I always wanted to be a meteorologist when I was a child, but life has its own plans sometimes. Yes, try the pat-a-pan pie crust, you'll never need another recipe!
please tell me if i can make this a week prior to using, keep in refrig or freeze them and cover with plastic wrap???? then fill with pie filling.
Hi, Marie - I once made this pie crust and kept it in the fridge for a couple of days and then used it and it was fine. Freezing it? I've never tried. You'd have to freeze the pan too, I don't see any reason at all why that wouldn't work as long as you covered it so it didn't get freezer burned. Good luck with it! - Kevin PS - ifyou try freezing it, let me know how it worked out!
Hi, I would like to try this recipe for making mini quiches. Could I roll it into a ball and then pinch off small sections to press into little tins?
I've not tried it like that, but, yeah, I think that should work. If you try it, let me know....I can't think of a reason that wouldn't work. Good luck!
I am planning to make this crust tonight to use it for a quiche. I read through the comments and saw that one person had indeed used this recipe for quiche but she mentioned she had adjusted the amount of sugar in the recipe. I am not a very experienced cook just yet and don't think I could wing the amount of sugar I should use when making this crust for a savory pie instead of a dessert pie.
As you may have guessed by now, my question is how much sugar do I use to make this crust for a quiche?
I've had this recipe written down for years but never tried it because I wasn't sure it would work with quiche. I got it from some Amish friends of our family but contacting them to find the answer has been difficult because they live in another state and neither of us have traveled during this pandemic and they are without telephone and computer service. Wow. I guess I could have actually written a letter to ask my question, I did not even consider that until this very moment... That's a little bit sad when I think about it.
Sorry for digressing, if you can give me the sugar adjustment I'd be exceptionally grateful. Thank you!!
I am sorry, Traci, I wanted to get back to you last evening but I was traveling and I couldn't, so I am assuming you've already made your crust. I hope it turned out! But the recipe only has a 1 1 /2 teaspoon of sugar, that is not much for a crust that size. The addition of sugar makes for a more tender pie crust by inhibited gluten development, so the sugar isn't really in there for taste as it is for tenderness, so I'd just leave it as is....or adjust downard to a teaspoon...hope this helps!