Healthy Oil Free Whole Wheat Pie Crust

By Jennifer Provenza and Good Food From The Heart

Whole food plant based, oil free, sugar free, soy free

This tender, warm, healthy oil free whole wheat pie crust is easy to make and works perfectly for savory or sweet pies alike. With a blend of almond flour and whole wheat flour, this pie crust is healthy enough to enjoy any time!

Perfect Pie Crust

There is nothing like a perfect pie crust! But despite the saying “easy as pie” it can be a challenge to get your crust perfect. At the same time, the traditional perfect pie crust is really, really bad for you. It’s loaded with butter and white flour and is really something you would only want to reserve for very special occasions. This healthy pie crust, on the other hand, is something you can feel free to enjoy much more often. Hint: it’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast! (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything).

Pie is one of those dishes that evokes so many childhood and family memories. Backyard barbeques for the fourth of July, Thanksgiving or Christmas desserts, potlucks with friends, picnics in the park… Pie is perfect for any occasion. I love that this crust can be used to make savory meals such as pot pie or quiche if you simply omit the sweetener. And, with the sweetener added, it can be used for fruit pies, cream pies, pudding pies, etc… The sky is the limit.

We just finished Spring Break and it was so nice to spend lots of time with family. My neice, L, was visiting us, along with my brother and his wife. She is 2 1/2 and hilarious! When she saw our cat (Mrs. Sparkles), her eyes lit up. She assumed that her other aunt’s black cat, Shadow, must have come on the trip with her. She called our cat shadow for the entire trip. Anyway, since I was hosting Easter in our backyard, I wanted to make an easy dessert that would also be totally delicious and I decided to make a pie. This crust was honestly an experiment the first time I made it. I had NO idea if it would turn out to be good or not. Luckily, it met with an enthusiastic reception from the entire family. Whew!

Ingredients

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: This recipe calls for whole wheat flour because it is much healthier than white flour. However, it’s really important to use whole wheat pastry flour. Regular whole wheat flour will not give you a good result. White whole wheat flour can be used in a pinch. (My grocery store has been out of whole wheat pastry flour for months, so that is actually what I used this time). You could definitely try substituting a gluten free flour if you can’t have gluten, but I haven’t tried that, so I can’t vouch for it.

Almond Flour: In this recipe, almond flour substitutes for the fat that would normally be found in the butter. However, you get a healthy whole food fat instead of a really unhealthy animal fat. Plus, you get protein.

Salt: I like to use sea salt.

Liquid Stevia or Coconut Sugar: Make sure to omit this ingredient if you are making a savory pie. Liquid stevia is a natural no calorie sweetener that works great in this recipe. I like to use Sweet Leaf brand. Another option for an unrefined sweetener (which will have calories) is coconut sugar. I like Bob’s Red Mill brand. Trader Joes carries both sweeteners. I tend to use liquid stevia because my husband has diabetes and should not eat sugar. Either will work great in this recipe.

How To Make This Healthy Oil Free Whole Wheat Pie Crust

You guys. This pie crust is so easy. So easy. Like, it literally could not be easier. Simply put all the ingredients, except the light coconut milk, into a food processor and process until combined. Then, add the light coconut milk and process until you have a ball of dough. Now, here is the best part. You DON’T have to chill or roll out this pie crust. Nope. Just put the whole ball of dough in your pie pan and use your fingertips to spread the dough out over the sides and bottom of the pan. Feel free to flute the edges or press with fork tines. This recipe will give you enough for just the bottom crust. If you want to cover the pie with a crust, double the recipe. Unfortunately, you will have to chill and roll out the top crust. That’s why I usually do a crumb topping! Keep it simple, baby. Try this pie crust for my Mixed Berry Pie for your next event!

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