My no-fail recipe for Lard Pie Crust uses a blend of lard and butter to guarantee a shatteringly flaky, incredibly tender, and richly flavored crust for both sweet and savory pies.
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Once I discovered that a Lard Pie Crust is the flakiest, most flavorful crust there is, I’ve never looked back. A blend of rendered pork lard and high fat butter unite to create a rich, flavorful crust that accentuates both savory and sweet pies.
When I say ‘lard,’ I don’t mean the highly processed, hydrogenated lard you’ll find lurking on grocery store shelves. Fortunately, excellent quality rendered leaf lard is available online and likely from your local butcher and/or farmers market or specialty grocery store. It’s worth seeking out to make this fluffy, flaky, delectable pie crust.
“Excellent! Just like my Nan’s pie crust (who was a culinary professional for many years.) The perfect balance between butter and lard, great flavor and rolls out beautifully. Thank you.”
Lynne
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe is The Best
- For Flakiness: Pie crusts made with lard are flaky and crisp. Lard has a higher melting point than butter, making pastry easier to work with.
- For Flavor & Tenderness: All-butter crusts have rich flavor and tenderness. The best pie crust recipe: flaky, crisp, tender and flavorful, uses a blend of both lard and butter.
- The “Leaf Lard” Secret: This is the highest grade of lard. It has a very neutral flavor (very little porky flavor) which makes it ideal for pie crusts and baking in general.
Ingredients for Lard Pie Crust
- Flour: All-purpose flour.
- Kosher Salt: Or 1/2 the amount of fine sea salt.
- Lard: Rendered leaf lard / rendered pork lard. (Affiliate links to two online options – the leaf lard is excellent, but the most expensive. I’ve used both of these with good success and you may be able to find these brands locally.)
- Butter: Ideally unsalted, high fat, European style butter. (read about the difference in this Butter Cookies post)
- Ice Water
How to Make Lard Pie Crust
Cut Fat into Flour: Pulse flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor. (See recipe card for by-hand instructions.) Add lard and butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with some pieces a little larger than peas.
Add Water, Shape and Chill: Sprinkle cold water into flour mixture a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition until mixture clumps together when pinched. Transfer pie dough to floured surface and shape into a disc. Wrap with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for one hour or more.
Roll, Flute and Chill Again: Place cool, but pliable dough on a floured work surface. Sprinkle dough with flour and roll from the center out to all edges into a 12-inch round. Carefully transfer dough to pie pan and ease into place, taking care not to stretch it. Trim edges leaving a 1-inch overhang. Flute edges using the thumb of of one hand and the index finger of the other into U or V shapes. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes.
My Pro-Tips for a Perfect Crust
- How to Handle the Dough: This is my advice from years of testing. The dough should be cool, but pliable. If it feels hard, let it stand at room temperature until it has some give, 15 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, if it feels warm or looks greasy, return it to the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before continuing to roll it out.
- The Secret to No-Shrink Crust: The #1 rule is do not stretch the dough when you place it in the pan; ease it in. The 1-inch overhang I call for is your insurance policy to offset any natural shrinking.
- Make-Ahead & Storage: Refrigerate this pie crust for up to 3 days before rolling out. Or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
- Why is My Crust Tough? This is the most common question I get. It’s almost always one of two things: 1) You overworked the dough after adding the water, which develops tough gluten, or 2) Your fats (lard/butter) got too warm and melted into the flour instead of staying in separate, flaky layers. Keep everything ice cold!
How to Blind Bake Lard Pie Crust
To blind bake (pre-bake), line pie crust with parchment paper and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake pie crust in a 425˚F oven for 12 minutes. Remove parchment and weights and pierce crust all over with a fork. For a partially baked crust, bake 8 to 10 minutes more, or 10 to 12 minutes more for a fully baked crust.
What to Make
It’s true that lard pie crust is ideal for savory pies like Breakfast Quiche, Chicken Pot Pie or Turkey Pot Pie, or to be cut and baked into Pie Crust Crackers to accompany Chicken Pot Pie Soup or Turkey Pot Pie Soup.
But it’s wonderful for sweet pies too. With exceptional flavor depth, it heightens sweet and nutty flavors far more than your average homemade pie crust. (Think: Chocolate Rum Pie, Strawberry Pie, Apple Pie, Peach Pie, Pumpkin Pie or Pumpkin Chiffon Pie – also good with Gingersnap Crust, Pecan Pie.) If you’ve ever had candied bacon or bacon crumbled into a cookie or tossed into caramel corn, you know the kind of decadent deliciousness I’m talking about.
FAQ
Leaf lard is the highest grade of lard rendered from visceral fat surrounding pig kidneys. It has a very neutral flavor (very little pork flavor) which makes it ideal for pie crusts and baking in general as it makes a great non-hydrogenated alternative to shortening.
Yes, you can substitute lard for butter in pie crust. For the best flavor use a mixture of both, replacing up to half of the butter with lard to increase flakiness and retain a buttery flavor.
Pastry made with lard is flaky and crisp, but is less flavorful than pastry made with butter. For a flaky pie crust that’s also flavorful, use a blend of lard and butter.
Crisco is not the same as lard. Lard is rendered pork fat while Crisco is a brand of shortening in the United States that has come to be synonymous with the food product, ‘shortening’. It is made by hydrogenating vegetable oil.
It’s a matter of opinion, but in mine, if the lard is not highly processed, e.g., simply rendered pork fat, lard is better than Crisco in every way.
Storage Tips
Refrigerate this pie crust for up to 3 days before rolling out. Or wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
Lard Pie Crust
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons lard ideally leaf lard (recipe note #1), chilled
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter ideally high-fat, European style butter, chilled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 4 tablespoons ice water or up to 5 tablespoons
Instructions
To Make With a Food Processor:
- Add flour and salt to the bowl of a food processor with knife blade attached. Pulse a few times to combine. Add lard and butter and pulse until coarse crumbs form (a little larger than peas). Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing after adding each one, until just moist enough to clump together when squeezed. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Shape dough into a 1-inch thick disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate one hour or longer.
To Make by Hand:
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add lard and butter and cut in with a pastry cutter /pastry blender or two butter knives until you have irregular coarse crumbs (the size of peas and a little larger). Sprinkle in ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, while fluffing with a fork, until just moist enough to clump together when squeezed. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface. Shape dough into a 1-inch thick disc and wrap tightly with plastic wrap; refrigerate one hour or longer.
To Roll Out Pie Crust:
- When ready to roll out dough, generously flour work surface. Place dough in center and sprinkle with flour. With a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a 12-inch round starting at the center and rolling out toward the edges in every direction. (Dough should be cool, but pliable. If it feels hard, let it stand at room temperature until it has some give, 15 to 30 minutes. Alternatively, if it feels warm or looks greasy, return to the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes before continuing to roll it out.)
To Pan and Chill
- Gently fold dough over rolling pin and ease into a 9-inch, deep dish pie pan. Carefully adjust dough, gently pressing to cover bottom and sides. Trim dough edges with a sharp knife, leaving at least a 1-inch overhang to offset shrinking. Flute pie crust edge using the index finger of one hand to press between the thumb and index finger of the other hand to form a V or U shape all the way around. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or until ready to bake.
How to Blind Bake or Fully Bake Pie Crust
- To bake the pie shell, preheat oven to 425 °F (218 °C).
- Line pie crust with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake 12 minutes. Remove paper or foil and weights and prick bottom and sides of crust all over with a fork. Bake 8 to 10 minutes more for a partially baked crust, or for a fully baked crust 10 to 12 minutes longer until golden brown.
Notes
- Lard: My one non-negotiable rule is to look for good quality lard (ideally rendered leaf lard), not the highly processed, hydrogenated lard that is sold in some grocery stores.
- Storage: Refrigerate this pie crust for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator before baking.
- Baking: Partially bake the crust for recipes where you’ll fill the crust and continue baking (like quiche), fully bake and cool completely for no-bake fillings.
- Double Crust: For a double-crust pie, increase all ingredients by 50% or double the recipe and make pie crust crackers or cinnamon sugar crisps (Coat rolled out dough scraps with cinnamon and sugar and bake until crispy) with the extra!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Best I’ve ever made after 50 years of trying to please my husband.
For some reason I did add one teaspoon baking powder and 1 teaspoon baking soda to the dry ingredients thinking it was part of the recipe. Perfection is what I got. I love to make piecrust cookies sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon of the leftovers and they were so light and flaky they melt in your mouth.
I’m so glad that you and your husband are enjoying this, Betsy! So sweet of you to come back and let me know.
I’m 65 my Mom made the best pies and she used lard. Back then they didn’t get the lard she used from the grocery store. Don’t know where my dad went to get it
Hi Dawn! It really does make a tender and flaky crust. We’ve rendered our own lard from fat we bought from a local pig farm and it was excellent. But it’s nice that good quality lard is more available commercially these days.
Absolutely the best pie crust I have made. Totally enhances the pie filling in a way that crisco, or pate brisee cannot achieve. Wonderfully easy to make in the food processor. Thank you!!!
aww…I love this, Lisa! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe.
I put this in the freezer for about and hour and a half before I made my pumpkin pie and it’s perfect! The food processor method was so quick and easy! This will definitely be my go to pie recipe from now on!
Hi Heather! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
I used this recipe to make my first pie. I made a bottom and top crust turkey pot pie with rendered turkey fat and turkey stock. For the pie crust, I followed the instructions to the letter. I was amazed how simple the whole process was. After cooking the bottom crust, I added the typical pie filling, then layered in oyster dressing and green been casserole. Then of course the top crust. Holy cow was the top crust light and flaky. And, the bottom crust wasn’t like a soggy dumpling. Folks if I can do this on a first try, so can you. This next weekend, it’s gonna be tart cherry pie! Weigh your flour!
This is wonderful to hear, TC! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Great recipe! The pie crust turned out perfect and was easy to work with! I was wondering about the weights in grams you have listed though. Wouldn’t 1.5 cups of flour be 180 g, and 4 Tbsp butter be 56 g?
So glad this recipe worked out well for you, Jessica! You’re right that flour and butter weights vary by brand – I listed those from the brands I used (Bob’s Red Mill and Kerrygold butter). You mentioned 180 grams which would be correct for another common brand (King Arthur Flour) and 56 grams is correct for American style butter (80% fat).
This was the best pie crust I have ever had! I made it with leaf lard and did blind bake the pie crust. The pie crust was very easy to work with. Excellent recipe!
This is wonderful to hear, Robin! So glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve rendered my own lard. It’s easy to do and I actually like the kitchen smelling like roasting pork!
I have too, Karen! Though I have to admit that I did it in the garage in our slow cooker (so easy)! It’s not an unpleasant smell, but it is potent!
My pumpkin pie recipe doesn’t call for blind baking the crust. Is a blind bake necessary?
Hi Shannon. Typically, I do recommend some level of pre-baking with pumpkin pie to avoid a soggy bottom crust. That said, feel free to follow your recipe, particularly if it’s one you’ve used before and enjoyed.
My pie crust has ALWAYS been tough and awful. I tried this one. It was easy. My husband, who always eats the filling and leaves the crust, said it was the best he’s ever tasted. Thank you so much. We will have many more homemade pies, with homemade pie crust thanks to your great recipe.
aww, Tina, you made my day! I’m so glad that this recipe is a hit for you and your husband!
I’m always looking for ways to up my pie crust game Marissa! I’ll need to try lard in my crust next time. I’ve been trying to perfect my crimping skills too. This crust looks perfect!
Thank you, Mary Ann. I hope you’ll give this one a try!
This is Bill’s favorite kind of crust—with lard and butter! I typically reserve it for the holidays, since I usually just have a small stash of leaf lard in the freezer. This is a winner!!!!
Love it! Thank you, Liz.
I don’t think I’ve ever worked with lard (I want to get my hands on duck fat one day though), but I know you can utilize it in many ways including baking. This pie crust look perfect; so flaky and nicely coloured and the addition of butter adds the needed rich flavour!
Thanks, Ben. And I know what you mean about duck fat – makes the best fried potatoes ever!
You know, I remember talking about pork lard years ago when I took professional baking courses – it’s the most neutral of the lards, and it’s preferred by most professional bakers. However, I forgot about this discussion until now! I’m not a fan of shortening, so I usually make all-butter pie crusts, but this post has inspired me to play around with leaf lard. Thank you!!
My pleasure, David!
I love leaf lard!!! The crust turned out so perfectly flaky and awesome. I wonder if using tallow instead of lard would have the same result. I am a huge fan of animal fat :-))
That’s a great question, Angie. I haven’t baked with tallow, but I’d love to give it a try.