Low Carb Coconut Flour Pie Crust Recipe

This yummy recipe is for a Coconut Flour Pie Crust. You will be surprised how easy it is to make and how delicious it is to eat. 

You can’t go to the grocery store and pull one off the shelf like you do when you want a traditional Pillsbury pie crust. So we will show you how to make one for yourself and then all the many fillings that you can make to go inside it.

Before we started this blog I never knew that you could make so many delicious low carb baked goods, like this coconut flour pie crust. When I got diabetes and had to take sugar out of my diet, I really did think that my days of eating desserts were over for good.

I was so excited when I started making all these low carb desserts, and it’s always great to discover new ones like this keto coconut flour pie crust.  You can fill this crust with so many fillings that are also low carb, and we will show you some ideas.

Just like our Almond Flour Pie Crust, you forget that it’s low carb because it tastes so good. It’s tasty and flaky and it’s easy to make. So if you are worried about making a pie crust, put your worries behind and enjoy!

What is a Coconut Flour Pie Crust?

Coconut flour pie crust is a crust made from coconut flour instead of using traditional white flour. 

When you are eating low carb you need to use flour that is other than white flour which is what you normally find in pies. 

One of the main ingredients in making many low carb desserts is almond flour, but since some people have nut allergies we wanted to find a replacement for the almond flour and thankfully we are able to do that with coconut flour.

Low carb flours do not have the same consistency that traditional flour does so we will show you all the differences when making a low carb coconut flour pie crust.

Does it Taste Like Coconut?

I think coconut flour tastes like coconut but it doesn’t have a very strong flavor. When you add your filling to the coconut pie crust, in my opinion, the crust takes on more the flavor of the filling. 

For instance, if you make blueberry pie, I taste the berries. If you make a fall pie like apple, then you taste the cinnamon, and if you make an all-time favorite, which is chocolate cream, well the chocolate takes over…etc.

How Healthy is Coconut Flour?

Well, one of the things that’s great about using coconut flour is that it’s healthier for you than white flour. It helps to stabilize your blood sugar, but it can also give you better heart health and can aid in weight loss. It’s also good for people with a gluten allergy.

Is Coconut Flour Pie Crust Keto-Friendly?

Coconut flour is Keto-friendly because it’s much lower in carbs than traditional white flour, which has an average of approx. 22 grams of carbs in ¼ cup, depending on the brand. 

For ¼ cup of coconut flour, it has 4 NET CARBS and so as a result can be used in a lot of keto recipes. It is high nutrients and is low in sugar, carbs, and calories because it is nothing more than pure coconut.

So in summary this coconut flour pie crust recipe is a winner with Keto!

What Ingredients are in Coconut Flour Pie Crust?

• Coconut flour – The main ingredient in making the coconut flour pie crust. Look for one that’s 100% organic and finely ground.
• Eggs – An essential form of moisture with the coconut flour and a binding agent to hold the dough together.
• Vanilla – A good flavor in the pie crust especially when making a sweet pie.
• Salt – A common spice that enhances the flavor in the low carb pie crust.
• Monk Fruit – A low carb sweetener that is a replacement for sugar that has zero net carbs. It’s a must in low carb desserts including this coconut flour pie crust recipe.
• Butter – An important ingredient in order to make your keto coconut flour pie crust not only flavorful but also give it a flaky texture.

How Wide Does this Pie Crust Come Out?

The pie crust will come out as wide as you choose to roll it out, but the best size to make the coconut flour pie crust is to fit a 9” pie plate. 

When you roll it out you want to make it thin enough to work with but not too thin that it falls apart when you are trying to get it into a pie plate.

Sweetener Options

In this low carb coconut pie crust recipe, I use monk fruit as my sweetener of choice. Swerve also makes a granulated sweetener that works well.

A granulated sweetener works the best for a pie crust, better than liquid or powdered swerve both for the texture and forming of the crust.

Is Coconut Powder the Same as Coconut Flour?

Coconut powder is not the same as coconut flour, so don’t confuse them with each other. 

Coconut powder is mostly dehydrated coconut milk that when water is added it turns back into coconut milk. It also has a stronger coconut flavor.

Coconut flour has all of the fatty coconut milk taken out of grated coconut. Later on the grated flesh without the milk is dried and then finely ground into flour.

Coconut flour has more carbs at 8 NET Carbs per ¼ cup, whereas coconut powder has 5.3 NET Carbs per ¼ cup.

However, when making a pie crust coconut flour is sturdier, with more body to make a crust from. Coconut powder just isn’t sturdy enough to make a pie crust so I wouldn’t try it.

Can I Make My Own Coconut Flour?

If you feel like giving it a try, you can make your own coconut flour at home.

Here is an easy way to do it:

1. Get 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut, and 1 quart of filtered water and put them in a blender on high for one minute.
2. Place a thin tea towel over the top of a quart-size bowl. Pour the milk over the towel.
3. Squeeze out all of the milk and leave the pulp inside the towel.
4. Pour the milk into a jar and refrigerate.
5. Take the pulp and spread it out onto a cookie sheet and spread it out evenly.
6. Bake it in your oven at the lowest setting and let it dry out for 8-10 hours until ALL of the moisture is out.

Should I Use Melted Butter or Cold Butter?

One of the secrets to making a good pie crust, with almost any flour is to make sure that your butter is cold. If you use melted butter it will ruin the crust by making it too wet. This is especially true if you want to make the best coconut flour pie crust.

What Can I Substitute the Butter With?

If you have a dairy allergy or you are eating vegan and do not eat dairy, then rest assured, you can take out the butter and replace it with an equal amount of coconut oil instead. 

Use the refined coconut oil, the kind that is hard in a jar, not the liquid one. You want it to be hard just like the butter, keep it cold, do not melt it. Replace the quantity one for one.

Coconut Flour vs Almond Flour for Pie Crusts

Both flours have very similar health benefits when you replace white or wheat flour with one of these, and they can be used in a variety of low carb recipes. They are both high in fiber and low in carbs. Blood sugar levels and gut health improve. 

• Both coconut and almond flour can be made at home at a cheaper cost.
• Coconut flour and almond flour not only can be used to make pie crusts, but they also can be used to thicken gravy and soups.
• Almond flour is packed with vitamin E and a good source of healthy fats and essential minerals.
• Coconut flour has much smaller amounts of minerals but it has fats that help a person to lose weight and have an increased amount of energy.
• Coconut flour is cheaper than almond flour.
• Coconut flour lasts longer when stored properly but almond flour can go rancid quicker if it’s not kept in the refrigerator.
• The downsides of almond flour is that almonds are higher in calories so calories can add up quickly. Also, some people have tree nut allergies so coconut flour may be a better choice.
• The downsides of coconut flour, it is a little higher in carbs than almond flour, so watch how much you use. Coconut allergies are rarer than allergies to almonds but it is possible.

As far as nutrition goes, here are some values when comparing Coconut Flour and Almond Flour:

For ¼ cup Coconut flour                         

• 120 calories                             
• 4 grams fat                                
• 8 net carbs                                  
• 12 grams fiber                             
• 6 grams protein                

For ¼ cup Almond flour

• 160 calories
• 14 grams fat
• 3 net carbs
• 3 grams fiber
• 6 grams protein

How to Substitute Coconut Flour for Almond Flour

You can substitute coconut flour for almond flour but you need to make some changes to the recipe and convert the measurements correctly. 

Coconut flour sucks up more moisture than almond flour, so if you use coconut flour instead of almond flour then you need more liquid, or else the recipe will be dry. So as a result, all of the ingredients have to be adjusted.

You also have to allow a few minutes for the flour to absorb the liquid causing the flour to swell.

Substituting Almond Flour for Coconut Flour

• For every 1 cup of almond flour only use ¼ cup of coconut flour
• Add one egg for each ¼ cup of coconut flour.
• If the mixture is too dry, add more liquid until the consistency is right.
• If the mixture is too wet, add one teaspoon of coconut flour at a time until the consistency is right.

Substituting Coconut Flour for Almond Flour

• For every ¼ cup of coconut flour replace it with 1 cup of almond flour.
• Decrease the amount of liquid in the recipe by using one less egg for every ¼ cup of coconut flour that the recipe called for.
• If the mixture is too dry, add more liquid until the consistency is right.
• If the mixture is too wet, add one tablespoon of almond flour at a time until the consistency is right.

Sometimes we use both types of flour together which makes a good combo in some recipes.

Tools You Need

• Pie plate – I like to use a good size pie plate because it will make a bigger pie.
• Rolling pin – This is what you need to roll out the dough for your coconut flour crust.
• Food processor, Vitamix, Handheld Mixer, or a Stand Mixer. – Any of these can be used to make this coconut flour pie crust recipe. We found that our Vitamix and our Food Processor worked the best. 
• Parchment paper – A non-stick paper used in baking things so that they don’t stick to the pan or other things. In this case, if you roll out your keto pie crust dough on the paper it will not stick.

Best Pie Plate to Use?

I always use a glass pyrex pie plate when I make a pie. It makes the best coconut flour pie crust.  I have always had good results with it no matter what kind of dough that I used, from traditional white dough to almond flour, and now with the coconut flour pie crust too. 

Some people say that they get good results too from metal pie plates too but I do not personally own one.

Some of the fancy pie plates, like Le Creuset make the worst crust because of how they are made. They are pretty to look at but the old fashioned ones are tried and true.

Should I Use a Food Processor or Mix by Hand?

It’s always much quicker if you can use an electrical appliance to mix things, so a food processor would always be quicker than mixing it by hand. If you do not have a food processor in the kitchen, you can still make a pie crust with coconut flour.

Mixing it by hand is definitely doable and when I used to make pie crust with white flour I used to do it by hand, it really was not hard at all. Low carb pie crust is actually easier to work with in the respect that it’s not as delicate as white flour pie crust is.

How to Make Coconut Flour Pie Crust

Since you have probably never made a coconut flour pie crust before, you are probably nervous like I was. Don’t be, we are going to share with you our step by step instructions so that you can make the best coconut flour pie crust with no troubles.

Do I Bake a Coconut Pie Crust BEFORE Filling It?

Both are possible. You can either bake the pie crust with coconut flour ahead of time before filling it or you can also bake it already filled.  It just depends on the pie you are making and the recipe you are following.

Baking the pie crust before filling it is definitely the way to do it when you are making a low carb blueberry pie, or when making a chocolate cream pie. 

Both of these types of pie do not require time spent in the oven, so that’s why you would prepare coconut flour crust first and then pour in the filling afterward to finish off the pie.

If you want to bake the coconut pie crust with the filling in it then that is done when you are making a Keto apple pie or a pecan pie.

With these types of pie, they do require time in the oven to make the filling form or set to finish off the pie.

Whichever way you decide to make it, you need to make fork holes all over the bottom of the coconut flour crust to allow the steam out.

Mixing the Dough

STEP 1: Add all of the ingredients together, the coconut flour, eggs, vanilla, sweetener, salt, and butter in a food processor or Vitamix or stand mixer bowl, whichever you have in your kitchen to use. Mix the crust for 30-60 seconds until the dough forms into little balls. 

STEP 2: Put the dough into a Ziploc bag and roll it into a large ball.

STEP 3: Let the coconut flour crust chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.

Press It In

What I love about this easy coconut flour pie crust is that if it falls apart after you roll it out, all is not lost….just press the pieces into the pie plate. Or if you prefer you can just press it into the pie plate without rolling it out. 

STEP 1: Spray your pie plate with Pam or another non-stick spray. Remove the dough from the bag and press it into the center of a pie plate.

STEP 2: Flatten the coconut flour crust with the palm of your hand and then work it into the corners and edges with your fingers, trying to make the crust an even thickness.

STEP 3: Be sure to leave enough dough to form the upper crust edges.

STEP 4: Use a fork to form a pattern around the edges of the crust or your fingers.

STEP 5: Take the same fork and poke lots of holes on the bottom of the coconut pie crust to allow the steam to escape so that the crust does not get soggy.

Now let’s see what we need to do before we bake our coconut flour pie crust.

Can You Roll Coconut Flour Crust?
I think one of the scariest things the first few times that I made any type of pie crust, is the rolling out process and then transferring it into the pie plate. Sometimes it would fall apart when transferring it. 

Yes, you can use a rolling pin to flatten out and form your coconut flour pie crust.

But what is really nice about this pie crust is that if you have trouble rolling it out perfectly you can take the dough, even if it’s in pieces, and press it into the pie plate and it will still come out good. To me that makes it the easiest and best coconut flour pie crust.

Filling It

You will either fill the keto pie crust at first and bake it all together or you will bake the empty pie crust by itself. That is going to depend on what kind of pie you are making. Here are 2 examples:

For Instance, if you are making Keto Apple Pie you will fill the raw coconut flour pie crust and bake everything together at the same amount of time.

If you are making our Keto Blueberry Pie recipe, then this coconut flour crust is cooked ahead of time and the filling is cooked on the stove, then added to the already cooked crust, and then put in the refrigerator.

Baking It

At this point in the recipe, you need to decide if your pie recipe calls you to pre-bake your crust or to bake it with the pie filling. If you don’t need to pre-bake it, then stop here, and follow your pie recipe moving forward. 

1. Before you get ready to bake your pie, chill the pie plate with the formed crust for about 45-60 minutes, because it will bake up more flaky if it’s chilled up well first.
2. Bake your empty keto pie crust in the oven at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or so, but be sure that it’s a nice golden brown before taking it out of the oven.

TIP: Sometimes the edges cook faster than the body of the crust, so you can wrap the edges with aluminum foil to allow the rest of the crust to finish cooking while protecting the edges. There is also something you can buy to protect the edges, it’s called a pie shield.

Best Tips

 Tips for the best coconut flour pie crust:

• When you are making your own coconut flour make sure that all of the moisture is out of it when drying it out in the oven or else you will have moldy flour.
• In order to make your easy coconut flour pie crust flaky, use cold butter, not soft or melted butter. 
• For best results with this coconut flour pie crust recipe, chill the dough before you roll it and chill it again after it is in the pie plate.
• Use a glass pyrex pie plate for a better result making this keto coconut flour pie crust recipe.
• Make sure to poke many fork holes in the bottom of the pie crust to make the steam release which avoids a soggy crust.
• Using a liquid sweetener will make your coconut flour pie crust sticky.
• Half way through the baking of your pie crust, put aluminum foil or a pie guard around the edges so that it won’t burn while the rest of the pie crust continues to bake.

Don’t Burn It!

The way to make sure not to burn your coconut flour pie crust is to bake it at a low temperature, 375 degrees works the best. Of course, do not cook it longer than you are supposed to.

When you burn it, of course, it doesn’t look attractive and doesn’t taste good, so all your work was for nothing. To achieve a picture-perfect pie, make sure you keep an eye on it while it is baking.

TIP: Halfway through the baking process I like to cover the edges of the pie so that they don’t burn. You can do this 2 ways…either with aluminum foil  or what’s called a pie shield. They both protect the pie well from getting burnt crust.

Making the Crust Flakier

It’s the cold butter that helps to make the dough flaky. Plus also chilling the dough in the refrigerator before forming it and then once again before baking it will also make the best coconut flour pie crust. 

When you poke fork holes in the bottom of the crust it also allows the steam to get out so that it won’t get trapped in between the crust and the pie plate and therefore make the crust soggy.

My Coconut Flour Crust Won’t Stick Together

The reason the coconut flour crust crumbles and won’t stick together is that it’s too dry. As we have already talked about, coconut flour tends to be very dry without the right amount of moisture in it.

So make sure to add enough eggs to compensate for the coconut flour, and make sure to add the right amount of cold butter chunks. When you have pea-size chunks of fat in the pastry dough, it creates a nice, flaky texture.

How to Prevent My Crust From Getting Soggy?

• If the oven temperature is too low, like 325 or 350 degrees, the steam will not evaporate fast enough to prevent the moisture from building up. I have found that 375 degrees works the best.
• Also, don’t forget to poke all of those fork holes in the low carb pie crust before baking, which helps that steam to escape. Otherwise, the steam gets trapped between the pie plate and the crust.
• Chilling the crust before baking it is so important too. If you chill it first, when it goes into the oven and it’s nice and cold, it will get flaky. Instead, putting it into the oven at room temperature will get it soggy. If your filling is moist then you may experience a soggy crust.

Do I Have to Poke Holes in a Coconut Pie Crust?

Yes, it’s an essential step.  In order to make sure to allow the steam to escape, it is necessary to poke lots of holes in the bottom of a coconut flour pie crust. 

If you don’t poke the holes in the bottom of the crust it will form air bubbles and as they burst it will make cracks or holes in your perfect pie crust.

How to Stop Coconut Pie Crust from Shrinking?

All types of pie dough shrink a little bit, but what helps is to bake it at a slightly lower temperature, like 350-375 degrees if possible.

Once you figure out where you want the edge of the pie crust to end up, just make it ¼-½ inch larger to allow for a small amount of shrinkage. That way it will be the right size after baking.

Be sure once you form the low carb pie crust in the pie plate, to refrigerate it for 15-20 minutes before baking your coconut flour pie crust.

How to Use a Coconut Flour Pie Crust

When you make a coconut flour pie crust there are so many types of pie that you can make with it. You should add sweetener if you are going to make a sweet pie, for instance:

• Fruit pies, like Blueberry, Lemon, Apple…etc
• Custard Pie
• Pumpkin Pie
• Peanut Butter pie
• Pecan Pie
• Chocolate Cream Pie
• Cheesecake

If you are using it for another reason you can make it without the sweetener, for instance, a shell for a pot pie or for a quiche.

Making Savory Pies

The first type of pie that I thought of for this category was quiche and the second one that I thought of is a pot pie.

For both of these options, you can remove the monk fruit and add some extra salt. That way it will be perfect for the savory fillings.

Can You Use a Coconut Flour Pie Crust for Cheesecake? 

Coconut flour pie crust makes a wonderful base or foundation for a no-bake cheesecake. The sweetness and mild taste of the coconut flour is such a good compliment and therefore go so well with cheesecake.

Variations

Making a chocolate coconut flour pie crust is a nice alternative. It’s chocolaty and just a little sweet which allows you to make a sweet pie filling, like a peanut butter mousse, or a custard filling.

A chocolate cream mousse with raspberries on top also goes excellent with a chocolate version of this crust.

Other Diets This Recipe is Good For

• Gluten-free – There is not any gluten in coconut flour like there is in traditional all-purpose flour.
• Paleo – It is paleo compliant if you take out the butter and use coconut oil instead.
• Vegetarian – This crust can be vegetarian because some vegetarians eat eggs.
• Vegan – If you take out the eggs and put another form of moisture in its place, like applesauce for instance.

How to Make Coconut Flour Pie Crust Paleo?

The only thing that you have to do in order to turn our coconut flour pie crust into an acceptable food to meet paleo’s restrictions is to take out the butter. You can use coconut oil as a substitution for the butter. 

Use refined coconut oil, the one that is hard and comes in a jar so that it resembles cold butter. Use it in the same portion that you would the butter.

Making a Vegan Coconut Flour Pie Crust

In order to make our low carb coconut flour pie crust into an acceptable food for vegans, substitute the butter with a plant-based, dairy-free butter. Country crock makes one that is pretty good. 

If you want to replace the eggs you can use other liquid in its place. For instance, you could use applesauce, and the replacement equation would be for every egg that you take out use ¼ cup of applesauce. 

There are 12 NET Carbs in ¼ cup, so if you are watching your carbs don’t overload the crust with applesauce, but I think that a little will go a long way.

Mayo and sour cream are other replacements for eggs in a pie crust. They will help to add moisture to the coconut flour.

Also, flaxseeds and chia seeds can replace eggs in the coconut flour pie crust. The first time that I used them in recipes it was very different and I could not understand how they work.

It is amazing the texture that they create and a benefit is that they are tasteless, so they will not make your coconut flour pie crust taste weird or anything.

Substituting with Ghee

Ghee is an alternative to traditional butter, but it is still a dairy product. It is made from butter that has been further cooked to remove all the milk solids as well as the moisture. 

Its other names are drawn butter or clarified butter. It is not dairy-free because it’s butterfat, but it is lactose-free for those who cannot have lactose.

Replace one for one in the portion size when replacing butter. However, since ghee is drier than butter, you may have to add another egg or something else that can soak up the dryness of the coconut flour like a little mayo for instance.

How to Replace All-Purpose Flour with Coconut Flour

If you can’t eat all-purpose flour because it is high in carbs or it has gluten, you can certainly use coconut flour as a substitute and it works very well as long as you know the conversion ratios.

For every cup of all purpose flour, you only need to use ¼ cup of coconut flour, because the coconut flour soaks up liquids more efficiently than all-purpose flour would.

Start with this equation and you can always alter it by adding more flour if the liquid is still not being absorbed enough. You may have to practice with it a little to get the right workable texture.

Make-Ahead Options

It’s always nice when you can make recipes ahead of time and this coconut flour pie crust is one of them.

If you prepare the crust but don’t have time to bake it, or for some reason don’t want to bake it the same day, you can cover it uncooked and store it in the refrigerator for a few days. It definitely keeps longer without the filling but will keep a couple of days even if it is filled.

How to Store Coconut Flour Pie Crust

It’s easy to store your cooked or uncooked coconut flour pie crust in the refrigerator. Just cover it up with plastic wrap and it will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

If you want to keep it any longer, you should follow the instructions below for how to freeze it.

Can You Freeze Coconut Flour Pie Crust?

What’s nice about the coconut flour pie crust is that it can be frozen raw and unfilled. It can also be frozen cooked unfilled, and it can be frozen cooked and filled.

As always when you want to freeze something so that it stays fresh and it doesn’t get freezer burned, make sure to wrap it well with 2 or 3 layers of protection…plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or freezer paper. It will last 2-3 months in the freezer.

Low Carb Dessert Recipes:

If you’re in the mood for some other Keto-friendly Desserts, check out our:

• Keto Chocolate Fudge
• Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Creamy Keto Chocolate Pudding
• Fudgy Keto Brownies

All of them are Keto-friendly and low carb, and will have your friends raving!

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