Learn how to blind bake a pie crust with our step-by-step guide. Make your pie look and taste amazing.
After years of baking, I’ve perfected the method to blind-bake a pie crust. This technique involves baking the crust without a filling to ensure it stays crisp and doesn’t get soggy.
My easy steps guarantee a beautifully baked crust every time—ready for your favorite fillings! I’ve also included some expert tips I’ve picked up from my time as a pastry chef and Thanksgiving host.
Scroll down to read the instructions, or watch our easy video about how to prep a pie crust for blind baking.
What You Need to Blind Bake Pie Crust
Here’s a list of tools you need to blind bake a pie crust successfully:
- Pie Weights – Keeps the crust flat and even while baking.
- You can use raw rice or baking beans (dried beans designated for pie crust that you can reuse every time)
- Parchment Paper – Keeps the dough from sticking to the weights.
- Pie Tin or Round Baking Pan
- Rolling Pin
Instructions for Blind Baking a Pie Crust
Follow these easy steps to blind bake a flaky and delicious pie crust, perfect for all your sweet or savory fillings.
1. Prepare the Oven and Dough
First, preheat your oven to 425°F.
Roll out your pastry dough. It should be a little larger than your baking pan.
Then, lightly flour a rolling pin and use it to place the dough over the pan.
2. Shape and Chill the Dough
Next, gently press the pie dough into the pie plate and prick it all over with a fork. This is called “docking” the pie dough.
Chill the crust in the fridge for 20 minutes.
3. Trim the Excess Dough
Take the crust out of the fridge.
Use scissors to trim the edges around the pie dish to a circular shape, leaving a little bit of overhang.
For a quiche or tart pan, just roll the rolling pin over the top of the pan to easily trim the excess dough (then skip to Step 5).
4. Crimp the Edges
There are several crimping techniques, but the simplest one is the fork crimp.
Fold the excess pie dough and tuck it under the edges along the lip of the pie dish, forming a crust.
With a fork, gently press the flat side of the tines down onto the crust. This will seal the edges and create a fork pattern on the crust. Continue around the entire circle.
5. Blind Bake the Crust
Prepare a square of parchment paper that’s slightly larger than your pan. Crumple it up to make it easier to manage.
Un-crumple, then gently place the parchment paper over the dough. Press it down lightly.
Now, fill the pie shell with weights such as baking beans, raw rice, or ceramic pie weights. Distribute the weights evenly.
Finally, bake for 15-17 minutes at 425°F until the edges start to turn brown.
6. Finish Baking
After the initial 15-17 minutes of baking, take out of the oven and remove the weights and parchment paper.
Return to the oven. Verify whether your recipe calls for a par-baked or fully blind-baked crust.
For a par-baked crust: bake for another 3-5 minutes until the center is lightly cooked, but not brown.
For a fully blind-baked crust: bake for another 10-12 minutes after the initial bake. Remove from the oven when the center and edges are completely golden brown.
How-to Video
Watch our video for a quick tutorial on how to prep your pie crust for blind baking.
Tips for Blind Baking Success
These tips will help you create a perfect pie crust every time:
- Chill Time Matters: Flatten the dough into a disc and refrigerate it for at least 45 minutes. This hardens the butter, which helps stop sticking when rolling and baking. It’ll also help stop the dough from cracking while it’s baking.
- Relax the Gluten: Even better – let the dough rest overnight. This will make it less stretchy and even easier to roll out.
- Careful Handling: Don’t handle the dough too much. Overworking it will make the crust chewy instead of flaky. Check out my Easy All-butter Pie Crust Recipe to learn more!
Recipes That Call For Blind-Baked Crust
Some pie recipes will call for a par-baked crust while others will need a fully blind-baked crust. (See our FAQ for more on this)
Par-baked recipes include:
- Quiche Lorraine – A classic French dish made with eggs, cream, cheese, and bacon
- Pecan Pie – A sweet and nutty pie filled with a gooey pecan mixture
- Pumpkin Pie – A traditional holiday pie made with spiced pumpkin custard filling
Fully Blind-baked recipes include:
- Key Lime Pie – A tart and tangy pie made with key lime juice and sweetened condensed milk
- Coconut Cream Pie – A creamy pie made with thick coconut cream, topped with whipped cream
- French Silk Pie – A rich, chocolate-filled pie topped with whipped cream
Blind-Baking FAQs
What’s the difference between par-baking and blind baking?
Blind baking involves baking a pie crust before it is filled to make sure the dough doesn’t get soggy when the filling is added.
Par-baking is a type of blind baking where you remove the crust from the oven when it is only partially cooked. A fully blind baked crust needs to stay in the oven until it is fully cooked and golden brown.
How do I know if my recipe calls for par-baking or fully blind baking?
A good rule of thumb is that if the pie is cold-set, meaning it will be set in the fridge, it will need a fully blind-baked crust.
On the other hand, if the filling will go in the oven, then you will typically par-bake the crust, add the filling, then bake the entire pie.
How can I blind bake a pie crust without weights?
Weights here are kind of necessary – they stop the pie dough from shrinking and bubbling.
The good news is that you don’t need to buy fancy pie weights—although they are helpful. You can use dry rice or beans!
Do you blind bake a pie crust for quiche?
Absolutely! Blind baking a pie crust for quiche is a smart move. It ensures your crust is nice and crispy, even with the wet quiche filling.
This way, you won’t have a soggy bottom, and your quiche will be as delicious as it looks.
Can you blind bake a pie crust with rice?
Definitely! Rice works great for blind baking a pie crust. Just like pie weights, rice keeps the crust from puffing up. Simply line your crust with parchment paper, then fill it with enough rice to cover the bottom.
Can you blind bake a frozen pie crust?
Yes, you can! You don’t even have to thaw the frozen pie crust. Just pop it straight into the oven. Line it with parchment paper, and add your pie weights.
