Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and I’m starting to think about new recipes that will cater to my mother-in-law’s nut allergy and my sensitivity to eggs. Hence the creation of a new pie crust recipe, and actually my favorite one yet! This crust is crisp and flakey, with a perfectly neutral starchy flavor–essentially, everything you could want in a pie crust! It’s made the same as a traditional pie crust recipe, cutting in cold lard (you could use butter too) and then adding just enough cold water for the dough to hold together.
There’s actually two variations of this recipe below, one for standard Paleo (slightly different spices and the addition of some chopped walnuts) and a fully AIP-compliant version. Both are delicious!
This recipe originates with my newfound love for Otto’s Cassava Flour. The chemistry of this flour is unlike any grain-free flour substitute I’ve ever used and it has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for Paleo adaptations of my old favorites.
Otto’s Cassava Flour is made using the entire cassava root (which is the same thing as yucca, yuca, manioc and tapioca root) minus the peel. Their processing method is to peel, wash, slice, press, bake and then mill. This ensures the potentially toxic cyanide in cassava is totally neutralized. This whole food flour is 80% starch and 7% fiber, which makes it an excellent all purpose flour. Cassava has a low Glycemic Index (46) and a moderate glycemic load (12), and because of its absorptive properties, recipes can typically get away with fairly low flour to liquid ratio, which is great news from a blood sugar regulation perspective.
Cassava was originally reported a a gluten cross-reactor by Cyrex Labs (unpublished, proprietary data), however published research has shown that it is not (see this article or this recent Facebook post). Although it can be a relatively common food intolerance, it is considered an autoimmune protocol-friendly food.
Cassava flour is not the same things as tapioca flour or tapioca starch, which is produced quite differently and is not a whole food. I have heard from other bloggers that other brands of cassava flour do not behave the same in baking, so I definitely recommend making this recipe with Otto’s Cassava Flour or substituting your own favorite crust recipe.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Ingredients (crust):
- 2 ¼ cups Otto’s cassava flour
- 1/8 tsp salt
- ¾ cup cold lard (or unsalted butter)
- 6-8 Tbsp ice cold water
Directions (crust):
- Mix salt and cassava flour in a mixing bowl. Add lard and using a wire wisk or two knives, cut into the cassava flour until the mixture resembles dry oatmeal in texture and the largest pieces of lard are no bigger than a pea.
- Add ice water one tablespoon at a time, and work into dough. Stop as soon as the dough holds together easily.
- Place dough in fridge while you prepare the filling.
Ingredients (filling):
- 6 cups peeled and sliced Granny Smith apples (about 5-6 apples)
- ¼ cup evaporated cane juice or maple sugar
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
- 1 tsp lemon zest (finely grated)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- Pinch cloves
- For AIP: ¼ tsp mace and additional ¼ tsp cinnamon
- For Standard Paleo: ½ tsp allspice and 1/8 tsp cardamom
- For Standard Paleo: add ½ cup chopped walnuts
- Pinch salt
Directions (apple pie):
- Combine all filling ingredients and toss to thoroughly coat apple slices.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Divide dough in half. Roll out with a rolling pin on a sheet of parchment paper to ¼” thick or slightly thinner. Carefully transfer dough to a 9” pie plate. Make sure the dough lines the plate well (take the time to fill in any cracks that form during the transfer and making the edges look nice).
- Pour filling into the pie crust.
- Roll out the other half of the pie dough. You can choose to cut strips of dough for a crosshatch pattern on the top, or simply cover for a double crust pie (remember to cut a couple slits in the top crust for venting).
- Bake for 1 hour.
Note: This pie crust holds up really well to storage. Store covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Sue Hill says
I too have had great luck with this flour!
I just did a pie and topped it with crumble topping.
I stick butter
I cup Ottos cassava flour
1/2 cup of coconut sugar (sub what you use)
Mix together then crumble on top of pie
liz says
Would you happen to know if or what is the ratio of cassava to trad. flour for substitution
purposes – if a recipe call for 1 c flour would one sub 1 cup of cassava?
Would appreciate any feedback – this flour seems very versatile.
Elizabeth says
What is the difference between this flour, and tapioca flour?
Kristen says
Sarah has a video on her YouTube channel where she discusses this! Hope that helps! 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrvvkXZwU-s
Tara says
Would coconut oil work in the pie crust?
Sandi says
After purchasing apples, Casava Flour, maple sugar more ingredients I was excited to begin baking this pie. Peeling and coring the apples was easy however when it came time to the crust I was very challenged as 6-8 tablespoons of ice water was not nearly enough. After handling the dough and working with it for a very long time my pie is in the oven. The flour has a rancid smell, I’m not sure if the Casava Flour smells this way or if indeed it’s bad. The date on the bag expired 7/17 so I’m hoping this is its natural smell. I will keep you posted.
Holly says
I made this pie (AIP version) on 11/14/15, and here’s what I found:
– 2 tbsp. of lemon juice is too much, unless you want to really taste it.
– The crust needs more salt, like a lot more. I found it to be very bland tasting
– I used a stoneware pie plate, so I should have pre-baked the bottom crust as it never fully cooked and was soggy.
– I added arrowroot starch to the apple mixture to thicken it up, and I think that worked well.
– I omitted the mace because I’ve never had it before, and wasn’t sure how it would taste.
Overall a good recipe. I will definitely try it again, with a few minor adjustments. I think this could become a staple at holiday gatherings.
Jolia says
Hi every body,
Diet is not about losing weight, it’s about eating right. Read Grain Brain and you will understand Paleo Diet. Sugars cause inflammation, which ages us. Marketing is damage you up. A slice of whole wheat bread is probably the worst thing you can put in your mouth. It’s about putting gas in your engine, not diesel. And yes arthritis is gone, the bags under my eyes are gone and as a side effect, went from 180 to 152. Don’t knock it till you try it. And you have to put the alcohol away.I used to have big problems with lose weight tips, but am getting in better shape now. Here’s a good site I found that really helped. It gave me great methods and and showed me what I was doing wrong before…there’s even lots of free articles on the site…http://www.cavediet.net
Judy says
I just made this pie…the night before thanksgiving. I have never made a pie before, foolishly, I wish that I’d thought, hey why doesn’t this filling recipe call for a thickener. It really needs a thickener! The taste is great, but it’s as watery as can be! 🙁
Sharon says
I bought Otto’s Cassava flour to make your yeast rolls and apple pie. The rolls were delicious, but the pie crust did not turn out right. I’ve made many pies before I started eating Paleo, so I have experience, but I’m not sure what went wrong…The crust was damp and pasty, not dry and flaky like crusts usually are. I even cooked it longer to try and crisp up the crust. Does this recipe usually make a crust that is similar in texture to a traditional crust? Any ideas what could have gone wrong? I ordered more Cassava flour to try again, but it is expensive and I don’t want to waste it. Thank you so much for your Thanksgiving recipes. I made many of them today and the meal was very good.
Cooties says
You will never find a paleo flour that will match wheat flour. You have to adjust your expectations just as you adjusted your diet.
Beth says
I was wondering about the AIP option. I’ve been reading your book “The Paleo Approach” and it says no additional sugar (including maple syrup and honey). Does this mean pure maple syrup as well? Or is the no added sugar for strict AIP – meaning this recipe is only for non-strict AIP? Thanks so much!
Cooties says
AIP should have no sugar on a regular basis, but everybody needs a treat now and then and honey, maple, and coconut sweeteners are acceptable.
Maria says
I love apple pies so much, so I’ve got to try this delicious recipe!
leslie says
I use this crust for all the pies I make. It’s blueberry season now, so I just made another one. I love the crust recipe. One trick (if you can tolerate it) for the crust is to use half cold distilled alcohol and half cold water for the liquid (vodka is a good one, again, if you can tolerate it. And any distilled alcohol will work). It helps make the crust a little flakier and the alcohol cooks out. The one thing I’ve had trouble with is that I need to bake this crust at a much higher temp. Usually at about 425, otherwise the crust never seems to dry up (whether or not I’ve used the alcohol). I’ve never had to use nearly as much liquid as this recipe calls, for, so make sure you just do one Tbls at a time. I usually only need two. This is by far the most traditional-texture crust I’ve had since going gluten free. Thanks!
Kiersten Peterson says
So glad you have found such success with the recipe. Pie crust can be tricky so thanks for sharing your tricks!
Lael Gerhart says
Hi there,
I’m about to try this crust for the first time. Can i make the dough one day ahead an refrigerate until I’m ready to roll it out?
Thanks for the info!
claire kurdelak says
So glad cassava is AIP! Jennifer Robbins at Predominantly Paleo was the first one I heard of using it. A revelation! I just whipped up your pie dough recipe above, Sarah, and I can’t believe the texture. It can actually be rolled out like pie dough! Thanks, and happy holidays.