Name: Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups (170 grams) pretzel crumbs; 8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter, melted (see notes); ⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar

Jump to Recipe· 4.7 from 6 reviews

This 3-ingredient salty and sweet Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe is an easy and delicious crust option! Bake it before filling, or freeze it for a truly no-bake pie crust option.

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This crunchy, salty and sweet pretzel pie crust can make a pie feel revolutionary (see here Pistachio and Mascarpone Pie or this Butterscotch Cream Pie)! But best of all, like most crumb crust recipes (similar to a graham cracker crust or an oreo cookie crust) they're so simple to put together. Simply grind up some pretzels, mix it together with a touch of sugar and melted butter and and you've got yourself an easy pie crust that won't disappoint.

This pretzel crust uses only a handful of ingredients, and it takes less than 5 minutes to put together. You can either bake it briefly for a lovely toasted effect or freeze it for a no-bake pie option!

So, let's get to making it, shall we? The article below details all the information you need to know to make these successfully, concluding with the recipe at the end. You can jump around using the menu below, or skip to the end of the article for the full recipe.

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Troubleshooting the Crumb Mixture
How to Form It (the easy way!)
Types of Pies to Make with a Pretzel Crust
To Blindbake or Not
More Pie Crust Recipes
Full Recipe

Troubleshooting the Crumb Mixture

While this recipe is rather straightforward, there is some nuance as to how wet or dry the mixture is because different brands and shapes of pretzels can vary in terms of their moisture level.

The crumb mixture should be the consistency of wet sand. If for any reason your crumb crust is extremely dry, you can add one tablespoon of melted butter–one tablespoon at a time–to the pretzel crumbs until they are evenly moistened.

Alternatively, if your mixture is too wet and it is hard to work with, add more pretzel crumbs until it is just moistened enough for the crumbs to stick together easily.

How to Form It (the easy way!)

The easier way to form a pretzel crust is to start forming the edges first, and then press the crumb mixture down into the bottom of the plate.

Here are the steps:

Gather the pretzel crumbs mixture loosely up the sides of the plate until all the edges are covered with crumbs.
Form the crust's top edges and neaten them by pressing them with two fingers. It may feel like you won’t have enough crumbs to fit the bottom of the pie, but you will.
Start packing down the sides of the crumb crust in an even layer with your thumb. As you do this, start moving the excess crumb mixture toward the center of the pie plate.
Continue packing the crumbs from the outer edges towards the middle until you have established a single layer.
Pack down the crumbs with the flat bottom of a measuring cup until everything is tight and even.

Types of Pies to Make with a Pretzel Crust

Sweet pies (such as this Blueberry Cream Cheese Pie) taste great with the balance of the salty and crunchy pie crust. No bake cheesecake pies (like this Creamy Lemon Pie) or cream pies (like this Strawberry Cream Pie) are also great candidates. But really, any pie that requires refrigeration will work well here.

There are a few pies that won't work well with this crust, and that would be any pie that needs to be served at room temperature or a pie that has a very wet filling, such as a thin custard pie.

To Blindbake or Not

It is not essential to blind bake a pretzel pie crust! However, I recommend it. Blind baking is good for two reasons. The first is that baking it lends a toasty caramelized flavor to the pie crust, and adding another level of flavor is always a good thing. The second reason is that blind baking a crumb crust makes it just a little bit more sturdy than simple freezing it.

But sometimes when making a no-bake pie it just doesn't make sense to turn on the oven for 8 minutes of cooking! So in that case, it's perfectly okay to freeze the crumb crust instead of baking it.

More Pie Crust Recipes

I am so honored when you make a recipe from my site! If you make this Pretzel Crust, please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating with your experience! If you have any questions about this recipe, feel free to comment here, and tag me on instagram!

Full Recipe

Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe

An assembled but unfilled pretzel pie crust.

Print Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.7 from 6 reviews

This salty and sweet Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe is an easy and delicious crust option! It has only three ingredients and is simply pressed into the pan and it's ready to go. You can bake it before filling, or freeze it for a truly no-bake pie crust option.

Author: Kelli Avila
Prep Time: 00:10
Cook Time: 00:08
Total Time: 18 minutes
Yield: 1-9" single crust
Category: Pie Crusts
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

1-½ cups (170 grams) pretzel crumbs
8 tablespoons (112 grams) unsalted butter, melted (see notes)
⅓ cup (67 grams) granulated sugar

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Instructions

In a bowl, mix together the crumbs, butter and sugar. The mixture should be damp, like wet sand, and will hold together when squeezed. If it is too dry, add a tablespoon more melted butter at a time. If it’s too wet, add a tablespoon more pretzel crumbs until it’s the correct consistency.
Pour the crumbs into the pie plate and start pressing them up the sides of the pie plate to form the edges first. Once the edges are formed, work the crumbs down to evenly distribute them into the bottom of the pie plate. Then pack it down into an even layer using a flat bottomed cup or measuring cup.
If baking: Bake in a preheated 350º for 10 minutes. If freezing: freeze for 30 minutes for a no-bake pie option.

Notes

This recipe works for both regular pretzels and gluten free pretzels! Use which ones you need.

Pretzels can vary in terms of their moisture level. For this reason, there can be some variance with how much butter you actually need for the recipe to work. The pretzel crust mixture should have the consistency of wet sand. If for any reason your crumb crust is extremely dry, you can add 1 tablespoon of melted butter–one tablespoon at a time–to the crumbs until they are evenly moistened. Alternatively, if your mixture is too wet and it is hard to work with, add more pretzel crumbs until it is the correct consistency.

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