Name: Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 18 min
Yield: 1-9" single crust
Ingredients: 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pretzel crumbs (see note for gluten free); 6 tablespoons butter, melted; ⅓ cup sugar

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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.

Crushed Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe

This crunchy, salty and sweet pretzel pie crust can make a pie feel revolutionary! But best of all, like most crumb crust recipes it’s 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.

I shunned crumb crust recipes for a while because I found it difficult to actually press in the crumbs in an even way. And then I discovered if you press in the edges of the pie first and then work the crumbs down to form the bottom that it is more efficient and easier to evenly distribute.

Is it necessary to grease the pie plate?

The quick answer is no. There is plenty of butter in this recipe that when you are removing a slice of pie it should easily come out. But I have had anomaly pies made with a crumb crust that have stuck to the bottom in spots. This tends to happen when the crumbs are very finely ground, or when I have chosen not to blind bake the pie crust. If you are nervous about your crumb crust sticking, use a cooking spray or an oil to grease the pie plate, instead of butter.

Do you have to blind bake a pretzel crust?

It is not essential to blind bake a pretzel pie crust! However, I recommend it. Blind baking is good for two reasons. The first being 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 you are 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.

How to form a crumb crust

Pour the crumb mixture into the pie plate.
Start working the crumbs up the sides of the pie plate first. Once it’s all in place around the sides start packing it in and clean up the edges. At this point it will feel like you may not have enough crumbs to distribute to the bottom, but you will!
Next work the crumbs down from the side, pressing in as you go so they are thinner, until the crumbs fill the bottom of the plate.
Finally, make sure the crumbs are even throughout and then press firmly down to compact it.

Salted pretzel crust being formed in a pie plate.

It’s easiest to form the crust by distributing the crumbs around the edges first, then pressing the crumbs towards the bottom.

What kind of pies can use a pretzel crust?

There are a lot of pies that work well with a pretzel crust. Sweet pies tastes great with the balance of the salty and crunch pie crust. No bake cheesecake or cream pies are also a great candidate. Really, any pie that requires refrigeration will work well here.

There are a few pies however 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.

Check out these recipes that can be made with a pretzel crust: