This pretzel pie crust recipe proves that pie crust can be easy not stressful! With only 3 ingredients, it’s sweet, salty and perfect for desserts from no-bake pies to cheesecake.
Other crusts that make an amazing alternative to traditional pie crusts include this graham cracker crust, Oreo pie crust and gingersnap crust.
Table of Contents
Pretzel Crust For Pie
Once again, I’m so happy to share with you a quick and easy baking solution that will save you time in the kitchen and guarantees a delicious sweet and salty pretzel pie crust.
As I love making homemade pie, I don’t always have the time and energy to go the traditional route with homemade pie crust, especially when I am making a no-bake pie! That’s where the handy press-in pretzel base comes in!
Why This Recipe Works
- Quick, easy and versatile. Just 10 minutes prep and 10 minutes baking time are needed for a pretzel pie crust then fill with a pudding or custard pie filling.
- Great flavor! The result is a salty-sweet crunchy base that goes so well with many sweet fillings like my key lime pie and strawberry pretzel salad.
Only 3 Ingredients
These pretzel pie crust ingredients are so simple, you may already have them on hand!
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Mini pretzels: I choose the mini ones because they’re easier to crush into pretzel crumbs but the regular pretzels will work too. They also have a pretty long shelf life, so you can stash them in your cupboard to make a pie when the mood strikes!
- Unsalted butter: Unsalted works best here because the pretzels themselves are already pretty salty.
- Granulated sugar: The sugar adds sweetness to the salty pretzel crust and helps the crust stick together when baked.
Substitutions and Variations
This pretzel crust recipe is super simple but it’s also easy to make a few customizations to it.
- Avoiding gluten? Use gluten-free pretzels.
- Use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
- Swap vegan butter for regular butter.
- No pretzels at home? Substitute with crushed cereal or crackers like Cheerios, Corn Flakes or Ritz crackers.
How to Make Pretzel Pie Crust
All you need is 10 minutes of prep time and a quick bake in the oven with a pretzel crust.
- Crush pretzels. Pulse the pretzels in a food processor or blender until they are finely ground. You can also put the pretzels into a large zip-top bag and use a rolling pin or a mallet to hand crush the pieces to fine crumbs.
- Add sugar. Transfer the pretzels to a medium bowl and add the sugar. Mix to combine.
- Add butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl and mix everything well. You should have a wet sandy consistency.
- Bake. Press mixture evenly into a 10-inch pie plate. I find it easier to start with the edges of the crust first and then work my way into the middle of the dish. You can use a flat-bottomed cup or measuring cup to help you press the crumbs in firmly and evenly. Bake pie crust for 10-minutes and let the crust cool completely before filling.
Pretzel Crust Tips
- Grease pie dish. There is usually enough butter in the crust to let you easily remove pieces from the dish. To ensure easy removal, you can also spray the dish lightly with cooking spray or brush lightly with butter.
- Add more butter. If your crust seems a bit dry and won’t hold together in the pie dish before baking, pour it back into a bowl and add another tablespoon of melted butter until it holds together. Transfer back to your pie dish.
- Pack the crumbs tightly. To get a nice firm crust, use the bottom of a flat cup to press the crumbs into the pie dish. It’s an easy way to pack the crumbs down.
- Pack the crumbs evenly. Try to pack your crumbs as evenly as possible, making the edges of the crust a little bit thicker to hold in the filling.
- No-bake pie crust option: Sometimes it may not make sense to bake your crust before filling it, like when making a no-bake pie. In these cases, it’s okay to freeze your crumb crust instead of baking.
Ways to Use Pretzel Pie Crust
A pretzel crumb crust is perfect to use in your favorite pie recipe and so many bar recipes. I love pairing sweet fillings with the saltiness in the crust to get that awesome salty-sweet combination. Some of my favorite uses are:
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Pretzel Crust
Video
Equipment
- 1 10-inch pie dish
Ingredients
Pretzel Crust
- 4 cups (145 grams) mini pretzels
- ½ cup (113 grams) unsalted butter , melted
- 3 Tablespoons (40 grams) granulated sugar
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Crush pretzels and combine. In a food processor or blender, pulse 4 cups mini pretzels until finely ground (you should have about 1 1/4 cups ground pretzels). Pulse in 1/2 cup melted butter and 3 Tablespoons sugar until combined.
- Press into pie dish. Press evenly into 10-inch pie dish. If you are using a smaller 9-inch pie pan, discard about 1/4 cup pretzel mixture.
- Bake. Bake 10 minutes or until firm. Let cool completely. You can refrigerate once dish is cool to the touch to speed up the process.
- Add pie filling. Spread desired filling on top of the cooled crust.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
The sugar gives this crust a nice sweet and salty taste. It also helps the pretzel pie crust stick together as it bakes. I recommend keeping the sugar in the recipe, but you can try reducing it by a tablespoon to suit your tastes.
There are a couple of reasons for a crumbly crust. The first is that you may need to add a bit more melted butter. The consistency you’re looking for is wet sand. Try adding an additional tablespoon of melted butter.
The other reason for a crumbly crust is that your pretzel pieces may not be fine enough. Larger pieces don’t combine as well as finer pieces do. Try processing the pretzels into smaller pieces.
Depending on how thick you want your crust to be, I suggest doubling this recipe to cover a 9×13” pan.
You can make this pretzel pie crust up to 3 days in advance and store it in the refrigerator either baked or unbaked, tightly covered with plastic wrap.
Categorized as: 5 Ingredients Or Less, American, Christmas, Desserts, Nut-Free, Pies + Tarts, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Very good. Made it in a 8″ cake pan and added 1/8t salt. I used it in a layer cake with chocolate cake and peanut butter.
Sounds perfect! So glad you enjoyed the pretzel pie crust!
Easy and delicious! I have so many ideas for pies to make with this!
The options are limitless! Enjoy :)