Ready to bake the perfect pie? These tips on how to prevent soggy pie crust will have you serving up evenly-baked, golden-brown pies.
How to Prevent Soggy Pie Crust
Published on May 07, 2025
1
/
6
Pick the Right Pan
It all starts with the pie pan. Choose a glass pie plate or metal pie plate with a dull finish (vintage pie pans are a great option). Glass heats up gradually and allows your crust to bake evenly. Plus, its transparent material makes it easy to keep an eye on your crust so you can remove it once it’s golden and crispy. Just don’t forget to grease your glass pie dish before using it.
Metal heats up quickly and allows your crust to bake evenly, although it’s a bit more difficult to keep track of your crust’s progress since you can’t see through the pan. Since aluminum transfers heat the quickest of any other pie pan, we suggest using an aluminum pan to achieve the golden-brown color you want.
2
/
6
Blind Bake Your Crust
Blind baking is a technique that requires partially or fully baking a pie crust before adding any filling. This helps your crust bake evenly and helps you avoid soggy-bottom pies.
First, place the dough in a pie plate and flute the edges. Line the unpricked shell with a double thickness of heavy-duty aluminum foil. If desired, fill it with dried beans, uncooked rice or pie weights. The weight will keep the crust from puffing up, shrinking or slipping as it cooks. Bake the crust at 450°F for eight minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5 to 6 minutes longer or until the crust is dry and crisp. Cool on a wire rack, then remove the beans.
Test Kitchen Tip: Wondering which fat to use in your pie crust? We tested butter, shortening and lard to see which works best. We found that the best fat to use for a flaky, delicious pie crust is butter.
3
/
6
Use an Egg Wash
Once you’ve prebaked your pie crust, brush the bottom and sides of the crust with egg wash, then reheat it at 400° for four minutes to set the glaze. This creates a seal between the crust and the filling so that your crust stays crispy and golden after the filling is added.
4
/
6
Add an Extra Filler
This step is optional. Once you’ve prebaked your crust and brushed it with egg wash, consider adding a dry ingredient—such as cornflakes or breadcrumbs—that acts as a barrier between the crust and the pie filling. No matter what kind of pie you’re baking, this extra filler will prevent the gooey pie filling from making the crust soggy.
5
/
6
Cut Slits in the Top Crust
For double-crust fruit pies, cut slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. This will prevent moisture from building up in your pie and creating a soggy crust. Plus, there are lots of ways to make decorative pie crusts that allow for this moisture to ventilate.
It’s also worth using a pie bird. Pie birds have a hollow center that steam can escape through for optimal ventilation. If you want to bake pie just like Grandma, a pie bird is the way to go!
6
/
6
Bake on a Baking Sheet
Line a metal baking sheet with parchment paper and bake your pie on it. Metal sheet pans will absorb heat and transfer it to the bottom of the pie, ensuring even browning. Plus, the parchment paper will catch any pie filling that spills, preventing a gooey mess on the floor of your oven.
Lastly, bake your pie on the lowest rack in your oven. The heat will transfer to the bottom of the pie quicker than the top of the pie, crisping the bottom crust while the top browns more slowly.
