Cream Cheese Pie Crust (Flaky & Easy to Roll)

Name: Cream Cheese Pie Crust
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 85 min
Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour (+2 tablespoons more as needed); 1 ½ tbsp granulated sugar; ¾ tsp Natural Ancient Sea Salt; ¾ cup Butter (unsalted and cold, cut into ¼-inch pieces ); 5 oz Cream Cheese (full-fat block and cold, cut into small pieces); ½ tsp Apple Cider Vinegar; 1 ½ tbsp water (ice-cold, + 1½ tablespoons more as needed)

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This cream cheese pie crust bakes up golden and flaky, with buttery layers, a tender texture, and just a hint of tang. The soft, pliable dough is easy to roll and shape, even for beginner bakers making homemade pie crust for the first time.

Butter cream cheese pie crust pressed into a pie plate before baking

I use this pie crust recipe with cream cheese for my Dutch Apple Pie, but it’s also an easy homemade basic to keep on hand for recipes that call for rolled pastry, like my Sweet Potato Pie. If you’re looking for a crumb-style crust for cheesecake instead, try my Graham Cracker Pie Crust.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Easy to work with: The cream cheese makes the dough more forgiving when rolling, transferring, and shaping it in your pie plate.
Buttery and flaky: Butter gives the crust its rich flavor and flaky texture, while cream cheese adds tenderness and a subtle tang.
Versatile: Use it for single-crust or double-crust pies. You can also make the dough ahead and refrigerate or freeze it until needed.

ingredients to make homemade cream cheese pie crust

Ingredients Needed

You’ll need a few simple ingredients to make this homemade pie crust. The exact amounts are in the recipe card below.

All-purpose flour: Provides structure for the pastry. Weighing the flour gives the most consistent results, but measuring cups work just fine. Simply spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it off to avoid adding too much.
Granulated sugar: Adds a little sweetness and helps the crust brown.
Sea salt: Balances the richness of the butter and cream cheese.
Unsalted butter: Keep it cold and cut it into ¼-inch pieces. The small pieces of butter help create a flaky texture as the pastry bakes.
Cream cheese: Use cold, full-fat block cream cheese cut into small pieces. Avoid whipped or spreadable cream cheese because their moisture content can affect the dough.
Apple cider vinegar: Helps keep the pastry tender without adding a noticeable vinegar flavor.
Ice-cold water: Brings the dough together. Add it gradually so the dough doesn’t become too wet or sticky.

How to Make Cream Cheese Pie Crust

Use the step-by-step photos as your guide. The most important thing is knowing when the dough has enough moisture to hold together.

Combine the Dry Ingredients and Fats

After pulsing the ingredients in the food processor, the mixture should look coarse and chunky, with visible pea-sized pieces of butter and cream cheese. Stop before it becomes a smooth paste.

Mixing the dry ingredients in a bowl, then adding cold butter and cream cheese to prepare the flaky cream cheese pie crust dough.

Add the Liquids

The mixture should form tiny, uneven balls rather than one smooth dough. When pressed between your fingers, the clumps should feel soft and hold together without being floury or wet.

Adding the liquid to the cream cheese pie crust mixture and pulsing until small, moist clumps of dough form.

Shape and Chill

The mixture may look crumbly at first, but the small pieces should come together into a disk with gentle pressure. The dough becomes smoother as you roll it. Chilling firms the fats and makes the pastry easier to handle.

Shaping the cream cheese pie crust dough into a disk and chilling it, then rolling it out on a lightly floured surface.

Roll Out the Dough

You may notice small pieces of butter in the dough as you roll it out. That’s normal. The pastry should flatten into an even sheet without crumbling or breaking apart.

Rotating the cream cheese pie crust dough as you roll it to about ¼ inch thick, then folding it in half to transfer it carefully to the pie dish.

Transfer and Shape the Crust

The dough should feel pliable enough to fold, transfer, and unfold without tearing. Gently settle it into the pie plate rather than stretching it to fit, then shape the edges.

Trimming the excess cream cheese pie crust dough, folding the overhang underneath the edge, and crimping the crust for a neat finish.

The crust is now ready to use. Follow your pie recipe’s instructions for filling and baking.

When Should You Blind Bake Pie Crust?

Not every pie needs a prebaked crust. Some fillings bake directly in the unbaked pastry, while others require the crust to be baked first.

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Unbaked crust: Used for fillings that bake directly in the pastry shell. Don’t prick the bottom or sides unless your pie recipe specifically tells you to.
Partially baked crust: Some pies benefit from prebaking the bottom crust to prevent sogginess. Follow the specific pie recipe for the correct method and baking time.
Fully blind-baked crust: Used for fillings that don’t require additional baking, such as certain cream and pudding pies.

For example, my Pumpkin Pie with Sweetened Condensed Milk bakes with an unbaked crust, while my Dutch Apple Pie includes specific blind-baking instructions. Always follow the individual pie recipe rather than automatically prebaking the crust.

How to Blind Bake Cream Cheese Pie Crust

If your pie calls for a fully baked pastry shell, use these steps and the process photos as your guide.

Prick and Freeze the Crust

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Prick the bottom and sides of the shaped crust with a fork, then freeze for 30 minutes. This helps the pastry hold its shape during baking.

Pricking the prepared cream cheese pie crust with a fork, freezing it, and lining the chilled crust snugly with aluminum foil before blind baking.

Add the Pie Weights

Press aluminum foil snugly against the bottom, sides, and edges of the chilled crust. Prick the foil with a fork and fill it with pie weights or dried beans to help prevent the pastry from puffing up.

Pricking the foil with a fork, filling the cream cheese pie crust with pie weights or dried beans, and baking before removing the weights and foil.

Bake Until Golden Brown

Bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and weights, then return the crust to the oven for another 8–10 minutes, until golden brown.

Returning the cream cheese pie crust to the oven to finish baking, then cooling it completely before adding the pie filling.

If the edges brown too quickly, cover them with a foil shield while the bottom finishes baking. Transfer the crust to a wire rack and let it cool completely before adding a filling that requires a cooled shell.

Pie crust recipe with cream cheese and butter for a tender, flaky homemade pastry after blind baking

Tips for the Best Cream Cheese Pie Crust

Let very firm dough soften slightly: If the dough is difficult to roll after refrigeration, let it sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes, just until pliable.
Prevent sticking: Rotate the dough as you roll, occasionally lifting it to add a little flour underneath. This also helps maintain an even, rounded shape.
Repair small cracks: Press cracked edges together or patch them with a small piece of extra dough. The cream cheese makes this pastry forgiving, so minor cracks are easy to fix.

Cream Cheese Pie Crust vs. All Butter Pie Crust

Both recipes make flaky homemade pastry. My All Butter Pie Crust uses butter as the only fat, while this recipe combines butter and cream cheese for a tender pastry with a slightly tangy flavor. The cream cheese also makes the dough more pliable and forgiving when rolling and shaping.

Pies That Use a Pastry Crust

I use this cream cheese pastry for my Dutch Apple Pie. The crust supports the apple filling and buttery crumble topping, and that recipe includes its own instructions for preparing and blind baking the crust.

For more homemade pies made with a rolled pastry crust, try these recipes:

Sweet Potato Pie: A silky sweet potato filling flavored with warm spices and browned butter.
Pecan Pie: A classic dessert with a sweet, nutty filling baked in a pastry shell.
Pumpkin Pie with Sweetened Condensed Milk: A creamy pumpkin pie with warm spices that bakes in an unbaked pastry crust.

These pies have their own crust preparation and baking instructions. Follow the individual recipes rather than assuming they all require blind baking.

Make Ahead and Storage

Refrigerate unbaked dough: Wrap the prepared dough tightly in two layers of plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Freeze unbaked dough: Double-wrap the dough, place it in a freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before rolling.
Store a fully baked crust: Cool completely and cover tightly. Store at room temperature for up to 1 day or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Freeze a baked crust: Wrap securely and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw while wrapped to help prevent condensation from making the crust soggy.
Recrisp a baked crust: If needed, warm an unfilled crust at 300°F for 5–10 minutes, watching carefully to prevent overbrowning. Cool before filling.

FAQs

Can I make this pie crust without a food processor?

Yes. Whisk the dry ingredients in a large bowl, then use a pastry cutter to work in the cold butter and cream cheese. Add the vinegar and ice water gradually, mixing gently until the dough holds together.

Can I use low-fat or spreadable cream cheese?

Full-fat block cream cheese is best. Low-fat, whipped, and spreadable varieties may have different moisture contents that affect the dough’s texture and make it harder to handle.

Why does my pie crust shrink during baking?

Shrinking can happen when the dough is stretched into the pie plate or baked before it’s properly chilled. Gently ease the dough into place rather than pulling it to fit. Freezing the shaped crust before blind baking also helps it hold its shape.

Can I use salted butter instead?

Yes. Reduce the added sea salt to account for the salt in the butter. Since the salt content varies by brand, the finished flavor may be slightly different.