Want to make baking a pie an even easier process than usual? Prepare a Graham Cracker Crust in advance, and add the pie filling later! This homemade pie crust carries a hint of sweetness, and is so buttery and tender!
If you’re looking for a traditional pie crust instead, make sure to check out my Homemade Flaky Pie Crust, it’s AMAZING!
This Is the BEST Homemade Graham Cracker Crust Recipe!
All delicious pies start with a fundamental step – making a good pie crust. And this Graham Cracker Pie Crust? It’s one of the best.
You can use this homemade pie crust to make any pie you like. Apple pie, chocolate pudding pie, lemon meringue pie, cherry pie… literally whatever flavor you like will work. If you’re still trying to decide what kind of pie to make, don’t sweat it! Just make this pie crust ahead of time, freeze it, and figure out the rest later! (You also make a graham cracker cheesecake crust! More on that below…)
Making freezer-friendly pie crusts, like this graham cracker one, is such a timesaver. Of course you can use a store-bought pie crust, but this homemade version is really just as easy! If I get a sudden craving for pie (I mean, who doesn’t get those every once in a few weeks), or need to whip together a quick dessert for guests, I’ve already got half the dessert ready! I could honestly eat just this crust, though. That’s it. That’s the dessert. It’s the perfect amount of crumbly, it’s buttery, it’s sweet… it’s all that you could ask for.
What You’ll Need/Ingredients:
What goes into this graham cracker pie crust? Not that much, actually! You will need just 5 ingredients – 4 if you don’t like cinnamon. Here’s the breakdown:
- Graham Crackers: You’ll need crushed graham crackers to complete this pie crust – you can crush whole graham cracker sheets yourself, or you can buy graham cracker crumbs from the store for convenience. You also can use any type of graham crackers you like. Cinnamon grahams, Honey grahams…up to you! You could even make this recipe with Oreo cookies!
- Sugar: I like to use regular granulated sugar for a little added sweetness.
- Butter: Melted. I generally use unsalted butter because you’ll be adding salt to the mixture later.
- Salt: Kosher salt is my go-to for this recipe.
- Optional Add-In: Ground cinnamon – it adds something a little special to the taste and is great flavor!
How to Make Graham Cracker Pie Crust
If you were thinking that making your own pie crust sounds complicated, you can let go of your concerns. This is some of the easiest prep work you will do all week. Here’s how you make a simple yet tasty graham cracker pie crust:
Preheat the Oven to 350°F: Then, in a blender or food processor, crush the graham crackers to a fine crumb.
Combine All of the Ingredients: In a large bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, salt, and cinnamon if using.
Form the Crust and Bake: Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9-inch pie plate or springform pan evenly. Bake for 7- 8 minutes, until lightly golden.
Tips for Success
See what I mean? Easy (half) dessert completed.
If you’re looking for a couple more tips/extra guidance, I’ve got a few that have helped me complete this pie crust:
- If Using For a No Bake Recipe: If you’re going to make a no bake pie, I recommend chilling the crust for 1-2 hours – it will hold better this way, and it will be easier to slice.
- How to Crush Graham Crackers: You can use a food processor, or just put your whole graham cracker sheets in a Ziploc bag, tightly seal it, and crush them with a rolling pin – either way works!
- Firmly Press the Crust into the Pan: Using the bottom of a measuring cup or a glass cup is super helpful when doing this. You want to make sure that the crumbs are tightly-packed to the pan so that the crust doesn’t crumble too easily later.
Ways to Use this Graham Cracker Crust
There are so many ways to enjoy this crust! As I’m sure you realize, there are a lot of dessert recipes out there that can make use of a good pie crust. Here are just a few:
- No Bake Pie: Some days you just don’t want to turn on/deal with the oven! (Especially in the summer.) No bake pie is a great way to enjoy dessert while keeping the kitchen cool like my Icebox Peach Pie! Skip the store bought crust and make one from scratch instead!
- A Regular Oven-Baked Pie: Standard oven-baked pies are good, too. A cinnamon graham cracker crust goes perfectly with Pumpkin Pie!
- A Cheesecake: If you want to make a cheesecake with this crust, use a springform pan instead of a pie plate. Like my Key Lime Cheesecake!
Make It in Advance & Freeze It
This graham cracker pie crust is a great make ahead recipe! It stores so well in the fridge or the freezer, so you can make it a few days ahead of time, and then fill it up later, as mentioned above. If you want to freeze the crust, I recommend waiting to bake it. Press it into the 9-inch pie plate, then cover it tightly with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Do it in any pie plate you like, even a disposable aluminum one works great!
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The Best Graham Cracker Pie Crust
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Chill Time: 1-2 hours
- Cook Time: 7-8 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 1 9-inch pie crust 1x
- Category: Pie
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Want to make baking a pie an even easier process than usual? Prepare a Graham Cracker Pie Crust in advance, and add the pie filling later! This homemade pie crust carries a hint of sweetness, and is so buttery and tender!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers (14 full sized crackers)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Optional – 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a blender or food processor crush the graham crackers to a fine crumb.
- In a large bowl mix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, salt, and cinnamon if using.
- Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased 9- inch pie plate or springform pan evenly.
- Bake for 7- 8 minutes, until lightly golden. If using for a no bake recipe, chill the crust for 1 – 2 hours.
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Can you use this with an apple pie that needs to be cooked? Or would it burn from being in the oven too long?
I would recommend freezing the crust for 15-20 minutes instead of baking it before adding the apple filling. Then bake it all together. This will prevent the crust from overbaking!
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Hi Shelly, I love your recipes! I’m an experienced baker and have made many pies using graham cracker crusts. Every now and then, I have the same problem as Ruth- who commented earlier. My graham cracker crust sometimes STICKS to the glass pie plate, whether it’s on an ice cream pie or a no bake lemon creme pie. They sometimes stick so I have to scrape it off the pie plate which still tastes great, but looks awful!! Is there a trick that I’ve missed?Help!!
That happens to me when I over-press the crust into the pan! If it becomes a problem that you experience over and over I might lightly spray the pan with nonstick spray. You shouldn’t need to, but it’s a step you can take for peace of mind, and it won’t hurt anything at all!
Another way to remedy the “stuck” pie crust is to wet a dishtowel in hot water, spread out on the counter, and set the pie plate on the hot cloth for 10-15 seconds or so. Since the crust sticks because of the butter, this heat will melt the butter enough that it will come right up! (Works just like loosening ice in old-fashioned ice trays, like I still use, by thawing the ice next to the ice tray surface.)
I love graham cracker crusts with a creamy vanilla filling!!!
I always have a hard time with either not pressing the crust in hard enough and it crumbles or pressing too hard and part of it sticks. Either way, I just dig it out and eat!