This easy sweet and salty pretzel pie crust recipe is the perfect base for all of your desserts. Made with just three ingredients, it’s quick to prep and ready to use in 15 minutes.
My sweet and salty sharing continues with this easy pretzel crust recipe – perfect for pies and frankly, any and all desserts!
Traditional pie crust has never really excited me. I know, I know. I tend to skip to the good stuff and just eat the filling. So, I prefer to make my pies in a shortbread cookie crust, Speculoos cookie crust, or a pretzel crust. You really can’t go wrong either way.
Sure, I enjoy a graham cracker crust or even Oreo cookie crust, but the mix of sugar, butter and salty pretzels makes any pie filling taste out of this world good.
This pretzel pie crust recipe takes just 5 minutes hands on time and 10 minutes to bake. Perfect for last minute entertaining. Or cravings.
This pretzel crust makes a great base for my easy chocolate pie and be sure to try my sugar cookie crust if you prefer things sweeter.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- It’s extremely quick – you can make it from start to finish in 15 minutes!
- It requires just a few ingredients.
- It’s foolproof. No special skills or tools required.
- No dry crust here!
- Great flavor. It’s so good it’s hard to resist eating it before you spoon it into your dish.
- It’s versatile. You can use it for bake and no bake pies and easily adapt it.
- The best cure for that sweet and salty craving.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Pretzels – Salted pretzels add such a great texture to the crust, not to mention the saltiness that works so well with so many desserts. This pie crust will even work with gluten-free pretzels if you have a sensitivity. I like to use the smaller pretzels as they are easy to break up and they have a good ratio of salt to pretzel.
- Butter – Unsalted butter is preferred when using salted pretzels.
- Brown Sugar – Brown sugar contains molasses which gives the crust a deeper and richer flavor compared to white sugar. You can substitute white sugar if in a pinch.
How to Crush Pretzels
There are several easy methods to crush pretzels. If you want a smooth, consistent crumb, use a food process or blender. When you crush them by hand, you get a little more texture. You can use a rolling pin, mallet or muddler.
- With a Rolling Pin – Place pretzels in resealable bag with excess air removed. Place a towel on top to prevent tearing holes in the bag. Gently roll over pretzels until fine.
- With a Mallet – Place pretzels in resealable bag with excess air removed. Place a towel on top to prevent tearing holes in the bag. Gently hammer pretzels until fine.
- In a Food Processor – Break pretzels into pieces and add to food processor. Seal with lid and pulse until crushed. With a smaller processor, do it in 2 batches.
How To Make
- Prep – Pre heat oven and grease pie dish. Crush the pretzels in a food processor and melt butter in a small dish.
- Combine – Fold the pretzels into the melted butter and stir in the brown sugar.
- Fill – Press into a pie dish with a measuring cup or drinking glass. It’s easy and consistent, not to mention less messy. Alternatively, if you have a second pie dish of the same size you can press it on top of your crust for a smooth, even finish.
- Bake – Bake for 10 minutes until set.
Tips
- Avoid gaps. Fill in with as needed.
- If you have more than 1 of the same pie plate, you can gently press one on top of the other for a picture perfect compact crust without effort!
Frequently Asked Questions
I prefer to blind bake the crust, not only does it make it more sturdy for filling and serving but it really adds another level of flavor to it. The brown sugar caramelizes and adds a wonderful rich and toasty flavor.
If you prefer not to turn the oven on, you can freeze it for 10 minutes to help it firm up, but do bake it if you are able.
That often means you didn’t use enough butter to help it stick together! More butter = better.
Serving Suggestions
The sweet and salty flavors of this pretzel crust work with so many pies. It’s perfect with my easy chocolate pie but it’s great with all of your favorite fillings.
- Caramel Pecan Pie
- No Bake Cheese Cake
- Chocolate Pie
- Peanut Butter Pie
- Strawberry Pie
- Cookie Butter Cheesecake
How To Store
- Refrigerate – This pretzel pie crust can be stored baked or unbaked in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze – Wrap the cooled crust in foil and place in a freezer bag. It will keep well for up to two months.
More Pie Crusts
Pretzel Pie Crust Recipe
Ingredients
- 1½ cups crushed pretzels about 4 cups / 5 ounces mini pretzels
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup brown sugar light or dark brown, packed
Instructions
No Bake Pretzel Crust
- In a large food processor or by hand in a sealed bag with a mallet, crush pretzels into slightly coarse crumbs.
- In a medium mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Using a spatula, stir in pretzel crumbs and brown sugar until well combined.
- Scoop mixture into pie dish, discarding ¼ if using an 8-9" crust. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass press into dish and along the sides to create a wall. Add additional mixture as needed.
- Freeze 30 minutes and fill.
Bake
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease pie dish.
- In a large food processor or by hand in a sealed bag with a mallet, crush pretzels into slightly coarse crumbs.
- In a medium mixing bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Using a spatula, stir in pretzel crumbs and brown sugar until well combined.
- Scoop mixture into pie dish, discarding ¼ if using an 8-9" crust. Using the bottom of a measuring cup or drinking glass press into dish and along the sides to create a wall. Add additional mixture as needed.
- Bake 10 minutes. Cool before filling.
Julie’s Tips
Substitutions
- Pretzels – Make it gluten-free using gluten-free pretzels.
- Butter – Unsalted butter is preferred when using salted pretzels, but you can use salted butter if preferred.
- Brown Sugar – Substitute white sugar if needed.
Tips
- Avoid gaps. Fill in with additional mixture as needed.
- If you have more than 1 of the same pie plate, you can gently press one on top of the other for a picture perfect compact crust without effort!
To Store
- Refrigerate – Store baked or unbaked in the refrigerator covered for up to 5 days.
- Freeze – Wrap the cooled crust in foil and place in a freezer bag and store up to 2 months.
Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.
Does this really need 13 Tablespoons of butter? That seems like an awful lot.
Yes, it makes it crazy good, but you can reduce to 8 if you’d prefer!
Am I reading this right, 13 tbsp of butter?
It’s out of this world with a key lime filling!
I hadn’t thought of that! I bet lemon curd would be amazing as well. I’ll have to tell my sister since key lime is her favorite. Thanks for sharing!
Yummy!! Would this work with a pecan pie as well?
Why not? Yum!
What did you fill this yummy pretzel crust with? Thanks!
CHOCOLATE! It’s also good with my peanut butter filling.