Tyler McFarland on March 19, 2023
Updated on November 8, 2023 Reviewed and fact-checked Found a mistake? Let us know!
Can you buy vegan pie crusts in stores? Well, I recently checked 53 different pie crust products to see if they were vegan. And as it happened, 31 pie crusts from 17 different brands were vegan. That’s about 58% of pie crusts.
The best brands for store-bought vegan pie crusts are Belmont, Bob’s Red Mill, Diamond, Great Value, Keebler, King Arthur, Kroger, Marie Callender, MI-Del, Mrs. Smith, Oreo, Pillsbury, Publix, Signature Select, Wegman’s, Wewalka, and Wholly Wholesome. But some of these brands also sell non-vegan pie crusts with lard, dairy, or honey.
Below, I’ll review the vegan pie crusts available from each brand. I’ll answer some overall questions about what ingredients and kinds of pie crusts to look for.
Vegan Pie Crust Brands
Let’s start by taking a quick visual tour of vegan pie crust options available in stores. Then we can dig deeper into “how to check if a pie crust is vegan”.
1. Belmont
Belmont pie crust is vegan. It contains no lard, dairy, or other animal-derived ingredients. Specifically, I can confirm this about Belmont Deep Dish Pie Crusts, as well as the pie crusts used for Belmont Apple Pies. I would expect the rest of their crusts to be vegan, too.
Belmont is a store brand sold at Aldi. So this also answers the question “Is Aldi Pie Crust Vegan?” with a resounding “Yes!”
2. Bob’s Red Mill
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pie Crust Mix is generally considered vegan. It contains no lard, dairy, or other animal-derived ingredients. The back of the bag recommends adding butter to the mix. However, you can use vegan butter instead.
Here is the full ingredients list for context:
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pie Crust Mix Ingredients: “Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, Sugar, Rice Bran, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum.” (source)
3. Diamond
Diamond Pecan Pie Crust is vegan. However, Diamond Walnut Pie Crust and Diamond Chocolate Nut Pie Crust are not strictly vegan, as they contain honey.
That said, some vegans may be okay with eating the pie crusts that contain honey. They are free of lard and dairy products, so they are almost fully vegan. Some vegans are okay with eating honey.
Again, here’s the breakdown of each Diamond pie crust flavor:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Chocolate Nut Pie Crust | No (Contains Honey) |
| Pecan Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Walnut Pie Crust | No (Contains Honey) |
4. Great Value
Most Great Value pie crusts are vegan. However, I found one Great Value pie crust (the “Ready to Bake Pie Crust”) that contains lard. So be careful when buying Great Value pie crusts, and check for lard.
Here is the full breakdown of the pie crusts I checked from Great Value:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Ready to Bake Pie Crust | No (Contains Lard) |
| Deep Dish Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Traditional Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Graham Pie Crust | Vegan |
5. Keebler
Keebler graham cracker pie crust is generally considered vegan. None of the flavors contain lard, dairy, or other animal products. Interestingly, even the flavors that say they contain “honey-cinnamon graham crackers” do not in fact contain honey in the ingredients.
Here is the full breakdown of flavors and options:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Ready Crust Graham Cracker | Vegan |
| Ready Crust Chocolate | Vegan |
| Ready Crust Shortbread | Vegan |
| Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Graham Cracker Crust Low Fat | Vegan |
6. King Arthur
King Arthur Gluten-Free Pie Crust Mix is generally considered vegan. It contains no lard, dairy, or other known animal ingredients. The back of the box will recommend adding butter to the mix. However, you can just use vegan butter instead, as is also noted on the box.
Here is the full ingredients list:
King Arthur Gluten-Free Pie Crust Mix Ingredients: “Rice flour, potato starch, cane sugar, salt, xanthan gum, vitamin and mineral blend [calcium carbonate, niacinamide (vitamin b3), reduced iron, thiamin hydrochloride (vitamin b1), riboflavin (vitamin b2)].” (source)
7. Kroger
Some Kroger pie crusts are vegan, but others are not. From the crusts I was able to check, the Deep Dish crust contained lard and whey, while the regular Ready-to Bake pie crust had lard. The rest of the flavors were vegan.
Below is a full breakdown of the Kroger pie crusts I was able to check. Keep in mind that it’s possible that some of these products may be out of date or no longer offered. I used a variety of Internet resources to find the ingredients lists for these products.
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Ready-To-Bake Pie Crusts (Unroll and Bake) | No (Contains Lard) |
| Deep Dish Pie Crust (Ready-to-Bake) | No (Contains Lard and Whey) |
| Traditional Pie Crust (Ready-to-Bake) | Vegan |
| Graham Cracker Ready to Eat Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Chocolate Ready to Eat Pie Crust | Vegan |
8. Marie Callender
Marie Callender Pie Crust is considered vegan. It does not contain lard, milk, or any other animal ingredients. This applies to the separate “Pastry Pie Shells” (pie crust) product, as well as the crust used in the actual Marie Callender pies.
Here’s the full ingredients for Marie Callender pie crusts:
Marie Callender Pastry Pie Shells Ingredients: “Enriched Wheat Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Soybean Oil, Water, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Dextrose, Salt, Dough Conditioner (Sodium Metabisulfite).” (source)
9. MI-Del
MI-Del pie crusts are generally considered vegan. They do not contain lard, dairy products, or any other animal-derived ingredients.
This applies to all three of the flavors currently listed on their website:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Graham Style Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Chocolate Snap Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Ginger Snap Pie Crust | Vegan |
10. Mrs. Smith
Mrs. Smith pie crusts are generally considered vegan. This includes the Mrs. Smith brand as well as the Oronoque Orchards brand. Both are free of lard, dairy products, and other known animal ingredients.
Here are the exact products I was able to check:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Mrs. Smith’s Deep Dish Flaky Pie Crusts | Vegan |
| Oronoque Orchards Deep Dish Pie Crusts | Vegan |
11. Oreo
Store-bought OREO pie crust is generally considered vegan. It does not contain lard, dairy products, or any other animal ingredients.
When making OREO pie crust at home, it would depend which recipe you use. Some recipes for OREO pie crusts may use butter or other animal ingredients. However, you can also make OREO pie crust in a vegan way with a recipe like this one.
Here are the ingredients for the store-bought OREO crust:
OREO Pie Crust (Ready to Bake) Ingredients: “Unbleached Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate Vitamin B1, Riboflavin Vitamin B2, Folic Acid), Sugar, Palm And/Or Canola Oil, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Leavening (Baking Soda And/Or Calcium Phosphate), Salt, Soy Lecithin, Cornstarch, Chocolate, Artificial Flavor, Tbhq And Citric Acid Added To Preserve Freshness.” (source)
12. Pillsbury
Pillsbury’s “Pet-Ritz Frozen All Vegetable Deep Dish Pie Crusts” are confirmed vegan. However, most Pillsbury pie crusts are not vegan, as they contain lard. So look for the “All Vegetable” label when choosing a Pillsbury pie crust.
Here’s the full breakdown of Pillsbury pie crust products:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Refrigerated Pie Crust | No (Contains Lard) |
| Pet-Ritz Frozen Regular Pie Crusts | No (Contains Lard) |
| Pet-Ritz Frozen Deep Dish Pie Crusts | No (Contains Lard) |
| Pet-Ritz Frozen All Vegetable Deep Dish Pie Crusts | Vegan |
Since Pillsbury is such a popular brand of pie crusts, let’s answer a couple other relevant questions about their products:
- Do Pillsbury pie crusts contain dairy? Pillsbury pie crusts do not contain whey or any other dairy products.
- Do Pillsbury pie crusts have eggs? Pillsbury pie crusts do not contain egg yolks, egg whites, or any other egg ingredients.
- Do Pillsbury pie crusts have lard? Most Pillsbury pie crusts contain lard. If you want a lard-free Pillsbury pie crust, choose their “All Vegetable” deep dish pie crust.
Lastly, here’s the ingredients for the sole vegan pie crust from Pillsbury:
Pillsbury Pet-Ritz Frozen All Vegetable Deep Dish Pie Crust Ingredients: “Enriched Wheat Flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Soybean Oil, Water, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda, Sodium Metabisulfite (preservative), Yellow 5 & 6.” (source)
13. Publix
Some Publix pie crust products are vegan, while others are not. The two vegan Publix pie crusts I found were their “Deep Dish Pie Crust” and their “Rich & Flaky Rolled Pie Crust.”
It’s also possible that one or more of these products are outdated or no longer for sale. Be sure to check the ingredients of your specific Publix pie crust for lard. But here’s the breakdown of flavors I checked:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Pie Crust, Rolled, Ready To Bake | No (Contains Lard) |
| Deep Dish Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Rich & Flaky Rolled Pie Crust | Vegan |
14. Signature Select
Signature Select Deep Dish Pie Crust is vegan. However, the normal Signature Select “Pie Crusts” contain lard, and their Graham Cracker Pie Crust contains honey. So be careful to choose the Deep Dish crust if buying Signature Select pie crusts as a vegan.
Here’s the full breakdown in a table:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Pie Crusts | No (Contains Lard) |
| Deep Dish Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Graham Cracker Pie Crust | No (Contains Honey) |
15. Wegman’s
Wegman’s Graham Cracker Pie Crust Shell is fully vegan. However, the normal Wegman’s pie crust is not vegan, as it contains lard.
This is not too surprising, actually. Several other brands have this same dynamic, where the normal pie crust contains lard but the graham cracker crust is vegan.
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Fill & Bake Pie Crusts | No (Contains Lard) |
| Graham Cracker Pie Crust Shell | Vegan |
16. Wewalka
Wewalka Pie Crust is considered vegan. It does not contain lard, dairy, or any other animal-derived ingredients. Here is the full ingredients list:
Wewalka Pie Crust Ingredients: “Wheat Flour, Water, Palm and Canola Oils, Water, Wheat Starch, Contains less than 2% of: Ethyl Alcohol, Salt, Sugar, Yeast, Sorbic Acid (Preservative), Citric Acid.” (source)
17. Wholly Wholesome
Wholly Wholesome pie crust is confirmed vegan. In fact, the label reads “Suitable for Vegans” and “Contains No Animal Ingredients” if you look closely. All flavors are free of lard, dairy, and other animal products.
Here’s the full range of pie crust options I found from Wholly Wholesome:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Organic Traditional Pie Shells | Vegan |
| Organic Whole Wheat Pie Shells | Vegan |
| Organic Spelt Pie Shells | Vegan |
| Gluten Free Pie Shells | Vegan |
| Chocolate Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Graham Cracker Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Organic Pie Dough (Roll Out & Bake) | Vegan |
| Organic Whole Wheat Pie Dough | Vegan |
Non-Vegans Pie Crusts
The most common non-vegan ingredients were lard (13 products), whey (7 products), and honey (3 products). Butter and casein also appeared once each. Since 42% of pie crusts checked were non-vegan, it truly depends on the brand and the specific crust in question.
Is Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix Vegan?
Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix is not vegan. It contains sodium caseinate, which is a form of the milk protein casein. Here’s the full ingredients list, for context:
Betty Crocker Pie Crust Mix Ingredients: “Enriched Flour Bleached (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Iron, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Palm Oil, Corn Starch, Salt, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Caseinate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Color Added.” (source)
Is Honey Maid Graham Cracker Pie Crust Vegan?
Honey Maid Graham Cracker Pie Crust is not strictly vegan, as it contains honey. That said, it does not contain dairy or lard, so some vegans may be okay with eating it anyway.
It may sound obvious that “Honey Maid” pie crusts would contain honey. But there are many other graham cracker pie crusts that do not contain honey—as well as many “Butter” products that actually don’t contain butter—so it’s worth checking these kinds of things!
Is Immaculate Pie Crust Vegan?
I struggled to confirm whether Immaculate pie crusts are vegan or not. I found one product listing on Wal-Mart’s website, which had vegan ingredients. However, I found listings on other websites, including Amazon, that contained “cultured whey” (milk).
And here’s another interesting detail: All of these products were “unavailable” or “out of stock.” And when I checked on the Immaculate Baking website, their “Pie Crusts” page was coming up blank. So I’m not sure if they are actually still making pie crusts or not.
Basically, if you’re getting an Immaculate Pie Crust, check for “cultured whey,” as that’s the non-vegan ingredient I’ve spotted in some of their past product listings.
Is Jiffy Pie Crust Vegan?
Jiffy Pie Crust Mix is not vegan. It contains “Animal Shortening,” which includes lard and hydrogenated lard. Here are the full ingredients:
Jiffy Pie Crust Mix Ingredients: “Wheat Flour, Animal Shortening (Lard, Hydrogenated lard, Tocopherols Preservative, BHT Preservative), contains less than 2% of each of the following: Salt, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Baking Soda, Wheat Starch, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Tricalcium Phosphate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, Silicon Dioxide.” (source)
So Are Store-Bought Pie Crusts Vegan?
Out of 53 store-bought pie crust products checked, 31 were vegan, 21 were not vegan, and 1 was unclear. This means 58% of pie crusts were vegan. As you can see, you can’t just say “most pie crusts are vegan” or “most pie crusts aren’t vegan.” It’s really in the middle.
Now that we’ve highlighted specific vegan pie crusts, let’s get a bird’s eye view of the pie crust brands. The table below shows the results of my research. It includes frozen pie crusts, refrigerated pie crusts, and pie crust mixes. However, it’s limited to store-bought options. This is not about homemade pie crusts or restaurant options.
When you see “Mixed” in the table below, that means the brand offers at least 1 vegan and 1 non-vegan pie crust. You can click a brand name to skip to the details on that brand below.
| Pie Crust Brand | Is It Vegan? |
| Belmont | Vegan |
| Betty Crocker (Mix) | Not Vegan |
| Bob’s Red Mill (Mix) | Vegan |
| Diamond | Mixed |
| Great Value | Mixed |
| Honey Maid | Not Vegan |
| Immaculate | Unclear |
| Jiffy (Mix) | Not Vegan |
| Keebler | Vegan |
| King Arthur (Mix) | Vegan |
| Kroger | Mixed |
| Marie Callender | Vegan |
| MI-Del | Vegan |
| Mrs. Smith | Vegan |
| Oreo | Vegan |
| Pillsbury | Mixed |
| Publix | Mixed |
| Signature Select | Mixed |
| Tenderflake | Not Vegan |
| Trader Joe’s | Not Vegan |
| Wegman’s | Mixed |
| Wewalka | Vegan |
| Wholly Wholesome | Vegan |
Does Pie Crust Contain Dairy?
Out of 53 pie crusts I checked, 9 contained dairy ingredients, so about 17%. What kind of dairy ingredients? Seven contained whey or whey powder, one had butter, and one had sodium caseinate.
Here’s another factor to consider with dairy in pie crust: When you buy a “pie crust mix,” it will typically recommend adding butter to it. However, you can keep the dairy out of your pie crust by just using vegan butter instead.
Does Pie Crust Contain Eggs?
Pie crust does not contain eggs. Out of 53 pie crusts I checked, none contained eggs. It seems to be a popular misconception how often breads contain egg. Most bread does not contain egg—I did a separate study on that. And pie crust doesn’t either!
Does Pie Crust Contain Lard?
Out of 53 pie crusts I checked, 13 contained lard. This means about 25% of pie crusts contained lard. Lard is the most common non-vegan ingredient in pie crust, but it is still not uniformly used by all brands or recipes.
Lard is just animal fat, and plant-based fat can be used without any compromise in taste or consistency. So many pie crusts use palm oil or shortening like Crisco. Some use soybean oil. So, yes, lard is an ingredient to watch out for—but it’s not nearly in every pie crust.
Are Graham Cracker Pie Crusts Vegan?
Out of eight graham cracker pie crusts checked, six were vegan, while the other two contained honey. There was no lard or dairy products in any of the eight graham cracker crusts.
Overall, this means that graham cracker crusts had a 75% chance to be vegan, which was better than the overall 58% when looking at pie crusts as a whole.
Indeed, I found that multiple brands that use lard or dairy in some of their crusts still offer a fully vegan graham cracker crust, as well. This was the case with Great Value, Kroger, and Wegman’s.
Here’s the full breakdown of the graham cracker crusts I checked:
| Pie Crust | Is It Vegan? |
| Great Value: Graham Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Honey Maid: Graham Cracker Pie Crust | No (Contains Honey) |
| Keebler: Ready Crust Graham Cracker | Vegan |
| Kroger: Graham Cracker Ready to Eat Pie Crust | Vegan |
| MI-Del: Graham Style Pie Crust | Vegan |
| Signature Select: Graham Cracker Pie Crust | No (Contains Honey) |
| Wegman’s: Graham Cracker Pie Crust Shell | Vegan |
| Wholly Wholesome: Graham Cracker Pie Crust | Vegan |
Can Vegans Eat Pie?
So, just one final question before I finish: Is pie vegan? Well, it often is, but not always. The crust is typically the least-vegan part of a pie, due to how commonly it contains lard or dairy. But if the crust is vegan, often the whole pie is.
As you likely know, many fruit pies are just filled with fruit and sugar, along with seasonings like cinnamon. So, because the filling often doesn’t contain dairy or animal products, it is pretty easy to make a vegan pie: Just choose of the vegan pie crust options shown in this post!
More Guides to Vegan Brands
If you’d like some food ideas to help you on your vegan journey, here are links to some of my Vegan Food Brand Guides:
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I’m Tyler McFarland, the editor and main author here. When I first went vegan 13 years ago, convenience products like veggie burgers and soy milk were a lot harder to find. Now they’re everywhere!