Gluten-Free Pie Crust from Whole Foods Market: A Review

Whole Foods Market gluten-free pie crust made my Thanksgiving and Christmas a bit more fun this year! For the past 5 years, I haven't eaten any pie with my family during the holidays. I have Celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disorder, and cannot eat even minuscule amounts of wheat, barley, or rye. Those grains cause damage to the small intestine in people with Celiac disease. This damage makes it difficult to absorb vital nutrients from food. As a result, many secondary diseases can occur.

Unaware that gluten-free pie crust existed, I made my desserts without a crust. That's not so bad. Any crust adds carbohydrates and calories, but some pies just taste better complete with crust! Eating a piece of pie, with a crust, seemed like supreme luxury this holiday season.

I found gluten-free pie crust at Whole Foods Market. I have to say that I am more and more impressed with their line of gluten-free bakery items. They have a bake-house that segregates ingredients to insure that people with allergens aren't made sick by their products. As a bonus, the products are delicious and taste as good or better than flour-containing ones.

Their gluten-free pie crust is no exception. The crust is flaky and has a slight "cookie" taste to it. My family agrees that the Whole Foods Market gluten-free crusts taste better than wheat- flour crusts. We'll use them for all pies from now on.

I did find the crusts hard to brown. That is true of all gluten-free items. I have to toast gluten-free bread a couple times before it browns. Also, the crusts seemed a bit thick when one was used as a top crust. I prefer to make single crust pies with Whole Foods Market gluten-free crusts.

Ingredients include butter, rice flour, tapioca starch, cornstarch, eggs, potato starch, water, lemon juice, salt, Xanthan Gum, baking powder (Sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), and evaporated cane juice. The package clearly declares any common allergens used. In this case, egg and milk ingredients are used.

I found the crusts in the freezer section near the bakery. I called ahead and reserved a case of crusts, which equaled 16 crusts. I split them with a friend who also has Celiac disease. The crusts come 2 to a package and sell for $4.99. When bought by the case, Whole Foods Market gives a 10% discount.

The crusts are large. A 2-crust package weighs 18 oz. Directions say "to thaw crust to room temperature. For a no-bake pie filling, bake shell with pie weights on middle rack of oven for 30-40 minutes at 325 degrees F. until golden brown. Filled pies can be baked for 65-70 minutes at 325 degrees F on the middle rack, or according to recipe directions."

I am totally delighted with Whole Foods Market Pie Crusts. I give them 5 out of 5 stars. I don't mind spending a bit more time getting them brown, or the thickness of a 2-crust pie. These are the best pie crusts I've come across. They make holiday celebrations complete for me and my family.