Pie crust is too delicious to let any of it go to waste! Sometimes you may end up with leftover cooked pie crust if you've purchased store-bought crust, or if you make too much when pre-baking homemade pie crusts to fill. Or, there is often a bit of dough leftover in the form of trimmings. When that happens, you can make a whole extra pie or use the surplus crust to add flavor and texture to other treats. Rather than tossing it, use it to prepare a bonus dish!
How to Use Baked Leftover Pie Crust
Pre-baked pie crust can also be put to good use in your kitchen. Enjoy these flavorful ways to reduce food waste.
Deconstructed Pot Pie
Who says pot pie has to be tucked neatly inside a full pie crust? If you have extra baked pie crust on your hands, chop it up and make a deconstructed pot pie. You could mix chunks of pie crust into your favorite beef stew recipe. Or, get creative with leftovers from a holiday meal or family dinner, and combine whatever meat, gravy and veggies you have on hand with pie crust chunks. Put into ramekins and reheat for a rich and tasty meal.
Unique Casserole Topping
Instead of using cracker crumbs or fried onions to top off your favorite main dish or side dish casserole recipes, crumble cooked pie crust over the top. This works great with everything from turkey casseroles to tempting broccoli casseroles. It's a really tasty option for kid-friendly casseroles, as little ones love the idea of having pie for dinner. However, if you use it with a freezer casserole recipe, wait to add the pie crust pieces immediately before cooking.
Stretched Stuffing
When making your favorite stuffing recipe, break up leftover pie crust pieces and toss them in with the bread chunks or breadcrumbs. This helps you stretch your stuffing recipe to feed even more people, or provide even more leftovers to use in deconstructed pot pie a few days after the main meal.
Veggie Pizza Pie
Remove most of the raised sides from a leftover pie crust. Spread hot spinach and artichoke dip in a thick layer on the bottom of the crust, then add any pre-cooked vegetables that you like. Broccoli is a good option, as are various roasted root vegetables. Sprinkle with shredded cheese, then heat in a 350-degree oven, just until the cheese melts.
Crusty S'mores
Use chunks of leftover regular or graham cracker pie crust instead of graham crackers to make s'mores. Alternatively, make a batch of s'mores dip and spoon it over pieces of pie crust.
Banana Pie Pudding
Whip up a batch of your favorite banana pudding recipe, but add pieces of pie crust to the vanilla wafer layer. Or, if you have enough extra pie crust, just use chunks of pie crust as a substitute for the vanilla wafers.
Ice Cream Topping
If you have an extra pie crust that you don't need for baking, break it into small chunks and use it as a topping for ice cream.
Homemade Parfait
You can also use crumbled cooked pie crust on your own version of yogurt parfait instead of some (or all) of the granola. If the reason you have extra pie crust is related to Thanksgiving or Christmas, go for a seasonal parfait like this pumpkin yogurt parfait recipe, swapping out pie crust for the granola.
Mousse Tracks
Take mousse to the next level by using crumbled cooked pie crust as a topping. For example, make your favorite chocolate mousse recipe, then sprinkle a mixture of chocolate pieces and chunks of pie crust on top.
Enhanced Trifle
Enhance your favorite trifle recipe by adding small chunks of cooked pie crust to the cake layer of the dish. For fall, add cooked pie crust to a pumpkin-ginger harvest trifle. Chances are that anyone who eats this will wonder what your secret ingredient is. You can smile mysteriously and say, "A little magpie told me!"
Fluff and Berry Crust
Cut or break the leftover cooked pie crust into chunks and spread with marshmallow fluff fruit dip, then top with fresh berries. Place on a serve-yourself tray so guests can help themselves, or prepare individual saucers of fresh fruit with a few of these on the side. Chances are, you'll be surprised how quickly these get gobbled up by kids and adults alike.
Bonus Pie
Of course, if you have an entire extra baked pie crust, use it to make a bonus pie. Just fill with your favorite pudding or a can of fruit filling and store in the fridge until ready to eat. Or, whip up any no-baking required pie filling and put it in the crust. This dreamy chocolate pie recipe is a good option to consider.
Yummy Ideas for Leftover Pie Crust Dough
Pie crust dough doesn't have to be used just for pie crust. It'll make a tasty and flaky treat just about any way you bake it. These recipes all begin with combining the scraps from your favorite pie crust recipe and rolling out to thickness of around a quarter of an inch. All oven temperatures are in Fahrenheit.
Spinach Pinwheels
Roll the dough into a rectangular shape. Spread your favorite spinach dip across the dough in a thin layer. Roll up pinwheel style, forming a rolled log of the dip-covered dough. Refrigerate for about an hour, then slice into pieces around half an inch thick. Preheat oven to 350. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet that is covered with parchment paper, then bake for 25 - 30 minutes.
Mini Quiche
Use the leftover pie crust and muffin tins (regular or mini size) to make tiny versions of your favorite quiche recipes. If you opt for broccoli quiche or another quiche recipe that may have large chunks of veggies or meat, be sure to cut the items small enough to work for the muffin molds you're using. Follow the recipe, though keep watch as the smaller size may mean that these cook 10 - 15 minutes faster than stated in a recipe for a full-size quiche.
Chilled Feta Tartlets
Cut the crust remnants to fit your silicone muffin cups or tins, then cook at 325 degrees for around 20 minutes. Allow to cool, then stuff with a mixture of feta cheese and spinach or feta cheese and basil. Chill until ready to serve. Consider topping with tomato chunks or cherry tomato halves. Serve cold.
Crusty Sugar Cookies
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use your favorite cookie cutter to make shapes. Place cookies on a baking tray that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Repeat the process of combining and rolling until you've used all the leftover crust. To make sure you use it all, simply hand-form the last few cookies. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 8 - 10 minutes or until the cookies are done.
Pesto Spinach Rounds
Prepare circles as if you were making sugar cookies, but don't sprinkle sugar on top. While the dough is in the oven, prepare a tasty pesto and spinach topping. Heat oil in a pan, then toss in a few pine nuts and stir until they are brown. Remove and set aside. Place spinach, basil leaves, and sliced tomatoes in the pan and cook until wilted. Remove from heat, add pine nuts, and gently stir. When the dough circles are ready, top each one with a bit of the pesto spinach topping. Serve warm.
Mini Fruit Tarts
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Cut the flattened dough into circles that will fit into silicone muffin baking cups or a muffin pan. Press into the bottom and up the side a little. Cut up your favorite fruit into small pieces and mix in sweetener or spices like cinnamon or nutmeg to suit your taste. You can also add nuts if desired. Spoon the fruit mixture into the muffin shapes on top of the pie crust. If you have enough crust, top with more dough in a fun shape. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, checking to verify the crust is brown. Sprinkle with icing sugar when the tarts have cooled.
Put Extra Pie Crust to Good Use
All it takes to use every last bit of pie crust is a little creativity and a desire to be as frugal as possible with your food budget. These tasty ideas are so flavorful that you just might find yourself making extra pie crust on purpose! In doing so, you'll be able to enjoy these items any time you set out to make your favorite pie recipes.
