Pies are delightful any time of the year, but my favorite time is summer, when fresh fruit is in season. Strawberry-rhubarb, blueberry, or cherry, there isn’t a pie my family and friends don’t love!
But imagine preparing the perfect pie crust only to have the bottom get soggy as soon as you bake it with fruit fillings. Your excitement crumbles faster than a cookie, and your dream pie ends up below your expectations.
Luckily, you can avoid those pie baking disasters with the 12 tips and techniques you’ll find below. For everything else, see my article about avoiding baking disasters in general.
1. Using Less Water in the Dough
The main reason a pie crust gets soggy is the moisture from fillings, so you always need to be careful with the total water content of the pie.
Even if your recipe calls for a certain amount of water, don’t add it all at once. Instead, sprinkle a teaspoon or two at a time, mixing it in gently until the dough just comes together and feels slightly soft.
A rule to follow is that the dough should still be flaky in appearance but stick together when pressed into a ball.
2. Blind Bake
The best way to prevent soggy crust is by blind baking the crust before baking it with the fruit filling.
This simple trick lets the crust cook through and get nice and crispy, so it can withstand all the juicy fruits without getting soggy.
To blind bake, line the pie plate with the pie dough and then place pie weights on top to stop the crust from rising up and bubbling or shrinking.
For fruit fillings, you can partially bake the crust before filling. However, I highly recommend baking the crust all the way through in the case of custard pie to keep it extra crispy, as custard has a relatively high moisture content.
Check out my post about blind baking if you want to learn more!
3. Toss Fruit with Sugar

Since the water content of the fruit is the main reason behind soggy crusts, locking the fruit’s moisture in or reducing it can keep the pie crust nice and flakey.
A good way to achieve this is by tossing the fruit with sugar, letting it sit in a bowl for about 30 minutes, then strain the fruit.
Extra Tip: Don’t let these delicious juices go to waste. Heat up the juice and simmer it gently until it thickens and concentrates the sweetness. Then, mix it back with the fruit for an extra flavorful filling!
4. Chill The Pie Crust in the Fridge
Another secret technique to keep your pie crust flakey and nice is to chill it in the fridge before you add the fillings.
Lowering the pie crust’s temperature allows the gluten to rest and hold its shape better. Additionally, the firm crust becomes more resistant to sogginess due to moisture from filling.
Ideally, you should chill the pie crust for around 30 minutes to 8 hours before adding fillings and baking.
5. Opt for Better Baking Pans
The type of pie dish you use can make a difference between a soggy pie and a crispy one. Heavy, black pie tins are better for fruit pies than light, shiny ones.
The reason for this is that heavier pans are better at conducting heat and retaining that heat throughout the baking time.
You can also use properly greased glass pie plates because they heat up slowly, allowing the crust to bake evenly. They’re also perfect for keeping track of the pie’s progress while baking.
6. Make a Thicker Bottom Crust
It’s natural for the moisture in fruit fillings to get into the top layer of your pie crust. However, if it easily reaches the bottom, it can be because your pie crust is a little too thin.
On the other hand, thicker dough can prevent the fruit filling from leaking into the bottom crust.
When rolling out the dough, make the bottom a little thicker than the sides of the pie. Simply, press leftover pieces of dough into the bottom of the pan to add even more thickness
7. Use Dried Breadcrumbs
Creating a barrier between the crust and the filling is a great way to prevent moisture from reaching the bottom.
You can add an extra layer between them by sprinkling other ingredients on top of the crust, so long as they’re not going to change the taste of the pie.
An excellent choice to consider here are dried breadcrumbs, crushed cornflakes, and crushed almonds.
Almond paste is also a nice option to keep the crust light and crisp. After blind baking, smooth out a layer of almond paste onto the crust. Then layer fruit on top.
This works really well with apple pies, as the flavor of almonds blends perfectly with cinnamon-tossed apples!
8. Use a Beaten Egg to Seal

Sealing the crust is an incredible way to keep it nice and crisp. You can achieve this using an egg wash.
After blind baking, beat a whole egg or just the egg white, then brush the baked crust and return to the oven for another 2 to 3 minutes.
This creates a moisture-resistant barrier between the crust bottom and the fruit filling before baking.
Another way to create a similar effect between the fruit and crust is by using corn syrup. After blind baking, brush it over the crust, then layer the fruit mixture over top.
The sugar in the corn syrup will start to crystallize from the heat of the oven, which keeps the fruit juices from soaking into the bottom crust.
9. Add Slits to Double Crust Fruit Pies
Whenever I’m making a pie with a double crust, I always cut a few slits into the top crust.
This gives the steam produced while baking an easier path to be released instead of settling near the bottom crust and turning it soggy.
10. Bake in Preheated Baking Sheet
When you’re ready to preheat the oven, place a baking sheet on the middle or lower rack so that it heats as well. Once the oven is preheated, place the pie dish right onto the hot baking sheet.
The bottom of the dish will get a quick blast of heat, so the bottom of the crust starts to bake at a quicker rate.
There’s a little bit of science behind this technique. Pie dough is made using chilled fat, such as butter, that’s been worked into all the layers.
When the dough is heated quickly, the fat particles start to liquefy and melt, working their way into the flour and building up a barrier against fruit juices.
11. Bake on Lower Rack

Another solution that works well for me is baking on the lower rack in the oven.
This allows oven heat to bake the bottom of the crust to a nice crisp. It’s also a good way to keep the top of the pie from baking too quickly and getting burnt or excessively dark.
Even if you’re not baking a fruit pie, baking on a lower rack prevents any pie crust from getting too soggy or under-baked.
12. Bake with Chocolate
While this final tip is a remarkably delicious one, I could only use it with certain types of pie.
After blind baking the crust and letting it cool completely, brush it with melted chocolate of your choice – milk, dark, or white. Let the chocolate set for a few minutes and then add the fruit filling on top.
This is a great way to keep the crust crisp and light and get a taste of chocolate flavor as well. I often use this method with a strawberry pie. After all, what’s better than pairing strawberries and milk chocolate?
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.
Alice Lemieux
Thursday 23rd of December 2021
Thanks for the tips.
Gabriella
Tuesday 9th of November 2021
Wonderful pointers, appreciate this a lot! I made the perfect quiche yesterday and have dough left for apple pie, but don't want to be disappointed by a soggy bottom. Thank you for the excellent advice - and options, to top!!
Jean DeMuro
Friday 26th of February 2021
Thank you for the tips on preventing soggy pie crust I will be trying them out.