I Tested Butter, Shortening, and Lard in Pie Crusts—This One Was the Clear Winner

When I'm in the mood to make pie crust, I usually reach for the old reliable standby: butter. Known for producing a tender, flaky crust, the ingredient is essential in French tart doughs such as pâte brisée and classic American pie dough. But plenty of bakers also make their crusts with shortening—a vegan-friendly, plant-based fat typically made from vegetable or palm oil—or with lard, a saturated animal fat often used for frying foods such as tortillas and chicken. 

All three of these fats have their pros and cons, but which one actually produces the best crust? To find out, I made former Serious Eats editor Stella Park's buttery, flaky pie crust recipe three different ways: with unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, and with pork lard. The goal? To discover which type of fat makes the flakiest, tastiest pie crust, and which one holds up best against filling.

The Tests

I made three batches of pie dough using Gold Medal all-purpose flour, each with a different fat:

• Butter (80% fat; the rest consists of water and milk solids)
• Shortening (100% fat)
• Lard (100% fat)

Each of the fats above has a different fat percentage. This impacts pie dough in several ways: As mentioned in the Serious Eats primer on gluten, fats help tenderize doughs by coating the gluten proteins—glutenin and gliadin—with fat. As the article explains, "Once coated with fat, the proteins have a harder time bonding, and form shorter gluten chains." Though gluten gives pie dough structure and makes it pliable enough to roll out, overdeveloping gluten can result in a tough, brittle crust. Luckily, butter, shortening, and lard all provide plenty of fat to keep dough tender. 

Another key difference: Of the three fats above, only butter contains water, which is essential for gluten development. Plus, as the butter melts, the water within creates pockets of steam that puff up into flaky layers as the crust bakes. Without water, how would shortening and lard affect the crust's texture?

As I worked, I took notes on each dough's texture and workability. Stella's recipe instructs cooks to squish the fat into the flour using their fingertips, so I paid close attention to how easily each type of fat combined with the flour, and how its temperature shifted as I manipulated the dough. I blind-baked each dough, then evaluated the crusts for durability and flakiness—or lack thereof.

For round two, I blind-baked, cooled, and filled three crusts with store-bought blueberry pie filling. Then I cut and sampled a slice of pie every day for five days, observing how each crust's flavor and texture changed over time and how well it held up against a wet filling.

Butter

The Dough

My ingredients came together with minimal effort, forming a mosaic of butter evenly dispersed throughout the dough. It rolled out cleanly, with just the slightest stickiness—nothing a well-floured rolling pin and work surface couldn't rectify—and draped smoothly over my pie tin. Once chilled, the pastry firmed up nicely without turning rock-solid, allowing me to trim the edges and crimp them decoratively without tearing or cracking the dough.

The Bake

Butter produced a deeply amber-colored crust that felt delicate to the touch, without the oily residue left behind by shortening and lard. I found it easiest to blind-bake the butter crust fully, rather than removing the beans midway to brown the bottom. It held its shape and shrank only slightly. That butter mosaic paid off, yielding wonderfully flaky layers and a mild, buttery crust suitable for both sweet and savory fillings.

The Filling

The crust stood up well to the wet fruit filling. It softened around day three and became harder to slice by the fifth day, but the bottom never turned soggy or leaked. Even after five days in the fridge, it remained impressively sturdy.

The Verdict

I had high expectations for my butter-based pie crust, and it didn't disappoint. All-butter dough is easy to work with and delivers a flaky, mild crust suitable for a variety of fillings, including pumpkin, chocolate cream, cheesy eggs, or chicken.

Shortening

The Dough

The first thing I noticed was how much harder it was to portion cold shortening than to cut a stick of butter into uniform half-inch cubes. The uneven chunks blended almost too easily with the flour, quickly disappearing into the dry ingredients. The dough felt overly soft and moist (so much so that I tossed my first batch because I assumed I'd mismeasured the water), and slightly greasy to the touch. Even after an overnight chill, it remained too slack to handle easily: It clung to the rolling pin and tore when I trimmed the excess with a paring knife.

The Bake

The crust baked up smooth and evenly browned, and it held its shape nicely. Unfortunately, whatever points shortening earned for appearance, it lost in taste and texture—the crust was only minimally flaky, with absolutely no flavor at all.

The Filling

When I reviewed my notes, I noticed that I'd jotted down the same words every day: "soft and tasteless," which pretty much sums it up. The shortening crust lacked flavor, left an unpleasantly greasy film in my mouth, and had a dull texture that became softer and blander as the days progressed.

The Verdict

While a pie crust made with shortening looks attractive and holds its shape well, it's not particularly flavorful. This is likely because most shortenings are made with hydrogenated vegetable oils, such as soybean, palm, sunflower, or canola, which aren't especially delicious fats. The dough also remained soft and greasy, even after a long chill in the fridge, and was difficult to manipulate, clinging to my countertop and rolling pin as I worked.

Lard

The Dough

As with shortening, portioning the lard proved tricky. Freezing helped firm it up, but introduced a new problem: fat so solid it couldn't be worked into the dry ingredients. After a few minutes at room temperature, though, the dough came together smoothly. When I squished the lard between my fingertips, it blended without disappearing the way shortening had. I found the dough surprisingly pliable and easy to roll, with minimal cracking or sticking. My lined shell firmed quickly and solidly, making trimming a breeze. The dough also had a distinct smell—meaty and poultry-like—even though it came from pork.

The Bake

The crust baked evenly, with a sandy brown hue and tender, flaky layers. However, the crust felt oily to the touch, left a greasy film in my mouth, and had a meaty aftertaste. This one scored well for appearance and texture but lacked the mild, pleasant flavor of the all-butter crust.

The Filling

The lard crust was impressively sturdy over the five-day testing period. It stayed flaky, absorbed minimal moisture, showed no signs of sogginess, and developed only a slight chew by day five. Still, its strong flavor clashed with the fruit filling, making it less appealing overall.

The Verdict

The dough rolled and trimmed easily, and the resulting pie crust turned out crisp and flaky. But its assertive flavor didn't pair well with the blueberry filling. Lard works best in savory pies and meaty bakes, where its flavor complements the filling rather than competing with it.

The Takeaway

Butter is the most versatile and flavorful fat for pie crust, providing structure and a rich taste that suits both sweet and savory pies. It's also vegetarian-friendly. Lard yields a dough that's easy to work with and bakes into a crisp, flaky crust, though its distinct meaty flavor may not be ideal for desserts. That said, it's a strong option for savory pies and quiches. Vegetable shortening produces a neat, well-shaped crust, but the result lacks the flakiness and depth of flavor most people want in a pie. If you're making a pie in advance, butter or lard is your best bet—both fats deliver sturdy, flavorful crusts that hold up well even after five days.