Cheap Pie Crust Hacks: Store-Bought Vs Homemade Cost
Homemade at $0.98 and Aldi 2-packs at $1.95 save about $1 per crust over $3.99 Pillsbury dough.
A homemade single crust, or one bottom shell for a 9-inch pie, costs $0.98 in Budget101's all-butter math see the full butter-crust cost breakdown. Store-brand refrigerated dough runs about $0.98 per crust per Aldi Reviewer see the October Aldi crust price check, while Target listed Pillsbury at about $2.00 per crust see the current Target listing for Pillsbury crusts. Flour is only $0.20 of that $0.98 homemade total, so fat is the cost driver.
Shoppers making two or more pies for holidays see the gap fastest, since each name-brand crust adds about $1 more than a scratch or store-brand crust.
Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on November 03, 2026.
What drives homemade cost?
Flour is cheap and butter is costly. Budget101's total leaves most of the $0.98 for butter, not flour, salt, or water. That means recipe choice controls savings.
A dough that swaps part of the butter for shortening lowers the fat bill while still rolling and browning for a fruit or custard pie.
What do store packs cost per pie?
Refrigerated packs hold two crusts. Math per crust matters more than the box price when you need one pie. A one-pie buyer pays the full box either way.
A two-pie buyer uses the full pack and pays the per-crust rate with no leftover.
- Aldi Reviewer paid $1.95 for Bake House Creations 14.1-ounce/2ct in October 2026, or about $0.98 per crust and $0.14 per ounce.
- Target listed Pillsbury Ready-to-Bake 14.1oz/2ct at $3.99, or about $2.00 per crust before tax.
Which cheap hacks actually work?
Make a plain dough when time allows, and buy store-brand when time is short. Both beat paying about $2.00 per name-brand crust for the same number of pies. King Arthur Baking's Classic Single Pie Crust uses 1-1/2 cups flour, 4 tablespoons shortening, 5 tablespoons cold butter and ice water, then chills 30 minutes before rolling to about 12 inches follow the King Arthur single-crust method.
That chill firms the fat, which helps flakiness and keeps the round from shrinking.
- Mix double flour, fat, salt, and water in one bowl when making two crusts.
- Roll the first crust now and pat the second into a flat disk.
- Wrap, label, and freeze the second disk or line a pie plate and freeze the plate.
Should you bake from scratch or buy?
Buy store-brand for a single urgent pie, since $1.95 for two is close to scratch cost with no measuring or cleanup. Make dough from scratch for several pies, since repeated $3.99 boxes add up while flour stays cheap. Watch fridge life on both kinds.
King Arthur Baking allows unbaked dough to refrigerate 2 days or freeze up to 2 months, so batch-freezing preserves cheap homemade and cheap store-brand stock alike. Roll chilled dough to about 12 inches for a 9-inch pan, then freeze any second crust the same day.