Creamy and citrusy lemon buttermilk pie in a flaky gluten-free crust. The filling comes together in minutes for gluten-free buttermilk pie bliss!
Note from Alanna: I first shared this lemon buttermilk pie recipe back in 2012. With its bright, citrusy custard filling contrasting buttery pie crust, it became one of my favorite ever pie recipes! So much so that I developed a gluten-free version to share in my cookbook, Alternative Baker. I've added my gluten-free version to this post for all to enjoy!
This is an all-season pie laced with bright citrus and floral vanilla, all bound up in a creamy buttermilk custard. It's a great recipe to have on hand when you have extra buttermilk to use up, say after making gluten-free buttermilk pancakes or gluten-free cornbread.
The buttermilk does double duty in the gluten-free pie crust, where it adds acidity, protein, and tenderness.
Full disclosure that this isn't a traditional buttermilk pie filling, which is usually made with more sugar, less buttermilk, and some butter. Traditional or not, I tested this recipe many times to get the luscious, thick, and creamy custard filling I was after.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
Why I love Buttermilk Pie
This gluten-free lemon buttermilk pie not only tastes dreamy, but it's practical too!
- This recipe is great for using up extra buttermilk.
- Like all lemon desserts, this pie can be enjoyed all year long. Dress it up with berries in the spring or summer, or serve it up at a fall holiday meal to counter richness and spice.
- I especially love this pie during the transition between winter and spring when there's a dearth of fresh fruits for pies. It tastes bright and fresh, like a ray of sunshine!
- Luscious tangy custard against buttery crust; what could be better?
Ingredients & Substitution Suggestions
This recipe is made with just a handful of ingredients for a pie that's greater than the sum of its parts.
- This recipe starts with my gluten-free pie crust. You can also use my grain-free cassava flour crust, or my spelt flour pie crust, depending on your dietary needs.
- Buttermilk forms the base of this custard. I use store-bought cultured buttermilk, which is thicker than buttermilk that's leftover from making butter. Be sure your buttermilk is fresh; the proteins break down as it ages and this will make for a watery pie. My friend Amelia made this pie with kefir when she couldn't find organic buttermilk and it worked great!
- Lemon zest and juice add big citrus flavor. I developed this recipe using Meyer lemons, which add a gorgeous floral flavor, but regular lemons work well too. Or you could use half lemon and half tangerine for a Meyer-like flavor.
- Sugar sweetens the filling. I prefer organic granulated sugar, but regular white sugar will work too. For refined sugar-free, try subbing maple sugar by weight.
- Eggs and egg yolks thicken and set the custard. I don't recommend subbing these out as they're important for the texture of the filling.
- Heavy cream adds richness.
- Vanilla bean seeds add floral notes and a fancy vibe. Be sure to save the vanilla pod for making vanilla ice cream or butterscotch pudding. Alternatively sub vanilla paste or extract.
- Flour thickens and sets the filling. I use sweet rice flour (aka mochiko) to make the filling gluten-free, but all-purpose flour (GF or wheat) will work too, per my original formula.
- Salt sharpens the flavors.
How to Make Gluten-Free Buttermilk Pie
This lemon buttermilk pie filling is simple to make, and few key techniques make it extra flavorful. This recipe makes one 9-inch pie, serving 8-10.
Buttermilk Pie for Everyone
If you find yourself a) craving pie, b) impatiently awaiting the rhubarb and berries of spring, c) wondering how to make use of the Meyer lemons (or regular lemons) on your/a friend's tree, or d) all of the above, bake up this lemon buttermilk pie.
The lemon buttermilk filling holds its shape beautifully when sliced. Shards of flaky crust shatter everywhere, the mark of a good pie crust. The custard, laced with threads of lemon zest and dark flecks of vanilla bean, play against the salty crunch of crust, exuding flavors of sunshine and flowers.
No dainty tart, this pie is thick and substantial, reminiscent of a flaky croissant slathered with lemon cream. It's the sort of dessert I want to both hoard for myself and make for everyone in the world, to spread the gospel of the luscious, rich, refreshing wonder that is lemon buttermilk pie.
*Bojon appétit! For more Bojon Gourmet in your life, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, purchase my gluten-free cookbook Alternative Baker, or subscribe to receive new posts via email. And if you make this lemon buttermilk pie recipe, I’d love to know. Leave a comment and rating below, and tag your Instagram snaps @The_Bojon_Gourmet and #bojongourmet.*
Lemon Buttermilk Pie in a Flaky Gluten-Free Crust
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 1 recipe gluten-free pie crust, parbaked
- ¾ cup + 2 tablespoons (175 g) organic granulated sugar
- zest from 2 large lemons (use Meyer lemons if you've got 'em!)
- 1 vanilla bean*
- ¼ cup (40 g) sweet rice flour* (such as Koda Farms Mochiko)
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 ¼ cups fresh, well-shaken buttermilk (can sub kefir)
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup strained lemon juice (from 1-2 lemons)
Instructions
- Prepare and parbake the pie crust as directed. Optionally brush the parbaked crust with a bit of beaten egg white and return to the oven for a minute or two; this will keep the crust extra crisp after baking.
- Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325ºF.
Make the filling:
- Place the sugar in a medium bowl. Zest the yellow part of the lemons' peel directly into the sugar to catch all the oils. Slit the vanilla bean down the center and use the back of the knife to scrape out the seeds, and add them to the sugar. Rub the sugar with your fingertips until it feels damp and slightly clumpy.
- Whisk the flour and salt into the sugar until no floury lumps remain, then whisk in the eggs and yolks until smooth; whisk gently to avoid incorporating excess air into the batter.
- Slowly whisk in the buttermilk, then the cream and lemon juice until smooth.
- If your pie crust has cooled, return it to the oven for about 5 minutes to get it hot. With the par-baked crust still in the oven, carefully but quickly pour the filling into the crust.
- Bake the pie until just set, 40-50 minutes. It will be puffed all over, and will barely wiggle when you give it a shake. Cool the pie completely, about 2 hours, then serve at room temperature or chill (chilling will give you cleaner slices).
- The pie is best at room temperature shortly after cooling, but store extras in the fridge; they will keep well for up to 3 days.
Notes
- The pie crust can be made ahead and chilled for up to 2 days before or after parbaking, or frozen for up to several months.
- The filling can be made ahead and chilled until needed for up to 2 days. Whisk to recombine before adding to the crust. Pre-chilled filling will likely take a bit longer to bake.
- Save your vanilla pod to stick in a jar of sugar, or to add to vanilla ice cream or butterscotch pudding. If you lack vanilla bean, whisk in a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract with the lemon juice.
- The baking instructions here are different than that of most custards. The acids in the buttermilk seem to prevent the custard from setting the way others do, so you must bake this pie longer, until puffed all over and just set when you give it a shake.
- This pie is at its peak the day it is baked, when served at a cool room temperature.
- Chilling the pie will give you cleaner slices, but I like the flavors and textures best at room temperature.
- This pie is excellent on its own, but you can dress up plates with berries, whipped cream, slices of blood orange and/or a drizzle of blood orange reduction.
Ann Lam says
Detective Alanna solves the case! Looks amazing!
Sara says
This looks lovely! I love citrusy deserts this time of year since everything else as far as fruits go will look sad until June. Thank you for doing all the crazy legwork for me!
Sarah says
Wow! This is delicious and everyone loved it! The crust was perfect and the filling was light and creamy with the perfect amount of lemon flavor❤️
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
I'm so glad you liked it! One of my all-time favorites. :)
Alanna says
All in the line of duty. : )
Amelia says
And all that leg work really paid off. The pie came together beautifully for me, following your careful directions of course. I used kefir in place of buttermilk, which was easier to find organic in the stores where I live, and it did a perfect job providing the tangy creamy base for the pie. My whole house thanks you for an exciting fruity dessert while we mourn the loss of the berries that perished in these recent rains. I guess we may get winter after all now that spring has arrived.
Alanna says
I'm so glad you gave this pie a try! Good to know you can use kefir in place of the buttermilk. I wish Strauss would make buttermilk already; it is difficult to find it organic, and I reckon that the milk+lemon juice thing might not work the same in this recipe.
I didn't realize the berries were lost, too; I've been worrying so about the stone fruit. Boo!
Anonymous says
I will try this pie since I have invested in 10 printed pages and who knows how long to read all of them.
Meyer lemons are the best.
Nancy
Alanna says
Best of luck!
Anonymous says
any suggestions on how what substitutions to make this pie (and crust) gluten-free?
thanks so much for a reply.
laura
Alanna says
Funny you should ask! I'm actually working on a GF baking cookbook and developed this recipe to be in it. :) Essentially, use this dough for the crust (https://bojongourmet.com/2013/09/flaky-all-butter-gluten-free-pie-dough.html) and make the filling with sweet rice flour in place of the flour in the filling. Let me know how you like it.
Mary Zekaria says
hi Alanna!
I hope you are staying well these days :)
Adore Meyer lemons but they’re near impossible to find where I’m living in Israel. I wonder if using regular lemons plus an orange would work.
Also difficult to find sweet rice flour (for your gluten free pie crust) so would plain rice flour work?
Big thanks & a hug 🍋
Alanna says
I think a lemon and orange would work great! As for the sweet rice flour, it's very soft and sticky where regular rice flour is more brittle. You might try a GF AP blend in its place, which will be a bit more fine and starchy. Let me know what you try!
Cheryl in NC says
Hi! Just want to comment that although I love the sound of this pie and can't wait to try it, I am IN LOVE with your blog and can't tear myself away. Your intelligent, articulate and amusing writing style rivals Deb's at Smitten Kitchen for shear entertainment value, which is about the highest praise I can give. And I love, love, love your recipes, especially the gluten-free ones, which so often use grains I prefer, like buckwheat and millet. Thank you so much for all that you share with those of us who mostly can only enjoy vicariously because of dietary restraints. You have really made my night tonight! (Oh, & I am going to try this pie with homemade soy yogurt. Will let you know how it turns out when I do!)
Alanna says
Oh, wow, praise doesn't get higher than that - Deb is absolutely my idol for bloggerly wit. Thank you! I'm so glad you're enjoying the blog and GF recipes! :D
Anonymous says
I always cook my buttermilk pie at 350 degrees and sometimes not always it cracks on top really bad and is hollow in places when I cut into it. What am I doing wrong. I have made a million and everyone seems to come out different. Wondered if I was cooking it to long and on to high temp?
Alanna says
I would guess that your oven runs hot. Do you have a thermometer in there? Also, maybe too many eggs in your recipe?
Anonymous says
No, no thermometer and my recipe calls for 3 eggs.
sam says
I actually came across this recipe while eating Chili Pies Lemon Buttermilk Pie (I live 2 blocks from there). It was my first experience with this type of pie, and I'm smitten.
Theirs is very similar in flavor and texture to a lemon bar and very enjoyable but i have no bar for comparison.
trudy fortenberry says
love the meyer lemon tart
Tara says
I'm very excited to try this recipe. Just wondering about taking the frozen pie plate directly to the oven -- won't the extreme changes in temperature cause the glass to shatter?
Alanna says
That is an excellent question! You're absolutely right, that is a hazard, which I found out a year or two after I wrote this recipe. Go ahead and chill the dough in the fridge unless you're using a metal pie plate. I'll update the recipe!
Dan says
Looking forward to making this pie for my birthday!
I wish the title didn't say it was gluten-free though, given that the crust in the recipe is not gluten-free, and you have to scroll down to the comments to find a link to a gluten-free option for a crust.
Seems a bit misleading!
Nonetheless, I found the comment with the GF crust, and I can't wait to try it!! :D
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Dan,
So sorry for the confusion, you're absolutely right. I had started to update the post to include a gluten-free option – I changed the title but neglected to add the GF option! I'll remedy this asap, thanks for the nudge. I hope you have a happy and tasty birthday!
-A
Dan says
Fabulous! Thank you, Alanna!
Veronica Hattar says
Simple recipe to follow and delicious - everyone enjoyed it!
I used vanilla extract though and now I'm wondering if I had too much liquid because the very center didn't set - let me know your recommendations. I didn't bake longer than 50min.
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Veronica,
Aw I'm so glad you and you all loved the pie! But I'm sorry to hear about the moist middle. I don't think the vanilla would make that much of a difference, and I'm thinking the pie probably just needed 5-10 more minutes in the oven. Did the filling puff and wiggle as described and pictured in the recipe and post?
Thanks for the extra info – I can update the bake time if needed!
-Alanna
Trish says
Hi Alanna! I love the sound of this recipe but am a bit short on time lately to devote to crust making. Do you think I could make it as one large custard or smaller individual ones?
Alanna Taylor-Tobin says
Hi Trish,
Oof, I feel you! I love the idea of baking one large or several smaller puddings! I don't see why that wouldn't work.
Alternatively you could use my tart crust dough, which as you know is much quicker and easier than pie crust! This could also be baked in a square pan and cut into bars (which I'm now craving to try myself!)
LMK what you make!
-A