Ah, pie. The most popular Christmas treat. When it comes time to make your favorite pie recipe and you realize you don’t have a pie pan, you may worry.

There are several fantastic pie plate options, including cake pans, tart pans, and even a DIY approach that requires no pans.

Hi! My name is Shea, and I like pie. My favorite is coconut cream pie, but I also like pumpkin pie, as do most of us. While I now have a dedicated pie pan, I didn’t always. I’ve tried numerous alternative pie plate substitutions and am happy to offer my favorite five.

It’s simple to use a pie pan alternative. For most swaps, you don’t even need to modify the baking time or do anything unusual to get great results. However, this is not true for all alternatives, thus it is critical to understand how to utilize each one.

Let’s see which pie pan alternatives made the cut.

5 Pie Pan Substitutes: What You Can Use Instead Of A Pie Pan?

While a pie pan is the most common vessel for baking excellent pies, it doesn’t mean you can’t succeed with a different kind of pan. You may need to tweak the baking time somewhat, but it won’t be too difficult; you can do it!

1. Aluminum Pans (Most Convenient for Travel)

Personally, I am a huge fan of aluminum pans.

For starters, they’re simple to work with in the kitchen. Second, they are simple to move. Simply cover your pie with tinfoil and you’re good to go. Third, theyre often offered in bulk, allowing you to prepare a large number of pies without spending additional money.

Because foil is an excellent heat conductor, you won’t need to do much altering. The crust is the most problematic. You will need to increase the baking time by 10 minutes to attain the required flaky crust results.

You may put a baking sheet below your metal pan. Aluminum pans aren’t the most durable, therefore giving them a helping hand is strongly suggested.

2. Tart Pan (Most Beautiful Results)

Another of my personal favorites is a tart pan. It enables you to obtain professional, visually beautiful sculpted edges without having to perform any hard effort. When it comes to baking, who doesn’t appreciate a nice shortcut?

The great news is that tart pans are shaped and sized similarly to pie pans, so you won’t need to change the baking time or do anything special to produce beautiful results.

3. Cake Pan (Closest Swap)

Cakes and pies are the first things that spring to mind when thinking about circular sweets. They’re comparable in terms of form and size (albeit they have quite obvious differences). However, a cake pan might serve as an excellent substitute for a pie pan.

The main difference between cake and pie pans is that cake pans are often deeper. Keeping this in mind, you may need to reduce the temperature by five to ten degrees to prevent your delicate pie from burning.

4. Springform Pan (Deep-Dish Substitute)

A springform pan is perfect for baking deep-dish pies, but it can be used for any pie recipe in a hurry.

The advantage of using a springform pan is that you can easily remove the sides, making it much easier to remove your pie. Even the most delicate pastries may be evacuated without leaving a single stain or smudge on the finished result.

It is crucial to know, however, that springform pans are notably taller than standard pie pans. As a result, to compensate for the depth without rips, tears, or other errors when baking, roll your pie crust a little thicker.

5. Baking Sheet + Parchment Paper (Last Resort)

If baking isn’t your usual pastime, you’re unlikely to have pie pans or equivalent alternatives on hand. Even so, you don’t have to abandon your pie-making ambitions. Instead, get out your baking sheet and parchment paper and get ready to put your creative abilities to the test.

Because almost everyone has a baking sheet on hand, this is a reasonable option for pie pans. Make a pie by following these simple instructions!

Step 1: On parchment paper, roll out the pie dough.

Step 2: Add your fillings and roll the border to secure them in place.

Step 3: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 4: Bake!

It is advised that you make multiple small pies rather than one large pie using this approach, particularly if you are new to freehand pie-making. You won’t need to bake small pies for as long. Reduce the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes for the best results.

Can I Make a Pie in a Pyrex Dish?

You can use a Pyrex dish securely and productively if that is all you have. In fact, any oven-safe glassware may be used in place of a pie pan. Baking glassware distributes heat evenly, resulting in a flawlessly cooked pie with no hot or raw places.

The most significant disadvantage of Pyrex, or baking glassware in general, is that it does not transfer heat as effectively as other materials.

When using this material to bake pies, it is advisable to reduce the temperature by 5 to 10 degrees and bake for a few minutes longer. Otherwise, you risk having scorched crusts and undone fillings.

FAQs

If you intend on baking pies on a frequent basis, I strongly suggest investing in a good pie pan. It will save you a lot of time and effort in the long run. Meanwhile, any of these replacements will work like magic. To discover more, go through these commonly asked questions.

Is ceramic good for baking pies?

Unless your pie requires an extraordinarily lengthy baking time, ceramic is not the finest material for baking pies. Because porcelain transmits heat slowly, it will not generate the famous flaky pie crust that we all know and love.

Is stoneware good for baking pies?

Pies look beautiful in stoneware! Because the pan maintains moisture, it will discharge the appropriate quantity of moisture into your pie during baking, resulting in a delicate and delectable crust with the ideal proportions of moisture and flakiness. Yum!

What is the standard pie dish size?

A conventional pie dish is nine inches in diameter. So, while searching for the finest pie pan alternative, try to locate one that is nine inches (or near to it).

Final Words

A beautiful and tasty pie may be produced without using a pie pan. An aluminum pan is the ideal sub, particularly if you want to carry the pan somewhere. The pie pan is unquestionably the runner-up since it is the most visually beautiful, but a cake pan would do in a pinch.

Have you ever prepared a cake using one of these alternatives? Do you have any pie pan exchange ideas? Please comment below!