Pie crust: the fat in the recipe decides most of the numbers

In a Cochrane review of 12 trials lasting at least two years with 53,758 adults, eating less saturated fat cut combined cardiovascular events by 17% (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.70 to 0.98), with little or no effect on overall death. The review covered saturated fat across the whole diet, and pie crust is one of the places it hides. Crusts differ a lot. A homemade British shortcrust in the UK food tables carries 18.6 g of saturated fat per 3.5 oz (100 g), and a US crust made from a recipe carries 8.6 g, although their total fat is close at 29.9 and 34.6 g. The gap comes from the fat in the recipe, butter in the British one and vegetable shortening in the American one. Across USDA records, fat runs from 22.4 to 36.2 g per 3.5 oz (100 g), sodium from 353 to 753 mg and energy from 445 to 531 calories, each from a single record per crust type.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Across 15 USDA pie crust records, fat runs from 22.4 to 36.2 g per 3.5 oz (100 g), sodium from 353 to 753 mg and energy from 445 to 531 calories. — USDA SR Legacy pie crust records (standard, deep dish, refrigerated, dry mix, from recipe, cookie-type) Evidence E source
  Fat 22.42 (chocolate cookie-type, FDC 167521) to 36.2 g (vanilla wafer from recipe, 172813); sodium 353 (deep dish frozen unbaked, 167523) to 753 mg (dry mix, 175022); energy 445 (refrigerated unbaked, 167932) to 531 calories (172813)
• Cookie-type crusts carry far more sugar than pastry crusts: 18 to 38 g per 3.5 oz (100 g) for graham cracker and chocolate crusts against under 4 g for standard pastry crusts. — USDA SR Legacy cookie-type and standard pie crust records Evidence E source
  Sugars per 3.5 oz (100 g): graham cracker ready crust 18.13 g (FDC 167520), chocolate ready crust 26.31 g (167521), graham cracker from recipe 37.57 g (172811); standard frozen enriched 3.72 g (175024), standard from recipe 0.17 g (175026)
• A homemade British shortcrust has about the same fat as a US recipe crust, near 30 g per 3.5 oz (100 g), but twice the saturated fat, 18.6 against 8.6 g, and almost no folate, 6 against 106 ug. — CoFID 2021 Pastry, shortcrust, cooked, homemade (11-1052) vs USDA SR Legacy Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, baked (FDC 175026) Evidence E source
  CoFID: energy 509 calories, fat 29.9 g, saturated 18.62 g, trans 1.01 g, sodium 258 mg, folate 6 ug; USDA: energy 527 calories, fat 34.6 g, saturated 8.622 g, sodium 542 mg, folate 106 ug DFE

What a real portion looks like

• USDA sizes one eighth of a 9-inch crust at 18 to 24 g, about 80 to 125 calories, while a whole refrigerated crust weighs about 7.1 oz (200 g) and carries roughly 1,000 calories once baked. — USDA SR Legacy portion weights for pie crust records Evidence E source
  1/8 of 9 in crust: frozen enriched 18 g x 457 calories/100 g = 82 calories; from recipe unbaked 24 g x 469 = 113 calories; from recipe baked 23 g x 527 = 121 calories; refrigerated baked 1 crust 198 g x 506 = 1002 calories

What cooking and storage change

• In USDA data, baking a frozen enriched crust raises energy per 3.5 oz (100 g) by 11% as water leaves, yet folate stays at 102 ug, which hints at some folate loss that has not been measured directly. — USDA SR Legacy Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched, unbaked (FDC 175024) vs baked (175025) Evidence E source
  Energy 457 to 508 calories (+11%), fat 26.07 to 28.59 g, iron 2.6 to 2.8 mg, folate 102 to 102 ug DFE per 3.5 oz (100 g)

What it does to your health

• Pooled clinical trials show palm oil, common in commercial shortenings, raises LDL cholesterol by 9.3 mg/dL (0.24 mmol/L) against vegetable oils low in saturated fat, and by 12 mg/dL (0.31 mmol/L) in randomized trials. — adults in clinical trials of at least 2 weeks comparing palm oil with other cooking oils Evidence A source
  LDL +9.3 mg/dL (95% CI 5 to 14; metric: 0.24 mmol/L, 0.13 to 0.35) vs low-saturated oils; randomized trials +0.31 (0.20 to 0.42); HDL +3.5 mg/dL (0.09 mmol/L) vs trans fat oils

Safety, limits and interactions

• In a Cochrane review of 12 long-term trials with 53,758 adults, eating less saturated fat cut combined cardiovascular events by 17%. — adults with or without cardiovascular disease in randomized trials lasting at least 24 months (n = 53,758) Evidence A source
  Cardiovascular events RR 0.83 (95% CI 0.70 to 0.98); little or no effect on all-cause mortality

Who this works differently for

• Across 30 before-and-after studies, mandatory folic acid fortification of flour raised serum folate by 15 nmol/L and cut folate insufficiency by about 83%. — populations in countries with mandatory grain fortification, pre- and post-fortification surveys (n = 30 articles) Evidence C source
  Serum/plasma folate MDM +15.0 nmol/L (95% CI 9.4 to 20.5); insufficiency mPR 0.17 (0.08 to 0.37); deficiency mPR 0.08 (0.03 to 0.23)
• Registry data show flour fortification with folic acid cut neural tube defects by about 55% in Chile between 1999 and 2009 and by about 60% in Costa Rica. — live births and stillbirths in 9 countries with flour fortification, 27 studies (n = 27 studies) Evidence C source
  Chile NTD 18.6 to 7.3 per 10,000 births (1999-2007), 55% reduction by 2009; Costa Rica about 60% reduction

The bottom line

A slice holds less than those numbers suggest. USDA sizes one eighth of a 9-inch crust at 18 to 24 g, which works out to about 80 to 125 calories. A whole refrigerated crust baked weighs 7 oz (198 g) and comes to about 1,000 calories. Both figures multiply the portion weight by the 100 g value and were never weighed as eaten. Cookie-type crusts are a different food: graham cracker and chocolate crusts carry 18 to 38 g of total sugars per 3.5 oz (100 g), against under 4 g in standard pastry crusts, and USDA does not say how much of it is added. The oil in a commercial crust varies by label. Pooled clinical trials found that palm oil raised LDL cholesterol by 9.3 mg/dL (95% CI 5 to 14; metric: 0.24 mmol/L, 0.13 to 0.35) against vegetable oils low in saturated fat, and by 12 mg/dL (7.7 to 16; metric: 0.31 mmol/L, 0.20 to 0.42) in the randomized trials alone. Baking a frozen enriched crust raises its energy from 457 to 508 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g) in USDA data as water leaves, while its folate stays at 102 ug. That hints at some folate loss in the oven, and nobody has measured it directly. Folate is the one way a crust can differ for the better. The enriched US crusts carry 102 to 106 ug of folate per 3.5 oz (100 g), against 6 ug in the British homemade shortcrust, where flour fortification only becomes mandatory in December 2026. Across 30 before-and-after studies, mandatory folic acid fortification of flour raised blood folate by 15 nmol/L (95% CI 9.4 to 20.5). It also cut the share of people with low folate to about a sixth of its earlier level, from observational data with wide variation between studies. Registry studies link flour fortification to neural tube defects falling from 18.6 to 7.3 per 10,000 births in Chile between 1999 and 2007, and by about 60% in Costa Rica. Both findings are about fortified flour across the whole diet of a population, not about pie crust. The only caution card here is saturated fat, from the Cochrane review above. We have no card on pie crust for allergy, children, pregnancy or medicines.

Sources

1. pcr-r8-01 · USDA SR Legacy composition, dataset
   Per 100 g, SR Legacy: Pie Crust, Cookie-type, Chocolate, Ready Crust (FDC 167521) fat 22.42 g, energy 484 kcal; Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, vanilla wafer, chilled (FDC 172813) fat 36.2 g, energy 531 kcal; Pie crust, deep dish, frozen, unbaked, made with enriched flour (FDC 167523) sodium 353 mg; Pie crust, standard-type, dry mix (FDC 175022) sodium 753 mg; Pie crust, refrigerated, regular, unbaked (FDC 167932) energy 445 kcal
   USDA SR Legacy 2019, FDC 167521, 172813, 167523, 175022, 167932 · checked 2026-09-30
2. pcr-r8-02 · USDA SR Legacy composition, dataset
   Sugars per 100 g, SR Legacy: Pie Crust, Cookie-type, Graham Cracker, Ready Crust (FDC 167520) 18.13 g; Pie Crust, Cookie-type, Chocolate, Ready Crust (FDC 167521) 26.31 g; Pie crust, cookie-type, prepared from recipe, graham cracker, chilled (FDC 172811) 37.57 g; Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched (FDC 175024) 3.72 g; Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, baked (FDC 175026) 0.17 g
   USDA SR Legacy 2019, FDC 167520, 167521, 172811, 175024, 175026 · checked 2026-09-30
3. pcr-r8-03 · food composition datasets
   CoFID 2021 11-1052 Pastry, shortcrust, cooked, homemade: Energy 509 kcal, Fat 29.9 g, Satd FA 18.62 g, Trans FAs 1.01 g, Sodium 258 mg, Folate 6 ug per 100 g; USDA SR Legacy FDC 175026 Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, baked: Energy 527 kcal, Fat 34.6 g, Saturated 8.622 g, Sodium 542 mg, Folate 106 ug DFE per 100 g
   CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0) code 11-1052; USDA SR Legacy 2019 FDC 175026 · checked 2026-09-30
4. pcr-r8-04 · USDA SR Legacy portion weights, dataset
   SR Legacy portions: Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched (FDC 175024) 1 piece (1/8 of 9" crust) 18 g, 457 kcal/100 g; Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, unbaked (FDC 172814) 1 piece (1/8 of 9" crust) 24 g, 469 kcal/100 g; Pie crust, standard-type, prepared from recipe, baked (FDC 175026) 1 piece (1/8 of 9" crust) 23 g, 527 kcal/100 g; Pie crust, refrigerated, regular, baked (FDC 167930) 1 pie crust 198 g, 506 kcal/100 g
   USDA SR Legacy 2019, FDC 175024, 172814, 175026, 167930 · checked 2026-09-30
5. pcr-r8-05 · USDA SR Legacy composition, dataset
   Per 100 g, SR Legacy: Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched (FDC 175024) Energy 457 kcal, Fat 26.07 g, Iron 2.6 mg, Folate DFE 102 ug; Pie crust, standard-type, frozen, ready-to-bake, enriched, baked (FDC 175025) Energy 508 kcal, Fat 28.59 g, Iron 2.8 mg, Folate DFE 102 ug
   USDA SR Legacy 2019, FDC 175024, 175025 · checked 2026-09-30
6. pcr-r8-07 · meta-analysis of clinical trials
   Palm oil significantly increased LDL cholesterol by 0.24 mmol/L (95% CI: 0.13, 0.35 mmol/L; I(2) = 83.2%) compared with vegetable oils low in saturated fat. This effect was observed in randomized trials (0.31 mmol/L; 95% CI: 0.20, 0.42 mmol/L) but not in nonrandomized trials (0.03 mmol/L; 95% CI: -0.15, 0.20 mmol/L; P-difference = 0.02).
   J Nutr, 2015 · checked 2026-09-30
7. pcr-r8-06 · Cochrane meta-analysis of RCTs
   The included long-term trials suggested that reducing dietary saturated fat reduced the risk of combined cardiovascular events by 17% (risk ratio (RR) 0.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.70 to 0.98, 12 trials, 53,758 participants of whom 8% had a cardiovascular event, I² = 67%, GRADE moderate-quality evidence).
   Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2020 · checked 2026-09-30
8. pcr-r8-08 · meta-analysis of observational studies
   For serum/plasma folate concentrations, the MDM across all studies was 15.0 nmol/L (95% CI: 9.4, 20.5). For serum/plasma folate insufficiency and deficiency, the mPR estimates were 0.17 (95% CI: 0.08, 0.37) and 0.08 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.23), respectively.
   J Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-30
9. pcr-r8-09 · systematic review
   Costa Rica showed a significant reduction in NTD (∼60 %). Prevalence in Chile decreased from 18·6 to 7·3/10 000 births from 1999 to 2007 and showed a slight increase to 8·5 in 2008-2009, possibly due to changes in fortification limits.
   Public Health Nutr, 2013 · checked 2026-09-30