The 9 Greatest Pie Weights of 2025, Examined and Reviewed

Pie weights are important for correctly blind baking a pie shell. The burden ought to be evenly disrupted throughout the pie shells to carry the dough in place whereas it units within the oven, stopping bubbly bottoms and slumped sides. Whereas there are a lot of alternate options to conventional pie weights (dry beans and granulated sugar are common decisions—extra on each under), pie weights are a baking device you should purchase as soon as and hold for all times. When you’ve received a dependable set of pie weights available, there’s no questioning in the event you’ve received sufficient dry beans in your cupboard or what to do with the toasted sugar.

Whereas I’ve my very own sophisticated relationship with pie weights as knowledgeable baker, it not too long ago turned time for me to switch the set I misplaced in a transfer three years in the past. (Learn: My pie weights spilled out of their field and throughout our transferring container.) So, on a hunt for my new pie weights and your new pie weights, I examined 9 common units, alongside granulated sugar and dry beans as controls. I selected two winners which can be really the very best answer for blind baking pies with out taking over an excessive amount of pantry area. 

The Winners, at a Look

Of all of the ceramic pie weights I examined, these had simply the correct amount of beads for filling a nine- to 11-inch pie shell. Whilst you may purchase multiples of different units (or divide greater units), these additionally had a storage container that made them an ideal one-time buy that may be maintained simply for loads of future makes use of. 

Whereas I examined these pie weights with a smaller set (simply eight ounces) they carried out in addition to the profitable weights when it comes to even crispness on the pie bottoms with no denting or dimpling. My solely caveat? I want I had two of those half-pound units or had bought Mrs. Anderson’s bigger set, which has one and a half kilos of beads. Each units include thick plastic containers with tight-fitting lids for storage. 

Critical Eats’ former baking editor Stella Parks championed this low-cost and efficient various to pie weights and it really works extremely effectively. Goal for utilizing about two kilos of sugar for a nine-inch shell. You may reuse the sugar for blind baking about 3 times earlier than it turns golden, and it may then be utilized in baking recipes. If retaining this a lot sugar available for blind baking is cumbersome, contemplate investing in ceramic bead pie weights. 

The Assessments

• Blind Bake Pie Check: I used store-bought pie dough to line nine-inch chrome steel pie pans with dough. Earlier than baking, I crimped the pie’s edges and docked their bottoms with a fork. I lined every pie pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and crammed it with a distinct pie weight. I baked every pie shell on a sheet pan for 20 minutes at 375˚F, then allowed it to chill for 10 minutes with the pie weights in place. After cooling, I eliminated the foil and pie weights. I recorded the benefit of removing and the way every pie crust had blind baked within the oven. 
• Management Assessments: As with the opposite pie weights, each beans and sugar have been used as management assessments. For the beans take a look at, I used two kilos of dried crimson kidney beans. For the sugar take a look at, I used two and a half kilos of granulated sugar. 
• Common Use and Care Assessments: Earlier than use, I washed and dried any pie weights that required washing, primarily the ceramic beads. After testing, I washed, dried, and saved every pie weight, noting how straightforward or exhausting every of those duties was. 

What We Realized

Weight Mattered Extra Than Materials

Even weight distribution is essential to blind baking—an excessive amount of weight could cause dimpling within the dough or result in underbaked areas, whereas too little weight results in effervescent and slumping. So having sufficient of no matter materials (weights, beans, or sugar) in an empty pie shell finally makes for fewer bubbles, much less aspect slumping, and extra even browning. The perfect pie weight units weigh between 1.2 and two kilos in complete. For instance, BC Precision Slingshot Ammo Balls manufactured from carbon metal appear superb for blind baking however they left the examined pie crust unbaked and closely dimpled. 

However Ceramic Pie Weights Outperformed Metallic

Ceramic pie weights, just like the FurRain Ceramic Pie Weights and Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Ceramic Pie Weights, and the granulated sugar management had probably the most evenly baked crusts of all of the totally different pie weights, whereas some chrome steel and aluminum weights in comparable weight lessons got here out of the oven with moist, unbaked bottoms. The Jefferson Street Ceramics Clay Pie Weights and Matfer Bourgeat Baking Beans pie weights have been notably unhealthy offenders; each had promising supplies (clay and aluminum, respectively) however the examined pie shells have been dimpled and underbaked.

Another excuse to like ceramic beads? They cool and dry rapidly. Cooling rapidly means you could get them again into their storage container quicker after washing. As for laundry, all beads take about the identical time to scrub—use a colander to dunk them in sizzling soapy water, drain, and rinse—however the ceramic beads dry quicker than metal or aluminum. This was true of ceramic units that had extra quantity however smaller beads, like Jefferson Road Ceramics Clay Pie Weights, in addition to the smaller set with greater beads like Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Ceramic Pie Weights and FurRain Ceramic Pie Weights

Storage Was an Essential Consideration 

Having misplaced my very own pie weights a couple of years in the past through the aforementioned transferring catastrophe, I can converse to the necessity for a dependable pie weights storage answer. If you wish to have your pie weights available for a few years with out dropping them, search for a set with a container manufactured from sturdy plastic with a tight-fitting lid. Keep away from glass jars (they break!) or baggage, which may come unfastened in your cupboard. Though fairly, the mesh bag of Jefferson Road Ceramics Clay Pie Weights was exhausting to refill and the string was not safe sufficient to maintain the beads in when it was inevitably loosened. I appreciated the thick plastic containers with tight-fitting lids of FurRain Ceramic Pie Weights and Mrs. Anderson’s Baking Ceramic Pie Weights. 

The Standards: What to Search for In a Pie Weights

Search for a set of ceramic pie weights within the 1.2 to 2.5-pound vary. You should buy a number of units of 1 model if that works on your price range and storage. A sturdy storage container comprised of thick plastic with a safe lid is a should for making your pie weights helpful for years to come back. 

Our Favourite Pie Weights

What we appreciated: Weighing in at just-enough 1.2 kilos of ceramic beads, one set of those pie weights evenly distributed themselves throughout the pie plate and crammed it about midway. This implies in the event you’re baking with a nine-inch pie pan, you received’t have any bubbly bottoms or slumped sides. Plus, the ceramic building ensures the underside will bake evenly as they’ve sufficient weight and quantity whereas additionally insulating the pie crust throughout baking. These have been straightforward to scrub in heat soapy water they usually dried rapidly. 

What we didn’t like: Do comply with the producer’s instructions to scrub and dry these earlier than use, as a result of they got here out of the bundle dusty! Whereas the storage container is nice for, um, storage, it may be exhausting to maneuver used pie weights from the foil again to the container due to its slim opening. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Ceramic 
• Weight: 1.2 kilos
• Storage container: Heavy-duty plastic with a tight-fitting lid

What we appreciated: Like my different profitable set, these beads are sufficiently weighty. They produced a fantastically parbaked pie crust on the underside. Just like the FurRain beads, they retailer properly. I examined with an eight-ounce bundle however a 1.5-pound container would probably have been tied neck-and-neck with our winner. 

What we didn’t like: A single set is lower than $10, making this an inexpensive choice, however at eight ounces, there’s not sufficient quantity to carry the pie crust’s aspect up whereas baking. Meaning there was some shrinking and slumping alongside the edges. A straightforward answer can be shopping for a number of eight-ounce units or shopping for Mrs. Anderson’s 1.5-pound set of the identical beads. 

• Materials: Ceramic 
• Weight: 8 ounces
• Storage container: Heavy-duty plastic with a tight-fitting lid

What we appreciated: Sugar is affordable and available! Plus, after a couple of makes use of it is going to flip golden and caramelized, making it scrumptious for baking. 

What we didn’t like: It’s going to spill a bit as you switch it out and in of the container and pie shell, plus you’ve received to determine a storage answer that works for you.  A large-mouth glass storage jar is right for holding the sugar between makes use of and a canning funnel will enable you transfer the sugar from pie to jar, as soon as cooled. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Sugar  
• Weight: Use 2 kilos per pie shell 
• Storage container: Use a zip-top bag or jar with a tight-fitting lid between makes use of 

The Competitors

• Jefferson Street Ceramics Clay Pie Weights: I wished to like these wonky, imperfect pie weights and would love to check them once more, dividing the two.4 kilos between two shells. I additionally hated the mesh storage bag as a result of it was exhausting to refill and spilled when knocked over. 
• Williams Sonoma Pie Weights Jar: Just like Mrs. Anderson’s, these could possibly be nice in the event you purchased two or three units. The glass storage jar careworn me out as a result of it felt each tiny and extremely breakable. 
• Chicago Metallic Pie Weight: This distinctive weight did a good job of making certain a baked backside because of the chrome steel center, however there was some cracking on the edges the place silicone flaps struggled to maintain the crust in place. 
• Matfer Bourgeat Baking Beans: I actually wished to love these cool aluminum beans and suppose they might work in a distinct portion with fewer beans within the pie shell.  
• Hannah’s Baking Pie Weights Chain: This chrome steel chain truly did an ideal job stopping bubbles on the underside of the pan and baked evenly, however with no aspect help there was a number of slumping. 
• BC Precision Slingshot Ammo Balls: One other too-heavy contender that resulted in a soggy, dimple backside! Additionally, the container broke in transport and I spent a while pulling plastic shards out of the balls earlier than baking. 
• PressPerfect Silicone Pie Weight: This didn’t match the 9-inch pie shells and it felt prefer it was lacking a aspect piece to maintain the entire thing in place. (Spoiler: It was.) 

FAQs

Do you actually need pie weights?

For any pie recipe requiring a parbaked or fully-baked pie shell, sure, you do. Pie weights basically maintain the crust in place because it bakes, which prevents slumping, shrinking, and enormous bubbles from ruining the form and construction of the completed pie 

What can be utilized as a substitute of pie weights?

Dried beans, rice, and sugar can be utilized as a substitute of pie weights. Our favourite various is granulated sugar, because it’s cheap and reusable. That stated, sugar will be messy to work with and also you want a big quantity to fill every pie. Pie weights have sufficient density to carry down crusts with out filling the pie pan to the highest, plus they’re infinitely reusable and received’t go away your work area sticky. 

How heavy are pie weights?

Pie weight units can differ in measurement from eight ounces to seven kilos. A set within the 1.5 to 2.5-pound vary is the very best for many residence cooks. 

Are you able to cook dinner beans after utilizing them pie weights?

You reuse dried beans as pie weights, however you can’t cook dinner them as beans for consuming after baking. 

Why We’re the Specialists

• Meghan Splawn is a food author and recipe developer who has labored in meals media since 2006. 
• Her work contains 15 years within the take a look at kitchen with Alton Brown in addition to at websites together with Merely Recipes, TheKitchn.com, and Critical Eats. 
• Meghan’s freezer is totally stocked for vacation pies after baking over 16 pies for this story.