Everything you need to know to measure your pie plate for perfect recipe results. Keep this guide handy for holiday pie baking season!
If you’re like me you have a stack of pie plates in your cupboard. More often than not I just reach in and grab one and hope for the best. And when I do try and check the size it’s rarely marked. Sometimes I’ll rummage through my junk drawer for a tape measure but my plates have all kinds of depths, slopes, borders, frames, lips, and scallops…what’s a busy baker to do? Here’s a simple guide to how to measure a pie plate so you never have to guess again.
what’s in this post
how to measure the diameter of a pie plate
Using a tape measure or ruler
Start with your pie plate facing upright. Measure the diameter by placing the tape measure or ruler across the widest part of the pie plate, excluding decorative edges. So it is a 9 inch pie plate in the photo below. I measure from edge to edge not including the scalloped frame or border.
A 9 inch pie plate is standard, so if your recipe doesn’t specify, use this size.
My Quiche Lorraine recipe, below, calls for a 9 inch pie plate.
how to tell if your pie plate is a deep dish
It’s important to use the right depth pie dish for your recipe. Disasters happen when you try to bake a deep dish recipe in a regular pie plate! Measure the depth by placing your tape or ruler vertically inside the pie plate, from the bottom to the top rim, excluding any decorative edges. This pie plate is 1.5 inches, so on the border between regular and deep dish.
- standard pie dish: Standard pie dishes have shallow sides, usually around 1 to 1.5 inches (2.5 to 3.8 cm) in depth. These dishes are ideal for traditional pie recipes that don’t require a lot of filling.
- deep-dish pie dish: Deep-dish pie dishes have taller sides, often around 2 to 2.5 inches (5 to 6.4 cm) or more in depth. These dishes are designed to accommodate more filling.
My Cranberry Pie, below, is baked in a regular pie dish.
Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe is formulated for a deep dish pie plate…
how to measure the capacity of a pie plate
Occasionally it’s helpful to know how much a pie plate holds by volume. Determine the capacity of a pie plate by filling it with water with a measuring cup. This step helps if you need to know the volume of the pie plate in cups or milliliters.
My 9 inch pie plate, below, holds 6 cups liquid.
the slope of the sides ~ why it matters
The slant or angle of the sides of a pie dish, whether they are gently sloped or more straight, is referred to as the profile of the pie dish. A pie dish with gently sloped sides is called a shallow-profile or low-profile dish, while a dish with straighter sides is referred to as a straight-profile or high-profile dish.
Consider this when choosing a pie plate ~ I prefer sloped sides for easier removal of slices of pie. A straight sided pie plate is best suited for savory pies like chicken pot pie or cottage pie, below, where you might be scooping out the contents rather than slicing.
favorite pie recipes
- Cranberry Pie
- Libby’s Pumpkin Pie Recipe
- Vidalia Ritz Pie
- Cherry Crumble Pie
- Lemon Butter Pie
- Dreamy Nutella Mousse Pie!
- Peanut Butter Pie
