Right before Thanksgiving this year, Costco had a coupon for 8 pie crusts for $6.50. It was such a crazy deal! I bought two boxes because I have realized the value of always having pie crusts on hand. There are so many things you can do with them! Here are my favorite savory and sweet ideas to use leftover pie crusts or even scraps of dough from Thanksgiving you might have on hand.

Pie Fries

Cut the pie crust into little strips the size of fries. Brush them with melted butter then dust with cinnamon and sugar. Bake them in the oven at 375 for 15 minutes and dip in jam if you’d like.

Taco Pie

Brown a pound of ground beef with 1 diced onion. Add a can of tomato sauce, 1 package taco seasoning mix, ½ can sliced black olives, 8 ounces chunky medium salsa. Add pie shell to 9” pie plate. Fill with ingredients. Place other pie shell on top. Poke top shell with a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until crust is brown. Cool for about 15 minutes. You can serve it with sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, refried beans and Spanish rice.

Turkey or Chicken and Dumplings

In the South, flat dumplings are a common way to make this dish so why not make them with pie dough? Cut about a cups worth of scraps into 1-by-2 inch long strips for dumplings. Drop the strips into the boiling liquid, cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Rolls with Pie Crust

This one of the easiest things you can do with it and who doesn’t love cinnamon rolls?! Roll out your dough, spread it with butter and a cinnamon-sugar mixture, then roll it up jelly-roll style and place it on a pan and bake it (along with any other pies you might be baking) at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

Make your favorite quiche recipe and the flaky, buttery pie crust is the perfect base. Quiche has never tasted better!

Fruit Braid

You know how satisfying it is to look at a lattice apple or cherry pie? Even more satisfying to make it yourself. You can take that to a whole other level by rolling out a large oval shape of pie crust dough, cutting into strips (cutting short side to short side), adding some apple pie filling to the middle, and criss-crossing the pie over itself, back and forth on each side until you have a fruit braid. It is a real stunner of a presentation. This is something my kids would LOVE to help me bake!

Pie Crust Pigs in Blankets

Use up even tiny scraps by wrapping them around warm mini franks with a pinch of cheddar cheese. Brush with butter, sprinkle with Parmesan and bake at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes.