23 Galette Recipes to Make for Easy Desserts (and Dinners)
When I first started writing my latest cookbook, I was nervous I wouldn’t be able to think of enough galette recipes to fill its pages. My challenge soon became quite the opposite. Just about any produce, like sweet summer blackberries or juicy heirloom tomatoes, even caramelized onions—not to mention chocolate and frangipane or meat and cheese—tastes wonderful wrapped in flaky pie dough.
But what is a galette, exactly? While some refer to certain French desserts, like buckwheat crepes and puff pastry cakes, as “galettes,” in the US, the term is used to describe a kind of freeform pie consisting of a pastry crust that has been rolled out and loaded with toppings. The edges of the pastry are then folded around the perimeter of the filling before baking. Galettes can be sweet or savory and are often assembled and cooked right on the baking sheet.
If I had one galette baking tip to share, it would be this: Don’t be afraid to increase the cooking time. Some ovens are less powerful than others, and the main cause of a soggy bottom crust is taking the galette out of the oven too soon. Let that exposed crust get deeply golden brown—just shy of burnt, in fact. This will guarantee the bottom bakes to a delectable crisp.
2/23Almost Cannoli Galettes
DIY cannolis? Challenging. Tiny cannoli-inspired galettes? Manageable! Wrap small rounds of galette dough around ricotta-enhanced pastry cream (use egg wash to tightly seal the edges). After cooling, top each individual pastry with chopped chocolate, pistachios, and candied orange peel.
3/23Jammy Grape Galette
As you’re compiling summer fruit galette recipes, don’t forget about grapes, which show up toward the end of the season. In this recipe from Galette!, the fruit is mixed with vermouth and thyme, then piled into the crust (leave a 2-inch border to fold over). Serve with a drizzle of tahini for a galette that tastes like grown-up PB&J.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell4/23Pecan-Cranberry Galette
Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Tiffany Schleigh5/23Ruffled Galette With Stone Fruit
Instead of reaching for pie dough, defrost store-bought phyllo, which cuts down on time and effort, and bakes up extra crispy. A layer of cream cheese under peaches, nectarines, plums, and/or apricots protects the crust from going soggy as it bakes.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Nathaniel James, Food Styling by Frances Boswell6/23Apple and Calvados Tart
This pastry starts with a luxurious brandy-spiked applesauce. Layer crisp, sweet apples over the sauce, then bake until golden. Before serving, brush the baked apple galette with warmed apple jelly to give it a glossy finish and dollop with brandy whipped cream.
Photo by Cara Howe7/23Fruit Galette
Recipe developer Lukas Volger writes, “If it’s a fruit that tastes good cooked, it will taste good in a galette.” It’s true—just about any fruit you can imagine (raspberries, plums, apricots, etc.) or a combination will work here. If you’d like to add a little zing, rub lemon zest into the sugar first, then assemble the rest of the filling.
Photo by Romulo Yanes8/23Pineapple Galette
Pineapple is so juicy and floral-sweet, it doesn’t need much accoutrement to become a lovely galette filling. Sprinkle semolina flour (or cornmeal if you already have it) over the rolled-out pastry dough, then brush with butter and top with cinnamon sugar.
Photo by JP Bevins, Food Styling by Molly Baz9/233-Ingredient Caramel-Pear Galette
Fully homemade galettes take a decent amount of time to prepare. Here, all you need are pears, prepared caramel sauce, and a store-bought pie crust to minimize that total time. Not a pear fan? Swap in your favorite baking apple.
Photo by Stephen Kent Johnson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich10/23Strawberry-Rhubarb Galette With Buckwheat Crust
11/23One-Hour Apricot and Almond Galette
Whip out this apricot galette at a dinner party and you’ll probably get a round of applause. Your secret? The crust is store-bought puff pastry, which bakes more quickly than traditional galette or pie dough.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou12/23Fall Fruit Galette
Carla Lalli Music’s galette is infinitely riffable: Use any type of apples or pears, flavored with warming spices, citrus zest, or even mild chile flakes. No apple cider vinegar? Swap in lemon juice.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott13/23Blueberry-Pecan Galette
You’ll see from the photo that this blueberry galette (complete with a nutty pecan crust) practically begs to be topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni14/23Strawberry Galette
Christina Chaey’s galette dough calls for both butter and cream cheese, and is easily made in the food processor. Since strawberries are high in moisture, macerate them in sugar to draw out excess liquid, then save the sweet syrup for flavoring cocktails.
Photograph by Rana Duzyol, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Marina Bevilacqua15/23Easy-Fancy Pear Galette
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou16/23Peach-Plum Galette
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou17/23Any Berry Galette
This galette recipe can be made with strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, currants, gooseberries, or a combination of these fruits, depending on what you have on hand. The recipe calls for lemon zest and juice, but orange or lime (or yuzu or grapefruit or….you get it) can easily swap in.
Tara Donne, food and prop styling by Diana Yen18/23Root Vegetable and Farmers Cheese Galette
This make-ahead galette is a dream for parties. Spread a creamy cheese and leek filling onto the crust, then tile the veggies (parsnips, carrots, beets, turnips, celery root, and potatoes are all fair game). Once assembled, this tart can be frozen for up to 3 months. On party day, pop the frozen galette right into the preheated oven.
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Aneta Florczyk, Food Styling by Susie Theodorou19/23Tomato Galette
If pizza went on a French vacation, it might look something like this tomato galette from recipe developer Andy Baraghani. Make sure to salt the tomatoes ahead of time—letting them release some of their liquid is essential for ensuring that the bottom of the crust stays flaky.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell20/23Cheesy Mushroom Galette
This galette uses mushrooms two ways: blitzed criminis mixed with cheese as the base, then raw wild shrooms scattered on top. Recipe developer Kendra Vaculin notes a helpful tip: “Baking on parchment paper keeps the crust from browning too quickly and makes it easy to transfer from baking pan to platter.”
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Susan Spungen22/23Triple-Threat Onion Galette
This savory galette from cookbook author Sohla El-Waylly gets its depth of flavor from scallions, garlic, and onion. “The key to this flaky galette crust is to move fast!” notes El-Waylly. “Rolling and folding the dough before the butter has a chance to warm up creates distinct layers of butter and dough that will steam apart during baking, becoming light and flaky.”
