Savory Tomato Galette Recipe

Juicy tomatoes star in this free-form pie recipe. A layer of creamy cheese, a buttery herb crust, and ripe, bursting-with-flavor tomatoes! This is the easiest way to use pie crust and so delicious for warmer months.

About galettes

If you want to enjoy a homemade pie crust with little fuss involved, this is the type of recipe you need.

The fact that there's no lining of the pan makes it way easier than a traditional quiche for example.

A galette is a free-form pie (or tart). That means that the pie crust is rolled, the edges turned inwards leaving some filling exposed in the center, and the pie baked directly on a parchment paper or oven sheet (no pie pan needed).

Vintage Kitchen

Homemade pie crust

This is the first step for a fantastic galette.

Our homemade crust (a.k.a basic shortcrust pastry) is buttery, easy to make, and is a key component to this tomato tart. You can use store-bought of course, but we tend to think that making your own brings this recipe up several notches.

For this savory galette, we jazzed it up by adding some thyme and oregano, two herbs that go wonderfully with tomatoes.

Filling

We kept it simple and flavorful.

My first choice is cream cheese. It's unctuous, salty, and perfect. But the filling can be made with ricotta cheese and sour cream also. Or a combination of all of them.

Make sure it's very well seasoned and don't skim on the salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese. Adding more salt after baked is just not the same thing.

Assembling a galette

There is no right or wrong way to put together your tomato galette. It will look more or less rustic, but the truth is, a too-perfect pie kinda clashes with the whole idea of free-form, doesn't it?

Start with a large round of pie crust, add the cream cheese mixture (image 1) and then fill it with the tomatoes (image 2). What's left of dough is what you will lift inwards (images 3 & 4).

The great thing about free-form pies is that you can adjust as you go along. The edges will be larger or smaller (image below) depending on the amount of dough left. And it's fine whatever way it turns out! That's the beauty of it.

Baking

A rather high oven is the best way to bake a dry, flaky pie crust without it being soggy. Or at least as flaky as you can.

When the filling (which is humid) touches an unbaked pie crust, it always transfers some of the humidity. But, a high oven and a cold pie - as cold as you can - will make a difference.

Vintage Kitchen Tips

Top tips

• Crust - work with cold pie dough. If it gets warm while your rolling it, pop it into the fridge for a while and then resume assembly.
• Filling - use any soft cheese (cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream, goat cheese) and season it well. I love grated parmesan because it has so much flavor, but asiago, or even fontina or gruyere work. Mix it before rolling the dough and have it in the refrigerator up until you need it so it's as cold as possible.
• Oven - a preheated oven is essential! You want the pie crust to bake dry and flaky.
• Storing - you can make the dough ahead and have it in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month (well-wrapped, always!). The baked galette can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days (maybe more). You can also freeze it but the tomatoes will have a different texture after it's defrosted. Warm it before eating.

Variations

• Herbs: add different herbs to the dough. Fresh or dried, they all work.
• Spices: jazz up a simple dough with some smoked paprika, or curry, or any other spice that works with tomatoes or whatever filling you're using.
• Crust: use a plain crust, it works fantastic also.

Other recipes you might like:
Crustless Basic Quiche
Mushroom Leek Quiche
Baked Ricotta with Roasted Tomatoes and Onions
Corn Basil Empanadas
Leftover Ham and Cheese Quiche

Let me know if you make this recipe! I’d love to hear what you think about it. Thank you for being here, I appreciate it! Let’s connect via Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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Yield: 8 slices

Savory Tomato Galette

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Juicy tomatoes star in this free-form pie recipe or Savory Tomato Galette. A layer of creamy cheese, a buttery herb crust, and ripe, bursting-with-flavor tomatoes! This is the easiest way to use pie crust and so delicious for warmer months.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Additional Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 recipe for Basic Shortcrust Pastry 
• 1 tablespoon, total, of thyme and oregano added to the pie crust (or you can add it in the cheese mixture, it's simpler and you still get the flavor)

For the filling:

• ¾ cup cream cheese
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or Asiago or white Cheddar)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Salt (I don't use it because the grated cheese is salty, but you might want to)
• Cherry tomatoes and herbs, for serving

Instructions

For the pie crust:

1. Make the shortcrust pastry according to the recipe in the link above, adding the tablespoon of chopped herbs with the flour.
2. Wrap and leave in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before rolling, or up to 4-5 days.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough until you have a round of about 14-inches in diameter.

For the filling:

1. Preheat the oven at 350°F/180°C
2. In a small bowl mix cream cheese, grated cheese, olive oil, and black pepper. Add some extra salt if you feel you want to. This is very personal to your palate.
3. Spoon this mixture in the center of the rolled pie dough and spread with the back of a spoon, making a circle of about 9 or 10 inches.
4. Place tomatoes on top of the cheese in however pattern you want to, just don't mound it too high.
5. Lift the edge of the dough and place it inward, covering some of the filling. Keep doing that with all the dough until you have a circular tart with an exposed center.
6. If you feel the pie is too warm or starting to look shiny, you may want to pop it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes, no more, before going into the oven. This aids in not getting a soggy crust.
7. Sprinkle with salt and pepper if desired, drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 40 minutes, or until it's golden and dry and the filling is bubbly and slightly burnt.
8. Let cool slightly and eat warm.
9. Or let cool completely and eat at room t°. Refrigerate leftovers, covered.

Notes

• Crust - work with cold pie dough. If it gets warm while your rolling it, pop it into the fridge for a while and then resume assembly.
• Herbs: you can add them to the homemade pie crust, or to the cheese filling.

• Filling - use any soft cheese (cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream, goat cheese) and season it well. I love grated parmesan because it has so much flavor, but asiago, or even fontina or gruyere work. Mix it before rolling the dough and have it in the refrigerator up until you need it so it's as cold as possible.
• Oven - a preheated oven is essential! You want the pie crust to bake dry and flaky.
• Storing - you can make the dough ahead and have it in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to a month (well-wrapped, always!). The baked galette can be kept in the fridge for 3-4 days (maybe more). You can also freeze it but the tomatoes will have a different texture after it's defrosted. Warm it before eating.

Paula Montenegro

I'm Paula, a baker for more than 30 years and your designated recipe finder, sharing the best ones on this blog, with simple ingredients + easy-to-follow instructions.