These Summery Fruit Galettes Are Just as Good as Pie—but So Much Easier to Make

I’m always a little embarrassed about how bad I am at pie. I went to culinary school, for heaven’s sake, and am the food director here at REAL SIMPLE. I want to be one of those people who throw together fruit pies at a moment’s notice all summer long. But, despite my futzing around with new recipes and techniques, my crusts hardly ever hold their shape, often slumping into a lumpy mess in the oven. The pies still taste good enough, but they’re rarely beautiful.

So while I’m still working on pies (practice makes progress), I’ve really leaned into their easy-going sibling: galettes. A galette is basically a free-form pie, and somehow they always end up looking and tasting fantastic—the perfect marriage of sweet, juicy fruit and golden, buttery pastry. Instead of baking a galette in a pie plate, you bake it directly on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan, adding ingredients to the center of the dough and folding it over to make pretty pleats before baking. 

While you can definitely follow a recipe—and there are some amazing ones in the fun new cookbook Galette! by Rebecca Firkser—it’s also totally possible to improv one. With these steps and a few helpful tips from Firkser, prepare yourself for a summer full of delicious fruit desserts.

Start by Choosing Fruit for the Filling

While savory galettes are delicious, in the summer I’m obsessed with capturing the season’s best produce and putting it in fruit desserts. For a standard galette, start with about 1 ½ pounds fresh fruit, such as berries or pitted stone fruit. It’s also okay to combine different fruits. For example, you can’t miss with a peach and berry combo. Chop or slice the fruit if you’d like, and put it all into a big mixing bowl.

Add a Few Pantry Ingredients

Pretty much all fruit galettes need these four ingredients. Just stir them into the fruit in the mixing bowl.

• Sugar – Summer fruit can really run the gamut when it comes to sweetness. Sometimes it’s like candy on the tongue; other times it’s bland and disappointing. The good news here is that either type will work for a galette, and both need at least a little sugar. I find that between 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup granulated sugar is about right. I add the larger amount if the fruit is on the tarter side and the lesser amount if it’s already super sweet. 
• Acid – I know I just told you to make your fruit sweeter, but it also needs a little tartness to really make it shine. “Galette crust is rich and fruit fillings are very sweet,” says Firkser. “A little acid helps brighten those flavors, making for a more balanced bite.” Try a tablespoon of lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, or even balsamic or white balsamic vinegar for a more sophisticated bake. 
• Thickener – It will come as no surprise to anyone that fruit is juicy! And as it bakes, those juices are released. If there’s no thickener in the mix, you’re going to end up with a very runny, messy filling. The fix here is easy. Just add about tablespoon or two of cornstarch to the fruit mixture (more for juicier fruit like blueberries, less for firmer fruit like nectarines). Firkser likes cornstarch for this purpose since it doesn’t affect the look or texture of the filling, and it’s widely available at supermarkets. “All-purpose flour can also be used in a pinch, but I’ve found you need about double to mimic cornstarch, and it can bake off a bit cloudy,” she says. 
• Salt – This ingredient is key for bringing out flavor and adding balance to a galette filling. Just a 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt will do the job.

Stir in Some Extra Flavor (Optional!)

At this point, the filling is ready to go, or you could jazz it up a little. Here are some ingredients you could add:

• A tablespoon or so of chopped fresh herbs, like tarragon or thyme, two of Firkser’s favorites
• Grated lemon, lime, or orange zest—about a teaspoon
• A teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
• A splash of almond or vanilla extract, or a small spoonful of vanilla bean paste
• Another Firkser fave: a pinch or two of warming spices like black pepper and chili flakes

Prep the Crust

Roll out a homemade or store-bought crust so it’s about 12 to 14 inches in diameter. It doesn’t need to be a perfect circle, since the edges are going to be folded over. The rustic look is part of a galette’s charms! I like to roll the crust out on parchment paper and then transfer the parchment to a sheet pan. 

You can add the filling directly to the dough, but sometimes I like to sprinkle the center of the crust with a little almond flour or coarse sugar for extra texture and flavor first.

Build the Galette

Now you’re ready to add your fabulous fruit filling to the crust. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the fruit from the mixing bowl to the dough, leaving any juices behind. Place it in the center leaving a two-inch border around the edges. 

Fold the crust edges over the filling, pinching together any overlapping dough. To make it super shiny and pretty, whisk together an egg with a tablespoon of water, and brush the egg wash over the exposed crust. Sprinkle the edges with sugar, a coarse variety like turbinado works great here. You could also add some sliced or chopped nuts.

Before you pop the galette into the oven, Firkser recommends freezing it for 10 minutes or refrigerating it for 20 minutes to reset the dough. “With all the rolling and pleating, galette dough is handled a lot before it goes into the oven, which can warm the butter. The warmer the fat gets, the higher the risk of it melting into the flour.” 

Bake and Serve

Bake the galette at 375°F until the crust is golden brown and the fruit mixture is bubbly, about 30 to 40 minutes. Firkser warns against underbaking. “That’s the biggest cause of a dreaded soggy bottom. So you really want the top crust to get very deeply golden brown.” She suggests gently nudging the galette a bit with a spatula to see if it lifts off the parchment paper and slides around. “That’s a good indicator that the bottom is crisp and cooked through.”

Let the galette cool for at least 10 minutes, or serve warm or at room temperature. No matter the temp or the filling, they’re uniformly pretty fantastic with ice cream.   

Leftover galette will keep for a day or two in the fridge in an airtight container. The crust may get a touch soft, but it makes for a deeply satisfying breakfast with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top.

So whether you improv your own or bake from Firkser’s beautiful book, ’tis the season to go forth and galette!