How to Make Any Kind of Savory Galette

Learn how to make a savory galette depending on what’s in season throughout the year (or what’s lurking in your fridge) with this easy step-by-step guide.

This decadent pastry is a feast for the eyes and a party for the tastebuds. Enjoy it any time of the day – breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And while it certainly can be made sweet, today we’re talking all about the savory galette.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

What’s a Galette?

A galette is a French free-form pastry with a round-ish shape, exposed fillings, and folded up edges that give it a rustic, imperfect flare.

A few reasons you’ll love galettes:

• they’re incredibly versatile, just switch out the filling ingredients
• their crispy and flaky crust (thanks to the pie dough)
• they allow you to play with your food, plus imperfection is highly encouraged
• they look fancy, but are rather easy to make

They’re also perfect for those everything-but-the-kitchen-sink kinds of meals when you have a few bits and bobs of ingredients that need to be used up.

How to Make a Savory Galette

MAKE YOUR CRUST

This can be whatever pie crust you like, either homemade dairy-free pie dough or storebought (if you can’t be fussed to make your own – there are some dairy-free options, just make sure to read the ingredient list).

CHILL

You want your dough to be nice and cold before you roll it out, so make sure it’s had time to chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

ROLL IT OUT

Once the dough is nice and chilled, lightly flour a piece of parchment paper as well as the round disk of dough and place it in the middle of the parchment paper. Whack the dough with your rolling pin a couple of times before you begin rolling it out. This helps to start loosening up the butter, keep its shape, and also prevents cracking (some will happen on the edges and that’s fine). Roll out the dough until it’s about 1/8 inch thick.

ADD YOUR FILLING

This is the fun part. You can add whatever you want. Here are some ideas: caramelized onions, sauteed kale, bacon, garlic, cashew ricotta, leeks, thinly sliced potatoes* or sweet potatoes* (see helpful cooking tips below), tomatoes, pesto, etc. If using pesto or cheese, spread a thin layer on the bottom before adding the toppings.

Arrange the filling in the middle of the rolled-out dough with about 1-2 inches of empty space around the border. 

FOLD

Fold small sections of the dough over your filling, slightly overlapping the previous one until you have a hectagon-ish or rectangular shape (there’s no right or wrong, it will just depend on the size of your dough and the filling inside).

MAKE EGG WASH

Beat together 1 whole egg with one teaspoon of cold water and brush onto the folded up edges. This helps it to brown in the oven and holds it together. Once you brush the egg wash on, you can also add chopped fresh herbs, flaky salt, or crushed nuts to give it more flavor and texture, or keep it simple with just the egg wash.

Helpful Cooking Tips

KEEP IT COLD

If you ever feel like the dough is getting too warm while you’re rolling it out, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to get it cold again. Cold dough is the secret to a flaky crust when baked.

COOKED VS UNCOOKED FILLINGS

For a savory galette, you’ll want to cook your fillings first to really help build the flavor. However, you can get away with using uncooked potato/sweet potato/squash slices if you slice them really thin using a mandoline.

AVOID USING TOO MUCH FILLING

You want to be able to pick it up and hold its structure when sliced.

GETTING A CIRCULAR SHAPE

After you’ve whacked the dough a bit to give it its shape, start in the center and roll out toward the edge, turn the parchment, and repeat.

MAKE IT EGG-FREE

Brush dairy-free milk on the folded crust instead. This will help it to brown.

More Savory Recipes You’ll Love

• Roasted Broccoli Caesar Salad (Dairy-Free, Nut-Free)
• 1-Pot Dairy-Free Butternut Squash Risotto
• Roasted Cauliflower Tacos With Jicama Carrot Slaw