Galettes are rustic French pastries that can be made with a variety of fillings. This Rhubarb Galette recipe is simple and perfect for spring, when fresh rhubarb is in season.
Why you will love this recipe
You will love how making a galette is so much faster and forgiving than a pie. Skip the pie crust making step with a store bought pie dough, and you can get this on the table in about 45 minutes.
The pastry dough is easy to make, but you can also use a store bought pie crust for even faster results. Fillings can be customized with the seasons bounty or your favorite flavors.
The ability to use any seasonal fruit, or to change from dessert to a savory galette is fabulous also. Imagine a breakfast or mushroom galette. You can even make the crust with gluten free flour!
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Ingredients
You can buy the pie crust or make it from scratch. Do what is easiest for you. Make this with fresh Spring rhubarb, or buy the rhubarb frozen in the freezer case. If you buy it frozen, be sure to defrost it in a colander to let the water drain off.
- Pie crust for single crust pie (or use our Marie Callender's pie crust recipe)
- Rhubarb
- Sugar
- Cornstarch
- Lemon zest
- Lemon juice
- Cream or butter for brushing crust
- Sanding sugar to garnish
Full ingredient amounts and preparation instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How To Make A Galette
Fresh rhubarb tends to get very watery when cooked. We use a thickener to prevent having a runny filling, but it can create a gluey texture, or just not quite set up sometimes.
There's a little trick to reduce the amount of water in the rhubarb that makes for a better filling though.
- Wash & cut your fresh rhubarb to the size required for the recipe.
- Spread the rhubarb out on a cookie sheet and freeze it.
- Transfer the frozen rhubarb to a colander, and put the colander inside a bowl to defrost.
The bowl will catch the water that the rhubarb releases as it defrosts. Shake it a little, and discard the water that drains off. Proceed with the recipe. The final galette, tart, pie, etc will have a less runny filling.
Prepare The Crust
- Place the pie crust in the non stick spray prepared tart pan.
- Drain the liquid off the defrosted rhubarb.
Prepare the filling
- Mix the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Juice and zest the lemon. Mix the drained rhubarb, lemon zest, lemon juice into the sugar mixture.
Putting it all together
- Pile the fruit mixture into the middle of the pie crust. Gather crust up around the filling and pinch it in place.
- Brush the exposed pie crust with butter, cream, or milk so the crust browns. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.
Serving suggestions
Serve this scrumptious rhubarb galette with fresh whipped cream (or Cool Whip) or vanilla ice cream. It's especially good while still warm. This type of dessert compliments roasted or seared meats.
This rhubarb galette goes well with our Air Fryer Turkey Burgers, Pan Grilled Steakhouse Pork Chops or our Country Style Boneless Pork Ribs.
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Substitutions
- You can substitute half the rhubarb with strawberries to make a strawberry rhubarb galette also. Freeze and defrost the strawberries just like the rhubarb, as they are weepy and juicy when cooked also. This will stabilize the filling from being so runny.
- Substitute a gluten free pie crust or use gluten free flour instead of regular flour when making your pie crust. It's the only substitution in this rhubarb galette recipe that needs altered to make this a gluten free galette, as corn starch is naturally gluten free!
Variations
A few savory galette combinations are:
- Asparagus Galette - Cut asparagus spears into 2" lengths, lay on the prepared pie crust. Pull up the crust around the asparagus pinching the crust to stay in place around the asparagus. Pour a quiche type filling on to the asparagus. Bake until egg mixture set.
- Potato Galette - Slice or grate a few potatoes with minced garlic and spread a ½" to ¾" thick layer in the center of the pie crust. Season with seasonal fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Bake until the potatoes are tender and crust golden brown.
- Mushroom Galette - Purchase a blend of mushrooms from the produce market and mix with minced onion and garlic. Season with fresh herbs, salt, and pepper. Spread on the pie crust. Gather crust up and pinch to hold in place. Sprinkle grated cheese and bake until mushrooms softened and crust golden brown.
Some sweet galettes to try are:
- Cherry Galette - Use fresh or frozen pitted cherries. Drain the liquid off the frozen ones. Use the same measurements for the rhubarb galette recipe. Gather the crust up around the fruit and bake like the previous directions.
- Blueberry Galette - Berries all benefit from the same freeze then defrost preparation treatment. Freezing breaks the cellular structure releasing the excess water.
Blueberries are especially juicy when cooked. Don't discard all the juice as they defrost though. Add a few tablespoons back to the mixture in the filling. Add a little lemon zest and lemon juice as well.
- Pear Galette - Slice ripened fall pears onto a pie crust. Sprinkle with sugar, and add another layer. Add a third layer if the pears were sliced thin.
Sprinkle with almonds and gather the crust up and bake until the pears are tender and crust golden. Very little cornstarch will be needed with a pear galette, because they do not get very juicy when cooked.
Equipment
The tart pan is perfect for galettes because you can lift the bottom out of the tart pan rim. Then just simply slide the galette onto the serving plate.
Top Tips
- Fruits that get extremely juicy when cooked often benefit from freezing and then defrosting first so some of the excess liquid can fall away. This way you can let the excess water drain away before cooking instead of it being trapped in the filling and having either a gluey or runny cooked filling.
- Some fruits will have actual juice drain out of the defrosted fruit. Catch and save that, as you may want to add a little back to the filling, or save it for a salad dressing. Rhubarb though has mostly a water liquid, so discard it.
Frequently asked questions
Galette is pronounced as 'Guh let', with the emphasis on 'let'.
A pie is a structured dessert where there is a bottom crust as well as distinct side of various heights. Pies are sweet or savory, most have some sort of top (mashed potatoes, floating pecans, lattice, crumble) crust.
A galette is best described as an unstructured pie. You gather up some of the outer edges of the crust, folding them in to loosely hold the filling inside. Galette fillings can range from quiche mixtures, fruits, vegetable combinations, and even meats.
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Food Safety
- Don't use the same utensils on cooked food that previously touched raw meat or seafood.
- Wash hands after touching raw meat.
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
- Never leave cooking food unattended.
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove.
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📖 Recipe
Rhubarb Galette
Equipment
- 1 tart or galette pan
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust (purchased or homemade)
- 3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen) (freeze and defrost so excess water drains)
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted for brushing crust edges
- 3 tablespoon coarse pastry or sanding sugar (optional) for sprinkling on top
Instructions
- Wash, cut, and freeze the fresh rhubarb. Or use frozen rhubarb. After the fresh rhubarb is frozen, remove and defrost in a colander. Discard the liquid that is released.3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen)
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a tart pan, round pizza pan, or galette pan with non stick spray. Set aside.
- Make a single pie crust, or let a store bought crust come to room temperature. Roll or lay out flat on the prepared pan.1 pie crust (purchased or homemade)
- In a large mixing bowl, measure out the sugar, cornstarch, and salt and mix together. Add the lemon zest, defrosted and drained rhubarb, and lemon juice. Mix well.3 cups rhubarb (fresh or frozen), 1 cup sugar, ¼ cup cornstarch, ¼ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Pour the fruit and sugar mixture onto the center of the pie crust. Gently gather up the outer few inches of the pie crust and bring in toward the center of the pie. Pinch together every few inches so that the pie crust stays in position around the fruit mixture. Brush butter, milk, or cream onto the raw pie crust. Sprinkle entire galette with the coarse grain pastry or sanding sugar.2 tablespoon butter, melted, 3 tablespoon coarse pastry or sanding sugar (optional)
- Place the pan with the prepared galette in the oven. Bake approximately 35 to 38 minutes, checking at 35 if your oven runs hot. Remove when the galette is bubbly in the center and the crust golden brown.
Notes
- Place a cookie sheet or baking tray on the shelf below the rack holding the galette to catch any drips. Even aluminum foil will work.
- Make two galettes and freeze one while uncooked for a quick dessert another time.
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