Juicy, sweet, fresh strawberries wrapped in a crisp, flaky pie crust...it's the perfect summer dessert. This quick, easy rustic vegan strawberry galette recipe is a delectable way to end a summer meal. It has become a new favourite in my home!
It’s an impressive dessert that can be made with a store-bought or homemade crust (regular or gluten-free). Serve your strawberry galette plain or with a topping (I share suggestions below!).
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Summer doesn't last long where I live, so when fresh summer produce becomes available, I take advantage of ALL of it because it will be gone before I know it! (Just me or do you do this, too?!)
Juicy peaches, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are all favourites here, whether it's eating them just as they are or making a recipe like this vegan strawberry galette (also known as a freeform pie or a crostata!). It's quicker and simpler to make than pie but just as delicious.
It's a delightful summer dessert that you'll want to make every time strawberries come into season (like easy vegan strawberry pie, strawberry sauce, and strawberry baked oatmeal!)
Let's go through the steps (it's easy!) so you can make this strawberry galette, too.
Ingredients You'll Need
There are two groups of ingredients you'll need to make this dessert, one group for the vegan galette crust and another group for the strawberry filling.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes - Crust
All-Purpose Flour - The crust was only tested with all-purpose white flour and a 1 to 1 gluten-free flour blend; I have not tested it with any other types. If you want to make a vegan gluten-free strawberry galette, use my vegan gluten-free pie crust instead of the one listed in the recipe below.
Unsalted Cold Vegan Butter - If you only have salted butter, omit the salt from the crust recipe. You'll need to use vegan butter that comes in sticks or blocks and it needs to be very cold, so only take it out of the refrigerator just before you need it.
Do not use vegan margarine from containers, this type is too soft and contains too much water to work well in this recipe. I have not tested any other fats to make the crust, so I'm unsure if others would work well.
Ice Water - Make sure your water is as cold as possible, this contributes to a nice, flaky crust.
TIP: I put a cup of water in the freezer to chill a little while before I start to make the crust but you can also add some ice cubes to a cup of water to cool it down quickly.
Sugar and Salt - Both are used to help flavour the crust.
Ingredient and Substitution Notes - Filling
Fresh Strawberries - It's best to use ripe, fresh strawberries that are in season, they have the best flavour and are the sweetest. If your strawberries are out of season, that's okay, you'll need to adjust the amount of sugar you add, more on this in the recipe notes.
I have not attempted to make this recipe with frozen strawberries. Frozen strawberries release a lot more water as they thaw so they are not suitable for this recipe without making significant changes.
Sugar - I use organic cane sugar, but you can use white granulated sugar, too (just make sure it's vegan). I give a range to use in the recipe, how much you use will depend on how sweet your strawberries are. This dessert is not meant to be overly sweet, so just a small amount is needed. I haven't tested it with other types of sugar, liquid sweeteners, or any sugar alternatives.
Cornstarch - Strawberries contain plenty of liquid and as they bake, a lot of their juices are released, so cornstarch is an essential ingredient needed to control and thicken the juices as the galette bakes, so don't leave it out! Without it, the juices will leak everywhere and your crust will be soggy, not crisp. If you don't have or cannot use cornstarch, arrowroot starch (also referred to as arrowroot flour or arrowroot powder) can be used instead.
Lemon Juice - Just a little is needed to provide another layer of flavour so the flavour of the filling is not flat.
Dairy-Free Milk and Turbinado Sugar - The milk is used to brush onto the sides of the galette so the sprinkled turbinado sugar sticks to it. These two ingredients are highly recommended to give your galette a pretty, finishing touch but can be left off.
Want even more vegan galette recipes? Try one of these: vegan peach galette, vegan blueberry galette or vegan apple galette.
How to Make It
Step 1 - Prepare the Dough
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
1. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and salt together.
2. Add the cold cubed butter to the flour mixture.
3. Cut the butter into the dry mixture. You need the butter to be broken down into small pieces but not too small or your crust will not be flaky.
4. Stop when the butter has broken down into pea-sized chunks. It's fine if some pieces are larger.
NOTE: Some pieces of butter will be visible in the dough when you roll it and that's okay! They will melt as the galette bakes. The water from the butter will create steam that separates the dough into layers, creating flakiness.
5. Add the ice-cold water. Start by adding 3 tablespoons, you'll need that amount at a minimum. Add more if needed, 1 teaspoon at a time up to a maximum of 3. Altitude and the humidity of the air in your kitchen will affect how much water you use. (I usually use a total of 4)
6. Next, mix with a spoon until large chunks of dough are formed.
NOTE: It's very important to get the amount of water right because too much will make a sticky, wet dough that's hard to work with and too little water will make a dry, crumbly dough that will not hold together. If you end up adding too much water, add a little more flour, if you add too little water, just add more, a little at a time, until your galette dough is the proper consistency.
7. Use your hands to form the dough into a tight ball. Work quickly so the butter doesn't melt.
8. Place the ball of dough onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper, flatten it into a disk and wrap it tight. Refrigerate it so it can rest and chill for at least 2 hours. (If you wrap it in parchment paper, make sure no gaps are leaving the dough exposed and then place it in an airtight container to rest.)
If you want more details, tips, and tricks for getting your pie crust right, please read through either my vegan pie crust recipe or my vegan gluten-free pie crust recipe.
Step 2: Preparing the Filling
1. Add all of the filling ingredients to a large bowl.
2. Gently mix until everything has combined and there are no areas with dry cornstarch.
Step 3: Assembling the Galette
1. Roll the dough into a 12-inch circle. The dough does not have to be a perfect circle, just make sure it measures 12 inches across.
2. Spoon the strawberry mixture into the center of the galette dough, draining any excess liquid from each spoon back into the bowl. Leave about a 1 ½ inch border around the edges. Make sure the strawberries are in an even layer. There will be some liquid left in the bowl, get rid of it, don't pour it onto the strawberries.
3. Fold the outer edges of the dough all around the strawberry filling.
4. Using a pastry or silicone brush, brush the outside of the dough with the dairy-free milk.
5. Sprinkle the brushed dough with the turbinado sugar.
6. Next, bake the galette.
7. After it has baked, remove it from the oven, place it on a cooling rack and allow it to cool.
How to Serve It
Serve the galette warm or at room temperature.
It can be served plain but to make it even more special, top it with vegan ice cream, vegan whipped cream, or drizzle it with melted chocolate or warm vegan hazelnut spread just before serving.
For a list of vegan whipped cream brands to look for at your grocery store, read this article: "Is Cool Whip Vegan? (No, But THESE Brands Are!)."
Storing Leftovers
It's best to enjoy your galette on the day it's made, but if you have leftovers, store the slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Making Ahead
I don't recommend pre-assembling the galette and refrigerating it before baking, this will make the dough soggy and affect the final texture.
However, you can prepare the crust up to three days in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
Tips for Success
- Measure and have all your ingredients ready to go before starting. This will make the process run smoothly, quickly, and easily.
- Take note of the chilling time before preparing. The galette dough needs to chill in the fridge for several hours before it's ready to roll out, so keep that in mind if you are preparing it for a special occasion and need it for a specific time. The dough can be prepared up to 3 days in advance.
- Measure your ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a scale and my weight measurements when making this recipe. (This is the scale I own and use every day).
- Cornstarch can be difficult to measure properly since it clumps up, so I highly recommend using a scale to measure it. If you don't have one, use the scoop and level method outlined in my article about how to measure flour the correct way.
- The more you work the dough, the less flaky it will turn out, so any time during the process if you find that the dough has gotten too warm, feel free to stop what you're doing and put it back in the refrigerator to cool down before proceeding.
- If you have never made a pie dough/crust before, please read through the crust recipes linked above so you have all of my tips and tricks before you start.
- Roll your dough out on parchment paper. This will prevent sticking and make it easy to transfer it to the baking sheet. Bake the galette on the same piece you used to roll it out on.
- Don't roll the dough too thin or too thick. Too thin and the crust will not be flaky and juices will leak through. Too thick and the crust will be tough.
- Don't underfill or overfill the galette with strawberries, overfilling will not give you enough dough to fold over. Use the exact measurement of strawberries the recipe calls for.
- Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.
Recipe FAQ
To make mini strawberry galettes, after the dough has chilled, separate it into four even pieces (a scale is recommended for this task), roll each one out individually, and proceed with the rest of the recipe as it's written. The baking time will have to be reduced slightly, keep an eye on them as they bake and once the crust is golden brown, they're ready.
A little leaking is normal, see the image above. But if there is excess leakage, this can be caused by not measuring your cornstarch correctly. Cornstarch is the magic ingredient that thickens the juices from the strawberries and not enough cornstarch will cause the juices to not thicken enough resulting in leaking. I recommend using a scale to measure your cornstarch so you know that you're using the correct amount. Excess leakage can also be caused by using frozen strawberries, only use fresh strawberries when making this recipe.
Want to make more delicious and easy vegan desserts? Browse through all of my vegan dessert recipes for more ideas!
If You Make This Recipe...
Please tell me all about it! Leave a star rating and comment below telling me how your galette turned out and you can post a picture on Instagram and tag me, I love seeing your remakes! I'm @delightfuladventures on Instagram.
If You Like This Recipe...
You may like these other vegan strawberry recipes:
Vegan Strawberry Galette
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
For the Crust:
- 1 ½ cups (188g) all-purpose flour **for gluten-free, see note below**
- 2 tablespoons (25g) sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted vegan butter cold and cubed
- 3-4 tablespoons ice water
For the Filling:
- 1 lb (454g) fresh strawberries washed, hulled, and sliced
- 2-4 tablespoons (25g -50g) sugar (see note below)
- 2 ½ tablespoons (20g) cornstarch or arrowroot starch
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
For the Outside of the Crust:
- 1 teaspoon dairy-free milk
- 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar
Instructions:
To Make the Crust:
- Add flour, sugar, and salt to a medium bowl and whisk together.
- Add cold cubed butter and with a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the dry mixture until the butter has broken down and only pea-sized chunks remain.
- Add three tablespoons of ice-cold water to the dry mixture and then mix with a spoon. If the dough is too dry, add more water, one teaspoon at a time (up to a maximum of 3 teaspoons). Mix until everything combines to form a loose, chunky dough.
- Using your hands, form the dough into a tight ball making sure that any dry patches of flour get incorporated into the ball.
- Place the dough on a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper and pat it down into a disk. Wrap the dough disk and place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours.
Assembling the Galette:
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C) when the dough chilling time is up.
- Add the sliced strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice to a bowl. Gently mix until there are no spots of dry cornstarch and everything has combined. Set aside.
- Dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and place the chilled dough on top of the flour. Add a little more flour on top of the dough and using a rolling pin, roll out into a 12-inch circle.
- Lift the parchment paper the dough is on and transfer it over to a cookie sheet.
- Spoon the strawberry mixture into the center of the galette dough, draining any excess liquid from each spoon back into the bowl. Leave about a 1 ½ inch border around the edges. Make sure the strawberries are in an even layer. There will be some liquid left in the bowl, get rid of it, don't pour it onto the strawberries.
- Fold the outer edges of the dough all around the galette, as shown in the images above.
- Brush the outside of the dough with the non-dairy milk and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow it to cool and set before slicing.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the information and FAQ info above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
- If you need the recipe to be gluten-free, make my vegan gluten-free pie crust instead of the one listed in the recipe.
- If you don't want to make your crust, you can use store-bought pre-made pie dough but they are usually thinner than homemade, so keep a close eye on it as it bakes because it will brown quicker. If it's getting too brown, cover the edges with foil for the rest of the bake time.
- If you are using very sweet, in-season strawberries, just use 2-3 tablespoons (25g - 38g) of sugar but if you are using strawberries that aren't very sweet or are not in season, use 4 tablespoons (50g).
- Arrowroot starch can be substituted for cornstarch (cornflour in the UK), use the same measurement.
- When fully cooled, place leftover slices in a single layer in an airtight container and store the container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Re-heat slices for about 10 minutes in a preheated 350°F (177°C) oven.
- Nutrition info is based on 1 of 8 slices with no toppings. Nutrition info is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is calculated on this website.
Carolyn Moorman says
This was VERY delicious! I followed your directions to the "t!" Very tasty! Thank you for your content!
Gwen Leron says
Wonderful, Carolyn! I'm so glad you like it. It's such a nice dessert for this time of year. Enjoy!