The Easiest Cherry Tomato Galette with Pesto

Bursting with juicy cherry tomatoes, this tomato galette is SO simple you’ll want to make it all the time! An easy, whole grain dough spread with pesto and filled with cherry tomatoes, it’s the perfect summer dinner or easy brunch main because it feels special but it’s super easy.

Low effort, high reward: this easy whole grain tomato galette feels so special!

Do you ever scroll through Instagram or Pinterest and sit in awe of all of these picture perfect meals and think, I wish I could make something like that?!? Well, now is your chance…because how freaking cute is this cherry tomato galette? And I promise, it’s so easy there will be NO fails…even if you’re a newbie cook.

I’m a wee bit obsessed with galette. I started with a rhubarb galette. And then a blackberry galette. And then I thought I needed to try a savoury galette and what do I have a pound of that I need to use up, like NOW?

Holy heck, I can’t stop making it. Making this tomato galette instantly makes you feel like you’re one of those people eating dinner in a lush garden while the sun warms your skin…even if your backyard looks like mine, a wee bit more forgotten and overgrown than Tuscan villa, you know?

It looks so gorgeous..and so special…but it’s insanely easy to make. Take it from me: I am decidedly NOT a pastry person. I’ve published three cookbooks and have still never made a pie crust from scratch. But I make galette all the time…because the dough comes together in the food processor in like 3 minutes flat and it doesn’t matter what shape you roll it out as. In fact, the more wonky your dough, the more effortlessly “rustic” it looks.

The whole grain crust is so buttery and flaky and no one will know it’s vegan which I’m all about because I think plant-based recipes should be so dang good that they’re craveable. I really like using half whole wheat flour here because it gives a nice balance of flavour and nutrition (always a dietitian ha) but you could do all whole wheat or all purpose if you prefer.

How to make this ridiculously easy tomato galette

I’m gonna give it to you straight: you’re gonna have to turn on your oven, but the prep is zero sweat! While the crust chills, all you need to do is halve the cherry tomatoes, slice the garlic and then spread the crust with store-bought or homemade pesto. Cherry tomatoes work so well for this savoury galette because they tend to be naturally sweeter and lower in moisture, so you don’t need to salt them first.

While it bakes, just go hang out on the deck with an iced tea and live your best life. And if you want to make it even more effortless, you can totally make the dough in advance and let it hang out in the fridge for a day or two…so you’ll have dinner in like 10 minutes of prep. I like to serve this with a nice light salad like my cucumber and fennel salad or my peach and arugula salad.

I like 50:50 whole wheat and all purpose flour, but you could do all whole wheat or AP, as you like.

First, grab your ingredients: You’ll need cherry tomatoes, garlic, pesto or hummus (it’s awesome both ways!) for the filling, and flour, baking sticks, sugar, thyme, salt and pepper for the crust.

Step One: Make the dough. Place the flour, sugar, salt and butter in a food processor and pulse until the butter is in pea-sized pieces, about 10-12 pulses. Then drizzle in the cold water while pulsing until the dough comes together, it’s super quick.

The easiest pastry dough you’ll ever make: just add everything to the food processor and pulse…

…until it looks like this! Well, my butter was a bit warm here #foodbloggerlife

then drizzle in the water while you pulse until the dough comes together.

Step Two: Flour your surface and just give the dough a couple of kneads to form a dough round. If it’s too sticky, just sprinkle on a bit of flour and work it in but ideally, handle it as little as possible. If it feels a bit wet, that’s okay as it will come together as it chills. Too dry? Sprinkle with a tablespoon of water. Wrap the dough round in plastic wrap and pop it into the fridge for an hour.

If the dough looks too wet or sticky, don’t worry, you’ll take care of it next

Give it a couple of kneads on a floured surface. If it’s too sticky, just add flour, one tablespoon at a time.

But don’t worry if it’s a bit wet, as that will sort itself out in the fridge.

Step Three: Place the chilled dough on a large piece of parchment, lightly floured, and roll out to about ¼ inch (½ cm) thick. Don’t worry about the shape, or if the dough cracks around the edges…it’s all good.

Once chilled, roll it out on a floured piece of parchment so you can transfer it easily to the baking sheet.

While the dough rests, slice the tomatoes and the garlic.

Spread the pesto or hummus, leaving a two inch border, then pile on the tomatoes

Step Four: transfer the parchment to a rimmed baking sheet and pop back into the fridge for 15 minutes to rest while you preheat the oven and prep the tomatoes. Just halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the garlic…that’s it!

Step Five: spread the pesto on the chilled dough, leaving a 2 inch border. Scatter the garlic evenly over the pesto, and pile the cherry tomatoes on top, spreading out evenly across the dough.

Step Six: fold the edges of the dough over the tomatoes, crimping and overlapping as you go to help hold the filling inside. If the dough doesn’t seem to want to stick together, you can wet the dough with your fingertips at the crimp spots and that should help.

Fold, overlap and press the dough over the filling. and you’re ready to bake!

Bake 50-65 minutes, until tomatoes are juicy and crust is golden!

Step Seven: Bake for 50 – 65 minutes, checking every 3 minutes after 50. You want the tomatoes looking bubbly and the crust golden brown. Let cool for five minutes before serving.

More easy whole grain tarts and galettes:

Crisp-baked Blackberry Galette

Easy Rhubarb Galette with Cardamom

Flaky Pear Dessert Tart

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The Easiest Cherry Tomato Galette with Pesto

Bursting with juicy cherry tomatoes, this tomato galette is SO easy you’ll want to make it all the time. The dough takes just 5 minutes!

Course Baked Good, Brunch, Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, French

Diet Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword cherry tomatoes, pesto, whole grain

Dietary Preference dairy free, egg free, nut free, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Chilling Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 2 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Author Desiree Nielsen, RD

Equipment

Food Processor

Ingredients

Easy Whole Grain Galette Dough

1 cup whole wheat flour1 cup all purpose flour you can do all whole wheat or all AP if you prefer!¾ cup cold vegan baking sticks cubed1 tablespoon sugar½ teaspoon salt½ teaspoon dried thymefreshly cracked pepper⅓ cup ice water

Cherry Tomato Galette Filling

1 pound cherry tomatoes halved1 clove garlic thinly sliced⅓ – ½ cup vegan pesto or hummusflaky salt for finishing

Imperial – Metric

Instructions

Prepare the pastry: place the flours, cane sugar, salt, thyme, pepper and butter in the food processor and pulse until the butter is in pea-like pieces, about 10-12 pulses.

Then, drizzle the water into the food processor while pulsing, just until dough comes together – it’s quick!

Flour your surface, and knead the dough a few times until it comes together in a flattened disk. If dough feels a bit too sticky, just sprinkle a little more flour. Wrap disk in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 400℉ (205℃). Cut a large piece of parchment and lightly flour it. Place chilled dough on floured parchment and roll out until it’s ¼ inch (½ cm) thick. Transfer the parchment to a rimmed baking sheet and place in the fridge for 15 more minutes while you prep the tomatoes.

Spread the chilled dough with pesto, leaving a 2 inch border around the edges. Then spinkle over the garlic and the sliced tomatoes.

Fold the border over the tomatoes, overlapping and gently pressing to seal the edges. If they won’t stick, wet the dough with your fingertips and that should help.

Bake for 50-65 minutes, checking every 3 minutes after 50. You want the tomatoes looking bubly and the edges of the pastry golden brown (but not dark!)

Let it cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a cutting board and slice into squares, using a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Serve warm or room temperature.

Notes

Leftover tart will keep well for up to 3 days in the fridge. Just warm in a 350 degree oven!

And you can absolutely make the dough in advance, just refrigerate the wrapped dough disk for up to two days.

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