Apple Galette

This apple galette recipe is basically a freeform apple tart, no need for a pie dish. The crust is flaky and crisp, the apple filling is sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar for a beautiful color as it bakes.

This apple galette recipe is so much easier than apple pie! The key to this recipe is its simplicity. Fewer steps than you might think for a galette that looks this rustic and beautiful.

We're going to chop half of the apples, then top those with thinly sliced apples to ensure the perfect texture. The cinnamon-sugar is sprinkled on top just before baking instead of trying to get it evenly coated in a mixing bowl. Less steps, less fuss.

And this crust! It is shatteringly crisp! It's flaky around the edges! It's so crisp on the bottom, you can hold it in your hand and eat it like a slice of pizza if you want to. And you barely even have to chill it before rolling it out!!! No waiting!!

Craving more galette recipes? Try my Strawberry Galette or this Blueberry Galette recipe.

Three granny smith apples, one lemon, and small bowls of flour, water, sugar, salt, honey, butter and cinnamon.

Apple galette recipe ingredients

Galette crust

This crust is insane! It is so flaky, so crisp on the bottom, and effortless to make! Just zip it in the food processor, no muss, no fuss. It's a very easy pastry dough to roll out and shape. It's got all the ingredients you'd expect in a classic pie dough, but it's the ratios that make it work so well.

All purpose flour
Unsalted butter
Granulated sugar
Ice water
Kosher salt

Apple filling

Granny Smith apples: I used Granny Smith apples because I love their tart flavor and they don't give up a lot of water, so no worrying about too much liquid in the filling.
Lemon: You'll need to squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the apples so they don't discolor, this also helps them hold their shape as they bake.
Honey: We'll drizzle a little honey over the bottom layer of apples for a nice floral flavor.
Sugar and cinnamon: We're just going to sprinkle this on top! No need to mix or macerate!

Best apples for a galette

Most good baking apples will work for a galette. My favorite is Granny Smith because they are easy to find, available year round, they have a nice tart flavor, and they hold their shape without releasing too much juice. Here are some to try:

Granny Smith: The classic!
Braeburn: Not too tart, not too sweet, juicy, but not too juicy.
Golden Delicious: Slightly sweet, and they hold their shape well.
Pink Lady: Sweet and juicy, and they don't turn brown when you're cutting them up as fast as most other apples.

How to make an apple galette

Apple galette recipe adapted from Jaques Pepin.

A woman's hand holding galette crust ingredients just after being blended in the food processor. It is the texture of wet sand.

Step 1: Make the galette crust

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the butter into small pieces. Chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes if you have time.

Pulse the flour, sugar, salt, and cold butter in a food processor until the butter is the size of small peas.

Sprinkle the water over the flour mixture and pulse until it looks like breadcrumbs or wet sand and it holds together if you squeeze a bit of it in your palm. See tips below.

A woman's hands compressing galette crust into a disc in a piece of plastic wrap.

Transfer the mixture to a clean surface and bring it together with your hands. Pat into a disk and wrap in plastic. Put in the refrigerator to chill while you make the filling.

This galette dough recipe doesn't have to be chilled for a specific minimum amount of time, (or at all!) so you can go ahead and start prepping the apples.

PRO TIP You can dump the dough mixture in the food processor directly onto a piece of plastic wrap. Gather up the sides and press down gently to form into a disk.

A small bowl of sugar and cinnamon next to two measuring spoons.

In small bowl, mix together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

Three apples, one has been peeled, on a cutting board with a knife.

Step 2: Slice the apples

A bowl of chopped apple pieces next to a wedge of lemon that has been squeezed.

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Peel and core the apples.

Take two of the apples and chop into small pieces. Transfer to a bowl, squeeze some lemon juice over them and toss to coat.

Take the other two apples and slice them into thin half moons about ¼ inch thick. Transfer to a separate bowl, squeeze lemon juice over the top, toss to coat and set aside.

Galette crust rolled out and placed on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. A rolling pin is on the left.

Step 3: Roll out the galette crust

On a lightly floured surface, gently roll out the galette crust, turning it clockwise as you go to prevent sticking. Add more flour as necessary.

When the crust is about 14 inches in diameter, gently drape it over your rolling pin and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.

Pro tip

The shape of the galette crust doesn't matter too much. It can be a circle, a rectangle, a square-ish circle. What matters is that it's big enough (but not too big) to hold the apples. You're going to fold in the edges and it should look rustic, so it won't be a perfect circle no matter what!

Apple pieces and slices arranged in a design on top of a piece of pastry.

Step 4: Assemble the apple galette and bake!

Spread out the chopped apples so they're about 1 ½ inches from the edge of the crust. Drizzle them with the honey.

Arrange the sliced apple wedges in a layered pattern of your choosing on top of the chopped apples. You can make concentric circles or have them going every which direction for a more abstract look like I did.

An apple galette with small pieces of butter on top ready to go into the oven.

Sprinkle the prepared cinnamon and sugar over the apple slices. Gently fold the galette crust around the apples, making little pleats as you go around. Dot the apples with the remaining pieces of butter.

Bake for about 1 hour until the crust is golden brown. Let the galette cool on the pan on a cooling rack before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Expert tips for this easy apple galette recipe

Keep the crust ingredients as cold as possible. I always like to put the butter in the freezer for a few minutes after I cut it up. Use ice water, not just cold water from the refrigerator.
Turn the dough as you roll it out to prevent it from sticking to the surface and add more flour if necessary. Don't forget to flour your rolling pin, too!
Don't handle the dough too much to keep the butter from melting. The steam from the cold butter hitting the hot oven is what makes the crust so flaky.
Don't worry about the shape of your rolled out galette dough. Mine are usually square-ish circles! As long as it's got about a 14-inch diameter, you'll be fine. It's not meant to be perfectly round when it's finished baking so just fold up the edges and go with it.
This apple galette recipe is NOT a piled high fruit situation. It is more like a French tart because the fruit lays pretty flat, which makes it very easy to work with when assembling.
I know it seems like a long baking time but it works! You can check it at 50 minutes to be safe. You may want to have a ring of foil ready to place over the edge of the crust just in case it's getting too dark.

FAQ for apple galette

How to you keep a galette bottom from getting soggy?

You probably won't have that problem with this apple galette, because we're baking at a higher temperature, we're not using an overwhelming amount of apples, and we're not adding sugar to them until right before it goes into the oven, so you won't have a lot of juices running out. If you're concerned, you can sprinkle some semolina flour on the crust before adding the apples.

What's the best pan for an apple galette?

Galettes should be baked on a rimmed baking sheet, just in case any juices run out. I use a half sheet pan. Keep in mind that a darker pan will brown the crust faster.

How long should an apple galette cool?

This galette doesn't have a gooey filling that needs to set up, so it doesn't take too long to cool, about 15 minutes. Once it has stopped bubbling and it's warm, but no longer hot, you can slice and serve.

How to serve an apple galette

Serve an apple galette as you would pie, with some of the usual suspects. Try ice cream or whipped cream. I love it with tangy creme fraiche, or top it with some candied hazelnuts.

Storage and make ahead

Storage: This apple galette should be eaten the same day it's made, but any leftovers will keep for one day loosely covered with foil at room temperature. The delicate crust will lose some of its crispness the next day. You can gently reheat leftovers in a 350 degree oven until warmed through.

Make ahead: You can make the crust and the cinnamon sugar one day ahead. Keep the crust refrigerated until ready to roll out.

An apple galette is a simple, rustic dessert!

Super crisp and flaky crust.
Not too much fruit, so no worrying about a soggy bottom!
Easy prep: The galette crust is made in the food processor and you just have to peel and slice a few apples.
Quicker than average because you don't need to wait for the dough to chill.
Tastes great at room temperature, so it's perfect on a dessert buffet or for brunch!

More apple dessert recipes

This Caramel Apple Upside Down Cake is made in a cast iron skillet and turns out perfectly every time!
Gluten Free Apple Cake is a twist on a ricotta cake, made with cornmeal.
Apple Compote can be a dessert on its own, or served with pancakes, yogurt parfaits, ice cream, and more!
Try this German Apple Cake, it's so simple you don't even need a mixer!

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