This Strawberry Basil Galette is an easy French dessert made with a flaky homemade crust (pâte brisée) and juicy, sweet strawberries. Rustic, elegant, and simple to prepare, it’s the perfect summer galette recipe for entertaining or casual baking at home.
Audrey’s Note
This Strawberry Basil Galette is my ode to early summer. At my local market in Brittany, when strawberries are at their peak, I love pairing them with fresh basil. It may surprise you at first, but basil brings a delicate, almost floral note that lifts the fruit in the most delightful way.
The filling is wrapped in a golden, crisp “pâte brisée”, the classic French pastry dough we use for both tarts and galettes. It’s wonderfully simple – just flour, a pinch of salt, good butter, and ice-cold water. But when treated with care, it bakes into a crust that is both flaky and sturdy, perfectly cradling the jammy fruit.
I love that you can make the dough up to two days in advance and let it rest in the fridge. It’s a lovely way to prepare for guests without rushing, so all that’s left is assembling and baking.
And if pastry has ever intimidated you, let this be your invitation to let go. Less fussy than a pie, more forgiving than a tart, a galette is meant to be rustic! Its edges can be uneven, its shape imperfect; that’s precisely its charm. Simple, elegant and unfussy, it embodies the true spirit of French baking at home.
Bon appétit !
Why You’ll Love This Strawberry Basil Galette
- A simple, no-fuss French dessert anyone can master.
- A flaky, buttery homemade crust (pâte brisée).
- A fresh and unique pairing of strawberries and basil.
- Perfect for summer entertaining, picnics, or casual desserts.
- Easily adaptable (including a nut-free option).
Ingredients for this Strawberry Basil Galette
For the Galette crust
- Flour. All-purpose flour works perfectly here, giving the crust just the right balance of structure and tenderness.
- Salt. Just a pinch enhances the overall flavor of the dough.
- Butter. Use cold, unsalted butter cut into small cubes. For best results, I like to cube the butter ahead of time and chill it in the fridge for at least an hour before baking. Keeping the butter very cold is key to achieving a flaky, tender crust.
- Water. You’ll need about ¼ cup (60 ml) of ice-cold water to bring the dough together. Add it gradually, one tablespoon (15 ml) at a time, you may not need it all.
For the filling
- Almond flour. A light layer is sprinkled over the crust before adding the fruit. It helps absorb excess juices during baking, keeping the base crisp rather than soggy.
- Fresh basil. Thinly sliced basil is mixed with the almond flour, adding a delicate, slightly floral note that pairs beautifully with the strawberries.
- Strawberries. Choose fresh, ripe, in-season strawberries. Hull them and slice them thickly (rather than quartering) so they bake evenly and stay tender.
- Sugar. I like to toss the strawberries with about ¼ cup (50g) of sugar before assembling. This not only enhances their natural sweetness but also helps create a thicker, more cohesive filling, so your galette slices cleanly instead of being too runny.
How to Make a Strawberry Basil Galette (Step-by-Step)
- Make the dough – Combine flour, salt, and cold butter until crumbly. Add ice water gradually, then form into a disk and chill.
- Prepare the filling – Toss strawberries with sugar. In a separate bowl, mix almond flour and basil.
- Assemble the galette – Roll out the dough into a rough circle. Add almond-basil mixture, top with strawberries, and fold the edges over.
- Bake – Brush edges with egg wash and bake until golden, crisp, and bubbling.
My best tips for a strawberry Galette:
Here are a few more tips before you start making this galette.
- Keep everything cold: Using cold butter and ice-cold water is essential for a successful dough. Cold butter stays firm as it’s worked into the flour, creating small pockets that result in a flaky, tender crust. Ice-cold water helps bring the dough together without melting the butter.
- Chill the dough: Let the pâte brisée rest in the fridge for at least 20–30 minutes before rolling it out. If it feels too firm straight from the fridge, let it sit at room temperature for 5–10 minutes until it softens slightly and becomes easier to handle.
- Don’t worry about cracks: If the dough cracks when folding it over the filling, simply dampen your fingers with a little lukewarm water and gently press the cracks together to seal them. Rustic is part of the charm of a galette.
- Leave enough border: When adding the filling, leave about a 2-inch (5 cm) border around the edges. This makes it easier to fold the dough over the fruit.
- Keep it as flat as possible: Arrange the strawberries in a single, even layer so they bake uniformly.
- Make it nut-free: If you’d like a nut-free version, swap the almond flour for all-purpose flour or rolled oats. Both options will still help absorb excess juices while baking.
Galette FAQs:
Can you make galette dough ahead of time?
Yes! The dough can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept refrigerated. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month.
Why is my strawberry galette watery?
This usually happens if the fruit is layered too thick. Keep the fruit in a single layer for best results.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
Potentially yes, but thaw and drain them well first to avoid excess moisture.
This Strawberry Basil Galette is everything I love about French home baking: simple ingredients, seasonal fruit, and a rustic finish that never tries too hard.
If you enjoy rustic French baking, you might also love:
- Classic French Strawberry Tart
- French Plum Tart (Tarte aux prunes)
- Alsatian Blueberry Tart
- Blueberry Peach Galette
- Classic Apple Tart Tatin
- Normandy Apple Tart
- Classic French Fruit Tart
- Apricot Frangipane Tart
- Peach Crème Fraiche Streusel Tart
- Blueberry Bundt Cake (Tourte aux Myrtilles)
- Gâteau Basque (Basque Cake with pastry cream)
2 comments
Thanks for this recipe. I used to rub the butter and flour together until it resembled sand (i.e. using the ‘sabler’ technique), however the dough used to break apart when I rolled it out. Now I combine until the dough resembles the size of walnuts and it doesn’t break apart any more. I notice that sometimes people use the word ‘galette’ to refer to a cake-like pastry instead of the free-form pie. Any comment on that?
Interesting, Fran. When you say walnuts, I assume you mean the actual walnuts (inside) the shell. That’s a pretty good rule to use. I go a touch smaller and tend to stop at “pea-sized” bits of butter in my dough. Works wonderfully as well!
As for the word “galette” it’s used in quite a few ways here, actually. Of course we have the free form pie as in this recipe… But there’s also the cake/pie hybrid “galette des rois”. Buckwheat crepes are also known as “galettes”, and the little famous butter cookies from my home region also often bear the name “galettes au beurre”.