Easy Vegan Apple Galette

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This wonderfully rustic vegan apple galette is the perfect dessert for fall or any time of the year! An easier version of an apple pie, this galette requires just 7 ingredients and is ready in 1 hour.

Easy Vegan Apple Galette

As a resident of Upstate New York, I knew I needed to honor our apple season by making a delicious apple recipe for the blog. So here you have it, friends: the vegan apple galette! This galette has a yummy cinnamon apple pie filling wrapped within a flaky, golden crust. It is cozy, warm, and the perfect dessert for the colder months and winter holidays.

What is a galette?

A galette is basically a lazy version of a pie. Or should I say a more “rustic” version of a pie? Either way, it’s my kind of pie.

Pies and galettes are made with the same ingredients, but a galette is much more freeform and fuss-free than a pie. To make a galette, you just need to roll out the pastry dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet, put the fruit filling in the center of the dough, then fold the dough partway over the filling to contain it. Boom, done. No pie tins or fancy crust decorating required. Plus, it’ll look like you put a lot of effort into it when you really didn’t.

Vegan Apple Galette ingredients

• All purpose flour: to make the galette dough. 
• Cold vegan butter: makes the galette crust nice and flaky. I use Earth Balance Buttery Sticks. 
• Ice water: to help the dough come together. Keep it cold! 
• Apples: Granny Smith and Golden Delicious apples are the best for pies, in my opinion. But other cooking apples like Honeycrisp, Jazz, or Pink Lady also work. See the best cooking apples here.
• Cinnamon: because cinnamon apple is the best flavor combo ever. 
• Cornstarch: to thicken up the pie filling. 
• Sugar: for that sugary sweetness, because this is dessert! 
• Salt: to enhance flavor. 
• Coconut oil: acts as a vegan egg wash to help the galette crust brown.  

How to make this vegan galette gluten-free?

I tested this vegan apple galette with equal amounts of Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour to all purpose flour. The flavor was good, but the gluten free flour made the crust a bit more crumbly and less flaky than the all purpose flour. My friend Kevin even said he preferred the gluten free galette crust over the galette made with all purpose flour, so that that as you will! Let me know in the comments if you make this recipe gluten free and how it worked for you.

How to make a Vegan Apple Galette

First, make the apple pie filling. Peel, core, and thinly slice your apples. Melt some vegan butter in a small pot and whisk in the cinnamon, sugar, and cornstarch. Then add your apples, stir until evenly coated, and cook for 5-10 minutes or until the apples are slightly tender and mixture is thick with little liquid remaining. Remove from heat and set aside.

To avoid a juicy mess and soggy crust, I like cooking the apple filling so that the apples release some of their liquid prior to baking. Plus, it allows the apples to absorb the cinnamon sugar flavors more.

Once the filling is done, you can start making your dough.

How to make vegan galette dough

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. 

Remove the cold butter from the fridge, chop it into cubes, and place them in the bowl. Use a pastry cutter or fork to cut the butter into the flour until it resembles a coarse, wet sand. You can also use your hands, but work quickly so the butter doesn’t get too warm and melt!

Add the chilled water 1 tablespoon at a time and stir until the dough scrapes away from the bowl. This recipe usually requires around 4-5 tablespoons of water. If you add too much water, add more flour to compensate.

Do you have to chill galette dough?

Short answer: No. And I usually don’t.

Long answer: Chilling your dough for at least 30 minutes allows the gluten to relax so it’s easier to roll out. It also allows the butter to firm up so you can achieve a super flaky crust. If you do not refrigerate your galette dough, your crust will be slightly doughier and a little less flaky than if you had chilled it.

But do you want to know a secret? The difference in texture is pretty minimal, and I enjoy the texture of both chilled and unchilled crusts.

If you have an extra half hour to spare, roll your dough into a ball, wrap with saran wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes (but up to 2 days). If you are a lazy bones like me and want your galette to be done as soon as possible, skip the chilling.

This is the texture your dough should be at before rolling it out. You should be able to squeeze the dough in your hand without it falling apart, but it will still look slightly crumbly.

How to fold a galette

After chilling (or skipping the chilling, if you’re me), place your round ball of dough on a floured piece of parchment paper, and gently roll it into a circle or oval shape between 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick. If your circle or oval isn’t perfect and your edges are uneven, it doesn’t matter! Galettes are rustic, remember?

Place your apple pie filling in the center of the dough, leaving about 2 inches border around the edge. Fold the dough up and over the edge of the filling, overlapping the dough as you go around.

Vegan egg wash substitutes

I have been vegan for a long time, and I didn’t start cooking or baking until after I become vegan. So I have never baked anything with a real egg wash and I used to think they weren’t necessary. But the more I baked, the more I wanted that nice golden crust. So I experimented with brushing non-dairy milks, vegan butters, and oils onto my pastries before baking. This is what I learned:

Vegan butter is fine at browning, but not as good as oil. I prefer to use refined coconut oil, but I imagine any neutral tasting oil would work. Then I sprinkle a little bit of sugar over the coconut oil to aid with some caramelization. I still don’t think it’s as effective as a real egg wash, but it’s the closest thing I have found! 

In my experience, lower fat non-dairy milks (like almond milk) do not help pastries brown. I suspect that a higher fat cream like cream of coconut may help with browning, but I have not tried it. I also have heard good things about aquafaba, but have also not tried that. But even if cream of coconut and aquafaba worked beautifully, I would probably settle for vegan butter or oil out of convenience, since I rarely have cream of coconut or aquafaba on hand at any time to use. 

Once the galette is folded, brushed with coconut oil, and sprinkled with sugar, transfer it onto a baking tray and pop it into the oven for 35-40 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the crust is crisp and golden.

Tips for success

TL;DR tips and tricks for the best vegan apple galette:

• Use cold butter and ice cold water. Keep your butter in the fridge until you need to use it. And when I say ice cold water, I mean literally have ice cubes in the water if you can.
• Work quickly and handle the dough as little as possible. To get a flaky crust, we need to keep the butter cold. The longer you take to make the crust and the more you touch it with your warm little human hands, the more the butter will melt.  
• Make sure your filling isn’t too wet. A very moist filling can lead to a soggy galette bottom or the filling oozing out of the galette while in the oven.
• Don’t skip the vegan egg wash. The coconut oil and sugar really does help the crust brown! You want that golden crust, trust me.

Frequently asked questions

Can you make galette dough ahead of time? 

You sure can! After you make the dough, roll it into a ball, wrap it in saran wrap, and place it into the fridge for up to 2 days. You can also freeze the dough, thawing it overnight in the fridge before use.

Can you freeze a galette? 

You can certainly freeze the galette dough and thaw overnight before use. I have not tried freezing an assembled unbaked galette or a baked galette, but I imagine it would work fine.

How long does it keep?

Galettes are best eaten the day they are made, but will last about 2 days stored at room temperature. They last slightly longer in the fridge, up to 5 days.

More easy vegan dessert recipes

• 5 Minute Vegan Cinnamon Roll Mug Cake
• Carrot Cake Bites (5 Ingredients)
• Vegan Banana Bread Muffins

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