This blueberry galette is the perfect dessert to showcase blueberries this season. Sweetened with just a little maple syrup, it’s bursting with the flavors of blueberries, plus a flaky crunch from the homemade pie crust.
If you like blueberry pie, but think it’s too much work to make one from scratch – you’ll love the humble blueberry galette. Simply roll out your pie dough, pile on the blueberries and maple syrup then fold over the edges to bake.
Let’s do this!
My blueberry galette is exactly the type of dessert we made when I lived in France. It always amazed me how the French could take the fruit that was in season, a little sugar and a delicious cake or pastry dough, and create out of the this world desserts.
The secret is delicious soil-grown blueberries, picked at the peak of ripeness…and flavor! Your blueberries should be sweet, not tart, so they’ll require little added sugar.
With every bite of this galette you’ll taste baked blueberries in all their glory. It’s so gooey and satisfying, without being overly sweet like some blueberry pies.
You can enjoy this blueberry galette for breakfast without feeling guilty, or serve it for dessert and wow your guests!
What is a Galette?
Galette is the French term for any free-form pie without a crust on top. Free-form means it’s made flat, on a cookie sheet without a pie dish.
Galettes are sometimes called rustic tarts or rustic pies because of their imperfect nature. If you like pies, but find them tedious to make, you’ll fall in love with galettes.
A galette has all the best features of a pie, without the fuss. They are easy to make and hard to screw up.
I adore galettes because they sum up my priorities around desserts:
- keep it simple
- and not too sweet
- so the ingredients can shine
And boy does this blueberry galette make those blueberries shine. And the pie crust too – light and flaky, oh my!
With that, let’s get baking like the French!
Blueberry Galette Ingredients
This blueberry galette is gluten-free because I make it with gluten-free pie dough. If you’re not gluten-free, you can use a regular pie dough.
Blueberries – I use fresh blueberries, but have also made this blueberry galette with frozen wild blueberries. See the FAQ section for how to make a galette with frozen blueberries.
Maple syrup – Blueberries and maple syrup are a delicious combination, so I’m sweetening this galette with maple syrup rather than refined white sugar.
Cinnamon – A little cinnamon is added to the blueberry galette filling.
Flour for thickening – Blueberries are high in pectin, so the juices naturally thicken some when baked. But we’ll be adding a small amount of gluten-free flour to the berries to help them out.
Pie crust – You’ll need one uncooked pie crust. I’m making the galette with my homemade gluten-free pie crust but you can use a regular pie crust if you’re not gluten-free.
Egg – One egg yolk to make the egg wash for the crust (helps it brown). And you’ll brush the bottom of the dough with egg white to create a barrier between it and blueberries. This keeps the pie crust from getting soggy.
Turbinado sugar – Turbinado sugar a type of minimally-processed, raw cane sugar and is used to decorate and add sweetness to the galette crust. I buy turbinado sugar at Trader Joe’s. Demerara sugar is sometimes used as a substitute for turbinado sugar.
How to Make a Blueberry Galette
1. Prepare the blueberries
Rinse one pint (2 cups) of blueberries under running water then gently pat them dry.
Weed through the berries to discard any that are shriveled or unripe, and remove stems.
Place the blueberries in a large bowl and add:
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp flour, gluten-free or regular
Delicately toss the berries to evenly distribute the seasoning. Then set the bowl aside on your counter while you roll out the pie dough.
2. Prepare the pie dough
Roll out a single pie dough until it’s 12 inches in diameter and about 1/8 inch thick.
Transfer the pie dough to a piece of parchment paper and place it on a large baking pan. It’ll be much easier to move the galette before the toppings are added.
Separate the yolk from the white of your egg and put them in two separate small bowls. With a pastry brush, coat the top of the galette dough with a layer of egg white. You’ll have plenty left over.
The egg white acts like a barrier to help keep the crust from getting soggy by the blueberries.
3. Assemble the galette
Now pile the blueberries and any juices on top of the galette dough. Leave about an inch and a half of space around the edge that you’ll fold over in the next step.
If you’re using gluten-free dough (which tends to crack and break apart easier than regular pie dough), this next step will be tricky.
Carefully begin folding the edges of the dough up over the blueberries like the photo below. Avoid pressing the dough down into the blueberries, it should sit loosely on top.
Tip: Gluten-free dough is tricky to handle. Rather than try to peel the dough off the parchment paper to fold the edges, I find it easier to lift the edge of the parchment paper up. Then fold it and the dough. The parchment paper will release from the dough with more ease.
Next, go around the edge of the dough and seal off any cracks and crevices so the filling doesn’t ooze out while it bakes. You can wet a finger with cold water and smooth out the small cracks. Larger cracks may need to be pressed together.
4. Apply the egg wash, then sugar the crust
To make the egg wash, add half a tablespoon of water to just the egg yolk. Whisk them together with a fork.
Use your pastry brush to apply a layer of egg wash all around the exposed part of the crust.
Then sprinkle the crust with a teaspoon of turbinado sugar. Take another half teaspoon of the sugar and sprinkle it over the entire galette but mostly on the crust.
5. Bake the galette
Place the baking sheet on the middle rack of your oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake until the crust is starting to get golden brown. This will take 40 to 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven, slice and serve! The blueberry galette is best enjoyed while it’s still warm.
Serve on its own or with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
If you’d like more gluten-free galette recipes check out my gluten-free peach galette and apple galette with sweet crisp topping. So delicious!
Or, if it’s blueberry season I have more blueberry recipes such as my blueberry compote and gluten-free blueberry crisp.
Frequently Asked Questions: Blueberry Galette
Can I make a blueberry galette with frozen blueberries?
Here’s how to use frozen blueberries to make a galette. First, completely thaw 2 heaping cups of frozen blueberries. Then strain off as much of the resulting liquid as possible. Use the thawed blueberries like you would fresh blueberries to make this galette recipe.
If using frozen blueberries, I recommend wild blueberries because they pack extra health benefits over cultivated blueberries.
What does an egg wash do for the galette?
An egg wash brushed on the crust of a galette serves two purposes:
- Adds a little shine to the crust
- Creates a beautiful golden brown color as it bakes
I’ve tried baking a galette with and without an egg wash, and the crust really does turn out dull and colorless without the egg wash.
How do I keep a galette from getting soggy?
Brush a layer of egg white over the part of the dough where you’ll place the toppings. The egg white creates a barrier between the toppings and the dough that stops it from getting soggy.
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Blueberry Galette (with Gluten-Free Crust)
Ingredients
- 2 cups blueberries rinsed and de-stemmed
- 2 tbs real maple syrup
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp flour gluten-free or regular
- 1 pie dough gluten-free or regular
- 1 large egg separated into the yolk and white
- 1.5 tsp turbinado sugar for dusting the crust
Instructions
- Place the blueberries in a large bowl and add the maple syrup, cinnamon and flour. Stir gently to distribute.
- Roll out the pie dough and place it on a piece of parchment paper on top of a baking sheet. Brush a layer of egg white over the entire top of the dough with a pastry brush.
- Pile the blueberries and any juices on top of the galette dough, leaving an inch and a half of space around the edge to fold over in the next step.
- Carefully fold the edges of the dough up so it sits on top of the berries. Use your finger dipped in cold water to smooth out any cracks in the dough. Larger cracks may need to be pressed together. The point here is to make it hard for the filling to ooze out while the galette bakes.
- Next, make an egg wash by whisking 1/2 tbs of water with just the egg yolk. Brush this over the exposed parts of the crust to encourage it to turn golden brown in the oven.
- Sprinkle the edge of the pie crust with 1 tsp of the turbinado sugar. Then sprinkle the remaining half tablespoon of sugar over the entire galette, but mostly on the crust.
- Bake at 400 for 40 to 50 minutes until the crust is starting to turn golden brown to your liking. This takes 45 minutes in my oven.
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