Courgette Galette (Galette de Courgettes)

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If you’re looking for a light yet flavour-packed dish that just screams spring and summer, the galette de courgettes is your answer. This rustic French-inspired tart features thin slices of courgette nestled in a flaky pastry, paired with ricotta cheese and fresh herbs. Whether served warm as a main or sliced into wedges for a starter, this courgette galette is a delicious way to cook with courgettes that looks super impressive too.

A galette de courgettes is a savoury tart, typically made by piling a courgette and cheese filling into the centre of rolled pastry and folding the edges over to encase it. Unlike a traditional quiche or tart, galettes are fuss-free, rustic, and versatile. I like to fill this one with ricotta and some red pesto before adding the courgettes in a pretty fashion, although this is optional, as you can also just pile them on. The folded edges mean you get crispy edges but a nice soft tart in the centre. It’s just so good.

Why you will love this recipe:
Ingredients:
Substitutions and Variations:
Here’s how to make courgette galette:
Cooking Tips:
Frequently Asked Questions
Other recipes you might enjoy:
Courgette Galette (Galette de Courgettes) Recipe

Why you will love this recipe:

It’s an easy and impressive dish with minimal ingredients.
You can prep the courgette galette ahead of time and bake when ready.
It’s a great vegetarian centrepiece that everyone will love.
You can customise the galette to swap in your favourites flavour alongside courgette.

Ingredients:

Full recipe can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post, just scroll down!

Puff pastry – a nice hack here is to use two sheets of puff pastry and stick them together. Then you have a big sheet of pastry from which you can cut a circle for the galette but you don’t need to spend ages rolling it out thinly. You can roll out a block or make it from scratch if you’d rather.

Red pesto – also known as pesto rosso, this is a tomato pesto. Any works – you can make your own but I find a jar easiest.

Courgettes – also known as zucchini, I like to use smaller courgettes as I find they have better flavour. Yellow or green work.

Substitutions and Variations:

Pesto – chilli pesto or green basil pesto would be delicious here too, instead of red pesto.

Ricotta – you could use creme fraiche instead of ricotta. Or using half Boursin, half ricotta is a nice way to do it too for a garlic & herb twist.

Herbs – I scatter the top with thyme but you could also top with chives, basil or parsley.

Here’s how to make courgette galette:

Here’s a step by step guide for what you need to do, but you can find the full recipe at the bottom of the page for detailed instructions.

ONE: Preheat your oven to 190°C fan/ 210°C. Stick the two sheets of puff pastry together by overlapping them slightly and pressing to seal, then trim into a large circle.

spreading pesto and ricotta on the galette.

TWO: Spread a generous layer of red pesto over the pastry, leaving a 4–5cm (1.5–2 inch) border around the edges. Spread ricotta mixture over the top.

THREE: Using a vegetable peeler, shave the courgettes into long ribbons. Place them in a large bowl and season with salt, pepper, a drizzle of olive oil, 1 tablespoon honey, and lemon zest. Toss to combine.

FOUR: Take one courgette ribbon and curl it into a tight spiral. Place this in the centre of the tart.

folding the edges of the galette de courgette.

FIVE: Continue placing courgette ribbons around it in concentric circles until you’ve used most of them and there’s about 2–3cm of filling left before the border. Gently fold the pastry edges up and over the filling, tucking as needed to form a rustic crust.

baking and slicing a galette de courgettes.

SIX: Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden, crisp, and puffed and the courgettes have lightly caramelised.

Cooking Tips:

How to avoid a leaky galette – sometimes galettes can leak out their filling, so try to avoid any cracks when folding the pastry over. Sometimes chilling the galette in the fridge for 15 minutes before baking can stop leakage as the pastry firms up in the fridge.

How to arrange the courgettes on the galette – the pretty concentric pattern is optional but it’s definitely easier than you think. The video in the recipe card will help but essentially, start from the centre. Roll up a few ribbons of courgette and place in the centre of the galette. Then use the other ribbons to wrap around the centre roll until the tart starts building out.

Leftover puff pastry – if you use two sheets of pre-rolled puff pastry, you’ll have leftover pastry from the offcuts. I like to make little pain au chocolat with this. Cut out little rectangles and wrap in a square of dark chocolate. Bake at 180c for 10 minutes or until puffed and golden.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to blind bake the crust of a galette?

No, it’s not required here, and I find it doesn’t need it to create a crisp galette.

Can I make a galette de courgettes gluten-free?

Yes, you can do although we haven’t tried it. You could use a gluten-free pastry dough. Ensure your surface is well-floured when rolling out.

can i make this courgette galette ahead of time?

The galette can be assembled a few hours in advance and chilled. Then bake when ready. I like serving this galette warm rather than piping hot as I find it holds its shape nicely when slightly cooled.

Other recipes you might enjoy:

If you want some salads to serve with this galette de courgettes, try my easy beetroot and goat’s cheese salad or my brussels sprout and bacon salad. For pudding, this berry cake is so beautiful and delicious, too.