Heirloom Tomato Galette with Caramelized Onions

Heirloom tomato galette with caramelized onions is a lovely way to use up the summer season’s tomato bounty. Flaky pie crust, savory + sweet onion and fresh in-season tomatoes. Yes, yes and yes.

We’ve been getting beautiful heirloom tomatoes in our Farm Fresh to You shipments and they’ve just been begging to be made into a galette. Or at least that’s what I’m hearing them say. If you’re not familiar with galettes and think it sounds like too-fancy of a thing to do, I promise it’s not! A galette is just something delicious wrapped in pie crust. It’s a rustic sort of dish that doesn’t require any fancy pie crust handling skills. All you do is lay out the fillings on the crust and fold the edges up around the filling. Super easy, feels a little fancy and tastes so stinking good. Let’s make it!

Disclaimer: this post may contain affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase any of the items linked in this post, I should earn a small commission. This creates no additional cost to you and helps support the work that goes into running The Fig Jar. Thank you! -Becky 

Ingredients

Heirloom Tomato Galette

• Pie crust: store-bought or homemade. I almost always use the pie crusts from Trader Joe’s. You can find them in the freezer section by the desserts. They are always delicious and of course they are a huge time saver.
• Heirloom tomatoes: In a simple dish like this where the tomatoes are the star, you want to make sure they are good.
• Onion: I used a yellow onion but you could really use any kind
• Butter: To caramelize the onions
• Red wine vinegar: This will also be used in the caramelized onions
• Brown sugar: This is also for the caramelized onions!
• Fresh basil: optional but highly recommended
• Egg: optional to use as an egg wash to get that golden brown crust

And that’s all you’ll need to make this heirloom tomato galette. Super simple right? I love recipes like this that take a few humble ingredients and turn them into something that feels fancy.

How to make Heirloom Tomato Galette

Pie crust

If you are using the frozen pie crust from Trader Joe’s, you will need to set the dough on the counter to thaw about 2 hours before you plan to make the galette. You want the dough to be thawed, but still cool and pliable. Don’t try to unroll the dough until it’s thawed.

While the pie crust is defrosting, make the caramelized onions.

Caramelized onions

I recommend using a cast-iron skillet or dutch oven to caramelize the onions. The onions will be cooking on the stove for about 35 minutes so you want to use a sturdy pan.

Heat your skillet over medium heat, then add two tablespoons of butter. Add the onions and reduce the heat to medium low. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and allow to cook for about 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Draw moisture out of the tomatoes by salting them

Tomatoes contain a lot of liquid. It’s important to draw some of that liquid out before you bake the galette to keep the crust from getting soggy.

Simply slice the tomatoes, then arrange on a cooling rack with paper owels underneath. Sprinkle tomato slices with salt and allow them to rest for about 15 minutes, flip and then sprinkle with salt again.

Can you use a different type of tomato?

While you can use a different type of tomato, I recommend doing your best to use heirloom. Heirloom tomatoes have a lot more “meat” than regular tomatoes which means less goopy tomato liquid, which means you shouldn’t end up with a soggy bottom crust. If you happen to have great-tasting, meaty tomatoes that aren’t heirloom, you can likely still get good results when following this recipe.

Assembling the galette

Once the pie crust is thawed, unroll it and press together any cracks.

Place the pie crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet, then top with a layer of caramelized onions. Leave about a 2-3 inch edge with no onions. Pro-tip: reserve a tablespoon or so of the caramelized onions to scatter on the top of the galette after baking.

Arrange tomato slices on top of the onions.

Then fold the pie dough up and over the tomatoes.

Option to do an egg wash at this point to get a more golden-brown crust. Simply beat an egg, then brush it on with a pastry brush.

Bake at 400 for about 25-35 minutes. Top with fresh basil and the extra caramelized onions and enjoy!

Tried this Heirloom Tomato Galette recipe?

If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment/rating below and let me know how it went. I’d love to hear from you! You can also connect with me on instagram and Pinterest.

MORE EASY PASTRY RECIPES

Heirloom Tomato Galette with Caramelized Onions

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A tomato galette is such a simple way to enjoy summer tomatoes. Flavorful, in season tomatoes and caramelized onions means few other ingredients are needed to make a delicious dish.

• Author: Becky Schmieg
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
• Cuisine: American, French

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 store-bought pie crust
• 2 medium-sized heirloom tomatoes (preferably different colors)
• 1 yellow onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/4 tsp salt (plus more for sprinkling on the tomatoes)
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 2 leaves fresh basil
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)

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Instructions

Pie crust

1. If pie crust is frozen, remove from freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature for about 2 hours before assembling/baking.

Tomatoes

1. Place paper towels under a cooling rack, then place tomato slices on cooling rack. Lightly sprinkle tomato slices with salt and allow them to rest for 15 minutes, then flip and sprinkle again with salt.

Caramelized onions

1. Heat butter in a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add onions slices, then sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally for about 30-35 minutes. You should hear a gentle sizzle during the entire cooking process. If the sizzle is loud and intense, the heat is too high.
2. During the last 5 minutes of cooking the onions, add the brown sugar and red wine vinegar.

Assemble & bake

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Roll the thawed pie dough out and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Press together any cracks, use a rolling pin to smooth out the dough if necessary.
3. Arrange caramelized onions on pie crust, leaving a 2-3 inch edge of pie crust around the onions (reserve about a tablespoon of caramelized onions to scatter on top after baking). Then arrange tomato slices on top of the onions.
4. Fold up the edges of the pie crust around the tomatoes. Brush the crust with beaten egg if using.
5. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until crust is golden brown. After removing from the oven, scatter reserved caramelized onions on and fresh basil on top.
6. Enjoy!

Notes

• Using an egg wash on the crust is completely optional and really does not affect flavor. It helps the crust get that golden brown color and just makes it more visually appealing.