Vegetarian Recipes

Pear Galette

As we say goodbye to peaches in the summertime, I stay positive and look forward to the next season… pear season! Pears are one of my favorite fall fruits, and this perfectly fall-festive Pear Galette with caramel sauce is a delicious way to showcase them. This free-form pie is one of the easiest desserts you’ll EVER make, and the filling is deliciously simple. Spiced pears and tangy dried cranberries are wrapped in a flaky, buttery crust to create the best beginner-friendly dessert on a budget!

What is a Galette?

Originating from France, a galette is the answer to all your pie needs this busy holiday season! It’s essentially a rustic, free-form pie made with a single crust and folded-up edges over a simple filling. They differ from traditional pies because you don’t bake them in a pie pan (a baking tray is all you need!), and they’re often quicker to make. They also don’t have a top crust, so there’s no messing around with latticework or fancy pastry techniques. All you need is a pre-made pie crust and your filling! I use sliced pears, dried cranberries, cinnamon, ground ginger, sugar, and lemon juice for a sweet-tart pear galette perfect for fall.

Here’s what you’ll need to make this simple pear galette recipe:

Pears: You can use any type of pear you like. I used a green Bartlett pear and a red Anjou pear for beautiful color contrast in my filling. I recommend choosing a pear that feels firm but not too hard (it should give a little when you press on it).
Granulated Sugar & Light Brown Sugar: Mix these sugars with lemon juice and spices to create a sweet and slightly tangy marinade.
Lemon Juice: Stops the pears from browning and adds a bright flavor to the filling.
Spices: Ground cinnamon and ginger add a warm, fall flavor.
Salt: Just a pinch for flavor.
Dried Cranberries: These add a chewy texture and tart flavor to every bite. They might be labeled “craisins” in your local grocery store.
Pre-Made Pie Dough: This is a shortcut I’m always willing to take when I’ve got a lot going on around the holidays! I use a pre-made pie crust to save myself time and effort. They often come in packs of two, so you could freeze the other and make our peach galette come summertime. For homemade, try our pie crust recipe.
Milk: Brush a little milk over your pie crust to help it brown in the oven.
Turbinado Sugar: A coarse, raw sugar that adds a crunchy texture and sweet flavor to the crust. Coconut sugar, demerara sugar, or brown sugar would all differ slightly, but would still work if you can’t find turbinado sugar.
Caramel Sauce: I use salted butter, room temperature heavy cream, vanilla extract, and brown sugar to make an easy caramel sauce for serving!

Variations to try

This easy pear galette recipe is just that—easy! But don’t let it’s simplicity fool you. The flavors and textures in this dessert are anything but basic. However, if you want to use this recipe as a base and switch up the flavor, here are some variations I think you’ll love:

Swap out one of the pears for an apple (make sure it’s sliced thin).
Mix in a handful of berries, such as blackberries or blueberries—like in our lemon blueberry cream cheese galette!
Sprinkle some slivered almonds or diced pecans.
Try raisins or dried cherries in place of the craisins.
Drizzle melted dark chocolate over the top.
Use different spices like cardamom, allspice or nutmeg instead of cinnamon/ginger.

What About the Leftover Spiced Pear Juice?

If you want to do something creative with any leftover pear juice after step 8, you can make a cocktail with it or briefly simmer it on the stovetop to make a pear simple syrup. Delicious and no-waste—win-win!

I took our caramel sauce recipe and reduced the heavy cream used ever so slightly to make it thicker for this pear galette. Drizzle it over the top of the warm slices and enjoy every last bite! A scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream would take this elegant dessert to the next level!

Storing Leftovers

This homemade pear galette recipe is best served fresh, but it’ll keep in the fridge for 2-3 days if covered with foil or plastic wrap. Just note the crust may lose some of its crispness.

You can also try freezing individual slices for up to 3 months, but let them thaw completely before serving. And like any fresh fruit dessert, the texture may be slightly softer after being frozen. I’d reheat slices in the oven at about 350F for a few minutes until warmed through.

Pear Galette Recipe

This easy Pear Galette is packed with warmly spiced pears and craisins, then wrapped in a flaky crust and served with homemade caramel sauce!

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Total Cost ($6.24 recipe / $0.78 serving)

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings slices

Calories 288kcal

Author Jess – Budget Bytes

Ingredients

Pear Galette Ingredients

2 pears, cored and quartered* $2.64
2 Tbsp granulated sugar $0.08
2 Tbsp brown sugar $0.10
2 tsp lemon juice $0.02
½ tsp cinnamon $0.04
½ tsp ground ginger $0.12
pinch of salt $0.01
1 pre-made pie dough $1.38
1 Tbsp dried cranberries or ”craisins” $0.13
1 Tbsp milk, for the crust $0.01
1 Tbsp turbinado sugar, for the crust $0.06

Caramel Sauce Ingredients

¼ cup salted butter $0.60
½ cup brown sugar $0.40
¼ cup heavy cream, room temperature $0.42
½ tsp vanilla extract $0.23

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450F. Slice pears ¼ inch thin.**
In a medium mixing bowl, stir together sugar, brown sugar, lemon juice, cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt.
Pour the mixture over sliced pears and set aside.
Unroll pie dough on a sheet of parchment paper and fill the crust with sliced pears in one single layer, leaving 1-2 inches of space around the edge. (I had some extra pear slices, so I fanned them out on top, making a small second layer.)
Then, add craisins to the leftover pear juice to rehydrate. Set aside while you make the caramel sauce.
In a small saucepan, melt salted butter over medium-low heat. Then, add brown sugar and whisk together until a smooth caramel forms.
Remove caramel from heat and stream in room temperature heavy cream and vanilla, whisking until smooth.
Set aside caramel sauce to thicken. Meanwhile, brush some of the leftover juice from the soaking cranberries over the pears.
Dot the pears with hydrated cranberries.
Gently fold the sides of dough over the edges of the pears and pinch the dough to form a rustic texture and enclose your pear filling inside the galette.
Brush the crust with milk.
Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the crust and on top of your galette.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown and the pears begin to wilt.***

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*I chose a red Anjou pear and a green bartlett pear. Any variety of pear will work for this galette. You can choose to peel your pears or leave the skin on. I left the skin on.

**I sliced my quartered pears, keeping them organized and together so they would be easier to fan out when filling my tart for aesthetic reasons.

***The pears will not turn to mush but should be tender and maintain their signature texture. If you find your crust is beginning to burn, you can lightly place a piece of tinfoil on top of your galette to help dodge the heat. This is a very flat “pie alternative” and doesn’t take as long to cook.

Nutrition

A slice of pear galette on a white plate, drizzled with caramel sauce.

how to make Pear Galette – step by step photos

A knife slicing pears on a wooden chopping board.

Preheat oven to 450F. Slice 2 cored and quartered pears ¼ inch thin.

Lemon juice, brown sugar, and spices in a mixing bowl.

In a medium mixing bowl, stir together 2 Tbsp sugar, 2 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 tsp lemon juice, ½ tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp ground ginger, and a pinch of salt.

Spice mixture being poured over sliced pears in a mixing bowl.

Pour the mixture over sliced pears and set aside.

Sliced pears arranged in a fan style on an unbaked pre-made pie crust.

Unroll 1 pre-made pie dough on a sheet of parchment paper and fill the crust with sliced pears in one single layer, leaving 1-2 inches of space around the edge. (I had some extra pear slices, so I fanned them out on top, making a small second layer.)

Dried cranberries soaking in a spiced lemon juice mixture in a mixing bowll.

Then, add 1 Tbsp craisins to the leftover pear juice to rehydrate. Set aside while you make the caramel sauce.

Brown sugar and melted butter in a sauce pan to make caramel sauce.

In a small saucepan, melt ¼ cup salted butter over medium-low heat. Then, add ½ cup brown sugar and whisk together until a smooth caramel forms.

Heavy cream being whisked into melted butter and brown sugar to make caramel sauce.

Remove caramel from heat and stream in ¼ cup room temperature heavy cream and ½ tsp vanilla, whisking until smooth.

A brush glazing slices pears on a unbaked pre-made pie crust.

Set aside caramel sauce to thicken. Meanwhile, brush some of the leftover juice from the soaking cranberries over the pears.

Sliced pears and dried cranberries on a unbaked pre-made pie crust for pear galette.

Dot the pears with hydrated cranberries.

Hands folding and crimping the edges of a pear galette before baking.

Gently fold the sides of dough over the edges of the pears and pinch the dough to form a rustic texture and enclose your pear filling inside the galette.

An unbaked pear galette being brushed with milk.

Brush the crust with 1 Tbsp milk.

Sprinkle 1 Tbsp turbinado sugar over the crust and on top of your galette.

Freshly baked pear galette on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown and the pears begin to wilt.***

This easy dessert recipe is one to keep in your back pocket for those last-minute fall gatherings! It’s quick, delicious, and sure to impress anyone who takes a bite.

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The post Pear Galette appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Cheesy Vegetarian

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

If you’re not familiar with homity pie, let me introduce you:

Homity pie is a traditional British recipe, which is essentially a cheesy potato and leek pie. It’s just the sort of thing we Brits do perfectly – simple ingredients, combined to make incredible comfort food. Say what you like about British food, but it’s hard to argue with buttery sautéed leeks, cheesy crushed potatoes, and a flaky shortcrust pastry case.

A slice of homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie).

I’m not going to lie, this homity pie is a bit of a labour of love. It’s not a quick weeknight meal like most of my recipes – this cheesy pie is definitely one to save for a special occasion (it would be perfect for a vegetarian Christmas dinner!).

Since cooking this pie takes a bit of time and patience, don’t try to cook it against the clock. Give yourself plenty of leeway – perhaps an afternoon where you’ve not got much else on. That way, it doesn’t matter if the potatoes have to sit for a little while so you can finish cooking the leeks, or if the pastry case is ready to fill before the filling is actually cooked – you can just potter away at your own pace, and it can all be assembled when you’re ready.

Overhead shot of a cheesy pie with a slice pulled away.

What’s in Homity Pie?

There are three parts to this recipe:

garlicky sautéed leeks and onion
buttery crushed potatoes (with a cheesy topping)
a crispy pastry case

These 3 elements can all be prepared simultaneously, or one at a time, depending on how good you are at multitasking. I’ve written the recipe in 3 separate parts, but if the timings work out (or if you have someone else helping you in the kitchen), you can prepare them all at the same time.

Once all three parts of the recipe are ready, they can be assembled, and baked one last time to complete your cheesy homity pie.

And by the way, I am 100% not a pastry expert. You may think my homity pie looks decidedly… rustic. But I like it that way If I wanted it to look perfect, I’d have saved myself a couple of hours, and bought one in a shop.

Becca’s Top Tip

Any extra scraps of pastry can be baked on their own, and eaten spread with strawberry jam – my kids love it when I cook with pastry as they always get little jam tarts!

Cheesy Vegetarian Bakes ebook on an ipad screen.

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Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe. See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

leek – It’s hard to get the scale from the picture, but the leek I used was absolutely enormous – a proper monster (probably as big as my forearm!). If your leeks are a more normal size, you’ll probably need at least two.
potatoes
shortcrust pastry – I used a ready-rolled sheet of shop-bought pastry, as making pastry is not my forte. Feel free to use homemade pastry if you prefer!
cheddar cheese – If possible, use freshly grated mature cheddar cheese rather than the pre-grated stuff, as it melts more nicely.
onion – I used red onion, but regular onions would also be good.
fresh parsley
egg
garlic – I used pre-minced garlic from a jar because I hate chopping large amounts of fresh garlic.
curry powder (optional, but it does add a lovely hint of warmth)

Becca’s Top Tip

If you’re using shop-bought pastry, take it out of the fridge an hour or so before you need to use it. This helps it to soften a little, and means it’s less likely to crack as you unroll it.

Recipe Video

Equipment

I like to use a loose bottomed springform cake tin for homemade pies. It works really well because:

The clip on the side and the loose bottom make it so easy to remove the pie from the tin once it’s finished baking.
It gives a nice tall pie, which looks great, and also gives a wonderfully thick layer of filling.
The metal heats up nicely and helps to crisp up the pastry.

You can use a shallower pie tin to make homity pie if that’s what you have, but I would always recommend a cake tin if you have one.

Here’s a similar one on Amazon, with great reviews:

8-Inch Springform Cake Tin

I love using a loose-bottomed springform cake tin to make homemade pie. If you’re in the UK or Australia, click ‘Buy on Amazon’ to view a local product.

A slice of homity pie with sautéed leeks, potatoes and cheese.

Printable Instructions

Homity Pie (Cheesy Potato and Leek Pie)

How to make the classic British recipe homity pie (cheesy potato and leek pie!) – a tasty vegetarian pie made with shortcrust pastry.

Course Main Course

Cuisine British, English

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 50

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1 30

Servings people

Calories 427kcal

Author Becca Heyes