Puff Pastry Pear Galette (Accidentally Vegan)

This easy Puff Pastry Pear Galette uses 8 simple ingredients to make the ultimate flakey crust and gooey cinnamon ginger fruit center. Great for baking beginners.

Taking a slice out of the puff pastry galette.

I love dessert, but I love easy desserts even more. And this one is great because it doesn’t involve any precise measuring and is very forgiving. It’s also great because you can throw it together last minute and still have it be a stunning dessert to serve, so let’s get to it!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Puff Pastry Pear Galette

  • Fuss-free baking. No precise measuring needed or fancy baking skills required. Roll out your dough, top with filling, fold edges and pop in the oven. Simple.
  • Less than 10 ingredients. The pastry itself uses very basic ingredients and happens to be vegan without any specialty ingredients needed.
  • Perfect center piece. A simple dessert that doesn’t take a lot of effort to make beautiful. Great if you need a last minute dessert to impress with.
Pears, sugar, spices, apple butter and puff pastry on a cutting board.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

  • Puff Pastry: Pepperidge Farms has an accidentally vegan puff pastry and this puff pastry is pretty accessible at most markets. You can choose your favorite puff pastry brand to make this dessert easily or make it yourself.
  • Pears: This also works well with apples, peaches, and other stone fruits.
  • Spices: I used cinnamon and ginger but a premade apple pie spice mix works great as well.
  • Apple Butter: Feel free to swap for a fruit jam. I like making this with apricot or strawberry jam as well.
  • Sugar: I used a combo of organic white sugar for the filling and turbinado sugar for the crust, but you can make this refined sugar free by swapping for coconut sugar.
  • Milk: I used almond milk as a replacement for egg wash to brush the crust with to aid with browning. You can also use melted dairy-free butter as well.
  • Lemon Juice: I recommend fresh squeezed lemon, but you can use bottled lemon juice if that is what you have on hand.

How to Make a Puff Pastry Pear Galette

Thaw puff pastry sheet according to package instructions before starting this recipe.

Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of salt then thinly slice the pears and squeeze lemon juice overtop.

Lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and place the puff pastry on top. Sprinkle the top of the pastry with flour and then roll out the puff pastry with a rolling pin. Using a knife, round off the edges to make a circle. Then, score a 2-inch border within the edges of the dough to use as a guide for the filling.

Evenly spread the apple butter within the border then sprinkle it with a 1/3 of the sugar mixture. Evenly lay the pear slices in your desired pattern over the apple butter. Evenly sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the pears, then fold the edges up and over so that they are overlapping each other and press them lightly together.

If using butter, add the small cubes on top of the pear filling. Lightly brush the edges with the milk then sprinkle the edges with raw sugar.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. You will see the edges puff up, take a spatula and lightly press down on the puff pastry edges and bake for an extra 10 minutes. I like my edges to be less puffy, so I will lightly press down on the puff pastry again once it is out of the oven. Allow to cool completely before slicing.

Expert Tips

  • Make sure to thaw your puff pastry! Follow the package instructions for recommended thawing times (usually 30-40 minutes). If not handling immediately after thawing, make sure to keep it cold in the fridge until you finish prepping your ingredients.
  • Don’t overwork the dough. We want the dough to remain cool. If you keep touching it with your hands or leave it out too long at room temperature the fat in the dough will melt and it won’t have as many layers when baked.
  • Cut your pears thin! This will ensure even baking and a tender gooey pear filling.
  • Swap the fruit. Feel free to swap the pears for your favorite baking apples (Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples work great). This also works with peaches, apricots, and plums.
  • Spread the sugar evenly. Evenly sprinkle so that all pear slices are properly coated.
  • For more indulgence, don’t skip the butter. A few cubes of butter can help make the center of the dessert extra gooey. I made it dairy-free by using Miyoko’s butter.
Side view of a fully baked puff pastry galette with pear filling.

Frequently Asked Questions

What brands of puff pastry are vegan?

The easiest accidentally vegan puff pastry to find is made by Pepperidge Farms. For a vegan and gluten-free puff pastry, try Schar. There are other individual brands you might find depending on what local markets are by you. Always read ingredients to confirm no eggs or dairy were used. For additional vegan puff pastry brands, see this article. Or feel free to make your own from scratch.

Can I use pie dough instead of puff pastry?

Traditional galettes are made using pie dough, so you are okay to use it. Just note it won’t be the same level of flaky.

Can I make this gluten-free?

Yes. Use a gluten-free puff pastry brand. For both a gluten-free and vegan option, opt for Schar, which most stores carry in their gluten-free freezer section.

Do I need to pre-bake the puff pastry?

No. Just use the thawed dough.

How do you store leftover puff pastry?

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Enjoy cold or warm. To warm through, place the puff pastry slice in a toaster oven at 350F for 3 minutes or until crispy.

How do I prevent my puff pastry from getting soggy?

A soggy puff pastry is typically a result of extra moisture from the fruit used. Excess moisture is impacted by the type of fruit used and whether it was cooked down or not. Fruit to be mindful of would be juicy fruits like berries, peaches, and other juicy stone fruits. For these fruit swaps it is recommended to add a starch like cornstarch to the fruit to help absorb some of the moisture.

A slice of puff pastry pear galette on a plate drizzled with extra sweet peanut miso sauce.

How to Serve

This puff pastry galette is delicious as is, but pairs really well with some dairy-free ice cream or the optional sweet peanut miso sauce. If enjoying during the holidays months, you can also prepare some coffee, tea or Vegan Hot Chocolate to go with your slice.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

Close up of a plate of puff pastry galette next to a spoon.
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Taking a slice out of the puff pastry galette.

Puff Pastry Pear Galette (Accidentally Vegan)

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  • Author: Catherine Perez
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

This easy Puff Pastry Pear Galette uses 8 simple ingredients to make the ultimate flakey crust and gooey cinnamon ginger fruit center. Great for baking beginners.


Ingredients

Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 medium Bartlett Pears
  • Juice of half a lemon, about 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 vegan puff pastry sheet
  • 3 tbsp apple butter, or favorite jam
  • 1 tbsp vegan stick butter, diced into small cubes (optional)
  • 2 tsp raw sugar/turbinado sugar (optional)
  • 2 tbsp plant based milk, I used almond milk
  • Pinch of salt

Optional Sweet Peanut Miso Sauce

  • 2 tbsp natural peanut butter, salted
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • 1 tsp miso paste
  • 23 tbsp water

Instructions

  1. Make sure to thaw your puff pastry according to package instructions before starting this recipe. Once thawed, if not handling right away, make sure to refrigerate and keep cold until it’s time to roll it out.
  2. Preheat oven to 400F. In a small bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon, ginger and a pinch of salt then whisk together.
  3. Cut the pears in half and scoop out the seeds in the center with a round teaspoon or melon baller. Cut the halves in half lengthwise and thinly slice each quarter. Fan the pears out on a cutting board and squeeze lemon juice overtop. Brush or use your hands to make sure they are coated evenly.
  4. Lightly dust a piece of parchment paper with flour and place the puff pastry on top. Sprinkle the top of the pastry with flour and then roll out the puff pastry with a rolling pin. Using a knife, round off the edges of the dough to make a circle. Then, score a 2-inch border within the edges to use as a guide for the filling.
  5. Evenly spread the apple butter within the border and sprinkle the apple butter with a 1/3 of the sugar mixture. Next, layer the pear slices in your desired pattern over the apple butter, making sure to stay within the border.
  6. Evenly sprinkle the remaining sugar on top of the pears, then fold the edges up and over to create a crust. Each edge you pull will overlap each other. Press the edges lightly together to seal.
  7. If using butter, add the small cubes on top of the pear filling. Lightly brush the edges with plant based milk then sprinkle them with some raw sugar.
  8. Place the pastry in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. You will see the edges puff up, take a spatula and lightly press down on the puff pastry edges and bake for an extra 10 minutes. I like my edges to be less puffy, so I will lightly press down on the puff pastry again once it is out of the oven, then allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
  9. For the sauce, whisk the sweet peanut miso sauce ingredients together in a bowl and adjust with more water as needed until it is at the consistency you like, then drizzle over top when serving.

Notes

Make sure to thaw your puff pastry! Follow the package instructions for recommended thawing times (usually 30-40 minutes). If not handling immediately after thawing, make sure to keep it cold in the fridge until you finish prepping your ingredients.

Don’t overwork the dough. We want the dough to remain cool. If you keep touching it with your hands or leave it out too long at room temperature the fat in the dough will melt and it won’t have as many layers when baked.

Cut your pears thin! Thin slices will ensure that the filling cooks evenly so you get a gooey tender center.

Swap the fruit. Feel free to swap the pears for your favorite baking apples (Granny Smith and Pink Lady Apples work great). This also works with peaches, apricots, and plums. If the fruit you swap with is juice, you may wish to coat your fruit with some cornstarch to absorb excess liquid.

Spread the sugar evenly. Try to avoid big clumps of sugar thrown on your pears. Evenly sprinkle so that all pear slices are properly coated.

For more indulgence, don’t skip the butter. A few cubes of butter can help make the center of the dessert extra gooey. I made it dairy-free by using Miyoko’s butter.

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, then let me know what you thought in the comments below! And if you loved it, don’t forget to rate it too. Feel free to follow on Instagram, Pinterest, and TikTok for the latest nutrition tips and recipe videos.

 Catherine

This post contains affiliate links which means I will make a small commission if you purchase from those links. I only recommend and share products that I know, trust and personally use myself!

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