Vegan Apple Cinnamon Galette

A simple and fuss-free vegan apple galette recipe; there is no need to make perfect pastry for this dessert because galettes are meant to be rustic. This dessert is versatile and can be made with almost any seasonal fruit, like my vegan blackberry and basil galette for when berry season hit.

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
• The best apples to use for this recipe
• Step by Step Guide
• Helpful Tips
• Make Ahead & Storage
• Recipe FAQs
• More apple recipes
• Vegan Apple Cinnamon Galette

Why This Recipe Works

This vegan apple cinnamon galette is essentially an apple pie made on a baking sheet with no top crust. Galettes, in general, are exceptionally easy to make, homey and provide comfort on a cold autumn day without all the work of a traditional apple pie. If you're not a fan of working with pastry dough, trying to get that perfect crust, then galettes are the solution; they're meant to look rustic and thrown-together and imperfections only add to their appeal. The time involved for galettes is considerably less than double crust pies.

Moreover, my recipe contains a portion of spelt flour in the pastry which adds a slightly nutty flavour however, you can use more all purpose flour if you prefer. While other recipes might call for vegan butter, I find that coconut oil makes for a more flaky crust. The apple pie filling is also naturally sweetened with maple syrup.

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

For this recipe you will need the following basic ingredients. For measurements, please see the recipe card below.

All-purpose flour: creates the base for most all traditional pastry dough.

Light spelt flour: This pie crust recipe contains a portion of light spelt flour for added flavour. However, you can simply replace this 1:1 with more all purpose flour if you wish.

Salt: a common ingredient in pastry dough, it serves to balance out the oil in dough and helps in browning

Coconut oil: Coconut oil adds richness and a flaky texture just as butter or shortening would. Use refined coconut oil to ensure there is no coconut flavour. This can be replaced 1:1 with vegan butter or shortening if you prefer, however because most butter alternatives contain salt, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe by at least half or eliminate it entirely.

Unsweetened non-dairy milk: this creates binding and moisture in the dough. I mostly use unsweetened almond milk, but most non-dairy milks, like oat, soy or coconut will also work here.

Granulated sugar: this is used in and on the pastry to balance the flavours and add a pretty presentation.

Apples: please see the notes below on the best apples to use for this recipe; some varieties will work better than others. You can choose to peel the apples or leave the peel on.

Maple syrup: this natural sweeter is used instead of granulated sugar with the apples. It adds a nice depth of flavour and compliments the apples nicely. You could substitute with agave syrup in equal measure.

Ground cinnamon: adds warming flavour and aroma to this recipe. Cinnamon is excellent with apples and can be found is plenty of my fall baking recipes.

Lemon juice: contains natural citric acid and helps balance the sweetness of this recipe and prevent over-browning of the apple slices while the pastry is made.

The best apples to use for this recipe

Almost any apple variety can be used for this vegan apple galette. However,when it comes to baking, you want to use apples that are juicy, crisp, and will hold together well after baking. As such, I recommend using the following varieties:

• Gala
• Pink lady
• Honey crisp
• Jazz
• Braeburn
• Granny Smith
• Cosmic Crisp

Red delicious apples are not going to work very well for this recipe, nor most other baking recipes. Overall, they're not the best apple for baking because their flesh tends to be quite dry and when baked, they become mealy and unappetizing. In addition, source your apples as fresh as possible and choose those with no blemishes or bruising. Whenever possible, I also like to support my local apple growers when the season is right.

Step by Step Guide

For the full detailed instructions on how to make my vegan apple galette, please see the recipe card below. The following is a synopsis of the steps involved in making this recipe:

STEP 1: preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. After peeling and coring the apples, slice them into ⅛" slices and combine them with maple syrup, cinnamon and lemon juice.

STEP 2: Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the coconut oil and and non-dairy milk and stir gently with a fork until the mixture starts to come together and form small pea-sized crumbs. It's important not to over mix otherwise, you may end up with a tough pastry crust.

STEP 3: The dough is then formed with your hands into a ball and gently flattened into a disk.

STEP 4: After lightly flouring a clean work surface, the dough is rolled into a 12" round (it doesn't have to be perfect). The round is then transferred to the prepared baking sheet and the apples (and their juices) spooned into the middle.

STEP 5: The edges are folded up about 2" and pleated around the apples.

STEP 6: Milk is brushed on the dough and sugar sprinkled on top before baking in the preheated oven for 20 minutes at 450°F and then 30 minutes at 375℉ until the crust is golden brown. The galette needs to cool on the baking sheet before serving.

Helpful Tips

• The coconut oil needs to be soft, but not liquid. It should scoop easily and hold its shape. If your coconut oil is rock hard, simply heat it in a microwave safe dish for a few seconds until it softens. Coconut oil that is too hard can't be worked evenly into the pastry—make sure to soften it.

• Don't over mix the pastry. This can result in a dense and lifeless pastry. Mix the coconut oil and flour mixture just until pea sized crumbs form and then add in the milk and combine just until all the flour is moistened.

• Roll the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. You can hen gently transfer the parchment and rolled dough onto the baking tray and finish filling and folding the pastry directly on the tray. This helps prevent breaking of the crust.

Make Ahead & Storage

Make Ahead: peel, core and slice the apples in advance and mix them with the maple syrup, cinnamon and lemon juice. Cover and place in the fridge for up to 2 hours before using in the recipe. The pastry can also be prepared, shaped into a disc as per direction 3 and then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap for storage in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Allow the pastry to sit at room temperature to soften before attempting to roll it out.

Storage: the baked galette should be consumed on the same day. However, any leftovers can be placed covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Freezing: to freeze pastry dough, the pastry dough should be prepared up to direction 3, then tightly wrapped in heavy duty aluminum foil or freezer safe plastic wrap and placed in a freezer bag; it should last up to 3 months. Allow it to defrost in the fridge and then soften at room temperature before rolling it out. I do not recommend freezing the baked galette; it will not withstand defrosting and will become soggy.

Recipe FAQs

More apple recipes

Apples are a favourite fruit to bake with; these are a few of my favourite recipes to make with them: Vegan Apple Spice Cake, Vegan German Apple Cake [apfelkuchen]. And if you like French inspired apple desserts, you may also like: Vegan French Apple Tart, Vegan Apple Tarte Tatin.

If you made my Vegan Apple Galette please leave me a comment below with a star rating; it really helps others who are interested in making the recipe. For more from The Simple Green, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest. Consider becoming a subscriber to receive emails of new recipes and posts.