Vegan tomato ricotta galette - this delicious free-form tart is easy to make and tastes wonderful; with crisp cornmeal pastry, tangy tomatoes, creamy almond cheese, pesto and herbs.
It is lovely for a celebration, buffet, or as part of a simple lunch.

This vegan tomato ricotta galette is a lovely spring-time or summer recipe which would be great as part of a buffet (for Easter perhaps?).
Alternatively, serve it alongside a green salad for a delicious light lunch.
Galettes, also known as free-form pies or crostata, have to be just about one of the easiest things to make. It is in their nature to be rustic, so there's no need to worry about trying to make it look neat and pretty; when it comes to a galette it is all about the flavour.
And this galette has bags of flavour! A simple cornmeal pastry base is topped with home-made, tangy almond ricotta-style cheese, pesto, fresh tomatoes, herbs and olive oil; heavenly!
What Ingredients Do I Need?:
Tomatoes: I like to use a couple of sliced vine tomatoes, and then some small, halved cherry tomatoes to fill in the gaps. The orange ones in the photos are honeydrop tomatoes.
Pesto: I just use a shop-bought vegan pesto but homemade would be great!
Flaked almonds: These form the base of the ricotta cheese. Using flaked (skinless) almonds rather than whole ones means that they don't take as long to soak and your blender/food processor won't struggle as much to blend them.
Nutritional yeast, garlic, lemon juice, salt: These ingredients are what give the almond cheese it's savoury, 'cheesy' flavour.
Herbs: Optional, but I like to scatter over some thyme and oregano before baking the galette. You can use whatever herbs you prefer though, either fresh or dried.
Plain flour: Plain (all-purpose) flour is best for making the pastry. I haven't tried making it gluten-free.
Cornmeal: Adding some fine cornmeal to the pastry gives it a great, rustic, crumbly texture, and also helps to make it nice and crisp. You can also use semolina instead.
Vegan butter: You must use a block vegan butter/margarine to make the pastry, not the spreadable kind in a tub which has too high a water content and may make the pastry tough. I recommend Naturli vegan block or Flora plant butter.
Olive oil: A bit of olive oil added to the cheese mixture adds richness, creaminess and flavour. I also drizzle a little over the tomatoes before baking the tart to help them caramelise.
How To Make Vegan Tomato Ricotta Galette:
(Full measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the page)
Start by soaking your flaked almonds in boiling water for at least half an hour.
Once the almonds are soaked, drain them very well in a sieve or colander.
Place the almonds in a blender or food processor (preferably a power one) along with some lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt, garlic and nutritional yeast.
Blend the mixture well until it is very smooth and creamy. Store the cheese in a covered container in the fridge until needed.
To make the pastry, mix the flour, cornmeal and salt together in a bowl. Add the cold, cubed butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
Gradually stir in enough ice cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes until it is firm enough to roll out.
Roll out the chilled pastry on a floured sheet of baking parchment into a large round.
Spread the almond cheese over the pastry, leaving a border of about 5-7cm.
Dot the cheese with pesto and arrange the tomatoes on top.
Fold the exposed pastry edges over the filling towards the centre of the galette, pleating the edge to make it fit. Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with herbs.
Chill the galette in the fridge for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven then bake for 45 minutes until crisp and golden.
Top Tips:
All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
I like to make the almond cheese the day before making the galette so that it has time to firm up and the flavours to develop, but you can make it on the same day if you prefer.
If you don't want to make the almond cheese then feel free to use your favourite vegan cream cheese instead.
Do not overwork the pastry as that can make it tough. Just mix it enough to bring it together and form a smooth ball, don't knead it.
The pastry will keep in the fridge for a couple of days (well wrapped) if you want to make it in advance. You will need to let it sit out at room temperature for a while before rolling it out in this case; if the pastry is too cold it will crack when rolling it.
How To Store The Galette:
This vegan tomato ricotta galette is best eaten freshly baked, but any leftovers will keep in the fridge for 2-3 days. It can be eaten cold or heated through to serve.
I do not recommend freezing it.
More Vegan Lunch Recipes:
- Smoky tomato beans
- Savoury vegan scones
- Vegan Thai red curry 'fish' cakes
- Creamy white bean soup
- Vegan butternut squash and feta filo pie
- Mexican style tofu scramble
- Vegan spanakopita
- Vegan corn fritters
- Vegan spinach and mushroom crepes with almond cheese
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
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Vegan Tomato Ricotta Galette
Ingredients
Almond Cheese:
- 100 g (1 cup) flaked almonds
- 1 Tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1 clove garlic peeled
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons water
Pastry:
- 185 g (1 ½ cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 65 g (⅓ cup + 2 Tablespoons) fine cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 130 g (½ cup + 1 Tablespoon) vegan block butter cold and diced
- 3 Tablespoons ice cold water
To Assemble:
- a couple of heaped spoonfuls vegan pesto
- 2 medium vine tomatoes sliced
- a couple of big handfuls cherry tomatoes halved
- fresh thyme and dried oregano for sprinkling
- extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
- non-dairy milk for brushing
- black pepper
Instructions
- Place the flaked almonds in a large bowl and cover with plenty of boiling water. Set aside for at least half an hour to soak then drain well.
- Place the drained almonds in a blender or food processor along with the lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt, garlic and nutritional yeast.
- Blend at a high speed until very smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed to make sure that there are no lumps of almond left. If you need to you can add a drop more water but try not to add too much. If your blender has a tamper tool then I recommend using it! Place the cheese in a covered bowl and refrigerate until needed.
- To make the pastry, mix the flour, cornmeal and salt together in a bowl. Add the cold, cubed butter and rub it in using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and no lumps of butter remain.
- Gradually stir in enough ice cold water to bring the pastry together into a ball. Wrap and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes until it is firm enough to roll out. Do not let it get too cold however or it will crack.
- Roll out the chilled pastry on a floured sheet of baking parchment into a large round, about 33cm wide.
- Spread the almond cheese over the pastry, leaving a border of about 5-7cm.
- Dot the cheese with blobs of pesto and arrange the tomatoes on top.
- Fold the exposed pastry edges over the filling towards the centre of the galette, pleating the edge to make it fit. No need to worry too much about making it look neat - rustic remember!
- Slide the sheet of baking parchment onto a baking sheet. Drizzle the tomatoes with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with herbs. Brush the pastry border with a little non-dairy milk.
- Place the galette in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes while you preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6.
- Bake the galette for 45 minutes until it is crisp and golden.
Notes
- All of my recipes are developed using grams, and as with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scale rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- I like to make the almond cheese the day before making the galette so that it has time to firm up and the flavours to develop, but you can make it on the same day if you prefer.
RUTH STALEY
Can I use a seed instead of almonds? I have a tree nut allergy ,Thanks ,Ruth
Hannah
Hi Ruth, I haven't tried so can't say for sure but I reckon that sunflower seeds would work.
Catherine Long
I used polenta (fine) as I’m not sure we have cornmeal in Australia. It really added to the flavour of the pastry. It was all delicious though!
Kirsty Sewell
Amazing recipe! Made it for a party, every scrap went…had to make another the next day for my family!(I used cashews instead of almonds for the cheese)
Max
Excellent recipe! The ricotta also works really well if you use pre-ground almonds, and I've had luck swapping the tomatoes out for figs for a sweet version of this galette.