Recipes › Simple bakes› Strawberry rhubarb galette with vanilla bean
Simple bakes · Medium · Serves 6

Strawberry rhubarb galette with vanilla bean

A rustic free-form summer galette of strawberries and rhubarb, scented with vanilla bean and folded up in a flaky all-butter crust. Generous, forgiving, just sweet enough.

Anna Lind Harper
by Anna Lind Harper
Tested twice · Published 2026-06-06
A rustic free-form strawberry rhubarb galette resting on a large light oak wooden board on a white marble counter, the deeply golden brown crust folded up over a heap of bubbling jewel-red strawberry and rhubarb filling with the vanilla bean specks visible, sparkling raw sugar across the crust, a few fresh strawberries scattered on the board, a small ceramic dish of vanilla skyr with a wooden spoon resting in it, a small bunch of fresh wildflowers in a clear glass jar, and a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel. Soft summer afternoon light from the kitchen window.
Prep
30 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
6
Difficulty
medium

This is the bake I make in June, when the strawberries at the farmers' market finally taste like strawberries again and the rhubarb still has its leaves attached. A free-form galette is one of the most generous recipes I know: a single flaky all-butter crust, a heap of cut fruit tossed with sugar and a vanilla bean, the edges folded up like a quick paper-fold, and the whole thing baked until the fruit is bubbling at the seams and the crust is deeply golden.

It's also forgiving. The galette doesn't need to be round, the edges don't need to be neat, and the fruit can be unevenly distributed. The bits of slightly burnt sugar where the juice escapes onto the parchment are the best part. Serve warm with a dollop of cold skyr or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

“A free-form summer bake. Generous, forgiving, deeply golden, just sweet enough. The bits of burnt sugar on the edges are the best part.”
Why this one earns a weeknight

What you'll love about it

  • 01A free-form summer bake that doesn't need to be perfect. A round-ish shape, a heaped filling, a folded crust, and you're done.
  • 02The all-butter crust gets shatter-crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, and absolutely golden where the egg wash and raw sugar meet.
  • 03Strawberry and rhubarb is the canonical early-summer pairing. The rhubarb keeps it from being too sweet, and the vanilla bean ties them together.
  • 04Forgiving and flexible. Swap the strawberries for raspberries, the rhubarb for chopped tart cherries, or use all stone fruit (peaches, plums) later in the summer.
A hand in a fitted white tee with a beige linen apron strap visible gently folding the edge of a rolled-out circle of pale all-butter pie dough up over a heaped pile of quartered strawberries and sliced rhubarb in the center, on a parchment-lined half-sheet pan. Two or three pleats are already done on the right side. A small ceramic bowl of beaten egg wash with a wooden pastry brush, a small ceramic dish of turbinado raw sugar, and a small glass bowl with a spent vanilla pod sit at the lower-left, with a folded striped cream-and-blue linen tea towel at the lower-right, on a white marble counter.
Fold the dough edges up over the fruit, pleating every few inches. It doesn't have to be neat. The slightly messy folds are the whole point of a galette.
Ingredients

For the all-butter crust

  • 1¼ cupsall-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbspgranulated sugar
  • ½ tspkosher salt
  • 8 Tbspvery cold unsalted butter, cubed small
  • 1 tspapple cider vinegar
  • 4 to 6 Tbspice water

For the filling

  • 1 lbfresh strawberries, hulled and quartered, or halved if small
  • ½ lbfresh rhubarb, cut into ½-inch slices on a slight bias
  • ⅓ cupgranulated sugar
  • 2 Tbspcornstarch
  • 1vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • 1 Tbspfresh lemon juice
  • a tiny pinchkosher salt

To finish

  • 1large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water (for egg wash)
  • 2 Tbspturbinado or raw sugar
  • for servingvanilla skyr or vanilla ice cream
Method

How I make it

  1. 01
    Make the dough.
    In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt. Add the cold cubed butter and rub it into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like coarse meal with some pea-sized lumps of butter still visible (those lumps are your friends). Add the apple cider vinegar and 4 Tbsp of the ice water. Toss with a fork until the dough starts to clump. Add another tablespoon of ice water if needed; it should just hold together when squeezed. Don't overwork it.
  2. 02
    Chill the dough.
    Turn the dough onto a piece of parchment, press it into a flat disk about 5 inches across, wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (or up to 2 days).
  3. 03
    Mix the filling.
    In a large bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla bean seeds, lemon juice, and a tiny pinch of salt. Toss gently until the fruit is evenly coated. Let sit while the oven heats; the fruit will release some juice.
  4. 04
    Roll out the dough.
    Preheat the oven to 400°F. On a lightly floured piece of parchment paper, roll the chilled dough into a rough circle about 13 inches across. (It does not have to be a perfect circle.) Slide the parchment onto a half-sheet pan.
  5. 05
    Fill and fold.
    Pile the fruit filling in the center of the dough, leaving a 2-inch border all around. Fold the dough edges up over the fruit, pleating gently every few inches as you go. The center stays open; the fruit is exposed.
  6. 06
    Egg wash, sprinkle, and bake.
    Brush the folded edges of the dough generously with the egg wash. Sprinkle the entire crust with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 38 to 42 minutes, until the crust is deeply golden brown and the filling is bubbling thickly in the center. The pieces that bubble over onto the parchment will caramelize; that's a feature.
  7. 07
    Cool slightly, serve.
    Let the galette cool on the sheet pan for 10 minutes (it needs the rest for the juices to set). Slide the parchment onto a wooden board or cake stand. Slice into wedges. Serve warm with a dollop of cold skyr or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
    Anna Lind Harper in a white linen midi skirt and fitted white tee, long honey-blonde wavy hair worn down, looking down at a freshly-baked strawberry rhubarb galette with a warm candid smile as she rests both hands on a round wooden serving board on a light oak outdoor dining table in the backyard pergola area of her Scandinavian-modern home. A small clear glass jar of fresh summer wildflowers, a small cream-speckled stoneware dish of vanilla skyr with a wooden spoon, a folded striped cream-and-blue linen napkin, and a few fresh strawberries are scattered around the board. Soft summer late-afternoon sunlight filters through the pergola, with white shaker farmhouse siding and hydrangea blooms softly out of focus behind.
    Take it outside if you can. A warm galette and a small dish of skyr on a summer afternoon is the entire recipe.
Macro close-up of one slice of strawberry rhubarb galette on a cream-speckled stoneware plate, showing the layers in cross-section: a flaky golden brown crust on top and bottom, a jewel-red filling of strawberries and rhubarb with visible vanilla bean specks, and a generous dollop of cold thick vanilla skyr starting to melt and slump on top with a thin streak meeting the red filling. Two fresh strawberries with green tops sit on the plate beside the slice, with the rest of the galette and a small dish of more skyr softly out of focus behind.
A note from Anna

Keep the butter cold. The single rule of all-butter pastry is to keep the butter as cold as possible. Cube it, freeze it for 10 minutes while you measure the flour, and work it into the flour with your fingertips quickly. Visible pea-sized pieces of butter in the dough are what make the crust flaky once it hits the oven. If the dough feels at all soft or sticky while you're rolling, slide the whole thing onto a sheet pan and chill it for 15 minutes before continuing.

What to serve with it

Round out the table.

  • ·01
    A dollop of vanilla skyr
    Cold, thick, slightly tangy. My favorite topping for warm galette.
  • ·02
    Vanilla bean ice cream
    Or a small scoop of strawberry sorbet for double-strawberry energy.
  • ·03
    Cold sparkling rosé
    Or sparkling water with a lemon wedge. Either is correct.
Storage & reheating

Keeping the leftovers good.

Fridge: Galette keeps in a sealed container at room temperature for a day, or in the fridge for 3 days. The crust softens a little; reheat in the oven to bring it back.

Reheat: 5 to 7 minutes in a 350°F oven crisps the crust back up. Skip the microwave; it makes the crust gummy.

Make ahead: Make the dough up to 2 days ahead and chill. The filling is best mixed and used the same day.

Freezer: Baked galette freezes well for up to 2 months. Cool completely, wrap tightly, freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat in the oven.

Recipe card

Strawberry rhubarb galette with vanilla bean

A rustic free-form summer galette of strawberries and rhubarb, scented with vanilla bean and folded up in a flaky all-butter crust. Generous, forgiving, just sweet enough.

Prep
30 min
Cook
40 min
Serves
6
Total
70 min
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • 8 Tbsp very cold unsalted butter, cubed small
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 4 to 6 Tbsp ice water
  • 1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered, or halved if small
  • ½ lb fresh rhubarb, cut into ½-inch slices on a slight bias
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
  • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • a tiny pinch kosher salt
  • 1 large egg, beaten with 1 Tbsp water (for egg wash)
  • 2 Tbsp turbinado or raw sugar
  • for serving vanilla skyr or vanilla ice cream
Method (short version)
  1. 01Make the dough.
  2. 02Chill the dough.
  3. 03Mix the filling.
  4. 04Roll out the dough.
  5. 05Fill and fold.
  6. 06Egg wash, sprinkle, and bake.
  7. 07Cool slightly, serve.

Nutrition information is an estimate. See full nutrition disclaimer.

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