Best Summer Mixed Berry Galette (gluten-free option)

A combination of juicy strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries sit atop a sweet cream cheese filling in this homemade mixed berry galette recipe. It's made with a from-scratch galette dough that's perfectly buttery and flaky, using gluten-free or regular all-purpose flour. This rustic summer dessert is so much easier to make than pie, but every bit as good!

this recipe

It's no surprise by now that I love a fruit galette, as evidenced by the (many!) variations I've shared over the years. We've done everything from pear galettes to stone fruit galettes, mini galettes to rectangular galettes, but there's something to be said for a rustic, summery mixed berry galette. This one's easy to make and yet anything but basic, combining a flaky pie crust with a simple cream cheese filling and a heap of fresh berries.

Why I call this the BEST berry galette

I get it. I'm making pretty big claims here! Allow me to elaborate:

• The crust is always light, buttery, and flaky, thanks to a low-maintenance galette dough recipe that can easily be made gluten-free if preferred.
• It's never soggy; having that cream cheese layer between the crust and berries helps with this!
• You get pure berry flavor from the fresh berries piled on top - no jam necessary.
• Each component of the recipe can be prepped ahead, for easy assembly when you're ready to bake your galette.
• It's essentially free-form pie; the perfect dessert for barbecues and cookouts, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, or any other summer entertaining.

Ingredients and substitutions

Here's a quick look at all of the ingredients this berry galette recipe calls for:

Make the galette dough:

Step one - Mix the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together well.

Step two - Add butter: Use the large-hole side of a box grater to grate your butter directly into the flour mixture. (This is a trick you'll see me use often for scones as well, since it efficiently accomplishes the task of incorporating small chunks of cold butter into the flour - the key to flaky pie crusts and pastries.) Toss the butter in gently with your hands - just until it's evenly dispersed - preventing any clumps of butter from forming.

Step three - Mix in liquids: Add the vanilla extract and 3 ½ ounces of ice water to the flour, folding the mixture with a spatula until the liquids are mostly incorporated. Then, use your hands to finish working the mixture together into a single ball of dough.

Be gentle with it, and avoid over-handling. You can add up to an additional 1 ounce of water as needed during this process. Keep in mind that the dough should be just slightly tacky - not too dry and crumbly, but not sticky either.

Step four - Shape and chill. Use your hands to flatten the dough into a round disc about 6" wide. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 45 minutes while you prep the fillings.

Make the cream cheese filling:

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and whisk them together until the mixture is fairly smooth - a few small lumps are fine. Refrigerate the mixture until you're ready to assemble the galette.

Make the mixed berry filling:

Add your berries of choice (remember to chop any strawberries!), granulated sugar, and corn starch in a large mixing bowl. Toss everything together until the corn starch is no longer visible, being careful not to smash the berries in the process. Refrigerate this as well until ready to use.

Galette assembly:

Step one - Roll out the galette dough: Cut a sheet of parchment to fit a standard size baking sheet. Dust the surface with flour - a baker's wand or small mesh strainer work especially well for this.

Lightly flour the surface of the (chilled) dough and roll it into a 12" round, adding more flour to the dough or parchment if needed to avoid any sticking.

Step two - Add your fillings: Use the back of a spoon or a small offset spatula to spread the cream cheese filling over the dough, leaving a 1 ½" clear border around the outer perimeter. Try to leave a bit of a lip around the edge of the filling to act as a dam for the berries.

Strain out the excess juice from the berries (a slotted spoon helps with this) and pile them over the cream cheese filling. If you do find that any juice leaks onto the dough, you can gently dab it off with a paper towel. At this point you can also trim the outer edge of the dough to clean up any rough edges, but that's entirely optional. Unlike pie, galettes are meant to look rustic!

Step three - Fold the edges: Carefully fold the dough around the outer edges of the galette inward, so that they overlap the outer border of the filling. If at any point the dough starts to tear, it can help to chill the galette for about 5 minutes and then re-attempt. If you trimmed your dough in step three, you can also use the scraps to fill in any cracks.

Glaze and bake:

Step one - Make the egg wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the melted and slightly cooled butter along with the reserved egg white (from making the filling).

Step two - Glaze and garnish: Just before baking, brush the egg wash over the edges of the galette, and sprinkle the whole thing with your coarse sugar of choice.

Step three - Bake: Bake the galette at 400ºF for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden. Serve it warm, with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or even vanilla frozen yogurt. Or, if you're feeling extra bold, pair it with a big ol' scoop of this berry cheesecake ice cream. YUM.

More desserts using summer berries

From galettes to cobblers to tarts, here a few more pie-like recipes that make use of a variety of berries!