French Vegetable Tart is not just an ordinary savory tart. It’s creamy, light, and delicate — a balance that’s quintessentially French in every bite! Excellent for brunch, lunch, or light dinner!
This vegetable tart can serve as a starter, a side dish, or a main course for a light lunch, accompanied by salad.
It’s got creamy filling with vegetable bits, topped with crunchy breadcrumbs and cheese — all in one flaky, golden shortcrust pastry.
So yep, prepare yourself for flavor-packed, savory goodness in every bite! 🙂
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Why this tart recipe is a keeper!
- Perfect for any meal. Since it can be served warm or at room temperature, it’s perfect for lunch, brunch, dinner, or even as a picnic or potluck dish.
- Effortlessly elegant. It looks impressive, tastes like something from a French bistro, and yet it’s surprisingly easy to make — no fancy techniques or equipment required.
Ingredients
(See the recipe card below for measurements.)
- French beans – also known as ‘haricot verts,’ like regular green beans, but slightly thinner, longer, and softer. It’s fine to use regular green beans, though; chop them into smaller pieces for quicker cooking.
- Potato – I typically use the waxy kind, peeled and cut into small dice.
- Carrot – peeled and chopped the same size as the potatoes.
- Peas – I’m not lucky enough to get the fresh ones here in Stockholm, but if you have them, that would be even better.
- Gruyere cheese – grated, to sprinkle on top of the tart.
- Flour – both for the pastry and the béchamel sauce in the filling.
- Butter – like flour, it is needed for pastry and sauce.
- Milk – for making the béchamel sauce, and make sure it’s hot when you pour it into the flour and butter.
- Breadcrumbs – for topping the custard, they also help achieve the brown, golden color of the baked vegetable tart.
- Oil – Use any neutral vegetable oil (such as canola or sunflower) to prepare the pastry.
- Salt – just use your favorite brand.
How to make a French vegetable tart
Start by making the shortcrust pastry: combine flour, oil, chilled butter, and half a teaspoon of salt in a food processor, then add one to two tablespoons of ice-cold water.
Mix until you achieve a doughy, yet still slightly sandy texture; then form it into a disc.
Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.
Preheat your oven to 200°C (375°F).
Unwrap your pastry and use it to line a 9-inch tart tin. You can roll it with a rolling pin or use your hands to get a portion of the dough and flatten it into the tin, repeating this process until you have lined the whole pan.
Place a parchment paper on top, then fill it with baking beans or uncooked rice.
Place it in the oven for ten minutes to blind-bake.
Remove the paper and beans (carefully) and bake for another ten minutes, or until the edges turn slightly golden.
Set aside to cool.
To blanch the vegetables, place a pot of salted water on high heat, cover, and bring to a boil.
Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-high and uncover the pot. Add all the chopped vegetables.
Cook for five to eight minutes, or until they’re just about tender.
Remove the blanched vegetables from the heat and drain.
Begin with the béchamel sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.
Add the flour.
Stir and cook the flour until it darkens in color.
Pour the hot milk slowly, while whisking (use a whisk!) at the same time.
Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and continue mixing until you achieve a smooth and slightly thickened consistency. Then, remove it from the heat.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (375°F).
To assemble your French vegetable tart, spread half of the béchamel sauce at the bottom of the prebaked crust.
Add the drained vegetables, and try to arrange them evenly.
Cover with the remaining béchamel sauce.
Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the grated cheese.
Place your summer vegetable tart in the middle of the oven and bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes, or until it turns golden brown.
Remove the tart pan from the oven and let it cool for at least fifteen minutes.
Transfer into a plate — and serve!
Helpful tips
- You don’t need a food processor to prepare the pastry; using a fork and your hands for lightly kneading will also work.
- Place the shortcrust pastry in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes to twenty-four hours.
- To save time, you can start boiling the salted water while blind baking the pastry.
- The chopped vegetables amount to two and a half to three cups
- Make sure you don’t overcook the vegetables when blanching — you still need to bake them with the custard.
Serving suggestions
Turn your vegetable tart into a full French-inspired meal with these easy pairings using other classic French recipes from the blog:
Start with this light soup to warm up your appetite; it’s buttery, creamy, and packed with flavor.
For warmer months, especially when berries are in season, prepare this easy French dessert to add a sweet, custardy finish to your meal.
For the rest of the year, you can never go wrong with this apple tart from the Northern region of France.
It’s even lighter than the custard in the blueberry clafoutis because it uses crème fraîche. Yum!
Lastly, serve your French vegetable tart with a glass of chilled Chablis and you’ve got yourself a cozy, French bistro moment at home! 😉
More classic French recipes!
The French vegetable tart is an excellent example of French cuisine, as it reflects some of the core culinary principles and cultural values that define French cooking, such as its emphasis on seasonal, local ingredients.
This delectable cake is another treat that showcases local and fresh ingredients. Whole oranges combined with almonds, and you’ll get indulgent, perfectly balanced flavors in every bite!
FOR MORE IDEAS, CHECK OUT THIS LIST OF TARTS AND PIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD!
📖 Recipe
French Vegetable Tart Recipe
Equipment
- Medium-Sized Saucepan
- 9-inch tart/pie tin
Ingredients
For the pastry:
- 250 grams flour (about 1 & 1/2 cups)
- 10 ml vegetable oil (1 tablespoon)
- 125 grams butter (about 1 stick + 1 tablespoon), chilled and diced
- 8 to 16 ml ice-cold water (1 to 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the creamy vegetable filling:
- 120 grams French green beans (4 ounces), chopped
- 120 grams green peas (4 ounces), frozen
- 120 grams carrots (4 ounces), peeled and diced
- 120 grams potatoes (4 ounces), peeled and diced
- 30 grams butter (about 2 tablespoons)
- 40 grams flour (about 1/3 cup)
- 500 ml milk (about 2 cups + 4 tablespoons), hot
- 60 grams Gruyere cheese (3/4 cup), grated
- 2 to 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- pinch nutmeg
- salt and pepper, to season
Instructions
Prepare the shortcrust pastry:
- Combine flour, oil, chilled butter, and half a teaspoon of salt. Add one to two tablespoons of ice-cold water. You can use a food processor or mix manually with a fork.
- Mix until you achieve a doughy, yet still slightly sandy texture; then form it into a disc.
- Wrap in plastic and chill in the refrigerator for at least thirty minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (375°F).
- Unwrap your pastry and use it to line a 9-inch tart tin. You can roll it with a rolling pin or use your hands to get a portion of the dough and flatten it into the tin, repeating this process until you have lined the whole pan.
- Place a parchment paper on top, then fill it with baking beans or uncooked rice.
- Place it in the oven for ten minutes to blind-bake.
- Remove the paper and beans (carefully) and bake for an additional ten minutes, or until the edges turn slightly golden.
- Set aside to cool.
Prepare the tart filling:
- Blanch the vegetables by placing a pot of salted water on high heat, cover, and bring to a boil.
- Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to medium-high, uncover, and add all the chopped veggies (do this slowly and carefully!).
- Cook for five to eight minutes, or until they start to become tender.
- Remove the blanched vegetables from the heat and drain.
- Begin by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium heat to create the béchamel sauce.
- Add the flour, stir, and cook until it darkens in color.
- Pour the hot milk slowly, while whisking (use a whisk!) at the same time.
- Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and continue mixing until you achieve a smooth and slightly thickened consistency. Then, remove it from the heat.
Assemble your French vegetable tart:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (375°F).
- Spread half of the béchamel sauce at the bottom of the prebaked crust from earlier.
- Add the drained vegetables, arranging them evenly.
- Cover with the remaining béchamel sauce, then sprinkle with breadcrumbs and the grated cheese.
- Place your summer vegetable tart in the middle of the oven and bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes, or until it turns golden brown.
- Take the tart pan from the oven and let it cool for at least fifteen minutes.
- Remove your French vegetable tart carefully from the pan and transfer it to a plate — and serve!
Notes
- Cook’s Tip: All the chopped vegetables will measure 2 ¾ to 3 cups.
- Refer to the post for more tips and suggestions.
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