Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (2024)

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This Savory Apple Tart recipe features thyme, caramelized onions and gruyere cheese. A wonderful vegetarian meal, especially when served alongside a simple green salad.

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (1)

Make this easy Savory Apple Tart recipe this fall and feel like a domestic goddess!

I’m a little worried because John caught a sick bug last night. Scratchy throat, cough, sad puppy eyes, the works.

Why do guys turn into helpless babies when they’re sick? I find it kind of endearing, actually. I like making him tea and taking care of him.

But so help me if I catch what he’s got.

It can’t happen. I have the most insane schedule next week. Like Monday-Sunday, morning-night cooking jobs. No breaks, no days off. Not every week is so jam-packed, but this one is.

So…getting sick is not an option. And the thing that sucks about being self-employed is that there’s no such thing as paid sick days. If you can’t work, you don’t make money.

So I am careful and committed when it comes to staying sick-free. If someone so much as sneezes in my vicinity I’m running off to Whole Foods to pick up every immune boosting concoction in stock .

Oregano oil, echinacea, elderberry, give me all of it. This method has worked out really well so far; I haven’t been sick in years (I hope I’m not jinxing myself).

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (2)

Keeping illness at bay keeps me in the kitchen so that I can keep making deliciously fancy things like this Savory Apple Tart recipe. What is it about a savory tart that makes you feel like a domestic goddess?

I totally channeled my inner Ina with this apple tart recipe. It’s got nutty gruyere, caramelized onion, a hint of Dijon, tangy green apple and it’s accented with fresh thyme.

How to make this Savory Apple Tart recipe:

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (3)

Use pre-made pie dough to save time!

Of course I prefer making the dough from scratch, but let’s say it’s a weeknight and you’ve got a sick hubby laid up on the couch to tend to and you just need to get a delicious dinner on the table in a hurry.

Here’s a little shortcut to get thissavory apple thyme tart on the table lickety-split: use pre-made pie dough. It will save you tons of time with equally delicious results.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pre-made chilled dough and press into two six-inch tart pans, trimming off excess. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Blind bake your tart shell:

Preheat the oven to 375°. Line the dough with a piece of parchment paper and top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. This step is called blind baking and will prevent the crust from getting soggy once filled.

Remove the parchment and weights. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes more. Transfer tart pans to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (4)

Make the filling:

In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with olive oil and swirl the pan around to combine both fats. Add the sliced onions and cook until lightly browned and starting to caramelize. This should take about 8 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and mustard and spread evenly over the pie crust. Sprinkle with half of the grated cheese and the thyme leaves. Arrange the apple slices and onions on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper.

Bake on the top oven rack until the pastry is golden and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then garnish with thyme, cut into slices and serve.

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (5)

Which apples are best for this tart recipe?

The best apples for baking are both sweet and tart and hold up when baked without turning to mush. Granny Smith apples are generally one of my go-tos, but here are others to keep in mind:

  • Jonagold
  • Honeycrisp
  • Braeburn
  • Golden Delicious
  • Pink Lady

Tips for making this Savory Apple Tart recipe:

  • No pie weights for blind baking? No problem! Use sugar instead (here’s a how-to) ! This method comes with a bonus: faintly caramelized granulated sugar – the best for baking banana bread!
  • Use a wide skillet for caramelizing the onions. This gives the water room to evaporate, allowing the onions to caramelize rather than steam.
  • If you feel like onions are getting too brown around the edges reduce your heat a bit.

Thanks for reading! To keep up with me in the kitchen, follow me onFacebook,Instagram,TwitterandPinterest.If you make this Savory Apple Tart, don’t forget to share it using the hashtag #LePetitEats!

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (6)

5 from 6 votes

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Savory Apple Thyme Tart

This Savory Apple Thyme Tart with caramelized onion and gruyere makes a wonderful vegetarian meal, especially when served alongside a simple green salad.

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine French

Keyword apple tart with cheese, easy apple tart recipe, savory apple tart recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Chilling time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 400 kcal

Author Denisse

Ingredients

  • 1 batch store bought or home made pie dough 1 roll of store bought pie dough is enough for two individual 6 inch tarts
  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 small yellow onion sliced into thin rings
  • ½ cup crème fraîche
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
  • ½ tablespoon fresh thyme leaves chopped, plus more for garnish
  • 1 apple cored and thinly sliced
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  1. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough and press into two six-inch tart pans, trimming off excess. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

  2. Preheat oven to 375°. Line the dough with parchment paper and top with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the parchment and weights. Continue baking until the crust is golden brown and crisp, about 10 minutes more.

  3. Transfer tart pans to a wire rack and let cool slightly. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°.

  4. Meanwhile, make the filling: In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter with the olive oil and swirl the pan to combine. Add the onions and cook until lightly browned and starting to caramelize, about 8 minutes per side. Remove from heat.

  5. In a small bowl, stir together the crème fraîche and mustard and spread evenly over the crust. Sprinkle with half of the cheese and the thyme. Arrange the apple slices and onions on top. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper.

  6. Bake on the top oven rack until the pastry is golden and the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then garnish with thyme, cut into slices and serve.

Recipe Notes

  • No pie weights for blind baking? No problem! Use sugar instead (here's a how-to) ! This method comes with a bonus: faintly caramelized granulated sugar - the best for baking banana bread!
  • Use a wide skillet for caramelizing the onions. This gives the water room to evaporate, allowing the onions to caramelize rather than steam.
  • If you feel like onions are getting too brown around the edges reduce your heat a bit.

Products I recommend for this recipe:

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (7)Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (8)
Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (9)Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (10)

Savory Apple Tart Recipe with Thyme, Caramelized Onion & Gruyere (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between apple pie and apple tart? ›

The main difference is that tarts only have a bottom crust, and the crust is much thicker than a pie crust. Galettes – This is basically a pie made without using a pie dish, but because that would be too simple galettes can be made with any type of pastry dough.

What is French apple tart made of? ›

Ingredients
  1. 1 sheet puff pastry, thawed.
  2. 1.5 kg apple, preferably Honeycrisp or Granny Smith.
  3. 3 tablespoons water.
  4. ½ cup sugar.
  5. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter.
  6. vanilla ice cream, for serving.
May 13, 2024

What is a tart apple? ›

Granny Smith, McIntosh, and Pink Lady fall on the tart end of the spectrum. While tart apples can be great for snacking, they're often ideal for baking and can handle a lot of added sweetness. Other types, like Braeburn and Golden Delicious apples, fall somewhere in the middle.

Which apples are best for apple tart? ›

The best apples for an apple tart:

We're partial to Granny Smith, Honeycrip, and Gala, but you can really use any baking apple that you prefer in this recipe! Use one variety, or a couple to really mix it up and keep things interesting.

What is the crispiest tart apple? ›

What Are The Crunchiest Apples?
  • Crisp Apples Ranked: Crunchiest to Least Crunchy.
  • SweeTango. ...
  • Honeycrisp. ...
  • Cosmic Crisp® ...
  • Pink Lady® ...
  • Rave® ...
  • Pinata® ...
  • Granny Smith.

What is a substitute for Calvados in apple tart? ›

Calvados is apple brandy from Normandy. You can substitute another apple brandy. If they're not available, you can use brandy, Cognac, or dark rum. If avoiding alcohol, omit the brandy and double the vanilla extract, although the tart gets its name, and flavor, from the brandy, so the taste will be different.

How to heat Trader Joe's French apple tart? ›

She makes it her own by warming it up in the oven before serving and adding a little dollop of vanilla ice cream on top, with a swirl of caramel sauce she “warmed up from a jar” for good measure.

What is apple Betty made of? ›

What Is a Brown Betty? An Apple Brown Betty is a baked dessert made with fresh apples topped with a crisp crumble. The crumble is typically a mixture of flour, sugar, spice, and butter.

Which apple is best for baking? ›

Which apples bake best? For the best pies, crisps, and other baked treats, apples need to be firm enough to hold their own during the cooking process. We call these apples “baking apples” and to namedrop, they include Braeburn, Cortland, Honey Gold, Jonathan, Fuji, Gala, Granny Smith, Haralson, and Newtown Pippin.

Which apple has the most malic acid? ›

Most Acidic: Granny Smith apples are known for their tartness due to their high malic acid content. Moderately Acidic: Other tart apple varieties like Braeburn, Pink Lady (Cripps Pink), and Empire fall into this range.

Which apple is the most sour? ›

The Granny Smith apple variety is unique in the apple world with its green colour and very sour taste, making it the exact counterpart to the Golden Delicious. To mature completely, this variety needs a very warm climate, which it finds in South Tyrol and especially in the Etschtal valley.

Is tart dough the same as pie dough? ›

While pie crusts are very flaky and light, tart crusts or pastry crusts, tend to be firm and crumbly and not at all flaky. A standard tart crust contains flour, sugar, salt, and a beaten egg, all incorporated together in a food processor and then chilled before use.

What is the difference between a tart pan and a pie dish? ›

They do look pretty similar, and while it's true that the difference between a tart and pie isn't well-defined, the two pans are quite different. Tart pans have straight, fluted sides and are shallower. Pie dishes get narrower as they go down, have smooth sides, are deeper, and usually have a rim.

What is a pie without a top crust called? ›

A pie is a baked or fried dish which is usually made of a pastry dough casing that covers or completely contains a filling of various sweet or savory ingredients. A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry.

Why is a fruit tart called a tart? ›

Tarts have a long history, and their origins can be traced back to ancient Rome. The word “tart” is thought to derive from the Old French word tarte, which itself is derived from the Latin word torta, meaning “twisted bread”.

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