Sweet Pepper Tart: Easy Puff Pastry Version
An easy puff pastry sweet pepper tart (or galette) recipe. It’s quick to prepare and irresistibly delicious, with its crispy crust and creamy filling. Serve warm or at room temperature and pair with a fresh salad for a lovely, simple meal. Ideal for lazy summer lunches and suppers.
When I have time and the weather isn’t too hot I like to make my own wholemeal pastry. But in summer or when I’m feeling lazy, a puff pastry tart is a wondrous thing. Yes, it’s not particularly healthy, but you can make up for that with a salad packed full of the good stuff.
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Dive Right In
- Why Make A Sweet Pepper Tart?
- Sweet Pepper Tart
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- How To Make A Puff Pastry Sweet Pepper Tart
- Vegan Sweet Pepper Tart
- Other Puff Pastry Tart Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- The Recipe
Why Make A Sweet Pepper Tart?
Apart from the fact this sweet pepper tart is easy-to-make and very tasty, here are a few reasons why you’ll want to make it.
- Adaptable – Whilst the recipe is delicious as is, it’s very easy to customise. Experiment with different flavours, herbs, cheeses or even vegetables to make this your own. Or why not make individual tarts rather than one big one?
- Crowd-Pleaser – The combination of creamy and crispy is always popular. Throw in some delicious flavours and you have an immediate hit for family gatherings, parties or potlucks. It’s delicious served warm or at room temperature.
- Fresh and Flavoursome – The combination of fresh basil leaves, lemon zest and garlic in the creamy filling produces a burst of vibrant flavours which both tantalise and refresh the taste buds.
- Perfect for Summer – Light and fresh, this tart is ideal for lazy summer lunches and suppers. It captures the essence of the season with its bright and zesty flavours. Simply pair with a green salad.
- Quick and Easy – With a ready-rolled puff pastry base, this tart is very quick to prepare. This makes it perfect for busy days, lazy days or when you’re entertaining.
- Visually Appealing – Colourful bell pepper batons create a striking topping to this tart and a lovely pop of colour.
Sweet Pepper Tart
This version of my sweet pepper tart was a revelation. I often do one with the smoky hot flavours of Mexico. And that’s really good too as peppers pair well with Mexican food. But when I came back from my shopping trip to make it, I realised I’d forgotten to buy any coriander leaves (cilantro). Bother!
Fresh herbs are an important part of this tart, so I had a quick rethink. Our homegrown basil is starting to do quite well now and there was enough to use in this recipe. Hoorah!
So, my mind veered away from Mexico and headed towards Italy. Some lemon zest and lots of fresh garlic combined so well with the basil, that this is now my favourite puff pastry tart.
Serve it warm or at room temperature with salad leaves and a sharp lemony dressing. Use the juice from the lemon in the tart recipe. The lemon cuts through the creaminess of the cheese and sweetness of the peppers most beautifully.
Ingredients And Substitutions
This sweet pepper tart is a very simple recipe and you don’t need many ingredients to make it. Other than those listed below, you’ll need an egg, salt and pepper.
Cheese
You need cream or curd cheese for this recipe. I usually use a basic cream cheese, but ricotta ups the Italian vibe another notch or two.
To finish the tart at the end of baking, it’s nice to finely grate a little vegetarian Parmesan type cheese over the top. It melts on top of the hot pastry and provides a little more flavour. However, this is entirely optional.
Flavourings
I’ve gone for an Italian inspired tart this time. For this you need a good handful of fresh basil leaves, some freshly grated lemon zest and a plump clove of garlic. The basil in particular gives this tart a really fabulous flavour. But the three combined are the bees knees.
However, I sometimes make a Mexican inspired version. For this just swap the basil for coriander leaves (cilantro) and the lemon zest for a pinch each of ancho chilli powder and chilli chipotle flakes.
Peppers
Fleshy sweet bell peppers are the best ones to use in this recipe. You can use whichever colours grab your fancy, but it’s looks more appealing with two contrasting colours rather than just one.
Puff Pastry
A ready rolled puff pastry sheet is ideal for a quick no-fuss meal. However, it’s an expensive way to buy pastry, so it’s fine use a block and roll your own. Or even better, make your own.
How To Make A Puff Pastry Sweet Pepper Tart
Although the preparation time for this tart is minimal, it takes half an hour to bake in the oven, so you’ll need to factor that in to your planning.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Get Prepared
Take the puff pastry sheet out of the fridge fifteen minutes or so before you need to use it and leave well alone. It tends to crack if you try to unroll it whilst it’s stiff from the cold. I know this to my cost, but seldom remember.
When it’s pliable, unroll the sheet and place it, together with the paper it comes with, onto a similar sized baking sheet.
Preheat the oven.
Step 2. Mix Filling
Spoon the cream cheese into a medium sized mixing bowl, then break in the egg.
Finely grate the garlic and lemon zest into the bowl. I love my microplane (affiliate link), which does a splendid job of grating both.
Wash the basil well and give it several good shakes to remove the excess water. Alternatively use a salad spinner (affiliate link) to dry it. Remove any hard stems and chop roughly.
Add the salt, pepper and basil to the bowl and beat together until smooth and well combined. A fork is good for this. I also like to add a pinch of chilli flakes, but this is entirely optional.
Spread the mix out over the pastry sheet, leaving a one to two centimetre (half inch) border. A palette knife or back of a spoon both work for spreading.
Step 3. Prepare Peppers
Wash the peppers, then core them and remove the seeds. Slice into batons and lay these across the cheese in whatever pattern you like. I like to use two different colours and alternate them as I go.
If you have any pepper slices leftover, chop them up and use them as part of the accompanying salad.
Step 4. Bake Tart
Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for fifteen minutes. Turn the heat down a little and bake for a further ten to fifteen minutes. The pastry should be puffed and golden, the custard set and the peppers just starting to take on a bit of colour.
Transfer to a cooling rack and if liked, grate a little parmesan style cheese over the top whilst still hot.
Cut into slices when ready to serve. It’s best warm rather than hot, but is also good at room temperature.
Top Tip
The tart, or any leftovers, will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but the pastry will be soggy. It’s still fine to eat, but for best results and crisped up pastry, reheat in a hot oven (or air fryer) for fifteen to twenty minutes.
Vegan Sweet Pepper Tart
Puff pastry suitable for vegans is readily available, so that’s a very good place to start. The only ingredients you need to substitute in this recipe to make the pepper tart vegan, is the egg and cream cheese.
Omit the egg and use my vegan cream cheese recipe instead. The amount given should just about be enough to cover the tart.
I haven’t actually tried this, so it’s a suggestion rather than tried and tested. But if you do give it a go, I’d love to hear how you got on.
Other Easy Puff Pastry Tart Recipes You Might Like
- Apple & almond pastries
- Fig & goat’s cheese tart
- Mushroom tart
- Puff pizza pies
- Roasted beetroot galette
- Vegan king cake
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this sweet pepper tart, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for using puff pastry?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.
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If you’d like more sweet pepper recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Sweet Pepper Tart. PIN IT.
Sweet Pepper Tart
Equipment
Ingredients
- 320 g puff pastry sheet
- 250 g full fat cream cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- good grinding of black pepper
- 1 clove garlic a plump one – finely grated
- 1 lemon zest only – finely grated
- 1 pinch chilli flakes (optional)
- 20 g basil chopped
- 2 large sweet peppers any colour you wish – deseeded
- vegetarian Parmesan style cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Place the pastry sheet, together with the paper it comes with onto a similar sized baking sheet. I use a 30 x 23cm (12 x 9) inch which is not quite big enough, but works if I fold the excess pastry up over the ends.320 g puff pastry sheet
- Set the oven to 220℃ (200℃ fan, 425℉, Gas 7).
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat together the cheese, egg, salt, pepper, garlic, lemon zest, basil and chilli, if using, until smooth and well combined. A fork is good for this.250 g full fat cream cheese, 1 large egg, ¼ tsp fine sea salt, good grinding of black pepper, 1 clove garlic, 1 lemon, 20 g basil, 1 pinch chilli flakes
- Spread the mix out over the pastry sheet, leaving a 1-2 cm (½ inch) border.
- Slice the peppers into sticks and lay these across the cheese. I like to use two different colours and alternate them as I go. If you have any pepper slices leftover, chop them up and use them as part of the accompanying salad.2 large sweet peppers
- Bake on the middle shelf of your preheated oven for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 200℃ (180℃ fan, 400℉, Gas 6) and bake for a further 10-15 minutes. The pastry should be puffed and golden, the custard set and the peppers just starting to take on a bit of colour.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and grate a little parmesan style cheese over the top, if liked. Cut into slices when ready to serve. It’s best warm rather than hot, but is also good at room temperature.vegetarian Parmesan style cheese
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
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This was amazing!! It was easy to prepare and so delicious. I can’t wait to make it again!
I had a lot of leftover bell peppers so I decided to make this. Came out delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
The tart is a great way to use up bell peppers. Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed it.
I love puff pastry tarts! I usually use store-bought pastry which makes them super easy. It was so good with the bell peppers!
Glad you enjoyed the tart Veronika. It’s good to have a break from making everything from scratch from time to time.
This great and colourful lunch recipe for the upcoming summer is served with a lovely homemade lemonade. It’s fantastic!
Oh yes, homemade lemonade is just the thing to accompany this sweet pepper tart. Good call.
This recipe is delicious and effortless dish, perfect for any occasion!
Sometimes effortless is just what you need. Glad you enjoyed it.
This looks like the perfect summer recipe. Looking forward to trying it.
Hope you enjoy the tart. Do let us know what you think of it if you do try it.