Making a good vegan tart crust can be a challenge. Without butter or egg yolks, it can be hard to get a sturdy, stretchy dough that holds up to a filling and is still golden and crumbly.

We wanted to create a tart crust that is very similar to a non-vegan tart crust in flavor and texture. But since baking is more like a science than anything (you have to be much more precise than when cooking savory food), you have to experiment with the ingredients and quantities again and again until you get the result you want.

After playing around with different flours and starches, the result was a beautiful tart crust that came out surprisingly good! It’s stable, crunchy, and easy to handle. The best part is, it doesn’t require any vegan butter or butter substitute!

We made 2 versions: sweet and savory. The sweet crust has almond and coconut flour, and the savory is a corn flour crust.

The corn flour crust is gluten-free!

Scroll down for the recipe ↓

 

Sweet almond & coconut crust

This sweet crust is perfect for fruit and other dessert tarts.

The coconut gives it a gorgeous butter flavor (and delicious aroma) and the almond flour gives it a sweet, nutty taste. The almond flour also lends a nice bit of moisture to the crust, but it’s still super crunchy on the outside.

We were inspired by some beautiful strawberries we saw at the farmer’s market and decided to use this sweet almond and coconut crust for some delicious strawberry tarts.

If you’d like to make this crust savory, reduce the amount of sugar to 10g, and add 5g of salt.

savory corn curst

This crust is perfect for savory tarts like potato, asparagus, eggplant, sweet pepper, or even a creamy tofu tart. We made use of some beautiful orange and yellow cherry tomatoes we spotted at the farmer’s market to make a tomato tart with this cornflour crust.

The corn gives it a great earthy flavor, almost like cornbread. This crust would be perfect for your vegan Thanksgiving tarts!

The dough is also super easy to make and only takes 15 minutes to roll out and put together (minus rest time). It’s not sticky and easy to handle.

If you’d like to make this crust sweet, simply triple the coconut sugar.

Making cold tarts

You can also pre-cook these tart crusts to make cold tarts.

Simply bake them all the way through, let cool, add whatever cold filling you want, and store in the fridge. You could make a chocolate tart using our chocolate mousse recipe, for example.

 

   

Simple Sweet & Savory Vegan Tart Crusts

Makes 2 4.5” tarts

 

Sweet almond coconut Crust

1/2 cup | 30g almond flour

1/2 cup | 30g coconut flour

2 tbsp | 18g tapioca flour

1/2 cup | 38g brown rice flour

| 28g all-purpose flour

1 tsp | 3g cornstarch

1tsp | 4g sea salt

2 tbsp | 25g cane sugar

3 1/2 tbsp | 41ml water

3 1/2 tbsp | 35ml coconut oil

1. Add all ingredienrs to a medium bowl and mix to combine until a homogenous dough forms (about 5 minutes).

2. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap big enough to wrap the dough in on a flat surface. Form a ball with the dough, place it on the plastic, and use your hands to flatten it into a 1/2”-thick disk. Wrap the dough with the plastic wrap and let rest in the fridfe for 1 hour.

3. Get you tart mould ready by lining it with coconut oil or olive oil and flour. Also flour the flat surface you’re going to use to roll out your dough. Remove dough from the fridge, unwrap it, and roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/4”-thick. Carefully pick it up with your hands and lay on top of the tart mould. If it breaks here, it’s ok. Use your thumbs to press the dough into the edges of the pan and to cover up any holes, making sure to keep the thickness as even as you can. Cut off the edges that spill out of the moulds with a knife (you can save these scraps for another tart or even some cookies). Use a fork to poke holes into the base of the tart.

4. Baking with a filling

   If you’re going to bake the crust with a filling, pre-bake the crust first. Pre-heat oven to 300ºF and pre-bake for 20 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes.

   Remove from oven and add your filling. Bake for however long you need to bake your filling, remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

5. Baking an empty crust

   Bake the tart at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until lovely and golden, rotating every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Add filling, or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

   

Savory corn Crust

1/2 cup | 56g Corn flour

1 tbsp | 8g corn starch

2 tbsp | 16g tapioca flour

1/2 cup | 45g oat flour

pinch of salt

2 tbsp | 16g coconut sugar

4 tbsp | 52ml water

3 tbsp | 30ml extra-virgin olive oil

1. Add all ingredienrs to a medium bowl and mix to combine until a homogenous dough forms (about 5 minutes).

2. Lay out a piece of plastic wrap big enough to wrap the dough in on a flat surface. Form a ball with the dough, place it on the plastic, and use your hands to flatten it into a 1/2”-thick disk. Wrap the dough with the plastic wrap and let rest in the fridfe for 1 hour.

3. Get you tart mould ready by lining it with coconut oil or olive oil and flour. Also flour the flat surface you’re going to use to roll out your dough. Remove dough from the fridge, unwrap it, and roll it out with a rolling pin to about 1/4”-thick. Carefully pick it up with your hands and lay on top of the tart mould. If it breaks here, it’s ok. Use your thumbs to press the dough into the edges of the pan and to cover up any holes, making sure to keep the thickness as even as you can. Cut off the edges that spill out of the moulds with a knife (you can save these scraps for another tart or even some cookies). Use a fork to poke holes into the base of the tart.

4. Baking with a filling

   If you’re going to bake the crust with a filling, pre-bake the crust first. Pre-heat oven to 300ºF and pre-bake for 20 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes.

   Remove from oven and add your filling. Bake for however long you need to bake your filling, remove from oven, and set aside to cool.

5. Baking an empty crust

   Bake the tart at 350ºF for 30 minutes or until lovely and golden, rotating every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Add filling, or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

   

Don’t forget to tag us on Instagram @eatogether.co and show us your delicious recreations!

 

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