Oh, there’s just something unbeatable about sinking your teeth into a golden, flaky crust filled with savory goodness, isn’t there? When I think of comforting, savory baking, my mind immediately goes to dishes that feed a crowd without stressing out the cook. That’s exactly why this Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart has earned a permanent spot in my recipe rotation. It looks so elegant when you slice into it, but honestly, it’s one of the easiest pastry recipes I use! Growing up in Texas, dishes that could be prepped ahead and served warm or even cool were lifesavers for all those potlucks and spur-of-the-moment family dinners. This tart is reliable, wonderfully flavorful, and proves you don’t need meat for a satisfying main dish.
Why This Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart is a Family Favorite
I love sharing recipes that truly simplify your week, and this tart absolutely does that. It’s honestly dependable enough for a Tuesday night but tastes special enough for company. It’s a winner because:
- It comes together surprisingly fast, especially if you make the dough while the zucchini rests.
- It’s incredibly flexible! We eat it for a light lunch with some greens, or serve it as a lovely side dish when we grill out. You can find more simple ideas for easy family dinners over here.
- It highlights those beautiful summer veggies—you can use up that surplus zucchini without fuss.
Ingredients for the Perfect Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
When we talk about getting that perfect flakiness in our pastry—which is essential for any good baked dessert recipe—it all comes down to how cold your butter is! Don’t skimp on these bits of detail, trust me, they matter for the final outcome of this easy vegetarian dinner.
For the Savory Pastry Crust
The key element here is truly cold butter, diced into those little half-inch cubes. That’s what gives you those lovely layers, so make sure it’s straight from the fridge!
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt (about ¾ teaspoon for the dough) and freshly ground black pepper
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 5 tablespoons ice water
For the Zucchini & Goat Cheese Filling
Remember, before anything hits the dough, you’ve got to salt those zucchini slices and let them sit! We need to draw out that extra moisture so our tart doesn’t turn soupy after baking. Also, make sure your goat cheese is soft—room temperature is best for easy mixing.
- 1½ pounds zucchini, unpeeled and sliced super thin—I mean ⅛ inch thick, so they lay down beautifully!
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil, split between tossing and drizzling
- 8 ounces plain creamy goat cheese, softened
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
Step-by-Step Instructions for Your Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
This tart requires a little planning, mostly around chilling and resting, but the hands-on time is minimal! We are aiming for a beautiful free-form presentation here, which is why this is one of my favorite easy baking recipes. Just follow my lead, and we’ll have a stunning finish!
Preparing the Pastry Dough
First things first, let’s tackle that crust. Pop your flour and salt into the food processor with your cold butter pieces. Pulse, pulse, pulse until it looks crumbly—like cornmeal with some pea-sized butter chunks remaining. This is your base for a flaky crust!
With the machine running, slowly drizzle in that vinegar mixed with the ice water. You want to process it *just* until the dough starts clumping up. Don’t let it become one big ball! Tip it onto a floured surface, quickly shape it into a disk—remember, we aren’t kneading here—wrap it up tight, and let it relax in the fridge for a solid 30 minutes. This chilling time is non-negotiable!
Prepping the Zucchini and Cheese Base
While that dough is chilling, we need to deal with the zucchini. Place all those pretty thin slices in a colander, toss them with about 2 teaspoons of salt, and let them sweat out their water for half an hour. This is the secret weapon against a soggy bottom from these amazing oven-baked recipes!
After the resting time, roll that zucchini in a clean dish towel and give it a good, firm squeeze to get rid of all that extra moisture. Then, mix it with just 1 tablespoon of olive oil. In a separate bowl, mash the room-temperature goat cheese with your thyme, lemon zest, salt, and pepper until it’s smooth and ready to spread.
Assembling and Baking the Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
Now, crank that oven up to 400 degrees! Roll your chilled dough into an 11-inch circle right onto parchment paper on a sheet pan. Spread that creamy goat cheese mixture evenly over the dough, but leave a neat half-inch border all the way around—that’s your handle!
Lay those drained zucchini slices down in tight, overlapping circles, starting from the outside edge and working your way in until the whole cheese layer is covered. Drizzle with the very last bit of olive oil and a fresh grind of pepper. Bake this beauty for about 40 to 50 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the pastry crust looks perfectly golden brown. Let it cool just slightly before cutting; it’s fantastic warm or room temperature!
Expert Tips for the Best Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
Making a great savory tart comes down to a few small things that really make a huge difference in the end, and I’ve learned these over years of chasing that perfect, flaky crust. If you don’t have a food processor handy—no worries at all! You can totally make this crust by hand. Just use a pastry blender or even your fingertips to cut that cold butter into the flour until you reach that pea-sized texture. Work fast so the butter stays cold!
Another tip I always pass along relates to that gorgeous goat cheese base. Please, please make sure your goat cheese is truly at room temperature before you try to mash it. It should feel soft and pliable, not stiff, otherwise, you’ll end up tearing your beautiful dough when you try to spread it! This attention to detail is what elevates this simple dish into a beautiful pastry recipe worth bragging about.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions for Your Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
I know sometimes you stand in front of the fridge and realize you’re missing one tiny thing, but don’t panic! This Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart is wonderfully forgiving. If you’ve run out of straight goat cheese, you can totally pivot. Try combining some creamy feta with a spoonful of cream cheese to get that same tang and smooth texture for your base. It works beautifully!
And for the fresh thyme? If you don’t have any on hand, dried herbs are perfectly acceptable in a pinch. Just remember that dried thyme is stronger, so use about half the amount suggested for fresh—maybe just half a teaspoon of the dried version.
The only thing I really wouldn’t mess with is that initial step of salting the zucchini. Trust me on that one; we need all that liquid out to make sure we get that crisp, layered crust we worked so hard on!
Storage and Reheating Instructions for Leftover Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
I always hope there are leftovers because this savory tart tastes almost as amazing the next day! Once it’s cooled down completely, wrap any wedges tightly in plastic wrap or just pop them into an airtight container. Keep it in the fridge; it will stay good for about three days. This makes it such a great option for quick lunch ideas later on!
When you’re ready to eat those leftovers, skip the microwave if you can! Microwaving zaps the moisture right out of the pastry and makes it chewy. Instead, warm it gently in a 350-degree oven for about ten minutes until the cheese is soft again. But honestly, I often just eat a slice cold, straight from the fridge, and it’s still delicious!
Serving Suggestions for This Savory Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
This tart is such a fantastic centerpiece, but every main dish needs a good sidekick, right? Since the tart is rich from the goat cheese, I always lean toward something really light and bright to balance it out. If you’re having this for a light dinner, you absolutely must pair it with a simple green salad.
A simple mix of arugula or baby greens tossed with a sharp Dijon vinaigrette works wonders. If it’s cooler outside, I love serving a small wedge alongside a creamy cup of tomato soup—that’s just pure comfort! You can find some great, easy salad recipes on the site if you need a suggestion.
Truly, this tart is perfect for brunch spread out on the table, too. It needs next to nothing else to shine!
Frequently Asked Questions About the Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
I totally get it—when you’re planning a meal, you have a million little questions humming in the back of your mind! These are the things I always get asked about making this gorgeous tart. Don’t worry if you’re new to pastry; we can work through it together!
Can I make the Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart dough ahead of time?
Yes, absolutely! That’s one of the best things about making fresh pastry. Once you form the dough into a disk and wrap it tightly, you can keep it in the fridge for up to two days. Just make sure you let it sit on the counter for about ten minutes before you try to roll it out, or it might crack on you.
How do I prevent my tart from becoming watery?
This is the million-dollar question for any zucchini bake, and the answer is the pre-salting step we talked about! You must slice those zucchini thin, toss them with salt, and let them rest for 30 minutes. After that, roll them up in a towel and squeeze out as much liquid as you humanly can. Don’t skip or rush that part—it saves your crust!
Is this considered an easy baking recipe?
If you already love savory baking, then yes, I’d call this easy-medium. The filling and assembly are super straightforward, but mastering the homemade pastry takes a little patience the first time. If you’re nervous about the crust, using a store-bought pie shell will still give you 90% of the flavor with half the effort!
Estimated Nutritional Data for Zucchini & Goat Cheese Tart
Look, I’m not a nutritionist, but I know we all like to have a little idea of what we’re eating when we sit down for this wonderful vegetarian dinner. This data is based on splitting the tart into 6 servings, just like the recipe suggests. Life is about balance, and after all that wonderful pastry work, you deserve every bite!
- Calories: Around 450 per wedge
- Total Fat: About 32 grams
- Carbohydrates: Roughly 30 grams
- Protein: Near 10 grams
Just remember, these numbers can swing a bit depending on the exact brand of goat cheese or oil you use. But generally, this savory tart is satisfying without being too heavy!
Print
Zucchini and Goat Cheese Tart
- Total Time: 1 hour 35 min
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
A simple, savory tart featuring thinly sliced zucchini layered over a creamy goat cheese base, baked until the crust is golden brown. This dish works well for lunch, dinner, or as a shared side.
Ingredients
- 1¼ cups all-purpose flour
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, ½-inch-diced
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
- 5 tablespoons ice water
- 1½ pounds zucchini, unpeeled and sliced ⅛ inch thick
- 2 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
- 8 ounces plain creamy goat cheese, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Place the flour, ¾ teaspoon of salt, and the butter in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse 12 to 14 times until the butter is the size of peas.
- With the processor running, pour the vinegar and ice water through the feed tube. Continue to process and pulse until the dough just comes together.
- Dump the dough out on a floured board, form it into a disk, wrap it in plastic, and chill for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, place the zucchini in a colander set over a plate. Toss it with 2 teaspoons of salt and set aside for 30 minutes.
- Spread the zucchini out on a clean dish towel, roll it up, and squeeze gently to remove some liquid.
- Put the zucchini slices into a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- With a fork, mash together the goat cheese, thyme, lemon zest, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Set this mixture aside.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
- Roll the dough out on a floured board to an 11-inch circle and place it on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
- Spread the dough with the goat cheese mixture, leaving a ½-inch border.
- Lay the zucchini slices in tightly overlapping circles, starting at the very edge of the pastry. Continue overlapping the zucchini circles until the whole tart is covered.
- Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with pepper.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the dough is golden brown.
- Cut the tart into wedges and serve hot, warm, or at room temperature.
Notes
- You can prepare this tart ahead of time; it tastes good served warm or at room temperature.
- If you do not have a food processor, you can make the crust by hand using a pastry blender or your fingertips.
- Prep Time: 45 min
- Cook Time: 50 min
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 wedge
- Calories: 450
- Sugar: 3
- Sodium: 450
- Fat: 32
- Saturated Fat: 18
- Unsaturated Fat: 14
- Trans Fat: 0
- Carbohydrates: 30
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 10
- Cholesterol: 65
Keywords: zucchini tart, goat cheese tart, savory tart, vegetable tart, easy baking, oven baked, pastry recipe, vegetarian dinner