This Sun-Dried Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Basil Tart is the absolute best year-round appetizer! Flaky homemade rough puff pastry dough, filled with the simplest basil custard with lots of goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and some chopped green onions. So much easier to make than you might think, but truly so delicious. The secret behind this tart? Using a splash of white wine in the custard! It really helps this tart have a serious POP of flavor! It’s truly an appetizer that everyone will love. Every bite of this tart is fresh, bright, vibrant, tangy, tomato-y, and will leave you wanting more!

overhead shot of sun-dried tomato tart with slice on white plate beside, with seven slices on parchment paper with basil leaves and tomatoes around, bowl of chopped green onions, glass of white wine, and white flowers on marble surface

About The Recipe

Believe it or not, this is our first savory tart recipe shared on the blog…and trust me, it’s a good one! Honestly, this might just be one of my favorite recipes to-date and I’m so excited to finally share it with all of you! Sun-dried Tomato, Goat Cheese, Basil Tart.

close up of six slices of tomato tart on parchment paper

tart on crumbled parchment paper with basil and tomato slices on top, with knife beside, glass of wine, and white flowers

Okay, I mean, the list of ingredients in this tart ALONE are all delicious, but once you mix them together, it creates something beyond words. It’s a great appetizer, great brunch…we even had it for dinner the other night!

The inspiration behind this tart actually came from our Caprese Sandwich last week. It’s no surprise to anyone who’s read the blog before that I don’t love tomatoes. Okay – that’s not a true statement. I don’t like raw tomatoes (weird, I know).

So, when we made them, I made one with sun-dried tomatoes because, oddly enough, I like those! It gave the sandwich a little bit of a different flavor, but it was still really good. I mentioned it to my mom and we both started trying to think of something else we could do with the flavor combination.

Luckily, we had just made another batch of rough puff pastry for next Monday’s post (seriously, so excited for that one!) and we had made a double batch, as always, to have enough to test and to shoot for pictures.

overhead shot of tomato tart slices on parchment paper with basil sprigs and tomatoes around, glass of white wine, and flowers beside

Turns out, we didn’t NEED our second batch and we had this wonderful rough puff pastry with nothing to do with it. That’s how this tart was born! With the idea of the caprese, but done a little fancier and more delicious.

We wound up with an ah-mazing tart that we couldn’t be happier to share! It’s tangy, herb-y, creamy, rich, with a touch of sweetness from the tomatoes.

Parties, get-togethers, holiday’s…this tart is literally perfect for any and all occasions. It’s impressive, but oh so delicious.

Reasons You Will Love This Sun-Dried Tomato Tart

It’s actually SO much easier to make than you might think.
Full of flavor and so delicious.
Perfect for an appetizer, brunch, or even a fancy dinner with a salad!
A crowd pleaser.
Fancy and gorgeous, without much effort.

tart cut into eight slices on parchment paper, with basil leaves and tomatoes around, with knife beside, and white plates on marble surface

Equipment Needed

Ingredients

(Full ingredient amounts and instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post)

For The Rough Puff:

Bread Flour
Salt
Diastatic Malt Powder
Unsalted Butter
Lemon Juice
Cold Water

flour, water, butter, salt, diastatic malt powder, and lemon juice on marble surface

For The Filling:

Minced Garlic
Ground Pepper
Chopped Fresh Basil
Whole Milk
White Wine
Large Eggs
All-Purpose Flour
Goat Cheese
Green Onions
Sun-Dried Tomatoes

minced garlic, chopped basil, chopped sun-dried tomatoes, white wine, pepper, eggs, goat cheese, flour, milk, and green onions on marble surface

How To Make This Sun-Dried Tomato Tart

Step 1: Make the rough puff pastry

Combine flour, salt, and diastatic malt powder in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter. Mix on low speed until flour is completely coated with butter, leaving some small-ish chunks of butter.

Add lemon juice and water. Mix on low only to combine.

Step 2: Refrigerate and Fold

Form the dough into a rectangle. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

puff pastry wrapped in plastic wrap on marble surface

Turn out onto a floured surface and roll into a 6 inch by 12 inch rectangle.

puff pastry dough rolled into an oval on marble surface

Fold the top third down and the bottom third up. Rotate dough 90°.

bottom half of dough folded to the middle on marble surface

top half of dough folded to middle of dough

Roll the dough into a 6 inch by 12 inch rectangle. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up.

pastry rolled out to a rectangle on marble surface

bottom half of dough folded to the middle of dough

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Repeat two more times.

dough wrapped in plastic wrap on marble surface

Step 3: Roll out and place in pan

Remove the dough from the refrigerator after the final double turn and place on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Roll dough into a 7 x 16 inch rectangle (should be about ⅛ inch thick).

rolled out puff pastry on parchment paper

Place over tart pan. Press gently into corners and grooves. Cut away the excess.

sheet of pastry laying over rectangular tart pan on marble surface

puff pastry in rectangular tart pan on marble surface

Place parchment paper over the dough and fill with pie weights. Bake for 5 minutes. Set aside.

tart pan with parchment paper and pie weights on marble surface

par-baked dough in rectangular pan on marble surface

Step 4: Make the filling

In a medium bowl, combine garlic, pepper, basil, milk, wine, eggs, and flour. Mix.

flour, milk, eggs, wine, pepper, garlic, and chopped basil in glass bowl

In a small bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the goat cheese, green onions, and sun-dried tomatoes.

sun-dried tomatoes, green onions, and goat cheese in glass bowl

goat cheese and tomato mixture in glass bowl

Add the goat cheese mixture to the egg mixture. Beat with an electric mixer until well combined.

goat cheese mixture and basil custard in glass bowl

Carefully, pour or ladle mixture into the tart shell. Bake for 25 minutes, until puffy and set.

tomato and basil custard added to tart pan on marble surface

Decorating Ideas

This tart is gorgeous enough on it’s own, but you can definitely decorate it to really make the colors POP! Here’s a quick list of our favorite ways to finish this tart.

Sliced cherry tomatoes
Basil leaves
Edible Flowers
Whipped Creme Fraîche

Best Wine To Use

For this recipe, we highly recommend using a cheap Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc. When reading the label, look for wines that are described as, “lemon-y” or “bright and zesty”.

close up of five slices of sun-dried tomato tart on parchment paper with knife beside, basil leaves, and slices tomatoes on top

How To Store

Once this tart is made, it can be kept in the refrigerator for about 1-2 days. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month!

Substitutions

You can use store-bought puff pastry for the crust!
If you don’t have goat cheese, you can use cream cheese. Just keep in mind the texture and flavor will change slightly!
Dried basil can be used in place of fresh basil. If using dried basil, you will need about 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons.
Chives can be used instead of green onions.

Looking for more recipes like this? Here are a few you may like: Roasted Cherry Tomato Galette, Fresh Tomato Arugula Feta Pizza, Brown Butter Popovers

close up of cut tart on parchment paper with basil leaves, basil sprigs, and tomatoes

Expert Tips

When mixing the butter into the dry ingredients for the rough puff, be sure to leave some small-ish chunks of butter!
Do not add too much water to the dough!
Be careful to not over-mix.
Use the photos in the post above to help see the proper way to fold the pastry!
When trimming the excess dough away from the pan, use your rolling pin! Slowly roll the rolling pin over the top of the tart pan, using the edges of the pan to cut the excess away.
Don’t skip pricking and par-baking the crust! The crust will not bake fully without par-baking.
When mixing the filling, be sure that the goat cheese mixture and the basil mixture are THOROUGHLY mixed before adding it to the crust.
Using a ladle is the best way to get the custard into the pan.
The tart will be puffy and set when it’s fully baked. Though, it will sink back down after it cools.

When you make this Sun-Dried Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Basil Tart with Rough Puff Pastry, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable

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Sun-Dried Tomato, Goat Cheese, and Basil Tart with Rough Puff Pastry