Easy Summer Savory Tarts

These Summer Savory Tarts are delicious bites of the season’s best and the easiest puff pastry appetizers or teatime savories you can make. Made with layers of pastry, herbed creme fraiche, and thin slices of summer squash and cherry tomatoes.

Summer entertaining and teatime should be effortless and highlight the season’s most delicious with fresh vegetables and herbs. And that’s what these summer tarts are all about.

What I Love About Summer Puff Pastry Appetizers

Whether I’m creating a summer garden party, a gathering on the patio, or bringing some of my favorite people together for a summer afternoon tea, I’m always looking for easy recipes and bite-size savory recipes.

These summer puff pastry tarts are all about simplicity. With only a handful of ingredients and very little prep, they are delicious, allowing the best of summer’s flavors to shine through.

Much like our equally simple Classically French Tian Provençal, these savory tarts are a beautiful way to highlight the season and enjoy delicious and simple food.

Ingredients for Puff Pastry Savory Tarts

These savory tarts are easy party appetizers you’ll love for your next gathering. Made in two variations or this one recipe. Here are the key ingredients you will need:

For the puff pastry appetizers

• Puff pastry sheets: Thawed (all-butter is best, but any works well)
• Vegetables: Zucchini, yellow summer squash (or crookneck squash), and cherry tomatoes. I love to use Rainbow Cherry Tomatoes because of their summer-like variations in color.
• Aromatics: Olive oil, salt, and pepper

For the herbed sauce

• Creme fraiche: I prefer lower-fat creme fraiche if available
• Fresh herbs: chives and dill
• Minced garlic

How to Make Bite-Size Savory Tarts

Complete instructions are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, but here is a quick overview of how simple it is to make these puff pastry appetizers!

To prep:

Preheat your oven to 400 F and line baking sheets with parchment. Thinly slice the zucchini and summer square. A handheld mandolin makes this super easy in 1 to 2 minutes—and then half the cherry tomatoes.

Make the Herbed Sauce

Mix creme fraiche with fresh herbs and minced garlic. Taste and season with salt and pepper as desired. Set aside.

Assemble the Savory Tarts

Unfold the puff pastry and roll slightly to even the sides. With a pastry cutter or pizza wheel, cut each sheet into squares, using the fold lines as guides.

With a sharp knife, score each square with a 1/2-inch border inside the pastry edge. Be careful not to cut all the way through. With a fork, prick the inside square of each pastry.

Spread a dollop of herbed creme fraiche over the inner square of each pastry. Place your choice of thinly sliced vegetables in the center. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Brush the edges of each square with the beaten egg and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until the pastry has puffed up around the edges and is golden brown.

To serve, I like to pipe small dollops of the remaining herbed creme fraiche on the top of each tart using a pastry bag and a star tip. Fresh basil leaves finish them beautifully.

Serving Savory Tarts for Afternoon Tea

As you may know, we love teatime. In any season, any month, any day of the year. Like our Mini Blueberry Tarts with Lemon Curd, these tartlets are simple to make and deliciously enjoyable. While the blueberry tarts are served for the sweets course, these tarts are perfect for the savory course.

Serve them simply with Salmon Salad Tea Sandwiches or Strawberry Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches and English Scones, among other savories and sweets.

Variations

While I’ve chosen to make two varieties of tarts, the possibilities for variations are endless. I love the idea of substituting or adding thinly sliced Japanese eggplant, thin slices of Roma tomatoes, colorful peppers, etc.

When late summer arrives, I begin thinking about one of my favorite ratatouille dishes: puff pastry appetizers are a perfect twist on the classic by choosing your favorite vegetables and then topping your pastry with those ideas.