This blood orange tart features a buttery gluten-free shell filled with vibrant citrus curd and crowned with toasted Italian meringue. The balance of sweet pastry, tart filling, and delicate meringue creates a sophisticated dessert that showcases blood oranges at their peak. But don't be intimidated, I have provided a detailed step-by-step visual tutorial.

A toasted meringue pie topped with blood orange slices and mint leaves, placed on a pink cloth next to serving plates, a knife, and a fork.

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Skill Level: Advanced, the elements are individually beginner to intermediate, but getting all 3 right can be more challenging.

Flavor Remix: Try this recipe with other citrus fruits like grapefruit, lemons or tangerines.

Allergy Watch: Dairy Free Option with vegan butter. For Nut-Free use 100% GF flour in the crust.

This winter dessert makes excellent use of blood oranges during their brief season. The contrast between the crisp shell, smooth curd, and cloud-like meringue creates an elegant texture profile that impresses without being overly complicated.

I prefer my gluten-free sweet tart crust for this recipe, both for its ease and for extra sweet flavor. But try my shortbread pie crust for a less sweet option.

Ingredient Notes

Gluten-Free Flour: Use any 1:1 flour blend with xanthan gum, like Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Flour or King Arthur Measure for Measure.
Almond Flour: Use a fine almond flour, not a coarse grind. While you can use 100% gluten free flour, the almond flour gives the tart its unique nutty flavor.
Butter: I use unsalted, skip the salt if you use regular butter. For dairy free, I like Earth Balance butter sticks.
Sugar: You might be surprised, but that powdered sugar is the traditional sugar used for sweet pie doughs. It adds a lightness, so it doesn't have the texture of a cookie. But use regular sugar for the filling.
Eggs: A large egg should weigh around 50 grams outside the shell.
Oranges: Blood oranges have a unique color and are available from December to April.

Bowls containing cubed butter, a whole egg, gluten-free 1:1 flour, almond flour, powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla extract arranged on a white surface-perfect ingredients for making gluten free pate sucree.

Top-down view of ingredients for a Blood Orange Tart: four blood oranges, a bowl of butter cubes, salt, eggs, and granulated sugar on a white surface, each labeled-perfect for creating a gluten free dessert.

How to Make GF Blood Orange Tart

A step-by-step visual guide for making gluten-free orange tart. You can skip to the recipe for the full written instructions.

Two images side by side: on the left, a mixing bowl with dough; on the right, dough pressed into a tart pan with fork marks.

Make the Tart Crust

This crust is made by creaming the butter before adding the flour. You will need to dock the dough and then chill it before baking to prevent it from shrinking in the pan.

A saucepan with toasted coconut inside, placed on a light surface next to two whole blood oranges and a beige textured cloth.

Infuse the Sugar

Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar, this will release the oils, thus increasing flavor.

A saucepan filled with a dark red liquid is shown on a light surface next to a textured beige cloth and a whole blood orange.

Make the Curd

Whisk the eggs, sugar, and juice together, then heat on low, whisking constantly.

Two images show orange curd being strained through a fine mesh sieve over a bowl (left) and the smooth puree in a glass bowl with a spatula (right), perfect for filling a Gluten Free Tart or Blood Orange Tart.

Mix in the Butter

Straining first removes and overcooked egg whites and zest for a silky smooth creamy curd.

Side-by-side images of a tart crust: the left shows a baked, perforated crust, the right shows the same crust filled with a smooth, light brown filling. Both are on foil.

Par Bake

Par bake the chilled pie shell lined with parchment and filled with pie weights.

A chocolate tart with a smooth filling in a pastry crust, placed on a sheet of crumpled aluminum foil.

Bake

Finishing baking the tart with the filling. It may bubble up, no worries, you are going to cover it up.

A mixing bowl with whipped cream and a spatula next to a piping bag filled with whipped cream on a light surface.

Make the Topping

Slowly drizzling the sugar syrup into the whipped egg whites will result in a lovely marshmallow-like texture.

Two identical pies shown side by side; the left pie has untoasted meringue topping, while the right pie has toasted, browned meringue.

Toast the Meringue

Pipe or spoon on the meringue before lightly toasting with a kitchen torch.

Recipe Tips

If the dough gets too warm while rolling it out, you can chill it for 5 to 10 minutes and try again.
Use dried beans if you don't have pie weights.
Use a tart pan with a removable bottom; any shape will do, but the volume should be equal to a 9-inch pan.
Use room temperature eggs for each layer of the pie for the best results.
The meringue topping is best with a kitchen torch but you can broil for 1-2 minutes- keep a VERY close eye.

A slice of meringue-topped tart garnished with a blood orange slice and mint is served on a plate; the whole tart is in the background.

Make Ahead and Storing

Make Ahead: You can prepare the orange curd and the tart dough up to 2 days in advance. Store them separately in the refrigerator and assemble the tart the day of for the best texture.

Storing: Store any leftovers loosely covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Note that the meringue may soften slightly and release moisture, but the tart will still taste delicious.

Freezing: Do not freeze.