Tomato Pie is a savory dinner situation that you need to get on board with, like, yesterday. We are taking a bumper crop of ripe fresh summer tomatoes and layering them up in a pie crust with a bunch of cheese and a bit of mayo. Sounds weird, but I’m telling you my friends. Don’t knock this classic Southern recipe. If you’re struggling to catch the vision, think of pimiento cheese dip flavors wrapped up in a buttery pie crust. YUM! Great for brunch, dinner, or any meal you like.
Table of Contents
- Southern tomato pie
- How to choose the right tomatoes
- This ain’t no quiche
- Tomato pie recipe ingredients
- How to make tomato pie
- What to serve with tomato pie
- How to store leftover tomato pie
- Can you freeze a tomato pie?
- Frequently asked question for tomato pie
- More tomato recipes to try
- Tomato Pie Like You’ve Never Known Recipe
We turned on the Olympics the other day and they were doing horse jumping. My son Truman bursts out with an indignant, “Finally! Some decent equestrian!” We slowly look over at him, wide eyed. Since when does he have equestrian opinions?? He explained his deep offense that the only horse events so far had been dressage, which is “like horse tap dancing,” and apparently not that cool. Such passion! I never knew!
The Olympic spirit seems to be everywhere lately, right? It’s the most common topic among my friends anyway. Have you turned them on yet? I love everything about it, and that’s saying a lot because I am the unsportiest of humans.
But there is something about it. In my house growing up, we didn’t have a TV on our main floor, you had to go upstairs if you wanted to watch something. But for the Olympics, my mom would bust out her “mini” TV, a huge prehistoric-looking-box with a 12-inch screen, and drag it around the house with her wherever she was working.
I have memories of her staying up late canning apricots, the Olympics playing on the TV perched on the counter, surrounded by stone fruit. The peaches and apricots covered every flat surface in the kitchen, wall to wall. Windows were flung open to catch the summer breeze, the floor sticky from spills, a stray ant here and there. (That’s just what happens when you bring an entire crop of fruit into your house.)
And my mom, cheering her guts out to Kerri Strug landing that vault, and all the other incredible moments that comes from Olympics (Have you watched Yaroslava Mahuchikh break the high jump record yet? Freakin go, Ukraine!)
Southern tomato pie
TOMATO PIE. Drop this in conversation (anywhere outside of Carolina) and you’re bound to get some raised eyebrows. You should have seen the looks on my friend’s faces when I started talking about it. What IS it? (I live in California. Are we the outliers here? Midwest friends, do you tomato pie?)
Imagine the best tomato sandwich, with soft buttery white bread, heaps of mayonnaise, plenty of salt and pepper, and the garden’s freshest, juiciest tomato…and then turn it into a pie.
We start with a flaky, buttery pie crust, fill it with three kinds of cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere!), a bit of mayo for flavor and stick-to-itiveness, basil and garlic, and then of course, beautiful garden tomatoes. It conjures memories of Pimiento Cheese Dip, but is less rich (meaning we can eat a whole slice of it.) It’s a homey, nostalgic kind of pie, perfect alongside potato salad or mac and cheese at a potluck. Eric and I are absolutely in love with it, and every single kid in our family is too, which is saying something. It kind of tastes like pizza, but in pie form.
My mother-in-law Kris became interested in this pie last summer, when she had a bumper crop of tomatoes from her garden. She made it once and it baked up into a soggy mess (more on how to avoid this below.) But she did a bit more research, dried out the tomatoes more, and also discovered the cornmeal trick (adding it to the bottom of the pie helps absorb moisture). The second time she made it, it was a huge success. She served it to the ladies in her book club and they went wild for it. Here is Kris’s pie:
Doesn’t it look so good?? She nailed it. Kris, thank you for taking such detailed notes on your pie-making, it helped so much! I made a few adjustments to the recipe, but you’re the one who saved me from all the rounds of too-soggy pie 🤣
How to choose the right tomatoes
The first thing to know is that grocery store tomatoes suck. They are raised with transportation in mind. They are picked green and then ripened en route to the store. They end up mealy and much less flavorful. That’s why any gardener worth their salt knows that if you can only grow one thing in your garden, tomatoes should be your first choice. I am not a gardener worth any amount of salt, so I usually call up my friends and beg 🤣
That’s literally what I did when I set out to make this pie. My friend Rachel is an amazing gardener and I asked to buy some of her tomatoes, but she just gave them to me! (Rachel is my friend in real life, but she also happens to be the QUEEN of grocery budgeting, I highly recommend her courses!!)
I was so grateful to get my hands on some garden fresh tomatoes for this pie, it makes a huuuuge difference in flavor. Now, a word about technique.
This ain’t no quiche
The biggest challenge with a a Tomato Pie is making sure that it’s not too liquid-y. There are no eggs in this recipe. There is no custard. It is just straight-up tomatoes and cheese and mayonnaise, and that means if we don’t treat our tomatoes with special care, their water content will drown our pie faster than you can say soggy bottom crust.
Roma on the left, Beefsteak in the middle, Rachel’s garden tomatoes on the right
Our sturdy-pie quest starts with picking sturdy tomatoes. Roma tomatoes or Beefsteak tomatoes are my top choices for this pie, but you can use any garden tomatoes you have available. (If you are calling up your friends to mooch off their garden, you can’t be too picky ;) We want to choose tomatoes that are not overly-juicy, ones that are a bit sturdy and will hold their shape when baked. Very-juicy tomatoes could disintegrate when cooked, and the moisture will seep into your crust and make it soggy-sad.
Whatever tomatoes you have, we are taking pretty extensive measures to get as much moisture out of them as possible, more on that in the how-to section below. The other tip that Kris taught me is to use cornmeal on the bottom of your crust! This adds great corny, hearty flavor, AND helps absorb extra liquid.
Tomato pie recipe ingredients
Here are the basics for this pie! It’s super simple. Make sure you look at the recipe card for all the details!
- Homemade Pie Crust. You can use a store bought crust if you must, but if you have the time, homemade makes a HUGE difference
- kosher salt: absolutely essential, not just for flavor, but also to help draw out some of the moisture from our tomatoes.
- Roma or Beefsteak tomatoes, or any garden tomato you have!
- cornmeal: this is one of the secrets for getting a pie that is not soggy on the bottom!
- sharp cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, or whatever cheese floats your boat
- onion, basil, garlic, a smidge of cayenne, to bring on the garden flavor!
How to make tomato pie
Start out with a Homemade Pie Crust! Pie crust is not hard but practice does make perfect. I’ve got all the tips and details for how to make the dough and roll it out on my pie crust post, so head over there if you are a newbie. You can totally make this pie with a store bought crust.
Now it’s time to Blind Bake the crust. We are actually doing what’s called a “Par Bake,” so follow the instructions for that option. This means that we are weighing down the center of our pie crust (you can see I used black beans here) and baking the edges of the crust.
Then, take the weights out.
Poke a fork all over the center of the pie crust, which will still be totally raw. This is so it doesn’t bubble up. All the details for this are shown on my Blind Bake pie crust post.
Par-bake again for just 3-4 more minutes, until it looks like this:
Set your pie crust aside, it’s time to make the filling! Start by prepping the tomatoes, so they have time to release their moisture while we do everything else.
Core your tomatoes, and slice off any cracks that are on top of your garden tomatoes.
Then slice your tomato in half. Do not cut across the core. If you set your tomato on the counter on it’s bottom, we are lopping off the top half. It’s important to cut this way (it’s called “crosswise” but who can remember these terms 😂) so that we end up with these handy seed pockets. SQUEEZE out them seeds!
Actually I start out with a bit of squeezing but then eventually just end up digging my fingers into each of these seed cavities. The goal is to get out ALL the seeds and juicy mush stuff. You just want sturdy tomato flesh left in your hand.
Then take each half and chop it into a large dice.
I like to cut the tomato one more time like this, for nice bite-size pieces.
Keep chopping until you have about 4 cups of tomatoes, or about 1 and 1/2 pounds.
Add all the tomatoes to a colander set in a bowl (to capture the juice). Add 1 teaspoon salt to the tomatoes, and stir it around so each piece is coated in salt. Let the tomatoes sit in the salt for at least 20-30 minutes while you prep the rest of the filling.
First thing is to add in that cornmeal. This is delicious, and helps absorb moisture in your pie.
Next add a layer of cheese, I used cheddar here. This creates another barrier between the tomatoes and the crust.
Next add some onions and basil.
You can just chop your basil like any other herb, into bits. No need to do the fancy chiffonade here, where you roll the leaves and slice. I prefer smaller pieces of basil in my pie.
Now let’s go back to those tomatoes. After several minutes you should see some juice in the bowl at the bottom, the salt doing its work. Lay out some paper towels and add the tomatoes in a single layer. Press more paper towels on top. We just want these tomatoes to be as DRY as possible!
Add HALF of the dried out tomatoes to the pie.
Meanwhile, in another bowl, add in all the filling ingredients: mayo, a bunch of cheese, garlic, a bit of cayenne.
And spread this mixture on top of your tomatoes.
Add the rest of the dried out tomatoes.
Top the pie with more cheese, any kind you like.
At this point, follow the instructions for making a tin foil pie crust shield. This protects our crust from getting over baked, and bonus, makes your pie look like it’s ready for a trip to outer space.
Pop it in the oven and bake until the top is golden and crispy!!
Voila! Aren’t you so excited to dig in?? It really does taste a little like pizza…plus pie crust 🙌
What to serve with tomato pie
There are so many great options! You can keep things simple and light with the tomato pie as a main course, or you can go big and serve this alongside your favorite grilled meat or other main dish. Check out some of these recipes that go perfect with tomato pie!
- Cut or sliced watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, or any other fresh summer fruit!
- Corn on the cob, fresh green beans, summer squash, or any other fresh summer vegetables
- Strawberry Spinach Salad >> deliciously sweet and tangy. and so easy to throw together
- Raspberry Avocado Salad with Poppyseed Dressing >> a simple green salad with bright flavors
- Bacon Baked Beans >> bacon-y, beefy baked bean goodness
- Easy Broccoli and Bacon Salad >> everyone needs a recipe for the best broccoli salad and this is IT
- Grilled Chicken Marinade Recipe >> this makes my favorite grilled chicken of all time, and it would be SO GOOD with this pie!
- Best Smoked Pulled Pork Recipe >> the most incredible juicy and tender pork smoked right on a gas grill! Be sure to check out this Slow Cooker or Oven Roasted option if you don’t have a grill
- Black-Eyed Peas with Bacon and Sausage from Olivia’s Cuisine
How to store leftover tomato pie
With all the cheese and mayonnaise, keeping leftover tomato pie in the refrigerator is a must. The easiest way is to simply cover the pie pan well with plastic wrap before putting it in, but you can also transfer slices to tupperware with an air tight lid if you prefer. The pie will technically be good for 4-5 days in the fridge, but over time the juice from the tomatoes will make your bottom crust soggy. I like to eat tomato pie for every meal until it’s gone, personally.
To serve, take the pie out of the refrigerator and let it sit for an hour or two to reach room temperature. If you want it served warm, let it sit on the counter for about 30 minutes, then put the whole pan in a COLD oven (especially if your pie pan is glass) and set the oven to 350 degrees. Check on the pie after about 10 minutes to see if it is warmed through or if it needs more time. You can also warm up one slice at a time in the microwave, but the crust will not crisp up like in the oven.
Can you freeze a tomato pie?
It’s not the best option, not gonna lie. I wouldn’t choose this dish if I were planning freezer dinners. But, if you have a bunch leftover and know it will go bad, it’s technically doable. Put the baked and cooled pie right in the freezer and flash freeze for about 30 minutes. Then, wrap the pan a few times in plastic wrap and cover with foil, or put the whole thing in a large, 2 gallon freezer ziplock bag. It should be fine in the freezer for up to three months.
To use from the freezer, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then warm in the oven the next day using the instructions above in the how to store tomato pie section. You can even put the mostly frozen pie directly in the oven, just make sure it is NOT preheated if the pan is glass (your pan could shatter)!
Frequently asked question for tomato pie
This mouth-watering southern tomato pie is a combination of the best summer tomatoes and the cheesiest filling, all wrapped up in a buttery and flaky pie shell.
A savory southern tomato pie is not to be confused with a northeastern tomato pie (which is much more similar to pizza) or very early versions of tomato pie that were more like a dessert fruit pie, with chopped green tomatoes, sugar, cinnamon, and other spices. *shudder*
There is no wrong answer here, friends. You can enjoy this pie at whatever temperature you prefer, whether that’s warm, at room temperature, or cold. One thing I do recommend is to wait at least 15-30 minutes after baking for the pie to cool before cutting into it, to avoid the pie being runny (and to avoid burning your tongue with hot cheesy tomato lava 😳🤣)
Tomato pies start with a Homemade Pie Crust. Store-bought can be used if necessary, but with how simple this pie is, having a super amazing crust makes a big difference, and Pillsbury ain’t it. On top of the crust, ripe chopped tomatoes are layered with a creamy filling: a healthy dose of mayonnaise, sharp cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and fresh basil. Bake until golden and melty, then die and go to heaven!
Great question! There’s southern tomato pie, tomato pie, and then there’s pizza pie. Phew! The recipe in this post is the classic southern tomato pie: literally a flaky pastry pie crust filled with savory fresh tomato and a creamy filling. A tomato pie in the northeast refers to a flat, almost focaccia-style bread, topped with a sweet and tangy tomato sauce, and no cheese (except maybe a scant sprinkle). It’s usually served room temperature or even cold, and in rectangular pieces. And then, of course, a pizza pie refers to what most of us here on planet earth just call “pizza.”
Well, it turns out that two recipes with the same name (“Tomato Pie”) were created and developed totally independent of each other. There’s southern tomato pie, like the recipe in this post, that is very popular throughout the south and especially in the Carolinas. Then there’s the other style of tomato pie, which is more an Italian-bread situation (as described above) and is very much a Philadelphia, PA jawn. 😉
More tomato recipes to try
There’s something magically summerful about fresh tomatoes, especially garden tomatoes. It amps up your summer meals like nothing else! Here are some of my favorite recipes starring tomatoes.
- Tomato Tart with Blue Cheese >> similar to this recipe, but with a delicious blue cheese flavored quiche-like filling!
- How To Make The Best BLT Sandwich! >> you thought you didn’t need a recipe…BUT YOU DO
- Tomato Basil Summer Veggie Casserole >> an easy and healthy casserole that uses up so many great garden veggies
- Caprese Salad Skewers Appetizer >> it’s amazing how just a few simple flavors can turn into magic!
- Grilled Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Salad (Caprese Salad Recipe) >> a whole salad based on the appetizer, but even better because everything gets grilled. I absolutely love this meal.
- Pan-Seared Salmon with Cherry Tomatoes and Mozzarella (30 Minutes) >> the cherry tomatoes shine in this 30 minute dinner!
- Burrata with Heirloom Tomatoes from Love and Lemons
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Tomato Pie Like You’ve Never Known
Ingredients
- 1 9-inch Homemade Pie Crust
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 large tomatoes, 4 cups chopped (about 1 and 1/2 lbs)
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded*
- 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup basil, sliced
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or up to 1/2 teaspoon
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded, for mayo mixture
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded, for mayo mixture
- 1/2 cup gruyere cheese, shredded, for mayo mixture
- 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, to top the pie
- 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, to top the pie
- 1/4 cup gruyere cheese, to top the pie
- fresh basil, to garnish
Instructions
- Start by making your pie crust. I highly recommend making your own! I have a recipe and detailed instructions on my Homemade Pie Crust post. This recipe makes two crusts; you only need one for this recipe. You can freeze the other crust for the next time you make this!
- Par-Bake. Once you have your pastry crust rolled out in your pie pan (whether homemade or store bought), follow my instructions for How to Blind Bake a Pie Crust. Make sure to chill the pie crust. Use the instructions at the end for Par-Baking the crust. (This means after you remove the weights, you will only be baking the pie another 3-4 minutes.) Remove your par-baked crust from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Choose your tomatoes. Roma tomatoes or Beefsteak tomatoes are my top choices for this pie, but you can use any garden tomatoes you have available. Pick tomatoes that are not overly-juicy, ones that are a bit sturdy and will hold their shape when baked. Very-juicy tomatoes could disintegrate when cooked, and the moisture will seep into your crust and make it soggy-sad.
- Seed the tomatoes. Remove the stem and core of 4 tomatoes, using a knife. Cut each tomato in half crosswise. (Crosswise means if you set the tomato on the counter on it's bottom, you are lopping off it's top half.) Use your fingers to remove the seeds and juice from the cavities in each tomato half. Squeeze each tomato and do a good job; we want to get as much juice out as possible.
- Chop the tomatoes. Use a serrated knife to chop the tomato flesh into a large dice, pieces that are small-bite-sized. Add the tomatoes to a measuring cup and keep chopping until you have about 4 cups.
- Salt the tomatoes. Add the tomatoes to a colander. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, stirring the tomatoes to make sure they all get salted. Set the colander in a shallow bowl to collect juice. We are salting the tomatoes to help them release even more juice. (and because salt is tasty) Stir them occasionally while you prep everything else.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place a large baking sheet (or even better, a pizza stone) in the oven on the center rack to heat up.
- Layer ingredients in the pie crust. Sprinkle the bottom of the pie crust with 1 tablespoon cornmeal. Shred 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese and spread over the cornmeal. Finely dice about half a small onion to get 1/2 cup. Sprinkle the chopped onions over the cheese. Chop 1/4 cup basil and sprinkle over the top of the onions. Set aside.
- Make the mayo mixture. In a medium bowl, add 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1 clove chopped garlic, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a few grinds of fresh black pepper. Add 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, and 1/2 cup gruyere cheese*. Make sure you pack the cheese into the measuring cup. (You want about 12 ounces total cheese in your pie, including the top sprinkle) Stir the cheese into the mayo so it forms a thick spread. Set aside.
- Dry the tomatoes. We are doing even more tomato prep. Lay out sheets of paper towels and dump the chopped tomatoes on top in a single layer. Use another layer of paper towels and press them into the tomatoes. Add HALF the dried out tomatoes to the pie shell, on top of the basil.
- Use a spatula to spread ALL of the mayo-cheese mixture on top of the tomatoes.
- Top the mayo mixture with all the remaining dried out tomatoes.
- Top the tomatoes with 1/4 cup cheddar, 1/4 cup mozzarella, and 1/4 cup gruyere. Or whatever cheese combo speaks to your heart!
- Pie crust shield. I like to use a pie crust shield to line the edge of the crust so that the edges don't get too brown. Get a square of aluminum foil a little bigger than the size of your pie. Fold it in half, then in half again so that it's in quarters. Then use scissors to cut out the middle section. When you open it, you will have a square of foil with a circle cut out from the center. Mold this around the edges of your golden pie crust.
- BAKE. Place your tin-foiled pie on the hot metal pan (or stone) in the oven. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Check the pie about 5-10 minutes before it should be done, and remove the pie shield if the corners of your pie are not browning. Don't take it off so long that your crust burns! You can also fold up your tin shield and use scissors to make the hole a little bigger. The goal is to get the top of the cheese crispy and golden, without burning the already-baked edge. Once the top of the pie is golden, remove the pie from the oven.
- Let the pie cool on a cooling rack for at least 15-30 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve with more fresh basil, if you have it!
- Storage: Cover the cooled pie and refrigerate any leftovers for up to 5 days! The longer it sits, the soggier it becomes…I highly recommend a tomato pie diet until it's gone.
Hi Karen,
I love tomato pie but my family is not a fan of tomatoes! I don’t know what rock they crawled out from, but anyway! Have you tried roasting the tomatoes and making a saltine cracker crust? An Old Southern recipe. I made your recipe and enjoyed it all by myself for several lunches. It’s a keeper!
Thanks
Ooh saltine crust Bobbe! This is so intriguing! I would love to try that sometime. I’ve seen recipes where the tomatoes are roasted first, but I thought it sounded like so much work 😅 salting them is annoying enough. But do let me know if you try it, and if that convinces any of the rock-crawler-outers! So happy you enjoyed my recipe, thanks for taking the time to comment ❤️
I love dressage :(
Truman and I would not get along
That’s fair Anne 🤣 To each their own when it comes to equestrian sports!!! 😂😂😂 I’m kind of dying over here haha!!
Ohhh good grief (in my Charlie Brown impression).
This. Was. Phenomenal.
And I live in NC and never heard of this. I called up my uberly Southern mama and she said, of course I’ve heard of tomato pie! I immediately accused her of withholding vital information thst could have changed the whole trajectory.of how I use tomatoes.
I absolutely loved this recipe from start to finish. I agree to pleasure take the time to make your own one crust. I think it would be a disservice to the awesomeness thst is a tomato not to. I followed the recipe to the letter and my pie came out perfect! Something about that extra kick of cayenne and the smokiness of gruyere threw me over the edge and my mouth went to savory pie heaven and back.
This is a keeper and YOU are a gem for sharing!
..still mad at my mama though… :)
Nikki!! This makes me so ridiculously happy😂😂 I love that your mom was just holding out on you like that. How dare she. 🤣🤣 I’m SO happy you enjoyed this pie and all the smokey gruyereness of it!! Thank you so much for your detailed comment, that’s so helpful!