What do you do when you want something rich and nutritious, but in pie form? A tomato pie, of course! Mixing vegetables, cheese, and mayonnaise into a pie crust might sound like an odd idea, but it actually makes something incredibly delicious and nutritious as well.
For more tasty tomato dishes, why not try some Easy Garlic & Herb Oven Roasted Tomatoes, or a Classic Toasted Tomato Sandwich?
Tomato Pie
A tomato pie is an old Southern tradition, combining fresh tomatoes with vegetables and mayonnaise into a pie crust, making something that is as tender as a quiche but tastes almost like a vegetable casserole.
The texture might take some getting used to, but assuming you allow it 10 minutes to cool before cutting into it, it should be gooey and tender while still holding its shape really well.
Tomato Pie Ingredients
Make sure to see the exact quantities down in the recipe card below.
- Pie dough
- Beefsteak tomatoes
- Red onion
- Mayo
- Paprika
- Monterey Jack Cheese
- Garlic
- Cooked Bacon
- Fresh Basil
How to Make Tomato Pie
- Press the pie dough into a pie plate, poking holes in the bottom with a fork and covering in foil, and then fill with baking beans or pie weights
- Blind bake the pie crust for 15 minutes at 400 Fahrenheit
- Remove and cool completely
- Slice and salt your tomatoes, laying them on paper towels to get rid of some of the moisture
- Cook the bacon on medium heat, cool, and crumble
- Combine together the mayo, paprika, garlic, and 1 cup of cheese in a medium bowl
- Layer half of your tomatoes, onion, and basil in the cooled pie crust
- Spread the mayo mixture over the layer of tomatoes, covering with some crumbled bacon, and then topping with another layer of tomato and onion
- Top the pie with the rest of the cheese and bacon
- Cook at 350 Fahrenheit for about 35 minutes until the crust is browned
- Cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving
What Kind of Tomatoes Should You Use For a Tomato Pie?
Looking at the tomato section of the supermarket is always daunting – small, large, heirloom, ripe and not ripe; which are you supposed to choose?
For this recipe, the best thing to get is those large, plump, and juicy beefsteak tomatoes. You can easily slice them into the size you need and have been bred to taste good no matter how ripe they are.
Traditionally speaking, this recipe was made using firmer, slightly green tomatoes that weren’t good enough to be used in other recipes. If you really want to stick to the historical recipe, you can try and find some slightly greener tomatoes, or possibly even squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over the tomatoes to help replicate that slightly acidic taste that green tomatoes have.
Try not to use any of those really good heirloom tomatoes in this recipe, though – their delicate flavor will get totally lost in this pie.
Do You Need to Use Monterey Jack Cheese?
The choice of cheese in this pie is totally up to you; if you can’t find Monterey Jack, feel free to replace it with whatever is local to you.
The key is to go for something that doesn’t have an especially strong flavor and is also capable of melting but isn’t too melty.
For example, strong cheddar would be wasted here because the dominant flavor would overpower the tomatoes. Mozzarella, meanwhile, would be too mild and would only give you a nice string pull, but not enough cheesy flavor.
Choose whatever is right for you, but just make sure it melts well – you can’t enjoy a tomato pie with a good cheese pull!
Looking for more delicious savory Pie recipes? Try these out:
- Onion pie! Really, it’s so delicious!
- Fast and easy beef pot pie
- Use up turkey leftovers with turkey pot pie
- Spaghetti pie, my kids favorite!
- Cheeseburger pie, one of my favorite retro recipes!
Happy cooking!
Love,
Karlynn
Tomato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 store bought pie dough bottom crust only
- 4-6 large beefsteak tomatoes
- 1 small red onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 cups Monterey Jack Cheese
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 5 slices bacon
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil sliced in ribbons
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 °F.
- Press pie dough into the pie plate. Poke the bottom with a fork, then place tinfoil into the bottom. Use pie weights or beans on top of the aluminum foil to weigh it down and bake for 15 minutes.
- After the pie dough bakes for 15 minutes take out of the oven and let cool completely.
- Slice the tomatoes. Salt them a tiny bit and place on paper towels to encourage some of the juice to drain. You might have to use a few paper towels. The more you drain the tomatoes, the less watery your pie will be!
- Cook the bacon in a medium skillet. Crumble and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mayo, paprika, minced garlic, and 1 cup of the cheese.
- Layer half of the sliced tomatoes, onion and sprinkle with basil.
- Spread the mayo mixture onto the layer of tomatoes in the pie plate. Sprinkle the top of mayo with some of the crumbled bacon, reserving some for the top of the pie.
- Then add the last layer of tomato, onion and basil on top of the mayo mixture.
- Top the pie with the rest of the cheese and the rest of the bacon.
- Lower the oven temperature for 350 °F.
- Cook the tomato pie for about 35-40 minutes until the crust is browned and the tomatoes are soft and cooked.
- Let sit for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Garnish with extra fresh basil if desired.
Notes
- the more you drain your tomatoes, the less watery your pie will be!
- sliced Roma tomatoes will also work in this pie
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Molly says
Love all the recipes
Beth Eppley says
Any chance making crust gluten free. I have almond flour & xanthan gum. Have tried but not successful,any ideas? Love your recipes & have tried many of them, always turn out great. Have been very helpful, my husband has been on low carb diet & no gluten. I’ve been able to adjust till now.
Thank you ,Beth Eppley