Tomato Pie
If you’re on Pinterest or Facebook, I’d really appreciate it if you could use one of the buttons above, thank you!!
Nothing says summer like red, ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden. Nothing makes me give thanks for summer like a fresh tomato pie!
I don’t have a big garden at my house, but not for lack of trying. You see, I have very fat, happy, and mischievous squirrels, rabbits, and various other critters. They gobble cucumbers, disconnect baby cantaloupes from the vine, pick my pecan trees clean, and even dig up and relocate plants from time to time as the mood strikes them.
I am fully capable of using a bb gun along with various other measures to rid myself of these critters but truth be told, we just enjoy them so much and get far more giggles than stress over their antics so I leave them be. Besides, we do have a truce of sorts – they let me grow tomatoes. As long as I can do that, I get to keep my Southern citizenship and make yummy things for you like this tomato pie.
Speaking of critters in our little Bountiful woods, last week we even had a hawk come watch us eat lunch. Dangdest thing! I’m pretty sure he was attracted by all of those fat, happy, and mischievous squirrels, rabbits, and various other critters…
I think the rabbits and squirrels tipped each other off this time though, and we were spared a scene from “Predators of the Fat and Happy” . Clearly, the hawk came, placed his order, and got tired of waiting. He left after an hour or so but he is still hanging around. Eventually one of our poor Henry’s will bite the dust (if you’ve been with us a while you know that all of our squirrels are named Henry).
Oh…pie. Tomato pie. Got ya, I’m on it!
You’ll need: 3 or 4 tomatoes, cheddar cheese, mayo, fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and pepper.
You’re also gonna need a regular pie crust, already baked.
And just so you know, this is my official protest against basalmic vinegar being spelled balsamic. I’m just certain my way of spelling it and saying it is right somewhere in this world…
Wash and slice your tomatoes.
There is an important decision to make at this point. Do you want your tomato pie juicy or not? I like mine juicy, so I’m going right on ahead from here.
If you want yours to be less juicy, take these tomatoes and sprinkle a little bit of salt on them, then put them in a colander over the sink and allow to drain for about ten minutes. They’ll still be somewhat juicy but not nearly as much. This will make your tomato pie slices come out prettier. I suggest doing this if you are serving it to company. If you are serving it to family, just skip this step because they know you can cook and they’d rather have a big old slice of juicy tomato pie!
Arrange 1/2 of those gorgeous tomato slices in your baked pie crust.
Sprinkle 1/2 of your salt and pepper over them, then tear up some basil leaves and sprinkle those over them, too.
Now take one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and drizzle that over them.
Like so. 
Top with half of your cheese.
Repeat with the rest of your tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil leaves and…
Cheese.
Now spread the mayonnaise over the top of it all.
If you don’t like mayonnaise, don’t worry. You’re in good company. Not once in my entire life have I ever said “OOOH yum, mayonnaise!”. So if you don’t like mayonnaise, whenever you see me using it you should know that you aren’t going to end up with a mayonnaise taste when you’re done. So it’s safe mayo not-likers (because calling us mayo haters is just too harsh). Go ahead and spread that mayo because this stuff is gonna be good! 
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until it is lightly browned like this. Serve warm or cold.
This some good eaten’!
- For another one of my favorite tomato recipes, click here to learn how to make tomato mozzarella melts.
- Also, check out my post on how to put up tomatoes the easy way if you want some fine eating this winter! Nothing beats home grown tomatoes in winter stews.
Ingredients
- 3 medium sized tomatoes
- 6 large fresh basil leaves (if you don't have fresh, use 2 teaspoons dried)
- 1 +1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup mayo
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pie crust, baked but not browned
Instructions
- Cut tomatoes into slices.
- Place in colander and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon table salt. Allow to drain for ten minutes (can skip this step if you like).
- Arrange 1/2 of tomato slices in baked pie crust. Top with 1/2 of kosher salt, 1/2 of pepper, 1/2 of basil, 1/2 of vinegar, and 1/2 of cheese.
- Repeat.
- Spread mayo over top of pie. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.
Print This Recipe
“Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”
~Benjamin Franklin
Related posts:
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jun 19 2012. Filed under Pie, Side Dishes.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
I have a counter full of beautiful red tomatoes (from a friend’s garden), cheese in the fridge, and a frozen pie crust in the freezer. That’s what is so great about your recipes, I almost always have the stuff! I am also making your sticky chicken and creamed corn (made with frozen corn) to go with it. I end up on your website almost every morning to help me with making my supper plans.
I am not a novice…I’ve been married for 42 years and am sort of “famous” among my family and friends for being a great cook. I just love the way that you find joy in cooking old fashioned, family loving recipes.
Never heard of tomato pie but it sure sounds good! Not a big mayo fan either. The only time I use it is for tartar sauce. Otherwise we’re Miracle Whip fans all the way. Can Miracle Whip be used instead of mayo of this pie?
I made this last week & my husband ate all but 2 pieces of it! He loved it! It’s a keeper!
Making this tomorrow! Can’t wait to taste it.
[...] out the onions, a nod to my wonderful husband Sam. And to cover all my bases, I looked over at Southern Plate to see if Christy Jordan had any advice for me. I picked up a great tip there which I’ll [...]
Oh my goodness!!!
When I first saw this recipe I knew I had to give it a try. Although I must admit that when I started putting it together, I began to second guess if I was going to be able to get my kids and family to try it. Maybe it was the delicious aroma or the way the golden, bubbly cheese topping made their tummy’s growl, but regardless, it was a huge hit!!! I will definintely put this at the top of the list for when company stops by or I need a dish for a pot luck. Once again, another home run Christy, Thanks!!!!
I am so glad to hear that everyone liked it Brittani!!!!
Two things: 1) Peel tomatoes….difficult to cut nice/perfect slices of the cooked pie with skin on tomatoes; 2) seed the tomatoes! I salted and drained water (loads) off the tomatoes for 20 minutes and STILL watery after cooking.
SO, this is a keeper if you use Roma tomatoes that are peeled and seeded. If you don’t have time to peel; then, cut into smallish pieces after slicing. “Balsamic Glaze” from “Trader Giottos” is thicker that regular “B” vinegar and will not add additional wateriness to pie.
Made this over the weekend for a family cookout at the lake. Everyone loved it and it was so easy to fix. Thanks for another great recipe!
I am so glad to hear that everyone liked it Sara!!!
I made this last night for dinner. Hubby really liked it–he ate 2 slices. Our daughter who was visiting even ate a slice. This is an easy recipe and versatile–thinking about using it for a bunch. Thanks for sharing.
I made this over the weekend with a gluten-free homemade pie crust and mozzarella cheese (instead of cheddar) – pretty good! My husband is a skeptical diner when HE’S not the chef – and he liked it, too! He even shot down a few suggestions I made… though I’ll probably still do them, haha. I will decrease the mayo on top next time. It was too much for me and really limited how much of the pie I could eat. I also may increase the balsamic vinegar a smidge as I couldn’t detect it. I did not skin or seed my beautifully plump farmer’s market tomatoes and the pie wasn’t watery at all. It was great! Can’t wait to make it again!
I gotta try this as soon as my tomatoes ripen up!
[...] Original Tomato Pie Recipe from Southern Plate Like this:LikeBe the first to like this. [...]
I make a very similar recipe but it has a potato crust. You can use hash browns or simply grate a potato or two, mix it with a little oil or buter, spread in the bottom and up the sides of your dish and bake it for about 20 minutes first before adding the other ingredients to finish the dish.
Got plenty of tomatoes – may try this recipe today! Looks great.
Oh, this will be a summer recipe for years to come! By the way, I have a pair of hawks nesting in a tree in my yard. They sit on the backyard fence and watch my garden. Are they looking for the fat rabbits who ate my beans and peas to the ground??
I have this in the oven right now. I think next time I make it, I will mix the mayo and cheese together in a bowl before I spread the final topping. Kinda hard to keep the cheese even when spreading the mayo. Also I think I might try making some mini tomato pies in a muffin pan, using same recipe with chopped tomatoes. Would be great for a party
That is a great idea Becki!! Thank you for sharing it with us!!
Each time I see a new recipe of yours I just have to try it! Was a bit skeptical about this but knew my hubby and son-in-law would like it! Using the wonderful easy pie crust recipe, I made it exactly as you said..it was absolutely wonderful and myself and my daughter both tried it and liked it! I never even cut the skin off the tomatoes and it was great! This was most definitely a “grand slam” like every other recipe I have tried..how can they possibly just keep getting better each time..BUT they do! Have not tried 1 recipe that wasn’t great! Keep on posting!
Oh my goodness, you are so sweet Mary!!! I am so glad to hear that everyone liked the tomato pie, even if it started out a little skeptical. I could eat the whole thing myself!!!
I just made this and can’t wait to cut into it! A little confused though, the recipe says ‘a baked pie crust’ but shows an unbaked one. I knew though that if I used a baked one all I would have would be black crust, so common sense prevailed and I used a store bought unbaked one. Thanks for all the wonderful recipes you give us!
Oh my goodness…….finally got a little piece of heaven. This is fa-bu-lous!! It will even be good cold I think but don’t think theres much chance it will last that long.
YUM! This is the first recipe of yours I’ve made – it will NOT be the last! My husband took one bite and complimented me!!! Thanks for sharing.
This is so good and easy to make. I’ve make over three so far and they are always good. I sweat the tomatoes so there’s not to much juice in the pie,thanks for that tip. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
What to do with all those tomatoes from my garden? Thanks for a good idea. Don’t know why I never heard of tomato pie until I saw this recipe, but I made it today for lunch. My wife and I ate half of it! And most of the rest tonight. This is definitely a keeper!
I am so glad to hear that you liked it Bill!!!
For the first time I made the tomato pie last night (in fact I made two of them for my family)….they loved it!!! I did make a few impovisations (i guess that is the rebel in me. I usually do that with recipes, perhaps I have a problem with following directions LOL)….I added feta cheese to the layers along with the cheddar cheese and I added panko crumbs to the top which gave it a little crunch. Will definitely make this again. (Was thinking bacon would taste yummy in there too)
I am so glad to hear that your family liked it!!! The changes sound great, and I think you might be right about the bacon!!
It is beautiful! It just came out of the oven. I hope it tastes as great as it looks!
can’t wait to make it !
Thank You Christy the word at my house when something is Good is.. it was OUTSTANDING! and that was the word today.
I used Provolone cheese with some cheddar on top alone with the provolone and it truly was Very good. I think I will mix the cheddar and mayo together next time [ which will be next week end when a daughter come home. i told her what i was fixing and she ask please mom wait till next week end but the tomatoes Needed useing .. Thanks agian!! bc
making this next weekend with our cookout, sounds wonderful!!! will go great with lobster on the grill and corn on the cob, can’t wait!!! yummy yummy
Very disappointed in pie. Made it exactly according to the recipe, and it was a gloppy, oversalted mess.
Hey Mona! Sorry it didn’t work out for you! I’m often a gloppy over salted mess myself, but my tomato pie hasn’t ever been so I guess I’m blessed.
there are some helpful tips and tricks for avoiding this in the post above.
Gratefully
Christy
[...] a tomato pie with your surplus of tomatoes! The large grape-sized tomatoes get halved and roasted in our house. [...]
OK, for all y’all that had problems with it being too juicy, I’ve figured it out! I made this today and I drained my tomatoes about half hour because they were real juicy. I patted them dry so no dripping juice. Yet, my pie was REALLY juicy, a lot messy and soggy crust.
It tasted DELICIOUS though. So I thought on it a while and then it came to me! I bet this recipe was done with the pre-shredded cheese. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with corn starch to keep it from sticking to itself. That corn starch would surely take up some juice like if you put it in a fruit pie. I shredded my own cheese so it didn’t have a bit of corn starch in it.
I bet those that had their tomato pie turn out too juicy shredded their own cheese too! So next time I’d sprinkle a little corn starch with my cheese or buy pre-shredded cheese.
My hubby thought it was delicious too!
Made this for company last night. Everyone adored it. I didn’t have balsamic, but I did have balsamic glaze; worked just as well. Used tomatoes from my garden. Four people ate the whole thing, and the recipe was shared! Thanks!!
I am so glad to hear everyone liked it!!
Christy,
I just wanted to let you know that I made your tomato pie for the 2nd time this weekend. My husband doesn’t usually express much opinion on my cooking beyond “It’s good, it needs salt,” etc. This weekend he said, “That tomato pie might be my favorite thing you’ve ever made. When are you going to make another one?” Girlfriend, that’s high praise in my house!
Hugs from just up the road in TN,
Becki
I am so glad to hear that it was a hit Becki!!!
I have been asking people for years if they have heard of tomato pie, everyone says no!! My great grandma used to make this for us and I could never get enough (she had a special way of making us eat our veggies). Thank you, thank you for this recipe!
(And thank you Grandma!!)
I am so happy that this is one you have been looking for Tammy!! Thank YOU for being such an encourager to me!!
I made this tonight. I put lots of basil, had a lot of basil, cheese and bacon on top. So very good.
FINALLY….this is the best recipe website I came across that does NOT require A LOT of ingredients! Thank you Christy Jordan and keep up the excellent work!
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE tomato pie. After enjoying the tomato pie at Green River BBQ in Saluda, NC, I make it as they do – without a crust. It is delicious even without the crust and there’s no problem with a soggy crust. I cut back on the salt because more can be added when served if preferred.