This delicious, savory tomato pie recipe will make you want to run, not walk, to the farmer’s market to buy more tomatoes!
Layers of fresh tomatoes, basil and two kinds of cheese are baked in a flaky pastry for an unforgettable dish.
Tomato pie is a meatless cut above pizza that will make you want to load up on all that farm-ripe produce when it’s in season.
A Favorite Fresh Tomato Recipe
Tomato pie, also known as Alabama pie, is Southern inspired recipe and one that I truly look forward to.
- Tomato pie is a savory pie, perfect for enjoying a bounty of fresh, garden-ripe tomatoes and herbs.
- Use any variety of tomatoes in this recipe, including Roma, heirloom, or grape tomatoes.
- Savroy and delicious, this is a meatles meal that everyone will love.
- It’s great for any time of year because it tastes equally delicious, served hot, warm, or even cold, with a crisp white picnic wine.
Ingredients and Variations
- Tomatoes: Use Roma tomatoes (plum tomatoes) for the best results, as they aren’t too juicy. You can use any variety of tomatoes, as long as they’re nice and ripe but ensure that you allow them to drain well. I love the addition of cherry/grape tomatoes for their sweet-tart flavor.
- Cheese: Mozzarella & cheddar add a perfect blend of flavors. Mozza helps seal the bottom of the pie crust during baking while the sharp cheddar cheese adds a rich flavor. A bit of mayo is added to some of the cheese to make a great topping.
- Pastry: A homemade pie crust is great in this recipe but if time’s short, store-bought pie crusts or even frozen dough will do the trick. Be sure to poke it with the tines of a fork so it doesn’t bubble as it bakes. Prep the pastry up to 3 days in advance and store it in an air tight container or plastic wrap in the fridge.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs, especially basil, are so good in this recipe. If you don’t have fresh, dried basil can be used (just a sprinkle will do).
- Variations: Feel free to add your favorite herbs, sliced green onions, or bacon to change it up.
How to Make Tomato Pie
- Line a pie plate with pastry, add a sprinkle of cheese, and bake for a few minutes.
- Peel the tomatoes and then slice, salt, and let drain. Fill the pie crust with layers of tomatoes, cheese and herbs.
- Combine the remaining cheese with mayonnaise and dot the top with the cheese mixture.
- Bake until browned and bubbly.
Tips for the Best Tomato Pie
- Poke holes over the bottom of the pastry with a fork to avoid it bubbling up (you can skip the pie weights or beans).
- To prevent over-browning or burning the pastry, press some strips of aluminum foil around the edges before it goes into the oven the second time.
- For the tomato slices, use ripe, low-moisture plum tomatoes.
- Allow to cool before slicing and serve with a tangy crisp salad dressed with lemon or Dijon vinaigrette. and some fluffy homemade rolls or focaccia bread.
Leftovers?
Tomato pie is delicious served cold, and will keep up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Tomato pie can be frozen, but be aware that it will release moisture and soften the pastry as it reheats.
More Favorite Tomato Recipes
Too Many Tomatoes? We’ve got you covered with these easy favorites.
Did you make this Tomato Pie? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Tomato Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pie crust single
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
- ½ cup cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- 3 large tomatoes about 24 ounces
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves chopped
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Peel the tomatoes and slice them into ¼-inch thick slices.
- Sprinkle the tomato slices with kosher salt and place them in a single layer on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to draw out excess juice.
- Prepare the pie crust by poking it with the tines of a fork. Sprinkle ¼ cup of mozzarella on the bottom and bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.
- In a separate bowl, combine ¼ cup cheddar cheese and ¼ cup mozzarella.
- Season the tomato slices with garlic powder, oregano, and freshly ground black pepper. In the pie crust, add half of the tomato slices, half of the cheese and half of the basil. Repeat the layers. Top with halved grape tomatoes.
- In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup cheddar cheese, ½ cup mozzarella cheese, and mayonnaise. Dot the mayo mixture over the grape tomatoes.
- Reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake the pie uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until the crust is golden and the tomatoes are tender.
- Cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Course, Pie
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
What a great dish! my family really enjoys this with our own garden tomatoes each year.
A wonderful recipe to use my garden tomatoes (both beefsteak & sweet orange cherry tomatoes) & our basil.
I did take the time to thoroughly allow the beefsteak to salt & sit. I patted them with paper towels. Added some sautéed onions to the pie layers.
Baked a bit longer, closer to 50-60 minutes.
Delicious ~
Excellent, but instead of grape tomatoes I just thought chopped the tops of the home grown tomatoes near the stems. Worked great and I used all of the tomatoes. Would def make again. I was a glutton and ate half the pie? Also loved the less mayo. Also did not bother peeling the tomatoes. Seemed like a wasted effort.
Which is the correct amount of Mozzarella, 3/4 cup or 1 cup? Recipe calls for 3/4 cup but in the step by step instructions it calls for 1 cup (1/4 cup on crust, 1/4 cup on layers and 1/2 cup in topping) I used the 1 cup of mozzarella but also increased the cheddar. Was great but just wondering what the actual recipe calls for.
Hi Nancy, we use 1 cup of mozzarella (1/4 cup on crust, 1/4 cup on layers and 1/2 cup in topping). Thanks for clarifying!
This was a triple woaw! Fantastic flavours! Thank you so much for this recipe ❤️
gonna try this!!
Do you think this would work using home made dough for pizza? I don’t have shortening to make pie dough.
Hi Kelly, I have never tried this recipe with a pizza dough crust so I am not sure how that would alter the cook times but I think flavour wise that would be delicious!
Fabulous recipe!!!
You always share very good and very unique recipe.
Many helpful for people.
So delicious . Amazing way to use that abundance of ripe garden tomatoes. Hardest part was controlling how much I ate.
Hi Holly! I love so many of your recipes. I made this once a year ago and I want to make it again. Do you think I can get away with assembling the pie, refrigerating it and then baking the next day? Thanks for all of the great recipes!
Your pie crust may turn out a little softer than expected but it should still work well. We usually prep and bake this pie ahead of time and then serve cold or reheated slightly when ready to serve! We would love to hear how it turns out for you.
Praying this turn out as great as reviews since I have to use our “winter” tomatoes here in NC! My daughter’s favorite so trying for her bday. It sounds yummy!
Thou I am sure this would taste good traditional tomato pie does not have a cheese topping like this recipe calls for.
Looks like a great recipe for all the tomatoes I have in the garden. My tomatoes are medium/small. About how much weight do you reckon are in “3 large tomatoes”?
It can vary but approximately 1.25lbs or so.
Th best tomato pie!!
This is a great recipe for Tomato Pie! I have tried many others and I think your cheese/mayo ratio is really good, as others I have made have come out greasy. I added some caramelized onions and leftover baked eggplant when I layered the tomatoes. Thank you for a tasty recipe!
Made 2 yesterday. Nobody in our family had ever heard of it, and every single person loved it! I left out the oregano so it wouldn’t taste similar to pizza. Easy to make, not soggy, yummy! Thank you for helpingn me find such a great version.
So glad your family loved it as much as mine did!
A delicious and easy to make tomato pie recipe i have ever tasted. Thanks for sharing this tomato pie recipe with all of us.
Would this recipe work without having the bottom crust and placing a crust just on top?
Because the tomatoes have so much moisture, my worry is that the top crust would get soggy as the liquid won’t evaporate. The top is tomatoes and cheese that browns adding flavor to the recipe.