Last August, Emma helped me harvest our first serious Tomato Pie crop and asked what we'd do with "all these tomatoes." That's when I pulled out my grandmother's handwritten recipe card for her famous summer tomato pie. Emma was skeptical at first - "pie made of tomatoes sounds weird, Mom" - but after one bite, she was hooked. Now she helps me make it every time our tomatoes are ready, and it's become our end-of-summer tradition.
Why You'll Love This Southern Tomato Pie
Emma was doubtful the first time we made this together. "It's like pizza but backwards," she said, watching me layer sliced tomatoes instead of sauce. But after that first bite - the way the juicy tomatoes meld with creamy cheese and flaky crust - she was hooked. Now every August, she asks when we're making "the backwards pizza" again.
What makes this recipe special is how it handles the biggest challenge with tomato pie: preventing a soggy bottom. The secret lies in salting the tomatoes beforehand and choosing the right combination of cheeses. It's not fussy or complicated, just good technique that lets those beautiful summer tomatoes shine. Plus, it's one of those dishes that tastes even better the next day, making it perfect for potlucks or make-ahead dinners.
Jump to:
- Why You'll Love This Southern Tomato Pie
- Ingredients for Classic Tomato Pie Recipe
- How To Make Tomato Pie Step By Step
- Smart Swaps for Your Tomato Pie
- Equipment For Tomato Pie Recipe
- How to Keep Your Tomato Pie Good
- Tomato Pie Recipe Variations
- The Flavor My Best Friend Never Told Me About
- Top Tip
- Why This Tomato Pie Recipe Works
- FAQ
- Summer's Best Tomato Pie Recipe Done Right!
- Related
- Pairing
- Tomato Pie
Ingredients for Classic Tomato Pie Recipe
What You Need:
- Ripe tomatoes
- Pie crust
- Coarse salt for draining
- Fresh basil
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Dijon mustard
Extra Good Stuff:
- Sweet onion if you want
- Fresh thyme
- Garlic powder
- Black pepper
- Parmesan cheese
See recipe card for quantities.
How To Make Tomato Pie Step By Step
Start Here:
- Slice tomatoes thick as your thumb
- Put them on paper towels
- Salt both sides good
- Wait 30 minutes while you do other stuff
Fix Your Crust:
- Bake the empty crust at 375°F for 10 minutes
- Stab it with a fork so it stays flat
- Let it cool down
Mix the Gooey Stuff:
- Dump mayo and mustard in a bowl
- Throw in the shredded cheeses
- Add garlic powder and pepper
- Stir until it's all mixed up
Stack It Up:
- Dry off those tomato slices real good
- Put half in the crust
- Rip up some basil and scatter it around
- Spread that cheese goop on top
- Add the rest of the tomatoes
- More basil and cheese if you want
Cook It:
- Don't cut it right away or it'll be a mess
- 350°F for about 30 minutes
- Should look golden and smell amazing
Smart Swaps for Your Tomato Pie
Tomato Swaps:
- No fresh ones → Good canned tomatoes, drain them really well
- Only small tomatoes → Cut them in half, still salt them
- Green tomatoes → Slice them thin, let them sit longer
- Whatever's on sale → Just make sure they're not squishy
Crust Changes:
- No pie crust → Puff pastry from the freezer works
- Need gluten-free → Store brands are fine
- Want homemade → Do it if you have time
- Skip the crust → Grease the pan, still tastes good
Cheese Mix-ups:
- No cheddar → Any sharp cheese works
- Can't do dairy → Those fake cheeses melt okay
- Trying to be healthy → Low-fat cheese tastes different but works
- Feeling fancy → Gruyere makes people think you're a good cook
Other Switches:
- No mustard → Little bit of hot sauce
- No mayo → Sour cream does the job
- No basil → Oregano or just leave it out
Equipment For Tomato Pie Recipe
- 9-inch pie pan
- Sharp knife for slicing tomatoes
- Cutting board
- Colander or big strainer
- Paper towels
- Mixing bowl for the cheese stuff
How to Keep Your Tomato Pie Good
Right After You Make It:
- Let it sit until it's not hot anymore
- Don't cover it while it's still warm or it gets gross
- Takes about an hour to cool down
Keeping It Fresh:
- Wrap it up with plastic wrap or foil
- Sits in the fridge for 3-4 days
- Tastes better the next day anyway
- Emma always grabs cold pieces for breakfast
Heating It Up Again:
- Oven at 300°F for maybe 15 minutes
- Don't microwave it - turns it into mush
- Cold pieces taste good too
- I eat it cold for lunch sometimes
Freezing It:
- Don't bother trying
- The tomatoes get all weird and watery
- Just make smaller ones
- Or give pieces to the neighbors
Getting Ready Early:
- The crust gets soggy if you wait too long
- You can prep everything the night before
- Keep the salted tomatoes in the fridge
- Put it together in the morning and bake
Tomato Pie Recipe Variations
The Bacon One:
- Fry up some bacon until it's crispy
- Crumble it between the tomato layers
- Emma says this beats all the others
- Use the bacon grease on the crust edges
With Onions:
- Slice a sweet onion really thin
- Put it in with the tomatoes
- Makes the kitchen smell so good
- Emma picks them out but I eat them
Different Herbs:
- Try stuff besides basil
- Thyme is really good
- Fresh chives work too
- Whatever's growing outside
More Cheese:
- Throw in some goat cheese
- Feta makes it taste different
- Parmesan on top gets brown and crispy
- Use whatever's in the fridge
Garden Veggies:
- Add thin zucchini slices
- Yellow squash is good too
- Still salt everything first
- Takes a bit longer to cook
Make It Spicy:
- Throw in some jalapeño slices
- Put hot sauce in the cheese mix
- Sprinkle red pepper flakes on top
- Emma won't eat the spicy ones
The Flavor My Best Friend Never Told Me About
My friend makes tomato pie that always tastes better than mine, and for three summers I kept asking what she does different. She'd just say "same thing as you" and shrug. This bugged me because I could taste something else in hers but couldn't figure out what. Emma finally solved it during a sleepover at Sarah's house when she watched her make it.
Emma came home all excited. "Mom, puts cream cheese in the mix!" Turns out is been adding a big spoonful of cream cheese to the mayo and mustard stuff this whole time. She didn't think it mattered, just something her mom did. But that cream cheese makes it taste way richer and creamier, like fancy restaurant food instead of regular home cooking. Now I do it too, and Emma always tells me not to forget "is thing."
Top Tip
- Emma figured out something I never thought of when we were making tomato pie for her school thing. She was getting antsy waiting for the tomatoes to drain and kept bugging me "Are they done yet?" every few minutes. So I let her check them, and she saw something I'd been missing. "Mom, the bottoms are still really wet," she said, flipping a tomato slice over. She was totally right
- Now she always tells me to flip the tomato slices halfway through and salt both sides again. This makes a huge difference. The bottom sides hold way more water than you'd think, and if you don't get it out, your pie turns into a soggy mess no matter how long you wait. Emma calls it "the flip thing" and she's the boss of timing it every time we make tomato pie now.
Why This Tomato Pie Recipe Works
Having made roughly fifty trial runs half of them disasters I’ve finally nailed the key steps that make this tomato pie succeed. There’s no hidden trick here, just a couple of often‑skipped tasks that are absolutely crucial. Salting and draining the tomatoes isn’t busywork; it prevents your filling from becoming watery soup. And stirring the mayo into the cheese rather than dolloping it on top ensures the topping firms up and stays put, instead of slipping and sliding.
Emma always asks why we can't just dump everything in the pan and cook it. I tried that once when I was rushing - what a mess. The tomatoes dumped all their water everywhere, the cheese turned weird, and the bottom got all mushy. This recipe works because each step fixes something that goes wrong. The cooked-first crust doesn't get soggy, the drained tomatoes don't flood everything, and the cheese mix holds it all together. Not fancy, just makes sense.
FAQ
What is Southern Grandma's tomato pie?
It's basically a savory pie made with fresh tomatoes, cheese, and herbs in a regular pie crust. Popular down South where tomatoes grow like crazy in summer. You salt the tomatoes first to get the water out, then layer them with cheesy stuff and bake it.
What are the ingredients in a tomato pie?
You need ripe tomatoes, pie crust, cheese (cheddar and mozzarella work good), mayo, mustard, and fresh basil. Some people throw in onions or bacon. Every family does it a little different, but it's always tomatoes and cheese as the main thing.
How do you keep tomato pies from getting soggy?
Salt those tomato slices and let them sit for 30 minutes minimum. Dry them off with paper towels real good. Cook your crust empty for 10 minutes first. Use sharp cheese that doesn't have too much water. Don't skip the salting part or you'll have soup.
Is tomato pie an east coast thing?
It's big in the South and some East Coast places where tomatoes grow good. Different spots make it their own way - different cheeses, maybe add other vegetables. Not just one place's food, really anywhere people grow decent tomatoes in summer makes some version of it.
Summer's Best Tomato Pie Recipe Done Right!
Now you know how to make tomato pie that actually works - from Emma's flip trick to Sarah's cream cheese thing. This recipe shows that sometimes the best food is just good stuff done the right way. Every bite tastes like summer, and it's way easier than people think once you figure out the steps.
Want more recipes that use up garden stuff? Try our Easy Potato Soup Recipe that's good for using up extra potatoes. Need lunch ideas? Our The Best Tuna Salad Recipe makes sandwiches that don't suck. Got too much zucchini? Our The Best Zucchini Lasagna Recipe turns them into dinner nobody whines about!
We’d love to see your tomato pie masterpieces. we can check them out.
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Related
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Pairing
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Tomato Pie
Equipment
- 1 9″ pie pan (deep‑dish)
- 1 Sharp knife (for slicing tomatoes)
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Colander (for draining tomatoes)
- 1 Paper towels
- 1 Mixing bowl (for cheese‑mayo mixture)
- 1 Spoon or spatula (for spreading topping)
Ingredients
- 2 lb Ripe tomatoes sliced ½″ thick - salted & drained
- 1 Pie crust - store‑bought or homemade blind‑baked
- 1 tablespoon Coarse salt - for drawing out tomato moisture
- ¼ cup Fresh basil - thinly sliced
- 1 cup Sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese - shredded
- ½ cup Mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- — — Optional extras: - thinly sliced onion thyme, garlic powder, black pepper, Parmesan
Instructions
- Salt tomato slices on both sides and drain thoroughly on paper towels.
- Blind‑bake the pie crust at 375°F for 10 minutes and let it cool.
- Stir together shredded cheeses, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Arrange half the tomatoes, scatter basil, spread topping, then repeat layers.
- Bake assembled pie at 350°F for 30 minutes until bubbly and golden.
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