Southern Tomato Pie
Classic Southern tomato pie is the perfect way to use in season fresh tomatoes. Layers of melted cheese and tomatoes in a golden brown pie crust is the best potluck dish to bring this summer.
I love, love, love fresh tomatoes and could eat them every day during the summer.
I'm always on the hunt for new fresh tomato recipes and I've been meaning to try this classic Southern recipe for tomato pie for ages.
When the heirloom tomatoes started popping up at our farmer's market, I couldn't resist.
While my kids are still working on their fresh tomato love, I think this would be such a fun pie to bake for a ladies' luncheon, bridal shower, or baby shower.
Just serve it with a pretty green salad or fresh fruit and dip for an easy peasy meal.
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Why This is the Best Recipe
When fresh tomatoes are in season, I'm on the look out for all the delicious ways to use them. I think this is the best Southern tomato pie recipe because:
- Creamy and Delicious: With ooey gooey layers of cheese with the fresh juicy tomato slices, this pie is a match made in heaven.
- Easy to Assemble: Blind bake the store bought pie crust and then all that's left to do is layer the tomatoes and cheese.
- Easy Meatless Recipe: Looking to skip meat for a night? This is a budget-friendly vegetarian dinner idea for summer if you skip the bacon.
Ingredients
You're going to love making this homemade tomato pie because it requires such a short list of ingredients:
- Fresh Tomatoes: I used red heirloom tomatoes I picked up at the farmer's market. A variety of green, yellow, and red tomatoes would be super pretty in this dish.
- Single Pie Crust: To keep things easy, you can absolutely use a store bought pie crust. If you're in the mood, you could also make my homemade butter pie crust.
- Peppered Bacon: Crumbled cooked bacon is the perfect partner for tomato. My candied peppered bacon is the best but you can use whatever cooked bacon you prefer.
- Pimento Cheese: This southern staple is made from sharp cheddar, pimentos, and mayo. It is super easy to make from scratch with my pimento cheese recipe but you can also find it sold prepared in tubs in the deli department of many grocery chains.
- Shredded Parmesan Cheese: Be sure to use the shredded kind in a bag, not the grated kind in a canister.
- Mayonnaise: I do not recommend Miracle Whip for this recipe. Stick to real mayo like Duke's or Hellman's.
- Dijon Mustard
- Fresh Basil
Vegetarian Tomato Pie
If you'll need to serve a vegetarian-friendly dish, the easiest tweak is to leave out the bacon completely or use a vegetarian bacon substitute.
This recipe is not vegan-friendly because of the mayo and cheeses included.
Prep the Fresh Tomatoes
In order to avoid a watery pie, it is important to drain the fresh tomato slices before adding them to the dish.
Line a large baking sheet with several layers of paper towel and line the tomato slices up in a single layer.
Sprinkle them with a pinch of kosher salt and let them drain.
Pat them dry on top before you use them.
Tomato Pie with Bacon
My peppered bacon recipe uses both brown sugar and pepper and is amazing.
This time around I tried it with a maple sugar sprinkled on top and it was even more delicious with the fresh tomatoes.
If you plan to make the tomato pie with the bacon, get it cooking before you start the rest of the pie assembly so it is ready to go when you are.
I got the tomatoes all set on the baking sheet first and then I cooked the bacon.
Prebake the Pie Crust
In order to have a perfectly crispy pie crust, it is important to blind bake the pie crust for a few minutes before assembling the pie.
Lay the pie crust in a deep dish pie plate and prick the bottom with a fork.
Bake the crust at 350°F for 10 - 15 minutes or until the center starts to look a little cooked.
Combine the Mayo and Parmesan
While the pie crust is baking, stir together the mayo and shredded parmesan.
Assemble the Tomato Pie
Spread the Dijon mustard along the bottom of the pie crust. I used the back of a spatula to smooth it out.
The rest of the tomato pie gets assembled in layers:
- Sliced Tomatoes + Bacon & Basil: Lay the tomatoes in a single layer, top with 1/2 the crumbled bacon and basil.
- Mayo & Parmesan: Use a spoon to add dollops of the mayo parmesan mix over the tomatoes. This is a difficult layer to spread, it is easier to just pat it into place.
- Sliced Tomatoes + Bacon & Basil: Lay the tomatoes in a single layer, top with the remaining 1/2 of the crumbled bacon and basil.
- Pimento Cheese: Use a spoon to drop dollops of pimento over the tomatoes. Pat it into place.
- Just Tomatoes: Finish the pie with the last layer of tomato slices.
The tomato pie is now ready for baking.
As I mentioned, I just used red tomatoes here but you could layer several colors of heirloom tomatoes for a really gorgeous pie.
Baking Instructions
Bake the tomato pie for 30 - 40 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown and the cheese filling is bubbling.
Make Ahead Tips
I think the tomato pie tastes best fresh the day you bake it, but you could easily make the elements up to 24 hours in advance:
- Bake the Bacon
- Prep the Pimento Cheese
- Line the Tomatoes Up to Drain
Then all you'd have to do is blind bake the pie crust, assemble the pie, and bake.
However, if you like your tomato pie chilled, you can absolutely bake the entire pie the day before and just store it in the fridge with aluminum foil over it to keep it fresh.
Serving Suggestions
I served the tomato pie in big juicy slices for an easy dinner.
Let the tomato pie cool before you slice it or the layers of melted cheese and tomato won't hold together.
You can pair it with a light green salad, a fruit salad, or even a homemade biscuit.
More Southern Recipes
If you want a taste of the south, don't miss these other classic southern recipes.
My southern fried green tomatoes can be made in your oven or in an air fryer.
Heading to a potluck? Whip up a batch of my southern macaroni salad or a pan of southern peach cobbler.
Got some fresh shrimp? Pair it with the classic Savannah red rice with bacon.
📖 Recipe
Southern Tomato Pie
Ingredients
- 4 heirloom tomatoes sliced 1/4-inch thick
- Pinch kosher salt
- 6 strips peppered bacon optional, see notes
- 1 pie crust store bought or homemade
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
- 1/4 cup fresh basil chopped
- 3/4 cup pimento cheese store bought or homemade
Instructions
Prep the Fresh Tomatoes
- Slice the tomatoes 1/4-inch thick. Lay 3 layers of paper towel across a large baking sheet or several dinner plates and line the tomatoes up in a single layer.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes with kosher salt and let them drain for 30 minutes.
- Pat the tops of the tomatoes dry with more paper towels and then assemble the pie.
Cook the Bacon (If Using)
- While the tomatoes are draining, cook the bacon. If you have pre-cooked bacon, simply crumble it and you're all set.
Blind Bake the Pie Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Line a deep dish pie plate with your favorite pie crust. A store bought crust makes this recipe extra easy but you can also use a homemade crust if you prefer. Blind bake the pie crust for 10 - 15 minutes or until the bottom is just starting to look a little cooked but not golden brown.
Assemble and Bake the Tomato Pie
- Spread the Dijon mustard along the bottom and sides of the pie crust.
- Lay 1/3 of the tomato slices on the bottom of the pie crust in a single layer. It is ok to have the edges overlap a little bit as needed to make them fit.
- Stir together the mayonnaise and shredded parmesan cheese in a small bowl. Spoon the mixture over the layer of tomatoes in small dollops. You won't be able to "spread" it over the tomatoes because it is quite thick but you can pat it into place with the back of your spoon.
- Add 1/2 of the crumbled bacon and 1/2 of the chopped basil over the top.
- Layer another 1/3 of the tomato slices. Top with the pimento cheese by spooning it in dollops and patting it into place.
- Add the remaining bacon and basil evenly over the top.
- Finish with the last 1/3 of tomato slices.
- Bake the assembled tomato pie for 30 minutes or until the edges of the pie crust are golden brown and the cheese filling has started to bubble.
- Let stand for 15 minutes before trying to slice it or the melted cheese will cause the pie slices to fall apart.
Recipe Notes
Notes on Using Peppered Bacon:
To make this a vegetarian tomato pie, omit the bacon. It will not work for a vegan diet because of the cheese but can still be a meatless dish. If you do want to use the peppered bacon, simply cook 6 strips of bacon using your favorite cooking method. I recommend baking the bacon. Season the bacon with plenty of fresh cracked pepper and 1 tbsp of brown sugar or maple sugar. Then crumble and use as directed in the tomato pie recipe above.Notes on Crispy Pie Crusts:
To ensure the center of your tomato pie has a perfectly crispy bottom crust, you may want to place a baking sheet or pizza stone inside the oven before you preheat it. Let the stone or baking sheet heat with the oven for 30 minutes and then place the assembled tomato pie on it to bake. The hot surface will help give the bottom crust a better chance at getting perfectly crispy.Save This Recipe to Your Recipe Box
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My kitchen was filled with the most amazing aroma. For my first attempt at homemade tomato pie, this recipe yielded incredible results!
We have a ton of fresh heirloom tomatoes from our garden and we were looking for a new recipe to try using them. I came across your southern tomato pie and decided to give it a try. My dad loved this tomato recipe a lot! He said that his grandma used to make something like this when he was a kid. Thank you for sharing!
How can you go wrong with layers of cheese and beautiful tomatoes? This makes an amazing pie! Excuse me while I drool....