Southern Tomato Pie Recipe
It’s time to bake a tomato pie. Right now. Tomatoes are at their peak of production and perfection. These are the tomatoes that you wait for all summer. The succulent beauties that make you take the salt shaker to the garden with you. Pluck a sun-warmed tomato from the vine and eat it like an apple, devouring, salting as you go, juice running down your chin. It’s pure summer bliss.
This recipe is a new one on me, sent by a friend who knows how much I adore cooking. It’s no surprise that Southern cooks, legendary in their culinary skills, created a magnificent pie like this. It is a pie that oozes with ripe tomatoes, basil, bacon, and sauteed sweet onions nestled under a crisp, golden brown blanket of melty cheese, all nestled in a flaky crust.
This Pie is Ideal for a Summer Luncheon The Ladies Will Love it
Tomato pie can certainly be a main dish. Ideally, this pie should be served warm or at room temperature. You can make it ahead and refrigerate it. It tastes good cold, but it’s even better when you warm it up just a bit.
The filling is so good you don’t even need to feel guilty about using a store-bought pie crust, but do get a deep dish crust because this is one plump pie! If you have a great pie crust recipe, by all means, make your own!
Begin by choosing three nice big ripe tomatoes. I used both red and yellow tomatoes. If I’d had heirloom-type tomatoes, I would certainly have used them. Line a baking pan with a thick layer of paper towels. Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick; there is no need to peel them. Sprinkle them with salt and lay more paper towels on top.
Ripe tomatoes are very juicy, and you want to draw out some of that juice before putting them in the pie. Let them rest there for 30 minutes or even longer.
Prick the entire surface of the pie crust with a fork to reduce shrinking. Next, bake it partway for about 15 or 20 minutes in a 400-degree oven. It should start looking dry and begin to brown ever so slightly. Take it out and let it cool completely.
Fry the bacon until it is fairly crisp and set it aside to cool. Use the bacon drippings to saute a small sweet onion you have quartered and sliced thin.
Saute the onions until they are clear and tender but don’t brown them. While the onions are sauteing, chop about two tablespoons of fresh basil and crumble the bacon.
Next We Will Layer All Those Yummy Ingredients In The Pie Crust
Put about one-half cup of the shredded mozzarella in the bottom of the crust. Then, add a layer of tomato slices. Season them with garlic powder to taste, some black pepper, and a smidge of sugar if you like. Next, add half the bacon, half the onions, and half the basil. Spread another half-cup of cheese on top.
Repeat layers with the other half of the tomatoes, bacon, onion, and basil, seasoning as you did the first layer. Skip the cheese on this layer; you’ll use it in the topping.
In a small bowl, mix the remaining two cups of cheese with mayonnaise. Add some parsley if you like and a little hot sauce if you would enjoy it. (I did not add hot sauce.)
Carefully spread this cheesy mixture over the top of the pie to the edge of the crust.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. The cheese topping will be golden brown and crispy. Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving. Slice it with a serrated knife. Refrigerate any leftovers.
When You Make Dixieland Tomato Pie You Can’t Stop Eating It
My husband is not a big fan of tomatoes in any form, but he sure liked this pie. I invited our daughter to try it the next day for lunch, and she declared it delicious! Today for lunch, I warmed up a slice in the microwave for about a minute and enjoyed it with an ear of sweet corn. What a treat!
Serve this tomato pie as an entree with a crisp green salad or seasonal fruit. It would also make a great side dish to any meat entree, whether it’s chicken, beef, ham, or seafood.
I can’t think of a better marriage of ingredients in this delightful dish. Tomatoes, bacon, onion, cheese, and basil is a perfect combination. Those Southern gals know what’s cookin’!
Have you ever heard of a pie like this? It’s somewhere between pie, a quiche, and heaven, in my opinion! Those gals in the deep South sure know how to make a fine pie! You are gonna love this one, I do declare!
Dixieland Tomato Pie
A plump juicy pie oozing with fresh tomatoes, basil, bacon, and sauteed sweet onion under a blanket of mozzarella chees, all nestled in a flaky crust!
Ingredients
- 1 10"deep-dish pie crust, partially baked.
- 3 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced 1/4" thick
- Kosher salt
- 2 - 4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 small sweet onion, chopped or thinly sliced
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- pinch of sugar if desired
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Garlic powder to taste
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1 cup regular full-fat mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce if desired
Instructions
- Line a baking pan with a thick layer of paper towels.
- Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick and lay them in the pan; there is no need to peel them.
- Sprinkle them with Kosher salt and lay more paper towels on top. Put another layer of paper towels on top of the tomatoes.
- Let them rest to draw out the excess juice for 30 minutes or longer.
- Prick the entire surface of the pie crust with a fork to reduce shrinking.
- Partially bake the crust for about 15 or 20 minutes in a 400-degree oven. It should start looking dry and begin to brown ever so slightly.
- Remove the pie crust from the oven and let it cool completely.
- Fry the bacon until it is fairly crisp and set it aside to cool.
- Use the bacon drippings to saute a small sweet onion you have chopped or quartered and sliced thin.
- Saute the onions until they are clear and tender but don't brown them.
- While the onions are sauteing, chop about two tablespoons of fresh basil and crumble the bacon.
- Put about one-half cup of the shredded mozzarella in the bottom of the crust. T
- Add a layer of tomato slices. Season them with garlic powder to taste, some black pepper, and a smidge of sugar if you like.
- Next, add half the bacon, half the onions, and half the basil.
- Spread another half-cup of cheese on top.
- Repeat layers with the other half of the tomatoes, bacon, onion, and basil, seasoning as you did the first layer. Skip the cheese on this layer; you'll use it in the topping.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining two cups of cheese with mayonnaise. Add some parsley if you like, and the hot sauce if you would enjoy it.
- Carefully spread the cheesy mixture over the top of the pie to the edge of the crust.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 40 to 45 minutes. The cheese topping will be golden brown and crispy.
- Let the pie cool to room temperature before serving. Slice it with a serrated knife.
- Refrigerate any leftovers.
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Hi! I hope you find some recipes you enjoy!
I love Your Bacon Tomato Pie Looking Good
oh it’s so yummy! I need to make it again! I just bought bacon on sale and tomatoes lookin’ great! Thank you!