My First Southern Tomato Pie

What do you do when you’re gifted homegrown tomatoes?

To many, this may seem like a silly question because you can just buy tomatoes at the store so what does it really matter? But I consider homegrown tomatoes a delicacy. Like John Denver said: “only two things that money can’t buy, that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.”

I grew up with tomato plants in my yard and every summer we would get to harvest fresh tomatoes and enjoy them in salads with mozzarella and basil or on a sandwich with cheddar and mayo (these are two of my staple summertime meals). However, my family stopped growing tomatoes about 6 years ago – so I had honestly forgotten about the magic of homegrown tomatoes.

On Labor Day weekend, I visited family in Indiana and my cousin gifted me tomatoes fresh from her garden. I’m not sure what type of tomatoes these were (maybe heirloom or beefsteak), but nevertheless, they were delicious. Their depth of flavor was that only a tomato lovingly grown and harvested at peak ripeness can achieve.

Immediately after tasting a slice, I was taken back to being a kid in my yard in late August, picking fresh tomatoes off the vine and savoring their juicy sweetness. I then got to thinking, what can I make with these tomatoes? Sure, I could throw a slice on a turkey sandwich or blend it up into a salsa, but I decided to try something new: Southern tomato pie.

Last summer was the first time I was introduced to the concept of a Southern tomato pie. I saw a recipe on TikTok and was immediately interested. The combination of tomato, cheese, mayonnaise, and fresh herbs just screamed summer.

Not being from the South, I wasn’t familiar with the Southern tomato pie. When I hear “tomato pie” I think of the Italian-American version, which has a focaccia style crust topped with a thick layer of a sweet, tangy, chunky tomato sauce. Growing up, my family and I stayed in a lake town near Utica, NY every summer and these tomato pies are a big thing there. I wasn’t the biggest fan of these as a kid because it felt like a pizza without the cheese… and what is the point of that?

The Southern tomato pie is very different. This dish has a typical pie crust, layers of fresh tomato, basil, and onion, and is topped with a mayonnaise and cheese mixture. After reading a few recipes and watching many TikToks of people making their versions of tomato pies, I went ahead and tried my hand at it.

The Results

Now that I’ve tasted a Southern tomato pie, I can truly say it’s a magical dish. The richness of the buttery crust and cheesy topping met by the acidity and savory-ness of the fresh tomatoes, garlic, and onion is unmatched. And the accents of fresh basil and rosemary truly tie it together.

I originally thought the mayonnaise in the topping just acted as a binder for the shredded cheese, but its flavor stood out and highlighted the classic tomato and mayo combo. When baked, the tomatoes soften up and marry with the flavors of the onion, garlic, and fresh herbs. This pie honestly tastes like summer.

I was very happy with how the flavors of the pie turned out. The textures, however, left something to be desired. I didn’t dry my tomatoes out enough before assembling the pie, so while it baked, they released a lot of juices. This resulted in a very wet crust, so the pieces of pie didn’t hold shape.

My family and I enjoyed this pie over the course of a few days and the leftovers were just as good. This was the perfect recipe to close out the summer.

Lessons Learned

While making this dish I worked to actively listen to my cooking instincts and creative side. I referenced a few recipes for the pie crust, oven temperatures, and timing, but took creative liberties with the filling. Overall, the dish turned out great, but I also learned some lessons along the way.

I’ve always been too intimidated to make my own pie crust because the process seems like a science project. But I decided to face my fear and make a homemade crust for this recipe. I discovered it’s not as daunting as I thought! The use of the food processor simplified the process and made it less time and labor intensive.

Based on my research, I found that drying the tomatoes was the most critical step of the recipe. If your tomato slices are too wet, they will make your pie too wet, and it ultimately ends up soupy. In the end, this did happen to me. I cut my tomatoes into ¼ inch slices, laid them on a paper towel, covered them in salt to help draw out extra moisture, and let them sit for about 10 minutes. I then dabbed them with a new paper towel to absorb excess moisture and salt. In retrospect, I would let my tomatoes sit for much longer.

I noticed that almost every recipe included some kind of onion (green, yellow, or red). I decided to go with yellow onion because that’s what I had in my fridge. I diced the yellow onion and added it to the pie raw, which added a bit of a crunch and stronger flavor to the final product. I didn’t mind the onions strong presence too much, but in the future, I would cook the onion down before adding it to the pie.

While researching Southern tomato pies I didn’t see any recipes that called for rosemary. But when I went into my yard to harvest some basil leaves, the rosemary plant caught my eye, so I thought I’d give it a try – and I’m very glad I did! I love fresh herbs so I enjoyed how noticeable the rosemary and basil were in my pie, but if that isn’t your forte then just sticking with a bit of basil would still be delicious.

When it came to the cheese, I shredded my own sharp cheddar. I find that shredding your own cheese produces the best melting results in a baked dish like this (the same is true with mac and cheese, pizza, etc.). However, if I were to make this recipe again, I would use less cheese. I used 8 oz of sharp cheddar and 2 oz of mozzarella, and this made my top layer of cheese very thick. The flavor of the fresh tomato would have been able to shine through more if there was a bit less cheese.

All-in-all I’m glad I chose to make a Southern tomato pie with my precious homegrown tomatoes. I loved learning about this cherished recipe and the many variations that show how people make a common dish their own masterpiece.

My Recipe

Crust:

 

• • 1 ¼ cup flour

• • 1 tsp sugar

• • ½ tsp salt

• • ½ cup cold butter

• • ½ cup water

Filling:

 

• • 2 big tomatoes

• • 6 basil leaves

• • ½ tbsp fresh rosemary

• • 1/3 cup diced onion

• • 2 cloves garlic

• • Salt

• • Pepper

• • 1 cup mayo

• • 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar

• • 2 oz shredded mozzarella

Crust:

 

1. 1. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor. Pulse to mix.

1. 1. Cut the cold butter into ¼ inch cubes and add to food processor. Pulse until butter is evenly dispersed within the dry ingredients.

1. 1. Put this mixture in a large bowl and sprinkle with ice water, starting with a quarter cup. Mix with a spatula until the mixture sticks together like a dough. Add more water as needed.

1. 1. Once dough has reached the desired consistency, form into a ball, then flatten to be an inch thick and wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

1. 1. Let the dough rest in the fridge overnight.

Pie:

 

1. 1. Slice tomatoes into ¼ inch slices. Lay on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Let tomatoes sit for at least 20 minutes then pat dry with a fresh paper towel.

1. 1. Dice onion. Mince garlic. Chop rosemary and basil. Combine onion, garlic, rosemary, and basil in a small mixing bowl.

1. 1. Combine shredded cheese and mayonnaise in a separate mixing bowl.

1. 1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Roll out pie dough to fit the entire dish. Place in dish, and crimp edges and puncture the bottom with a fork. Bake pie crust for 10 minutes.

1. 1. Remove pie crust from oven. Add a layer of tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover with half of the onion and herb mixture. Add a second layer of tomatoes, salt, and pepper. Cover with the rest of the onion and herb mixture. Spread the cheese and mayonnaise mixture evenly on top of the pie.

1. 1. Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Place your pie in the oven and allow to bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve warm.