This easy recipe is only good in summer when the farmer's market is full of those fresh, ripe tomatoes.
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Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- Great way to enjoy fresh garden tomatoes
- Though you only need five ingredients, this pie is packed with flavor
- The classic summer recipe is perfect as a side or a light main dish
This savory Southern tomato pie recipe is made with a flaky, buttery pie crust, juicy tomatoes, smoky bacon, and plenty of cheese. It's the same, beloved dish you've enjoyed for years, just a little easier to prep—and even tastier, too!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Salt the tomatoes for 30 minutes, rinse, and pat dry.
- Line the baked pie crust with tomatoes.
- Top with the cooked bacon and onions.
- Top with pimento cheese and bake.
🥫 Storage
Like any good Southern recipe, this savory pie is easy to finish off in one sitting.
If you've got some leftovers, though, lucky you! Here's how to keep them.
Make sure the pie has fully cooled to room temperature. Then, cover the extras tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap.
You can refrigerate the leftover tomato pie for up to three days. However, keep in mind that juicy layers of tomatoes will soften the flaky pie crust shell the longer it's stored.
Microwave individual slices just until they're warmed. Too long in the microwave tends to make pie crust soggy.
Tomatoes contain too much water to make this recipe a good candidate for freezing—it won't taste right after thawing.
📖 Variations
- Feel free to use a homemade pie crust or a store-bought pie shell. You can get away with a frozen pie crust, too. So many good options, but homemade crust does taste the best.
- Substitute the bacon for smoked ham, or add both in for a meatier pie.
- I don't like to even say it, but you can omit the bacon if you need a vegetarian dish. Use butter to cook the onions instead.
- Prefer your tomato pie a little sweeter? Use a Vidalia or sweet onion. Otherwise, lean into the savory flavors by picking a white or yellow one.
- You can use this easy pimento cheese recipe if you like.
- Some families like to sprinkle a little crushed Ritz crackers over top of the cheese for extra crunch.
- If you have some, garnish with fresh herbs, like basil leaves, chives, or sliced green onions. Bonus points if they're from your garden!
- Make mini tomato pies! Instead of using a standard pie plate, cut out round circles from the pie crust and bake them in a muffin tin.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Roma tomatoes are the most firm, so they hold up well in Southern tomato pie. Beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes make a good choice, too.
- Choose fresh, ripe tomatoes for the best-ever tomato pie flavor. They'll look bright and shiny, and feel firm when given a gentle squeeze.
- You can ripen picked tomatoes a little faster by placing them into a paper bag with a banana or apple.
- Try to cut the tomatoes into even, thin slices. I recommend using a sharp knife and a cutting board. A mandoline is okay, too, but be careful!
- Let the tomato slices drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet so that they don't make your pie watery. This step is important!
- Be sure to cook your pie crust until it's golden brown. You can learn more about "blind-baking" (with parchment paper and pie weights) in this pie crust recipe.
- If the edges of your pie crust start to get a little too brown, cover just the edges with a pie crust shield (or make your own with foil.) This will prevent your flaky crust from burning.
- I know it's tempting to dig in right away, but the cooling time is important! This allows the juices to settle down so your pie doesn't leak water when you cut it into slices.
👩🍳 FAQs
Nope to pizza, but you're getting warmer calling it a tart. Southern tomato pie is less fussy and less fancy than a tart, but a similar concept. Baking the pie in a pie pan keeps things rustic and simple.
Any classic Southern tomato pie starts with this step. Salting the fresh tomatoes (or any veggie, really) draws out the excess juices. Then, you can dab it off with a paper towel and your pie won't have too much liquid in it.
Green tomatoes aren't traditionally used in tomato pie because they're a little more bitter. If you have some to use up, I definitely recommend trying fried green tomatoes.
📚 Related recipes
- With crispy, toasted bread and lots of juicy flavors, Scalloped Tomatoes casserole is one of those easy recipes you'll crave all summer long!
- Classic Tomato Sandwiches always hit the spot. If you miss the ones Mom made, grab those ripe summer tomatoes and make this ASAP.
- Running out of summertime, but not of tomatoes? Use 'em up in this delicious Southern Stewed Tomatoes recipe. It's great for freezing, too!
🍽️ Serve with...
- Crispy Cajun Fried Chicken is the perfect main dish if you're serving tomato pie with dinner—the flavors and textures go beautifully together!
- Cornbread with Creamed Corn is sweet, soft, and delicious. It's a great side for any Southern staple.
- Fried Apples are tasty as a side or as a light dessert. Plus, they're super easy to make after a fun day spent in the apple orchard.
📞 The last word
My parents always had a vegetable garden so we always had a lot of tomatoes during the summer. There were plenty to pick and eat right there in the garden, with the juice dripping down your arm.
But, even better, dishes like this simple tomato pie were on the table almost every week.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Southern Tomato Pie
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 pie crust, 9-inch, baked
- 1½ pounds tomatoes, ripe, about 3 medium
- Kosher salt
- ¼ pound bacon, cooked and 1 tablespoon of bacon fat reserved
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 cups pimento cheese
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with paper towels,
- Slice the tomatoes and lay in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with salt.
- Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Cook bacon and remove from skillet.
- Pour off all but about 1 to 2 tablespoons of fat.
- Heat the fat and add the onions.
- Saute, stirring often, until golden brown, soft, and caramelized. This will take 15 minutes or so.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Pat tomato slices dry and arrange in the baked pie crust.
- Top with cooked onions and bacon.
- Spoon the pimento cheese on top of the onions and bacon and spread to cover.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Cool for 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Roma tomatoes are the most firm, so they hold up
- Choose fresh, ripe tomatoes for the best-ever tomato pie flavor. They'll look bright and shiny, and feel firm when given a gentle squeeze.
- You can ripen picked tomatoes a little faster by placing them into a paper bag with a banana or apple.
- Try to cut the tomatoes into even, thin slices. I recommend using a sharp knife and a cutting board. A mandoline is okay, too, but be careful!
- Let the tomato slices drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet so that they don't make your pie watery. This step is important!
- Be sure to cook your pie crust until it's golden brown. You can learn more about "blind-baking" (with parchment paper and pie weights) in this pie crust recipe.
- If the edges of your pie crust start to get a little too brown, cover just the edges with a pie crust shield (or make your own with foil.) This will prevent your flaky crust from burning.
- I know it's tempting to dig in right away, but the cooling time is important! This allows the juices to settle down so your pie doesn't leak water when you cut it into slices.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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