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Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Tomato Tarts…with everything bagel spice and plenty of fresh thyme. These fun tarts are the perfect summertime appetizer or light dinner. Flaky puff pastry dough topped with caramelized onions, two kinds of cheese, fresh thyme, basil, and balsamic cherry tomatoes. Once baked, the pastry dough turns golden brown and the tomatoes burst, turning sweet and delicious. You just can’t beat these easy tarts!
I know it’s Thursday and all, but my gosh I wish it was Friday. Normally the days of the week really do not matter to me at all. In general, I pretty much enjoy every day of the week. Because (for the most part), I truly love what I do. I love creating new recipes, I love styling food, and I love photographing each recipe for you all to see. And of course, my favorite part is interacting with you all through comments, emails, and Instagram. It’s the greatest job, and even just writing these sentences out has me feeling so much better. Sometimes you just have to remember the good, so you can push all the negative out. Easier said than done.
If you didn’t already guess, Tuesday was a stressful day. But today I am thankful that I have this incredibly delicious, and oh easy recipe to share. It’s a good one that I have been dying to share for weeks now.
Typically, I get ideas for new seasonal recipes weeks and weeks before the season actually starts. So by the time I’m ready to share the recipe with you all, I’m usually overly excited. I mean, I’ve been keeping the recipe all to myself, I’m dying to share it!
The good news is that summer is so close. Which means tomatoes have started to arrive. Which means it’s tomato tart season!
YESS!
What I love about tart recipes is that they are truly the easiest. I usually use my favorite store-bought puff pastry and then just layer on my toppings. Puff pastry is one of those store-bought items that I find so much easier to just pick up at the store versus making it at home. I know some might argue this, but I live by store-bought puff pastry. It’s one of my favorite ingredients to use to whip up quick and delicious recipes.
Bottom line here? Keep your freezer stocked with puff pastry. OK? Great. Moving on.
To start, you’ll need to caramelize some onions, which is really simple. Just cook up some onions along with the tiniest amount of honey until the onions turn deep golden in color. The honey helps to caramelize the onion faster, giving them a rich color and flavor. While caramelizing the onions is an additional step, it’s so worth it. The caramelized onions make this tart.
While the onions are cooking away, start preparing the pastry. All you need to do is roll the pastry out and cut it into 4 squares. Very easy.
Now, toss those sweet and juicy cherry tomatoes with some balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil.
Layer the onions over the pastry squares, add a mix of cheddar and Havarti cheese, and then pile on the tomatoes. You may worry that there are too many tomatoes for the amount of dough, but don’t stress. The tomatoes burst and break down in the oven. They are so delicious!
Finish each pastry square off with a sprinkle of everything bagel spice. My favorite seasoning blend to mix with summer tomatoes. And then bake!
As this bakes, the tomatoes slowly roast, the cheese melts, and the pastries become flaky. SO GOOD.
And…your kitchen will indeed smell amazing! Like the flavors of summer…again, just SO GOOD.
Make these tarts as an easy dinner to pair with a simple side salad, or serve them up as an appetizer for your next gathering. Either way, these are going to be loved by all. My hope is that they’ll become a staple in your kitchen for the next few months.
If you make these Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Tomato Tarts, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Tomato Tarts
Servings: 4 8 as an appetizer
Calories Per Serving: 958 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon honey
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, minced or grated
- 2 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for serving
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Havarti cheese
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 egg, beaten
- everything bagel spice, for sprinkling
- fresh chopped chives
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onions and honey and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Season with salt and pepper and continue cooking another 5-10 minutes or until the onions are golden and caramelized. Add the garlic, and thyme, cook another minute. Remove from the heat.3. In a bowl, combine the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, basil, crushed red pepper, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. 4. Lay the pastry sheet flat on a clean, floured surface. Gently roll the sheets out to stretch slightly. Cut each sheet into 4 squares and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Evenly top each square with onions, leaving a 1/4 inch border. Top with both kinds of cheese and then mound the tomatoes over the cheese, pressing them into the cheese to adhere slightly (see above photo). 5. Fold the edges of the pastry inward to enclose the tomatoes. Brush the edges of the pastry with beaten egg and sprinkle with everything spice. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the tomatoes burst. Top with fresh thyme and chives.
Notes
Calories based on being served as a main
This is amazing! I’ve made it a few times! I just want to know if there is any way I can somehow prepare this in advance? Can I blind bake the pastry and store it the day before. And reheat in the oven with all the toppings the next day? Or just reheat everything?
Hi there,
So glad yo hear you have enjoyed this recipe! Sure, I don’t see why you couldn’t bake the pastry in advance and then finish everything the day of serving! I hope this helps! xT
I made this recipe with 87 year old Mother. We had a ton of fun making it and it turned out great. I think we finally both got over our fear of puff pastry. We’re now thinking of a number of things we can do with it. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I enjoy your beautifully photographed cookbooks and love to give them as gifts to my foodie friends. God bless.
Hey Laura,
Perfect!! I appreciate you giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan
This recipe is just WOAH good ? We live in a small town and our local grocery store didn’t have puff pastry dough, so we ended up using a sheet of crescent roll dough, and it turned out just lovely! My husband LOVED them, which is unusual for an item
that doesn’t have meat on it ? Now I’m trying to figure out how to freeze them while our garden is bursting with fresh tomatoes ?
Hey Kaela,
Amazing! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for making it! I probably wouldn’t freeze these:) Have a great Monday! xTieghan
For the sun-dried tomato tart when the tomatoes burst open does the fluid make the pastry soggy?
Hi Loren,
These are best served directly from the oven, so in that amount of time no, the pastry with not get soggy. If you let them sit for a couple hours then yes the pastry will get soggy. I hope you love the recipe!! xx
I am crazy for tomato tarts. I’ve made others but this one is the tops! The egg wash is a must and the everything seasoning is now a regular in my spice cupboard. I didn’t have havarti but had Gruyère and Parmesan which I threw in with some cheddar. The onion mixture was divine. Absolutely lovely!
Hey Sheri,
Happy Monday!! I really appreciate you trying this recipe out, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week:)
Would I be able to cook in advance & freeze?
Hey Lauren,
I probably wouldn’t recommend that for this recipe:) I really think tarts should be made and served fresh since they are delicate. If you want to go the freezing route, I would do a pizza! xTieghan
Curious if you drain the tomatoes before putting them in….with the vinegar, mine has a lot of liquid…worried that could make it soggy?
Hi Andrea,
I do not drain the tomatoes, was there anything you adjusted? The balsamic should really just be coating them:) Please let me know if I can help! xx
Really excellent and easy to make with store-bought puff pastry. I had a ton of cherry tomatoes that suddenly all ripened at the same time, so this was a great way to use some of them up. Perfectly ripe tomatoes, and then the carmelized onions, this with a small salad on the side, lunch was the bomb!
Hi Christina,
Fantastic! Thanks for your comment and trying the recipe:) I am so glad it was enjoyed! xxT
These were simple to make and so yummy! I used Brie cheese and oh my, so good!!
Hey Chantal,
Happy Wednesday! Thanks for sharing your review and making this recipe, I am so glad it was a winner! xxTieghan
Oh my WORD. this was insanely good and super easy! Definitely my go to easy starter! Everyone loved it and we ate it all and had no space for any mains! Thanks you for the lovely recipe!
Hey there,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed. Have the best weekend! ?xxT
Do you think I could add shrimp? Would I pre cook it or the 20- odd minutes in the oven would do it? Thanks!
Hey Sarah,
Sure, I would probably cut the shrimp and then yes it will just cook in the oven. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I’m a big fan of an old fave from my childhood, which is crisped bacon, tomato and cheese toast. Your tomato tart sounds like the new millennium version! All it needs to replace my heirloom version is crumbled crisp prosciutto on top! It’s on my list to try immediately!
I hope you love the recipe Terry!!
Do you have an alternative for this recipe without onions?
Hi Giulia,
You could do bell peppers or another veggie that you enjoy. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
Thank you Tieghan! Great tip, I will try this soon – I’m sure it will be delish!
Can these be prepared in advanced and kept in fridge until needed?
Ta daa! Sorry just seen you replied to similar message about this! I’ll get cooking?
Hey there,
Totally, that will work well for you!! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xTieghan
How far in advance would be “ok”? Would you bring back to room temp. prior to baking?
I would do that just before baking:)
Fantastic!
Hey Lorry,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan