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Baked Tomato Cheese Pie with garlic and thyme: Store-bought pie dough wrapped around cubes of cheddar, gouda, and gruyere cheese, with heirloom tomatoes layered between. Just as the pie comes out of the oven top with fresh basil. This tart is a delicious end-of-summer treat. And it smells wonderful while baking!
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I wasn’t the kid whose parents would make tomato pie. In my mind, there was no such thing as a savory pie. To me, the only pies that excited me were Mom’s chocolate chip cookie pie, Nonnie’s pecan pie, and that one apple pie I made for my grandpa back in 3rd grade.
Growing up, I just though all pies were sweet. But then, sometime in high school, I learned about savory pies and started to experiment a little.
And soon, I was baking a corn pie and a tomato pie every summer. These are now a couple of my mom’s favorite dishes.
My tomato is as basic as it gets, but that’s kind of the point. Assuming you have great tomatoes, herbs, and really good cheese, that’s pretty much all you need.
Well, you also need a pie crust. I usually like old-fashioned pie dough, but store-bought pie dough or puff pastry also work great. Use what you love the most!
These are the details
Step 1: prep the tomatoes
Do your best to find really good end-of-summer tomatoes. I love using heirlooms but use what you can find and what you enjoy most. Since it’s so late into August, there should be a good amount of perfectly sweet summer tomatoes at the markets.
Start by salting the tomato slices. This helps to draw out any excess moisture the tomatoes may have, much like you would do if you made a zucchini pie. This step ensures that your tomato pie will not be soggy or overly watery.
Step 2: the garlicky herbs
I have a total of 5 herbs growing this summer. Can you guess what they are?
Basil, thyme, cilantro, oregano, and a small amount of rosemary, which I’m saving for the fall. We also have some very large-leaf arugula.
You know that my go-to herb is always basil. But with tomatoes, I love fresh thyme, too! Mix up a handful of chopped fresh thyme, garlic, and chili flakes. This is the seasoning mix.
step 3: assemble the pie
This is a free-form pie, so basically a galette. Unroll the pie round and spread the fig preserves on. I love fig preserves with tomatoes. They just add a nice sweetness that’s lovely paired with tomatoes. It’s one of my favorite food pairings that no one expects but almost everyone finds delicious.
Now, layer with cubes of cheese. I like a melty, spicy cheddar, then cream sweet gouda, and usually some gruyere, too.
Do two layers of cheese, herbs, and tomatoes for even cooking and a perfectly cheesy pie.
Now fold up the sides of the pie dough – simply wrap the cheese and tomatoes up!
Step 4: finish it up
As soon as the pie comes out of the oven, let it sit. Normally, I would never tell you to let a cheese pie rest, but because of all the tomatoes and cheese, letting the pie chill for 5 minutes will prevent it from being runny.
Then top it with basil and sea salt. A lot of times I’ll add some honey and a few extra chili flakes too. But if you ask me, the honey is key.
It really makes the tomato pie YUMMY. My grandpa would love this pie!
Looking for other simple tomato recipes? Here are a few ideas:
3 Cheese Zucchini “Ravioli” with Roasted Tomato Basil Sauce
Skillet Burst Cherry Tomato Summer Pasta
Garlic Herb Roasted Cherry Tomato Carbonara with Crispy Prosciutto and Burrata
Lastly, if you make this Tomato Cheese Pie, 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!
Tomato Cheese Pie
Ingredients
- 2-3 heirloom tomatoes, sliced
- salt and black pepper
- 1 large pie crust round
- 2 tablespoons fig preserves/jam
- 2 cups cubed spicy cheddar cheese
- 1 cup cubed gouda, gruyere, fontina, or a mix
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
- 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
- chili flakes
- fresh basil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.2. Arrange the tomatoes on a cutting board and sprinkle with salt. Let sit for 15 minutes to draw out excess moisture. Then, blot them dry. 3. In a bowl, mix the thyme, garlic, and chili flakes. 4. Lay the pie crust on the prepared baking sheet and prick all over with a fork. Spread the fig preserves over the dough, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Top with half of the cheese cubes, then sprinkle with half of the garlic mix. Layer on half of the tomatoes. Top with the remaining cheese and then the tomatoes and garlic. Fold the edge of the dough over the tomatoes.5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the pastry is golden and the cheese melted. Serve with lots of fresh basil and sea salt.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Tasted OK, but I agreed with prior reviewer who said it fell apart. Didn’t look great and was a bit on the greasy side (probably too much cheese). If I ever made it again, I would probably cut the cheese and maybe try to roll out the dough a little thinner so that it provided a little more “edge coverage” (I used a basic Pillsbury pie dough crust)
Hi Erin,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it! xT
This was delicious! The fig jam, tomatoes and cheese are a great combo!
Hey Kelly,
Happy Wednesday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment:) Love to hear that it turned out well for you! Xx
Thank you for this recipe! I have recently become obsessed with tomato pies (not growing up in the south, I recently discovered their existence). I’ve made several versions from different recipes, and was so psyched to see you put one up. I love your recipe the best out of all of them- you cheese combos were awesome, the flavor of the herbs was perfection, and I was so glad that I didn’t skip the fig preserves and hot honey!
A couple of tweaks that I made the second time I made your recipe that I wanted to share-
1. Instead of just salting the tomatoes and letting them rest, I roasted the slices on a rack in the over for 20 mins at 375. This got much more moisture out of the tomatoes and gave me a better consistency at the end!
2. I used puff pastry instead of pie dough, because I love me some puff pastry 🙂
3. The second time, I chopped up a little bit of pepperoni into small pieces and threw that in there too. My husband really liked this addition!
Thanks for your creativity and hard work- you’re my go-to site for inspiration when I can’t figure out what to cook!
Hey Kaitlyn,
Amazing!! So glad to hear you loved this recipe:) Thanks a lot for making it and sharing all of your helpful notes! Have an awesome week! xT
Excellent recipe❤️ flavors were phenomenal.
Thanks so much, Linda! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thank you for giving it a try! Enjoy the short week:) x
This pie was absolutely amazing. It tastes as good as it looks and for once for me, it looked just like the picture! A keeper for sure.
Hey Barbara,
Happy Friday!! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! Xx
I made this delicious tomato pie last week and I’m making it again tomorrow. It is so good!
I used puffed pastry and shredded cheese instead of cubed. I used Black Krim and Pineapple Heirloom tomatoes. I let them rest covered with paper towel for quite awhile. The fig was such an unexpected flavor profile and loved it!!
It turned out beautiful and delicious!
Yay! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe:) Thank you so much for making it! xT
Big success! We loved the hint of sweetnesss from the fig preserves. I will be adding a little smear of those on the plate with Caprese Salad for sure. It’s a real plus to learn something that is adaptable to other dishes. I baked mine in a 12” cast iron skillet and it held together well. Frankly, I was surprised that it sliced so perfectly!
Hey Beth,
Yay! So glad to hear this pie turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xT
I would make this again as the flavor was right on! I didn’t have fig jam but I had homemade tomato jam and I think it probably made it better! My tomatoes were VERY ripe and it was a little too juicy …….would use less ripe ones next time.
Hey Brenda,
Happy Friday!! Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! Xx
This is just tomato brilliance!
Thanks so much, Muffy! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, I appreciate you making it! xT
Super easy to make (I used premade crust), gorgeous presentation, and delicious.
I cook a lot and a friend said it was the best thing I’ve made. Thanks, Tieghan.
Hey Michele,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was a winner! x
Loved it! On vacation so I had to make a couple of modifications; crescent roll crust and garden fresh cherry tomatoes. My husband, who doesn’t like tomatoes, said it was VERY good. Love how the fig spread plays off the tomatoes. Thank you!
Thanks so much for your comment, Laura! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you giving it a try! Xx
Made for dinner tonight and was delicious! Didn’t have fig jam but that was the only change. Husband said to make again asap
Hey Meg,
Love to hear this! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, so glad it turned out well! xT
Oh my, this is fantastic! I made this minutes ago, followed the ingredients and instructions to a ‘T’, and it turned out perfect and is absolutely delicious!
Hey, everyone out there, do yourself a big favor and make this wonderful recipe!
Hey Charlie,
Awesome! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and your comment! xT
This recipe was amazing! I used fresh tomatoes and basil from the garden and reduced the cheese by about half. It held and was super flavourful!!! I’ll make it again for sure!
Hey Tammy,
Awesome! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for making it and your comment! xT
Didn’t really hold together. Thanks though!