Southern Tomato Pie
A staple recipe, Southern tomato pie is made every summer with vine ripe tomatoes, fresh herbs, a blend of cheeses, and a creamy filling all layered in a flaky pie crust that will have you saying wow!
Ingredients
- 9pre-baked pie crust
- 3 lbs.homegrown tomatoes (a meatier variety, not heirloom)
- kosher salt
- 1 cupsfresh basil (chopped or chiffonade)
- 3 tablespoonsfresh oregano (stems removed)
- freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
- ¾ cupmayonnaise
- 2 largeeggs (plus one more for egg washing the crust, optional)
- 2 ½ cupsgrated cheese (cheddar, mozzarella, parmesan, monterey jack)
- ½ lb.bacon (cooked and crumbled)
Directions
- 1
Pre-bake pie crust by lining the unbaked crust with aluminum foil and pie weights and cooking at 375° for 25 minutes; remove foil and weights and continue cooking 5-10 minutes longer until light golden brown. Cool.
- 2
Slice the tomatoes about ¼”-½” thick. Place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Sprinkle lightly with salt and set aside for 30 minutes to allow the moisture to leech from the tomatoes.
- 3
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 4
Pat the tops of the tomatoes firmly with dry paper towels, absorbing as much moisture as you can. Layer tomato slices in a single layer over the bottom of the baked pie crust.
- 5
Crack black pepper over the tomatoes (more salt is not needed). Add as much chopped basil as you’d like. Sprinkle with fresh oregano leaves and/or any other herbs you’d like to add.
- 6
In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and the eggs until combined. Add grated cheese and stir.
- 7
Spread some of the cheese mixture over the tomatoes and herbs. Continue layering tomatoes, herbs, pepper, and cheese mixture. For a pie with some of the tomatoes exposed, reserve just a small amount of the cheese mixture to layer over the top layer of tomatoes. We did three layers of tomatoes total.
- 8
Before adding the final spoonfuls of mayonnaise/cheese mixture, sprinkle half of the crumbled bacon on top of the tomatoes. Reserve the remaining herbs and add them to the finished pie while serving rather than sprinkling over the last layer of tomatoes.
- 9
Top with the remaining mayo/cheese mixture.
- 10
Whisk an additional egg to make an egg wash for the crust, if desired. Use a pastry brush to brush the egg over any exposed crust - this will produce a beautiful golden brown crust and lovely sheen.
- 11
Bake pie for 30-35 minutes until the center is set. Cover the edges of the pie crust with aluminum foil once they are golden brown so they do not burn. Add remaining bacon over the top of the pie during the last 5 minutes of baking.
- 12
Allow pie to cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing. Garnish with fresh basil and oregano and serve.