Tomato Pie — go ahead and add it to my list of “Things I Never Tried Before Moving to Mississippi.” 🙂 Luckily, I tasted it for the first time at my favorite lunch spot in Jackson, Crazy Cat, a few years ago and it was pretty much life-changing y’all. They serve their tomato pie a little differently in individual ramekins and oh my goodness it’s AMAZING! I wanted to recreate the recipe for a whole pie so it would be easy to fix for multiple people!

*Click here to shop my favorite Juliska Pie Dish!

As you can probably see from all of the cheesy goodness this is 100% a savory pie! The cheesy gooey topping consists of cheddar, mozzarella and mayonnaise. Yes, you heard me right — mayonnaise lol. Not a fan? Just trust me on this one, you seriously cannot taste it once it’s combined with the cheese and is melted! My husband hates mayonnaise and let me tell you — he gobbled up this pie! I only told him after he had eaten it of course. 😉

I think what I love most about tomato pie is that it’s SUPER savory but at the same time very FRESH which is hard to come by. Chopped basil, green onions, and garlic also add a huge punch of flavor! I’m obsessed with all of the layers that go into this pie. For starters there is the crust (for time saving purposes I used store-bought but feel free to make your own), then the tomatoes sprinkled with the fresh veggies, followed by the cheese & mayonnaise mixture, and last but NOT LEAST the top is sprinkled with Italian bread crumbs & parmesean to give it an amazing crunchy texture.

Southern Tomato Pie

YIELDS 6-8 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 30 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 45-50 MINUTES

Ingredients

1 store bought pie crust, thawed

4 tomatoes (preferably on the vine), sliced

¼ cup basil, chopped

½ cup green onions, diced

1 garlic clove, finely diced

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs

2 tablespoons grated parmesan

Salt & pepper

6-8 cherry tomatoes, optional garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place sliced tomatoes on paper towels lined on baking sheets and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain for 30 minutes.
While the tomatoes are draining, lay the pie crust in the pie dish. Crimp the edges and prick the bottom with a fork.
Bake the pie crust for 10 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack.
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine the chopped basil, green onions, and garlic. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella.
After the tomatoes have drained for 30 minutes, blot them with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.
Lay half of the tomato slices in the baked pie shell. Sprinkle with half of the basil mixture.
Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and basil mixture. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
Spread the cheese & mayonnaise mixture evenly on top.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and lay on top as a garnish.
Sprinkle Italian bread crumbs and parmesan evenly over the top.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until lightly browned.
Let the pie sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing. Serve warm.

Notes

Since tomatoes are basically 95% water you will need to slice and let them drain on a sheet pan lined with paper towels for at least 30 minutes. This is always the very FIRST thing I do when making this recipe (even before pre-baking the crust)! The last thing you want is a soggy pie!

Store in refrigerator for up to 2 days in an air-tight container.

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Southern Tomato Pie