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Easy Baked Tomato Pie Recipe - How to Use Up Extra Tomatoes
Aw, Glorious Tomatoes!
How to Use Surplus Tomatoes
So it has been a long summer, and you have had tomatoes coming out your ears. You've enjoyed your tomato slices, tomato sandwiches, garden salads, and any other tomato dishes you could come up with. You could freeze or can those extra tomatoes and use them in recipes later--and you just might. But another recipe you may not have thought of is tomato pie? Have you ever had tomato pie? My sister-in-law recently brought one of these over, and I was again reminded of how delicious this dish is.
Tomato pie is easy to make, and the ingredients can be varied. Recently, I had a lot of extra tomatoes--that I had grown or bought, plus more that my mom gave me from her well-producing garden. It was time to make my own tomato pies.
Cook Time for Tomato Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pie shell, frozen or homemade ( I use frozen.)
- 3 cups tomatoes, chopped and drained
- 1 tsp. mustard, honey mustard or Dijon
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Italian Seasoning, sprinkled liberally
- 1/2 to 1 cup Pepper Jack, Cheddar, or other cheese, shredded
Instructions for Easy Tomato Pie
- Heat oven to 450 degrees. Prick bottom of thawed crust here and there with fork to prevent the crust from rising during baking. Cook pie crust in oven for five minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees.
- In the meantime, slice tomatoes in half before chopping. Squeeze out some of juice before chopping. Place chopped tomatoes in strainer and shake around. Let tomatoes set for 5 to 10 minutes before shaking again. You should see quite a bit of juice coming out. If the tomatoes are still pretty juicy, use a paper towel to take off more moisture. If tomatoes are too juicy, crust will turn out soggy.
- Spread mustard on bottom of semi-baked pie shell. Adds flavor!
- Pour in chopped tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add generous sprinkles of Italian Seasoning.
- Shred 1 cup cheese and add on top.
- Bake in 350 oven for 30 minutes or until crust is browned, tomatoes are cooked, and cheese is melted.
- Try to keep out of the pie until it sets for a bit!
Voila! Freshly baked Tomato Pie!
Tomato Pie with store-bought pie crust, 3 cups tomatoes,and 1 cup cheddar cheese (also contains 266 mg sodium)
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1/6th of pie | |
| Calories | 204 |
| Calories from Fat | 117 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 13 g | 20% |
| Saturated fat 6 g | 30% |
| Unsaturated fat 6 g | |
| Carbohydrates 15 g | 5% |
| Sugar 2 g | |
| Fiber 1 g | 4% |
| Protein 6 g | 12% |
| Cholesterol 20 mg | 7% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
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Optional Ingredients for Tomato Pie
Additional Ingredients that could be added to this already delicious are green or yellow bell peppers, sliced thinly. You could also add crumbled bacon, even turkey bacon. Try an Italian Tomato Pie by adding pepperonis in before cooking. Yummy! Be creative. Top with sliced fresh mushrooms for an interesting combination.
Switch out Cheddar cheese for American, Swiss, or Monterey Jack. Pepper Jack adds some nice spice, as does a mixture of Italian or Mexican cheeses.
Perhaps you'll come up with your own optional ingredients for tomato pie. The original recipe is such a simple delight, though, so you may not want to add too much to it.
Tomato Pie for Winter?
I'm going to miss my tomato pie once summer and loads of garden tomatoes are no longer around. One option to continue to enjoy tomato pie in the winter is to freeze your tomatoes and bring them out later.
I've also found that store-bought tomatoes taste much better cooked than when eaten fresh. Cooking them gives them more flavor. I've used tomatoes in the wintertime in pasta sauces and stews and as toppings on pizza. I have a feeling that store-bought tomatoes will do well in a tomato pie this winter. Of course, they may not have the zing of fresh garden tomatoes, but I think they will be surprisingly good. I love tomato pie, so I'm willing to give it a try!
