The combination of tomato and basil is quintessential summer. Add a store-bought pie crust, some garlic, grated cheeses, and mayo, and you’ve got yourself a summer tomato basil pie. I make this recipe often enough that it’s one of the dishes on my “Go-to” summertime meals list.
Just because your child might not like tomatoes, don’t let that steer you away from making this simple and tasty tomato basil pie the next time you’re hungry for delicious ripe tomatoes and sweet basil. Serve it with corn on the cob and green beans or sliced watermelon and a mixed green salad. The pie tastes great warm or at room temperature.
Why You’ll Love This Tomato Basil Pie
- Picky eaters will eat it because they can eat around the tomatoes like they do at my house.
- It’s easy to make on weeknights using a store-bought pie crust.
- Tomato basil pie is one more way to enjoy the summer’s bounty of fresh tomatoes and fragrant basil.
This tomato basil pie recipe is adapted from a recipe my mother-in-law cut out of a newspaper many, many years ago. The recipe calls for a store bought pie crust, otherwise I wouldn’t make it nearly as often. As a former professional baker, before I had kids, I might have even scoffed at the idea of using a store-bought crust. It wasn’t until I had kids that I became a fan. Who has time to make their own pie crust on a weeknight?! Not me! I typically buy whatever frozen crust is in the freezer section wherever I happen to be grocery shopping.
Ingredients for Tomato Basil Pie
- Store-bought frozen pie crust
- Ripe tomatoes
- Fresh basil leaves
- Garlic cloves
- Grated mozzarella cheese
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Mayonnaise
- Salt
- Ground pepper
Steps to Make Tomato Basil Pie
Prick the bottom of the crust all over with a fork before parbaking it. You can also line the bottom of the pie crust with a piece of parchment paper and fill it with dried beans or rice to par-bake it.
After the crust is par-baked according to the manufacturer’s instructions, sprinkle the bottom of the pie with 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella.
While the crust par bakes, slice the tomatoes into 1-inch wedges; chop the basil and garlic, and mix together the remaining grated mozzarella, grated parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Layer the tomato wedges on top of the cheese. Then sprinkle the tomatoes with the chopped garlic and basil.
The last step is gently spreading the cheese and mayo mixture over the tomatoes, basil, and garlic.
The finished tomato basil pie!
Expert Tips From a Registered Dietitian
I was an adult (in my early 20s) before I would eat tomatoes with any regularity. So parents, as Anna and I like to say, just keep offering. It can take years before someone accepts a new food. (You can read more about picky eating in this post.)
Eventually, your child might try that food you’ve been wanting them to eat. Neither of my children likes tomatoes, but they love this pie. They eat around the tomatoes. Maybe someday they’ll eat them!
Feeding kids takes lots of patience at times. Whew!
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Summer Tomato Basil Pie
Summer Tomato Basil PieIngredients
- 1 store bought frozen pie crust
- 2 medium tomatoes or 4 roma tomatoes
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
- 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese 8 oz
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- Pinch of salt
- A few turns of freshly ground pepper.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. (or the temperature recommended on the pie crust instructions)
- Gently prick the bottom of your frozen pie crust all over with a fork. (You can also line the pie crust with a piece of parchment paper and fill it with rice or dried beans. Either keeps the crust from puffing up). Don’t worry if the crust puffs up a bit, you can use a fork to gently release the air.
- Bake pie crust according to manufacturers instructions. (I bake mine at 375 F for about 15 minutes or until the crust begins to lightly brown).
- Remove the par baked crust from the oven and sprinkle ½ cup of the grated cheese over the parbaked crust.
- While the crust is baking, prepare the filling; slice the tomatoes into wedges about 1 inch thick; and chop the garlic and basil
- Mix together the rest of the grated mozzarella cheese, grated parmesan, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.
- Arrange the tomatoes on top of the cheese in the bottom of the pie plate.
- Top the tomatoes with the chopped garlic and basil.
- Gently spread the mayo and cheese mixture over the tomatoes and basil.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the top is nicely brown. Check the pie after 30 minutes. Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes or until the top is mostly brown.
- Allow to cool and serve. Enjoy!
We’re Elizabeth & Anna!
It’s great to have you here. We’re registered dietitians and we share tips to support you in raising kids with a healthy relationship with food.
This is delicious! Would this freeze ok as it takes a long time to make and I have 2 littles 🙂
Great question! I wouldn’t recommend freezing it because tomatoes contain a lot of water which may make the pie mushy when thawed. That said, I will make one and freeze it and let you know whether or not it can actually be frozen.