Have you ever had a tomato pie?
If not, you are really really REALLY missing out. A southern dish popular in the Carolinas, tomato pie is a great way to use up surplus tomatoes from the garden and make a delicious, warming, rich meal that is great for lunch or dinner paired with a side salad. The tomatoes are piled high in a pie crust and mixed with herbs and sometimes other things, and topped with a mixture of cheese and mayo that melts as it bakes and seeps into the the tomatoes. Yummmmmm.
Have I convinced you yet? Just you wait. You can make this amazing pie in miniature forms using a muffin pan! And… wait for it… you can individually freeze them to make for super quick and easy microwaveable lunches or snacks during a busy work week, when all you crave is comfort food but you don’t think you have the time to make a proper warm meal. They also make an awesome (and impressive) appetizer for a party!
I try to have mayo in moderation. But I LOVE it, so I don’t want to give it up all together. (Guys, life is too short to not eat what you love. Which is why Zach and I try and stay away from processed foods 95% of the time, so for the other 5% we can have things like mayo and Reeses peanut butter cups. No, not together.) And since these pies are so cute and tiny, it’s easy to enjoy them in small portions, hence limiting your mayo intake! (I’ve also heard that you can sub the mayo for sour cream in a tomato pie, but have not tried it. If you try this, let me know how it comes out!)
These have been a lifesaver for me this week at work. Zach and I work as teachers from 7:30-5. It’s a long, strenuous, active day, and by the end I’m usually blind with hunger. (And pretty grumpy from said hunger. And angry. Hangry.)
So, I decided that I needed to pack a hearty afternoon snack to help combat the hanger. These tomato pies were the perfect hearty snack for the past two afternoons and guess what? I exercised both evenings AND no more hanger. Hooray!
Freezer Directions: Once the pies are cooked and cooled, just place them on a cookie sheet and flash freeze for 20 minutes. Wrap each in saran wrap and keep in a container in the freezer. When you want to eat one, unwrap and microwave on high for one minute if frozen, 30 seconds if thawed.
Hope you enjoy! :-)
Mini Tomato Pies
Equipment
- Muffin Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped tomatoes about two large tomatoes
- 2 prepared pie crusts whole wheat or regular
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Place the chopped tomatoes in a colander and sprinkle with salt. Allow to drain in the sink or a bowl (the salt will suck some of the moisture out).
- Cut pie crust into 10 small circles.
- Line muffin pan with the pie crusts, pressing down along the sides to pack them down.
- In a small bowl, mix tomatoes, herbs, salt, and pepper.
- In another bowl, mix cheeses and mayonnaise
- Fill each mini pie crust with tomatoes and top with a spoonful of the cheese mixture.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Allow to cool, remove from muffin pan.
Notes
- Need a whole wheat pie crust? Try this one from 100 Days of Real Food!
- Freezer Directions: Once the pies are cooked and cooled, just place them on a cookie sheet and flash freeze for 20 minutes. Wrap each in saran wrap and keep in a container in the freezer. When you want to eat one, unwrap and microwave on high for one minute if frozen, 30 seconds if thawed.
- The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Gloria Currie
Made these using 1 1/2 inch squares of puff pastry in a mini muffin pan. They were a big hit. Also made them with sauteed onions and sauteed mushrooms and they were equally as good.
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it! Love your modifications- thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth
I added a little thinly sliced onion. Delicious!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!
Nicholas
Question: any idea what the calories are per pie?
Elizabeth
I’m in the (tedious) process of updating my old recipes to have nutrition information. I went ahead and updated this one! Looks like about 315 calories per pie, according to my best estimate :-) Hope that helps!
Nicholas
That’s great! Thank you for taking the time to do it. Much appreciated! Happy cooking!
Nicholas
I absolutely love these pies! I own and run a bed & breakfast and these make the perfect savory breakfast entree. Guests LOVE them! And it’s an easy solution for when there are vegetarian dietary needs to consider. My first time making them I had a hard time getting them out of the muffin pan without the crusts breaking. So I’ve utilized 2 similar solutions: silicone muffin cup liners and circular parchment paper liners. Both have worked excellently.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It’s absolutely delicious!
Elizabeth
Aw, so glad you and your guests liked these! It makes me so happy that they are being served at a bed and breakfast- how cozy :-) Thanks for the suggestions for how to get them to not stick!
Jonathan
I love these! I used some purple tomatoes and fresh basil from my garden, and I used phyllo instead of puff pastry for a mini flat bread sort of tart. The filling is beautiful and flavorful and tastes AMAZING with a poached egg popped on top!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked them! Love the idea of using phyllo.
Katy Wetherbee
Did you use muffin tin liners for these? Thank you!
Elizabeth
Nope! The pie crust should have enough butter/fat so it doesn’t stick to the pan.
Amy
I made these pies in a mini muffin pan. Baked for 10 minutes and they came out perfect.
Elizabeth
So happy you liked them!
Lisbeth
Thanks for the cooking time for the minis, I wanted to make these as a bite size appetizer and was not sure how long to cut the cooking time. I have some very picky friends that loved them.
Elizabeth
Glad you liked them!
Baking Magique
So lovely! I love everything mini. It’s just so cute!
Elizabeth
Thank you! :-)