This spicy southern tomato and spinach pie is delicious and decadent! It's the perfect make-ahead party or brunch dish, and can be served hot, cold, or room-temperature.
Preheat your oven and press pie dough in dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Press the pie dough into a pie dish. Crimp the edges if you want to.
Sprinkle tomatoes with salt and set aside to drain. Place sliced tomatoes on a wire rack nestled into a rimmed baking sheet, and sprinkle both sides with kosher salt (if you don't have a wire rack, you can use a large colander). Set aside.
Blind bake the crust. Blind bake the pie crust at 350 degrees for approximately 15 minutes, or until just starting to brown using pie weights or beans (see notes).
Thaw and drain frozen spinach. While the pie crust blind bakes, thaw the frozen spinach and squeeze out as much water as possible. I like to place it frozen in a sturdy colander, run hot water over it until it's thawed, then use a wooden spoon to squeeze as much water out as possible.
Mix mayo, mozzarella, spinach, and hot sauce. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise (1/2 cup), shredded mozzarella (16 oz.), spinach, and hot sauce, if using (1 tablespoon).
Pat tomatoes as dry as possible with a paper towel. I recommend patting both sides dry and pressing fairly firmly down on them. You may need to squeeze the water out of the paper towel a few times - the goal is to remove as much water as possible (without smushing them too much so they keep their shape).
Assemble the pie. Set 5 tomato slices aside. Layer half of the remaining tomatoes on the bottom of pie. Spread half the spinach mixture on top of that. Repeat with the remaining tomatoes and spinach mixture. Place the five reserved tomato slices on top.
Bake the tomato pie at 350 degrees F. for 35-40 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.
Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before cutting the pie into 8 slices. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
This tomato pie can be made in advance and served at room temperature or cold. You can also assemble to pie up to 24 hours in advance, store in the refrigerator, and bake for an extra 5-10 minutes.
If the crust is browning too much, you can use strips of aluminum foil to cover it loosely until the pie is finished baking.
Type of tomatoes to use: I recommend using beefsteak or Roma tomatoes, since they have less liquid than other varieties.
Ingredient substitutions: halved cherry tomatoes may be used instead of large; fresh spinach may be used instead of frozen if steamed or sautéed beforehand and as much liquid as possible removed; shredded cheddar or crumbled feta may be used instead of mozzarella; plant-based mayonnaise and cheese may be used for a vegan-friendly tomato pie; crushed red pepper or cayenne may be used instead of hot sauce.
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.