Search
Fact: this is not a traditional tomato pie recipe. A traditional tomato pie has a pie shell, fresh garden tomato slices, and mozzarella cheese on top. This Sicilian tomato pie is basically a deep dish pizza, with heavy sauce, and a dusting of Parmesan cheese on top of the pie. Perfect crowd-pleasing recipe for game day or parties, especially paired with a Caesar salad.
Tomato Pie Pizza
Tomato Pie!!!!!! I’m so excited to share this recipe with you guys! I adore tomato pie, and it’s one of those foods I could eat almost everyday. Growing up, any pool party, family BBQ, or game day always had one thing in common: cold tomato pie and Italian hoagies! These recipes are Summer traditions that hold a special place in my heart.
Growing up, we bought store-bought tomato pies. Bake Meister, Corropolese, De lorenzo’s tomato pies were some of our family favorites. But since moving to the Hudson Valley, I’ve been sorely missing my easy access to tomato pies. So obviously, had to make my own!
Ingredients for Tomato Pie
- Active Dry Yeast: For best results, I don’t suggest using another variety of yeast. The yeast is what activates the homemade pie crust to rise in the oven.
- Water: You’ll want it warm, but not super hot, around 110 to 115 degrees.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar works best but in a pinch use brown sugar or even honey.
- All-Purpose Flour: I don’t suggest subbing wheat flour or nut flours. A 1-for-1 gluten free flour would be your best bet.
- Salt and Pepper: Use whatever you have on hand.
- Olive Oil: It doesn’t need to be super fancy olive oil, but don’t sub it with canola or vegetable oil.
- Cheese: I love adding freshly grated Locatelli on top of the pie. But if you’re vegan, leave this off. You could also melt mozzarella cheese, a cheese mixture, or even a mild cheddar cheese or sharp cheddar on top of the pie.
- Tomatoes: You’ll use a combination fresh Roma tomatoes and store bought tomato puree and tomato paste. If you can’t find Roma tomatoes, use another plum tomato or cherry tomatoes with thin skins.
- Garlic: Use fresh garlic here, do not sub garlic powder.
- Balsamic Vinegar: Adds a punch of acidity to the tomato sauce and enhances the flavors in it.
- Dried Spices: Dried basil and oregano add flavor the sauce. You can add fresh basil, fresh parsley, or even green onions on top of the pie.
How to Make Tomato Pie
- Make the Crust: You won’t need pie weights for this, but you will need a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. And a large baking sheet so you can press the crust into a single layer. The crust will need to rise until it doubles in size, this usually takes an hour.
- Second Rise: Preheat oven to 500 degrees 30 minutes before baking. Press the dough into a single layer, then poke the top of the dough for a fork, popping any large bubbles. Cover pan with plastic and let dough rest for another 30 minutes.
- Bake: You’ll start blind baking the crust, with no sauce on top. Pre baking the crust this way ensures it doesn’t get soggy. Then you”ll remove the pie from oven, top with tomato sauce, and finish baking.
- Cool: Let the pizza cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving. This allows the crust and sauce to firm up a bit. Then top of with grated cheese and any fresh herbs.
You can serve this pie straight from the baking pan, on paper plates, or even on paper towels – perfect for casual parties and gatherings!
What is Italian Tomato Pie?
So, what is tomato pie you may ask? Tomato pie is basically a cold Sicilian pizza, with no cheese (except a sprinkle of grated locatelli). It has a thick, chewy, utterly delicious crust and a thick layer of sweet, tangy sauce. It’s usually served cold, but equally delicious warm or at room temperature.
It’s absolutely amazing, you guys! It wasn’t until I moved away from home that I realized tomato pie was a local gem; a hidden treasure all our own. I also didn’t realize how much I would miss it!
Trust me when I say, you need a slice! xo
Tomato Pie
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST:
- 2 packets active dry yeast
- 1 and 1/2 cups water, very warm (about 110 degrees)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 3 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Extra olive oil for greasing pan
- Grated Locatelli for sprinkling
FOR THE SAUCE
- 6 roma tomatoes, cut in half
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 15 ounces tomato puree
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
For the Crust:
- In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the yeast with the warm water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until it looks foamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in sugar, salt, and olive oil. Turn the mixer on low, and slowly add the flour to the bowl. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Mix until the dough is smooth, glossy, and elastic – about 10 minutes. Form the dough into a ball and place in a well oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about an hour
- When you're ready to bake! Preheat oven to 500 degrees (F). Coat a large baking pan with olive oil. Place the dough on the baking sheet, and using your fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan until it's a large rectangle. Using a fork or small pointed knife, poke the top of the dough, popping any large bubbles. Cover pan with plastic and let dough rest for another 30 minutes.
- Place baking sheet on your baking stone (or just the oven wrack) and lower oven temperature to 425 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove pie from ove, top with tomato sauce, rotate pan, and bake for another 10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing the tomato pie from the pan and placing on a cooling rack to finish cooling. Top with some grated cheese and serve warm or cold. I love it both ways!
For the Sauce:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Slice the tomatoes in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and roast in oven for 45 minutes
- While your tomatoes are roasting, combine the rest of your ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer for about 30 minutes (or until your tomatoes are done roasting. Once your tomatoes are out of the oven, give them a quick whirl in the blender, pulsing until it’s a chunky consistency. Add roasted tomatoes to saucepan and continue to simmer until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce is very thick. Set aside until needed for pie.
Is this Philly Style? I am trying to figure out what the difference between Philly and Utica Style is. I grew up with this too, I love it! Too much probably 😀
My husband grew up in Utica. Some of the family still lives there. When we visit there we always got tomato pie just love it. Going to try this recipe and see how my Italian/Sicilian husband likes it.
My father’s Aunt Stella made this when my dad was a kid back in the 1940’s/50’s. She also sold baked goods. This was what she called pizza. To this day my father will not eat traditonal pizza with mozzarella cheese, He’s always lamented how his Aunt Stella made pizza. I vaguely remembered trying it when I was a kid, but by then Aunt Stella was very old and didn’t bake that often. I remember asking where is all the gooey cheese? I was thrilled to stumble across this recipe. I showed the photos to my father and he was so excited. He excalimed “That’s Aunt Stella’s pizza!” I will be trying this soon, he’s been asking when he’s going to get to try it!
LOL!! Tomato Pie is definitely a North East goodie!! I now live in Florida and they don’t have a clue what Tomato Pie is.. I just saw a contest that they had in Delaware for the Best Tomato Pie. DiFonzo’s was the Winner!! I used to get mine from Serpies.. in Elsmere Del. This recipe looks closer to anything else i’ve seen. I am going to try it.. I miss Tomato Pie. And it’s served Room Temp..
Tomato pie by name might be a local gem, but the food itself is not. Any Italian bakery in North America worth its salt makes this style of pizza. I grew up in Montreal, and this is one of the things I would eat on a regular basis. So definitely not local to Philadelphia, or Pennsylvania. And if you know of a good Italian bakery that doesn’t make this, then it’s not a good enough bakery. This and pizza bianca, the white pizza with garlic and/or rosemary. Kind of like focaccia, but not.
I am from Providence, Rhode Island. Some older folks refer to this as tomato pie but most people know it as “pizza strips”. It is sold cut in 4″ x !2″rectangular slices at almost all Italian bakeries (and there are many) throughout the state but especially on Federal Hill in Providence. I know live in Scranton, PA and have never seen it here. I would say I need to go to Philly but, now that I have your recipe, there is no need for a road trip. Thanks!
You’re welcome! I can’t wait to hear how it turns out, Heather 🙂
Just came back from Montreal (over 1200 kms away) and brought 2 home. So happy to have found this recipe. Now I can make it and have it any time instead of only once a year!!! I can also adjust dough to gluten free for family members.
I grew up in LaSalle, Quebec and growing up, my friends and I lived on Tomato Pie…but we never knew the name because they called it something else in French (it’s the law). Only ONE place, Bruno’s Pizza, made it. It defined my 27 years in that province. We’d drive out of our way just to go buy it. Now that I’ve been in BC for 19 years, I finally find out the name of it and recipes for it. You have no idea how thankful I am.
I’m so happy you found this recipe, Natischa-ann! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do 🙂
Hi the tomato pie looks delicious, but I’m from central NY and I’m living in NC, so when I get back home I always go to Utica to Roma’s on Bleecker St to get my tomato pie. If you’re from central NY you know that you can flip that piece of tomato pie every which way and the sauce doesn’t fall off. I think this recipe would be good for pizza after you add mozzarella cheese on it…I’ll have to give it a try.
I am from New Castle Delaware and would go to 3 Little Bakers in Wilmington Manor and would buy tomato pie for 25c a slice. I do love it a lot. I will be trying this recipe when I can get my hands on decent roma tomatoes. Hopefully there will be some available at the farmer’s market in Birmingham, yes, Alabama.
Hi Cece! I’ve been to New Castle many times 🙂 I hope this tomato pie recipe will bring a little slice of home to you in Birmingham!
My friend from the Philadelphia area introduced this to me. I was thinking about it one day and was so excited to find your recipe! I tried it last week and it came out great! I will be making it for a party. Is it ok to make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate over night or is it better to make day of?
Thank you!!
Hi Kristin! I am so happy you have discovered the deliciousness of tomato pie 🙂 I have never tried making the dough in advance, and due to the finicky nature of yeast, I am unable to say if it would work or not. If you decide to give it a try, I would love to hear your results.