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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.
I think this recipe is GENIOUS! I am obsessed with this tomato pie. I’d never ever heard of tomato pie. I’ve never made a pie before. I make tomato pie tomorrow I am so excited for.
Yay! Let me know how it turns out!
This pizza is very close to the one we used to buy at Segatore Bakery on Christophe Colomb in Montreal in the 70’s and 80’s.
Great memories !!!!
Love this classic tomato pie. Used to go to the Italian market in Philly and buy it. I think this recipe is just as great. I prefer more garlic in the sauce so I use 6 cloves. To me it seems you can never have enough garlic. Thanks so much for sharing. My family thinks it’s the best, better than the commercially available ones.
Hello! I know this is an older post and I don’t have time to look through comments if this was answered but currently making this so fingers crossed you can reply soon: I’m wondering if the 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the sauce is the same olive oil you drizzled on the tomatoes to oven roast or a separate amount used in the sauce you make on the stove top while the tomatoes are roasting? It just says put in remaining ingredients for sauce so it was a little unclear to me and just want to make sure I’m not putting in extra oil I don’t need. Thanks!
p.s. We lived in Philly for almost a decade and we used to make this there but it’s been so long now that I had to make some today with all our tomatoes from the garden 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! It is seriously the most delicious tomato pie we have ever eaten. My husband and I are from the suburbs of Philadelphia and moved to South Carolina a year ago, so most of our Philly favorites can’t be found here and we consider ourselves somewhat of food snobs. This tomato pie is a hit every time and never lasts long. Even my 3 year old devours it and goes on about how good it is! It’s definitely a monthly dinner for us now!
Another Montrealer here living on the West coast they have no clue what I’m talking about. I usually explain it as a cheese pizza without cheese I have to try this!
I love this recipe! This is a pizza that we grew up on. My mother would buy it at the local Italian Deli. I moved to BC from Montreal a while back and can’t find this pizza anywhere so decided to make it myself. OMG, it brings back such good memories.
I’ve this 3 times already! Sooo yummy!
This recipe is legit Tomato Pie. I have made this so many times it isn’t even funny. My kids prefer this over any other pizza. I also grew up outside Philly and summered at the Jersey shore and this is exactly what I remember eating as. a kid. Bravo!
Only thing I will say is it always makes more tomato sauce than I need. I just freeze it and make a half batch of dough later, so it cuts my dinner making time in half. So good!
Holy cow ! This recipe is spot on as I remember tomato pie when I was a kid. I grew up in Morrisville, PA across from Trenton, NJ and all my friends would beg their parents to take them to McDonalds but I would trade a hundred McDs for one visit to Mary’s Tomato Pies in town. This recipe is a culinary time machine for me, Thank you.