This heirloom tomato tart recipe with a fresh pesto and goat cheese is a perfect summer delight. It’s perfect for outdoor parties.
Heirloom Tomato Tart on a baking sheet

Tomato Tart Recipe

We’ve been lucky, our tomatoes have been very successful this year. After struggling to grow them the past couple years we were determined to have a good crop this year. I think we may be on to something. After months of waiting for the weather to warm up so we can begin our tomato frenzy, we’ll hit the nurseries scouring for tomato young-ins. We make sure to find a few of our favorites (meaning roughly 10 varieties). We’ll ask, read, and stumble upon new varieties that sound either delicious or sexy or both. Then after filling all of the available garden space, we’ll end up finding a few more we just have to try, re-arrange a few things in the garden, then plant some more tomatoes. All is in the hope that we’ll have a Midsummer Night’s Dream of having more tomatoes than we’ll know what to do with. Sometimes dreams do come true.

Fresh Pesto Tomato Tart step by step photos

Heirloom Tomato Tart on a baking sheet

 

Homemade Pie/Tart Dough

One tomato recipe I’ve been craving is a tomato tart or pie. The simplicity of the tart, highlighting the beauty of the tomatoes is seasonally perfect.  Our home meals have involved tomatoes, one way or another. Everyone has been amazing with the sharing of your favorite recipes, several of which have landed on our feasting table. the peak of their season sounded perfect. In a pastry crust, a thin layer of mustard, a layer of thick cut tomatoes, fresh herbs, and goat cheese all baked together to a slight singe. We have a go-to pie and tart dough recipe. So quick, non-fussy, and utterly delicious. It handles nice to roll out and flip into the tart pan. It seemed effortless to make the crust.

The for our heirloom tomato tart, we made a fresh pesto sauce to use instead of the mustard and added layer of onions below the tomatoes.

-todd

How to Make Our Tomato Tart

Tomato Tart recipe

start with fresh tomatoes

Black zebra heirloom tomatoes from whiteonricecouple.com garden

slice, slice and slice

layer with pretty slices of onions

layer with tomatoes, goat cheese and fresh herbs

Tomato Tart recipe

We’d still love to hear of any more favorite tomato recipes, plus we’d love to hear of your favorite varieties or growing tips. Here’s some of the varieties we love or tips that have worked for us.

Favorite Tomato Varieties

  • Kentucky Beefsteak
  • Sweet Million
  • Sungold
  • Green Zebra
  • Anna Russian
  • Pineapple
  • Dr. Wyches
  • Black Zebras
  • Cherokee Purple
  • Most any Brandywine (the potato leaf variety has been fabulous)

Tips for growing tomatoes

Tomato Tart with Pesto & Onions

The Pesto recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups (you'll only need about 1/4 cup for this tart). We'll store the extra pesto in a closed jar in the fridge to use over a couple weeks time. 
4.84 from 6 votes

Ingredients

for the crust

  • 1 cup (125 g) flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) kosher salt
  • 1/4 cup (57 g) cold unsalted butter , (1/2 stick) cut into 1/2-inch (12-mm) pieces
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water

for the filling

  • 1 lb. (455 g) fresh tomatoes , slice about 1/2" thick
  • 1/4 cup (60 g) pesto , recipe follows
  • 1/2 medium (1/2) onion , sliced about 1/4" thick
  • 3 ounces (85 g) goat cheese
  • 1 teaspoon (5 ml) fresh thyme leaves , optional
  • kosher salt or any preferred finishing salt
  • (1.25 ml) freshly cracked black pepper , to taste

Equipment

  • 9-10" Tart Pan

Instructions 

Make the Crust Dough:

  • In a large bowl, pinch together the flour, butter, and salt with your fingertips until most of the big chunks of butter are flattened or broken up.  Incorporate the cold water into the flour until the mixture binds together and forms a rough ball (you may need to gently knead the ball to incorporate the last of the flour).
  • Flatten the ball into a disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. Chill for 30 minutes or up to overnight.

Complete the Tomato Tart

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). 
  • On a floured surface, roll the dough disk out to a circle slightly large enough to fit your tart pan. Gently place the dough in the tart pan, pinching off the excess dough. Press the bottom of the tart with your fingers to "dock" it, making indentions in the bottom.
  • Spread the 1/4 cup of pesto over the bottom of the crust. Layer in the onions, creating a light layer loosely covering the bottom of the tart. Layer tomatoes on top of the onions.
  • Crumble the goat cheese into large chunks and spread over the tart. Sprinkle thyme leave over tart. Season tart with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cheese and edges of tomatoes are starting to char, and crust is golden. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes

Everyday Pesto Recipe (makes about 1 cup)
  • 2 cups fresh basil leaves, or herb leaves of your choice
  • .5 - 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan (depending on how rich you like your pesto)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts or chopped nuts of choice (walnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios, etc…)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt, or to taste
  • black pepper, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, approximately 
  1. In a food processor, combine the basil, Parmesan, nut of choice, garlic, salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Pulse several times to mince the ingredients.
  2. Add about 1/2 of the oil to the food processor and process until very fine.
  3. Gradually add the remaining oil, to taste, pulsing until smooth (you may not need the full amount of oil, depending on your preferred texture for the pesto). Taste for seasoning and add additional salt, pepper, and/or lemon juice to taste. Pulse to combine completely if additional seasoning is used.
Store in fridge. The olive oil based pesto will begin to firm in the fridge, so bring it out to come to room temperature if you want it more oily.

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 179kcal, Carbohydrates: 15g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 261mg, Potassium: 161mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 930IU, Vitamin C: 8.7mg, Calcium: 39mg, Iron: 1.2mg

This recipe was originally published in 2012 and re-published in 2020 with updated recipe.