This Heirloom Tomato Tart is made with an insanely delicious buttery, cheddar crust, and then filled with a cream cheese, garlic, and herb mixture! The topping is the best part – just beautiful slices of heirloom tomatoes. This tart is the perfect thing to serve at a brunch, or to enjoy at any time of day while summer tomatoes are at their peak!
I knew that I couldn’t let August pass without posting a recipe with one of the most gorgeous things that summer offers – heirloom tomatoes! In years past, I shared this cream cheese avocado toast with heirlooms, this nectarine heirloom tomato salad and this pizza! And there’s definitely more where that came from – but I won’t bombard you with tomato recipes. Can never go wrong with big, beautiful tomatoes at their peak!
If you’re like me, and often shy away from making seemingly complicated things like pies and tarts – don’t worry about this one. It’s as simple as simple can get – and it’s such a showstopper – thanks to heirloom tomatoes.
The crust comes together super quickly in the food processor (and you don’t have to roll it out!), and the filling is easy peasy.
And the topping just requires layering slices of the prettiest tomatoes.
We can totally handle this, right?
The first step is to just sprinkle the tomatoes with salt, to extract as much moisture out of them as possible. No watery tomatoes = no soggy tart! Definitely don’t skip this step, or else your tart will be swimming in tomato juice!
And we definitely don’t want that.
The filling is pretty much everything you could ever want when it comes to tomatoes.
Tomatoes + anything creamy = perfection.
We’ve got:
- cream cheese
- mayo
- grated parmesan
- shallot
- garlic
- basil
- chives
- thyme
- salt + pepper
Such a delicious combo of creamy, garlicky, herby goodness.
All you have to do is mix up the filling, and spread it into the par-baked crust! Which is filled with cheddar cheese and it’s absolutely delicious. Par-baking the crust (just for 20 minutes!), ensures that we don’t have a soggy crust once we layer in the filling and bake it with the tomatoes.
I kind of layer the tomatoes on in a circular pattern, slightly overlapping them, and saving the smaller slices for the middle. You want them to lay as evenly as possible, but it’s totally up to you how to arrange them!
That’s the fun part. Whatever you do, make sure they’re as dry as possible. Well, as dry as a tomato can be!
When it comes out of the oven, we’re left with the most gorg combination of tender, golden brown crust, a creamy, garlicky cheesy middle, and roasted tomato slices. Can you even?!
The best part about this, is that it doesn’t have to be served hot (and you should actually let it sit for a bit after it comes out of the oven), and it actually tastes best at room temp!
So it’s perfect for serving at a brunch, or where appetizers are just going to be sitting out. Or, to make for yourself to enjoy at any time of day.
We have to soak up the last month of summer somehow, right?
Late summer perfection.
Heirloom Tomato Tart
This Heirloom Tomato Tart is made with an insanely delicious buttery, cheddar crust, and then filled with a cream cheese, garlic, and herb mixture! The topping is the best part - just beautiful slices of heirloom tomatoes. This tart is the perfect thing to serve at a brunch, or to enjoy at any time of day while summer tomatoes are at their peak!
Ingredients
For the tart
- 3-4 medium-large heirloom tomatoes, sliced in 1/4-1/2'' slices
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- chopped chives, basil, and/or thyme for serving
For the crust
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese
- 2-4 tablespoons ice water
For the filling
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1 medium shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1/3 cup basil leaves, chopped
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2 teaspoons chopped thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Begin by drying out your tomato slices. Place a few layers of paper towels on a plate, and add the tomato slices in a single layer. Sprinkle with the salt. Let tomatoes sit for at least 35 minutes, up to 1 hour. Gently pat the tomatoes dry with paper towels, so that they are as dry as possible. Set aside.
While tomatoes are drying out, make the crust. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Add flour, sugar, and salt to a food processor. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the cheese and pulse again until incorporated. Add the butter and pulse until the butter resembles pea-sized pieces. With the food processor running, add ice water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together. Press dough into bottom and the sides of a 9 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (don't grease the pan). Don't worry about making the crust perfect - it's fine if it has fingerprints - we are filling it anyway! Bake crust for 20 minutes or until golden on the edges. Cool for 15-20 minutes before filling.
While crust is baking, make the filling. Add softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, parmesan, shallot, garlic, basil, chives, thyme, salt, and pepper to a large mixing bowl or to the bowl of your stand mixer. Using electric beaters or your whisk attachment, beat the mixture until creamy and combined.
Once the crust has cooled, spread the filling into the crust evenly with a rubber spatula. Layer the tomatoes on top of the filling in a circular pattern, slightly overlapping, saving smaller tomato slices for the center. Place tart on a flat baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and tart is set. Let cool for 20-30 minutes before slicing and serving. Sprinkle with chives, basil, thyme, and freshly cracked black pepper to serve!
Recipe Notes
*The crust can be par-baked up to 1 day in advance if you want to do that ahead of time!
*This tart is best served at room temperature - it needs time to set after it bakes to come together.
It was dinner tonight and it was delicious.
Thank you so much Laurel! So happy to hear that! 🙂
It is Thursday pm. I’m bringing this tart for Saturday am breakfast up north. How long should I par bake it?
Hi Sandra – I wouldn’t really recommend par-baking this tart. The tomatoes can release moisture upon cooling, and might change the texture of the tart once you bake it for a second time. I would recommend baking the crust only, preparing the filling, storing it, and then assembling and baking once you get there. Let me know how it goes!