I'm Making This Retro Tomato Pie Dip All Summer Long

Tomato pie is that Southern summer delight, taking the ripe homegrown tomatoes of the season and layering thick slices of them in a rich, cheesy pie with bacon crumbles, mayonnaise, and sliced green onions. 

Any lover of tomato pie knows that whatever you do, come serving time it’s always a glorious mess of filling and juicy tomatoes oozing out of the crust. A good tomato pie isn’t tomato pie without being messy.

I decided to embrace that mess and build a cheesy, bacony, tomato-y hot dip to serve at parties or even for dinner. You skip the finicky pastry crust and use toasts for dipping. If serving as a meal, round it out with a light and crisp green salad.

Taming the Tomato Juiciness 

To concentrate the tomato flavors and keep the dip from being runny, you’ll roast the tomatoes before assembling the dip. And because you’ll be using cherry tomatoes, which fare better in the off-season than your typical beefsteak tomato, this is a spin on tomato pie that you can enjoy any time of year–not just in the summer.

More Tomato Goodness

• Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry
• Simple Summer Tomato Salad
• Best Tomato Pie
• Tomato Confit
• Tomato Rice

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Prep and roast the tomatoes:

Toss 3 cups of the halved tomatoes with salt on the baking sheet. Bake until they are bright in color, puckered, and brown in some spots, about 25 minutes. Set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.

Make the filling:

While the tomatoes are cooling, stir together the cream cheese, mayonnaise, onion powder, black pepper, and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese until combined in a medium bowl. Add the roasted tomatoes, Calabrian peppers, and dried basil; stir until smooth and combined.

Assemble the dip:

Spread the filling across the bottom of a 10-inch ovenproof skillet and use a silicone spatula to smooth the surface. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and arrange the remaining 1 cup of fresh halved cherry tomatoes on top, cut side up.

Bake the dip:

Bake at 350°F until the cheese is melted and the dip is warmed through, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the dip rest at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Meanwhile, make the baguette toasts:

While the dip rests, increase the oven temperature to 400°F. 

Slice the baguette on an angle into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange the slices on a clean baking sheet lined with parchment paper; brush each slice with melted butter using a pastry brush. Bake at 400°F until toasted and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve:

Garnish the dip with a few grinds of black pepper and green onions. Serve with the toasted baguette slices.

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