Puff Pastry Tomato Tart

This easy Puff Pastry Tomato Tart is savory, cheesy and the perfect way to showcase the season’s fresh produce. Quick to make in under an hour with store-bought puff pastry, it’s the perfect appetizer or side dish for entertaining.

There’s nothing quite like ripe, juicy, in-season tomatoes — they’re some of summer’s best bounty, and one of our favorite ingredients to cook with. This Puff Pastry Tomato Tart is simple, yet looks impressive, and is the ideal way to spotlight peak summer tomatoes. Buttery, savory, and cheesy, this tart is the perfect balance of flavor and texture, and the ultimate easy summer appetizer, light dinner, or part of a brunch spread.

Crispy, flaky store-bought puff pastry makes this recipe fool-proof and a winner each time, and it’s the perfect base for this tasty Puff Pastry Tomato Tart. Then layers of creamy cheese, juicy and sweet heirloom tomatoes, and fresh herbs are layered on for an effortlessly elegant dish. This Puff Pastry Tomato Tart delivers big summer flavor with minimal fuss, which is our favorite way to eat.

If you like this recipe, try a few of our other favorite tarts. This Roasted Tomato & Caramelized Cheddar Tart is full of rich flavors, and we love this Sweet Potato & Goat Cheese Leek Tart, too.

Why You’ll Love this Recipe:

• Easy Shortcut Recipe: This tart might look fancy and complicated, but it’s actually very simple to make thanks to one of our favorite store-bought shortcuts: frozen puff pastry. Flaky, buttery, and foolproof, it makes this recipe easy and delicious.
• Beautiful Presentation: With colorful, ripe heirloom tomatoes and bright, fresh herbs arranged on top of a creamy filling, this tart is beautiful and impressive. It looks like bakery-quality, with the ease of home-cooking.
• Great Use For Tomatoes: Using in-season produce, especially tomatoes, is so worth it since they’re at peak flavor. This recipe is a great way to showcase summer produce.
• Perfect For Entertaining: This tart is a great dish to add to a spread or to feed a crowd — cut it into squares and everyone can have a slice. It pairs well with anything, too, so it’s great for parties, brunches, or any gathering.
• Nice Balance of Textures: The flaky, crispy crust topped with the creamy, cheesy filling and fresh tomatoes is the perfect balance of textures and flavor.
• Versatile: Just like a pizza or flatbread, this tart is easy to customize with different herbs, cheeses, and toppings based on your preferences or what you have on hand.
• Works with phyllo or puff pastry dough: This recipe is fool proof and works for both phyllo or puff pastry dough.

Ingredients

• For the Tart:
• Heirloom Tomatoes: Sweet, ripe, and unique in shape and a variety of beautiful colors, these tomatoes make this tart a showstopper.
• Sea Salt & Pepper: It’s essential to season generously, always. This brings out the most flavor in all the ingredients.
• Red Pepper Flakes: Just a pinch for a little heat.
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Use a good quality, fruity olive oil for the best flavor.
• Puff Pastry: Flaky and buttery, find this in the frozen aisle. It’s rich, delicious, fool-proof and the perfect tart base. Be sure to pop this into the fridge before using to thaw.
• Butter: For extra richness.
• Balsamic Glaze: Thick, sweet and syrupy. The perfect drizzle to compliment the savory filling and tomatoes.
• Basil & Thyme: Fresh herbs make all the difference.

• For the Cheese Filling:
• Shallots: For a mild onion flavor.
• Thyme: For an herbal, slightly peppery, fresh flavor. Compliments the tomatoes nicely.
• Cream Cheese: Tangy and rich, use whipped or softened.
• Parmesan: Sharp and nutty, use freshly grated.
• Egg Yolk: Adds richness and binds the filling together.

How To Make Puff Pastry Tomato Tart

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Thinly slice shallots and add to a skillet with 2 tbsp butter, a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook stirring often on medium to low heat for about 15 min or until the shallots are cooked down and a deep brown.

3. Add all filling ingredients to a bowl and mix to combine.

4. Unwrap puff pastry and add filling to the middle. Optional: You can cut the edges of this to make it more of a galette shape, or keep is square.

5. Slice and season tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. After a few minutes the tomatoes will remove some excess liquid, make sure to pat down before adding to the tart.

6. Add tomatoes to the center of the tart, leaving a border around the parameter. Cut the larger tomatoes into smaller pieces if needed.

7. Press the edges in and overlap them slightly to create a crust. Brush with egg wash.

8. Bake for about 30 min or until nicely golden brown. If you like, drizzle the top with balsamic glaze, basil and flaky sea salt.

Expert Tips

• Pat Tomatoes Dry: Once sliced, let them drain on a paper towel-lined plate to remove any excess moisture (tomatoes hold a lot of water!). This will help to prevent a soggy crust.
  Use Ripe but Firm Tomatoes: Ripe, but not overly ripe or mushy tomatoes are ideal. This will give the tart the best texture.
• Chill Tart: Once assembled, let it set up and sit in the fridge briefly before baking. This will help the butter in the crust solidify so you end up with flakier pastry once baked.
  Don’t Overload Tart with Toppings: Just do a light, even layer of the filling and tomatoes so they don’t weigh down the tart. Too many toppings will make it heavy and soggy.
• Add Herbs Last: Once the tart has finished baking, add the fresh herbs out of the oven. This will give them the best flavor and texture — adding during baking can scorch them and cause them to burn.
• Use Phyllo or Pie Crust Instead of Puff Pastry: I’ve layered many layers of phyllo with melted butter and also used store-bought rolled pie crust to make this tomato tart. All come out delicious too!

Variations

• Try Different Cheeses: Swap out cream cheese for goat cheese, Boursin, or ricotta for another creamy and delicious flavor.
• Use Cherry Tomatoes: Try these for a slightly sweeter taste.
• Add Caramelized Onions: Slowly cooked, sweet and jammy, add these for extra richness.
• Top with Burrata: Cool and creamy, this is an extra decadent and cheesy toping. Add after baking to a slightly warm tart.
• Add Crispy Prosciutto: Top the tart once baked for a salty bite.
• Make Mini Tartlets: Small, handheld or bite size versions are great as appetizers.
• Use Phyllo: Try layers of crispy, delicate, phyllo dough for a light and crunchy crust, instead of puff pastry.

Storage

• Store any leftover tart in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat at 375°-400° until crisped up and warmed through.
• We don’t recommend freezing leftover tart, since the texture of the tomatoes can change and turn mushy once frozen and thawed. Enjoy this fresh for the best flavor and texture.
• You can prep the components of this tart in advance to save time — make the filling, slice and drain the tomatoes, and keep the puff pastry frozen. Assemble and bake right before you’re ready to serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Easy Tomato Recipes

• Pan Con Tomate
• Spicy and Creamy Tomato Gnocchi
• Sun Dried Tomato Dip
• Breadcrumb Stuffed Tomatoes