A non-traditional tomato pie recipe with fresh zucchini and farro is a great way to showcase summer tomatoes. The farro and zucchini provide texture, and a little gruyere is the perfect topping for this summer dish. Great as a side but hearty enough for a meal.
Skip the Crust
Instead of a crust, eggs and farro give this summertime pie enough structure to stay together. Fresh zucchini and lots of tomatoes are first sautéd and then baked with cheese for pie that could be called a tomato casserole.
Fresh garden tomatoes are everywhere this time of year and I always end up bringing home more than I can eat from the farmers market. Taylor loves a traditional Southern tomato pie, but sometimes I just don’t want to mess with a traditional pie crust, so I created this savory pie that not only has no crust but doesn’t have mayonnaise.
For hot summer nights, this crustless tomato pie recipe hits the spot. It’s not too heavy and it really showcases both tomatoes and zucchini which is what we always have the most of around here.
If serving as a side, it goes great with tender slow cooker pork chops or grilled ranch chicken kabobs.
Make this a New Favorite
- This is filled with seasonally delicious ingredients
- Any type of tomatoes work in this recipe
- It’s simple, you don’t even need a pie crust
- It can be served hot or cold
With this version of tomato pie, you can use up those tomatoes that are just too ripe to cut into picture perfect slices, you’ll just use the best looking ones for the pretty slices on top.
The rest of the tomatoes are chopped into pieces and cooked along with zucchini and onions for a really hardy dish. I make this with farro, but rice will also work. I love the crunchy nutty flavor and texture that farro adds.
Fresh Ingredients
These are the main ingredients you’ll need to make ambrosia. Make sure to check the Recipe Card for the full list of ingredients.
- Fresh Tomatoes – select medium to large size tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes work great but any type will be delicious.
- Squash – you need 1 pound of cut up squash which is about 2 medium sized yellow squash or zucchini.
- Farro – you can make your farro ahead of time. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days. Rice can be used in place of farro.
- Gruyère – is a hard Swiss cheese that will melt smoothly and adds a punch of flavor.
- Fresh herbs – I love thyme in this dish, but I’ve also used basil when I have some on hand.
Tomato Pie is Easy to Make
Farro takes about 30 minutes to cook, so make that first, you can even make it in advance.
Step 1: Cook the veggies
Cook the onion and then add zucchini chunks to the pan. Once it starts to get tender, but before it gets mushy, you’ll add chopped tomatoes and thyme to the mix.
Step 2: Add farro
Add farro that has already been cooked in chicken broth or water, (It takes about 30 minutes to cook farro) to the vegetable mix and combine with cheese and eggs.
Step 3: Add a layer of tomatoes
Pro Tip: When you prepare the farro or rice, use chicken broth instead of water to give more flavor to the final dish.
This is not runny like some tomato pies, but holds its shape when served. I love the flavor of the tomatoes that have been cooked down with the vegetables. Adding sliced tomatoes to top adds even more summer freshness to this pie.
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Crustless Tomato Pie with Farro
Ingredients
- 3 tomatoes medium to large size
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 large squash about 1 lb
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 cup farro uncooked
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups gruyere grated
Instructions
- Cook the farro per package instructions in chicken broth instead of water.
- Preheat oven to 375º. Spray a glass pie dish or casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Peel 2 of the tomatoes and chop fine discarding the seeds, you will want about 1 cup of diced tomatoes. Slice the remaining tomato for the top of the pie. Cut squash into ¼ inch slices and cut into quarters.
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about a minute. Add squash and season with salt. Cook until the squash is starting to get soft but is not mushy. Add chopped tomatoes, thyme and salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes until the mixture has cooked down, Stir in the cooked farro and remove from heat.
- Whisk together eggs in a large bowl and add vegetables and 1 cup of cheese. Combine and place in prepared dish. Sprinkle the top with a little cheese and place sliced tomatoes on top. Top with remaining cheese and season with salt and pepper.
- Bake for 30 minutes until the top is starting to brown and the vegetable mixture is bubbly. Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Barbara’s Tips + Notes
- To save time, make the farro ahead of time. It will save in the refrigerator for several days.
- Any type of tomatoes can be used, just blot them dry.
- For more flavor use chicken broth when cooking the farro instead of water.
- If you don’t have fresh thyme, use 2 teaspoons of dried.
- You can freeze and reheat in the oven.
Nutrition
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Shelley says
Hi
Just confirming
It’s one cup of uncooked farro, then cooked
Not one cup of cooked farro
Thanks!
Can’t wait to try this!
Barbara Curry says
Yes it is one cup of uncooked farro, I clarified it in the recipe card.
Shelley says
Thanks! I already know this will be five star😁
Shelley says
Fabulous! Prepared the farro with vegetable broth and used dried thyme instead place of fresh. The Gruyère cheese really took it over the top!
Can’t wait to try this with fresh farmers market tomatoes. Given current season, I used ‘tomatoes on the vine’ from the supermarket.
It did not cut as cleanly as I hoped. Perhaps it was because I cut it a bit too soon and didn’t let it ‘set up’? The leftovers I had for lunch the next day did cut cleanly. Yum!
I would post a photo but I’m not on instagram
Barbara Curry says
Glad you liked it. It’s hard to be patient, but it does come out better if you let it cool a bit. I love it when we can get fresh tomatoes!