Got tomatoes? Our light, fresh Tomato Tart recipe makes a great tasting appetizer or light meal. Sweet tomato slices top a lemon ricotta flatbread crust.
Garden fresh, vine ripe tomatoes shine in this easy Tomato Tart recipe. This light and savory tart (also known as Tomato Flatbread) features a crunchy homemade crust, covered in lemon ricotta, and topped with sweet, juicy tomatoes. Like our Burrata Toast recipe, It's an excellent showcase for the fresh herbs and vegetables from your garden (or purchase at the local farmer's market). You can taste summer in every bite.
This is delicious gourmet flatbread is so easy to make (like our Grilled Arugula Pizza), but it looks like it takes hours.
SERVE IT WITH: a Grilled Romaine Salad and some Tomato Sauce for dipping.
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Ingredients
- PIZZA DOUGH: make our homemade Pizza Dough, or use store bought pizza dough. We cut the dough into 5"x 5" squares for this presentation.
- RICOTTA CHEESE: we used low fat ricotta cheese
- GARLIC: fresh garlic cloves
- BASIL: fresh basil leaves
- LEMON: fresh lemon, for zest and lemon juice added to cheese base
- TOMATOES: we used assorted tomatoes from the garden sliced ¼" thick: cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes all work.
- SALT: we like kosher salt or sea salt
- PEPPER: freshly ground black pepper
*see recipe card for quantities.
Featured review
❝ I love this kind of fresh + homemade dish that tastes wonderful; it beats ordering in every time🙂 ❞
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Instructions
- Prepare the crust: use our Pizza Dough recipe, store-bought dough, or frozen puffed pastry.
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
- Make Lemony Herb Ricotta: In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta, juice from one lemon, zest from lemon, and 3 leaves of diced fresh basil.
- Spread Ricotta on Crust: Lay flat bread on parchment lined sheet pan or baking sheet. Cover with cheese mixture spreading a layer ¼" thick.
- Top with tomatoes: slice tomatoes ¼" thick and layer on top of cheese (using different colors and varieties of tomatoes helps with the presentation).
- Add Garlic: finely dice garlic and sprinkle over tomatoes.
- Bake: Place in oven for 12-15 minutes (or until dough is crispy and golden brown).
- Season: Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse salt and cracked pepper. Sprinkle with snipped fresh basil and enjoy.
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HINT: score the edges of the dough all the way around so the crust does not curl up when baking (it looks pretty too!).
Variations
- VEGGIE LOVERS: add some more garden veggies! Sliced zucchini, peppers, and onions all work. Also try our Asparagus Flatbread recipe!
- MEAT LOVERS: add slices of pepperoni, Soppressata, or crumbled Italian sausage.
- BEE STING: add a drizzle of honey to make our famous Bee Sting Pizza.
- PUFF PASTRY: for a flaky, sweet crust. Follow package instructions.
- SAVE TIME: use a store bought flatbread for the crust. Bake directly on the oven rack for about 7 minutes
Top tip
For a thin, crispy crust: Roll the dough out very thin before topping and bake it on a hot pizza stone.
Storage
Got leftovers? Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Warm up the tart in a 400° oven for just a few minutes. It will crisp up the crust. Drizzle with olive oil to freshen up the Tomato Tarts.
FAQ
We love creamy ricotta cheese, seasoned with lemon and herbs for the base of this tart. You can also add fresh mozzarella, gruyere, parmesan, or goat cheese.
If using pizza dough, bake using a pizza stone or a perforated pizza pan.
To prevent a soggy tart, you can pre-bake the crust. Also, make sure to use firm, ripe tomatoes and remove excess moisture by patting them dry or letting them sit on paper towels for a few minutes.
Yes, store-bought puff pastry, pizza dough, or pie crust can be a convenient option for making a tomato tart. It saves time and effort while still delivering delicious results.
Yes, you can prepare the tart ahead of time. Assemble the tart and keep it in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. You can also bake the tart in advance and reheat it before serving.
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Tomato Tart recipe
Got tomatoes? Our light, fresh Tomato Tart makes a great tasting appetizer or light meal. Sweet tomatoes top a lemon ricotta flatbread crust.
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 portions 1x
Ingredients
- 4 5" x 5" flat breads (use our Pizza Dough recipe, store bought pizza dough, or puff pastry)
- 1 C ricotta cheese
- 2 cloves garlic
- 6-7 leaves of fresh basil
- 1 lemon
- 2 C assorted tomatoes sliced ¼ inch thick
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- Cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
- In a mixing bowl combine ricotta, juice from one lemon, zest from lemon, and 3 leaves of diced fresh basil.
- Lay flat bread on parchment lined baking pan and cover with cheese mixture spreading a layer ¼ in thick.
- Slice tomatoes ¼ inch thick and layer on top of cheese. Using different colors and varieties helps with the presentation.
- Finely dice garlic and sprinkle over tomatoes.
- Place in oven for 12-15 minutes until dough is brown
- Remove from oven and sprinkle with coarse salt and cracked pepper.
- Sprinkle with snipped fresh basil and enjoy
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 405
- Sugar: 3.7 g
- Sodium: 828.5 mg
- Fat: 8.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 64.9 g
- Protein: 16.4 g
- Cholesterol: 31.6 mg
Cheryl "Cheffie Cooks" Wiser says
Hi Keith and Jackie, delighted to have you join us! Check out https://wegrazetogether.wordpress.com OR https://clwiser.wordpress.com to thread through. Great to have you on our List!!! The response had been great by Bloggers and public. I can monitor the clicks to direct Food Bloggers on the site! Hoping it brings many to you! Your TK Bud and Best Regards from Florida, Cheryl. Pssst. It is in its infancy but I ill no doubt .com the site in the near future.
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices says
How much I love this appetizer! Love the colors, the freshness, the simplicity. Here in Italy it's still summer 🙂 , and probably when we go back to Edmonton we will still have some heirloom tomatoes in our backyard (they were late bloomers too!). What a gorgeous way to highlight their color and flavor!
Jackie says
Thanks so much Nicoletta!! Enjoy your trip and please indulge in some great food!!! Can't wait to read all about it!!!
Pang {circahappy} says
Lucky Lucky you to have late bloomers tomatoes 🙂 I love this kind of fresh + homemade dish that tastes wonderful; it beats ordering in every time 🙂
I can't wait to see more creation from your tomatoes because this post got me hooked 🙂
Jackie says
thanks so much for your kind words Pang! we have a few more yummy tomato dishes in the pipeline... stay tuned....
Izzy @ she likes food says
I live in the dessert where it never gets super cold and I had a cherry tomato plant that produced tomatoes for 2 years straight! I only got a few in the winter months but it was still exciting! This flatbread sounds pretty awesome 🙂
Jackie says
thanks Izzy!! I am so jealous! I hate the time of year when we have to turn over our garden...
Jhoei says
What a yummy recipe! It looks very delicious. Perfect for an afternoon snack that I thought of doing it later. Thanks for sharing. Love it!
Ken says
Nice blog. Love the photos, love the recipe. Greetings from the local Apple store.
Jackie says
Thanks so much Ken!! We really appreciate your kind words!!