Vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes, garden fresh basil, and Gruyere and Parmesan cheese all come together in this French Tomato Tart Recipe with Puff Pastry.
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Why You'll Love This Tart Recipe
- If you love puff pastry topped with tomatoes, basil, sweet onion, and lots of cheese, this tart is for you! If you prefer a tart with a regular pie crust, click on over to my Heirloom Tomato Tart with Basil and Gruyere Cheese.
- This tart is more of a French-style tomato tart, with Dijon mustard and herbs de Provence. It is lovely for a special brunch or any old time of day. We enjoyed a small slice tonight with our spaghetti and clam sauce.
- This tart is a wonderful way to use gorgeous heirloom tomatoes while they are available in the summer months.
- If this is your first time making a tomato tart, don't let the lengthy instructions deter you. This really is an easy recipe, written for a novice might need a little help. Feel free to jump straight to the recipe card if you know your way around a French tomato tart!
Ingredients
For the full recipe with quantities, see the recipe card at the end of the post.
Ingredient Notes
- Frozen puff pastry - I normally use a Pillsbury frozen puff pastry sheet. I happened to see Dufour's Classic Puff Pastry at Whole Foods and decided to try it. Dufour's is a sweet butter puff pastry for sure and may be my new favorite.
- Fresh tomatoes - Use all red ripe tomatoes or variety of shapes and colors. I chose Mr. Stripey heirloom tomatoes for this tart. We enjoy this tomato tart in the winter as well with "ripened-on-the-vine" grocery store tomatoes. Halved cherry tomatoes work well too.
- Fresh herbs - I love basil with tomatoes. Store the basil in the fridge until just before you need it to keep it fresh and bright green. If you prefer another soft herb, help yourself.
- Sweet onion - You could really use any type of onion. I always have sweet onions on hand.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- Herbs de Provence (optional) - but wonderfully French! If you don't have it, you can leave it out, or substitute another favorite dried herb.
- Dijon mustard - creamy or grainy
- Gruyere cheese - This is great in tomato tarts because of its nutty flavor, but if you prefer another hard cheese, that's OK too. Check out David Lebovitz's French Tomato Tart with Goat Cheese. He drizzles honey over the tomatoes!
- Parmesan cheese - This provides the funk. Choose another hard cheese or just use one cheese. Avoid wet cheeses like farmer's cheese or cream cheese.
Detailed Written Instructions:
- Thaw frozen puff pastry until you can unfold it. Keep thawed in refrigerator until just before you need it.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Make an egg wash by beating one egg with one tablespoon water. Set aside.
- Slice tomatoes to ½ inch thickness. For the perfect way to remove the excess water in the tomatoes, place on folded paper towels for 30 minutes. Repeat on the opposite side if needed. Too much moisture will yield a soggy tart.
- Slice onion and saute in a medium large skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. You are not going for caramelized onions. When the onions are lightly golden brown, remove them to a small bowl.
- Grate the cheeses on a box grater. I used the large hole and the small hole to get more texture. (See photo in step 4 below)
- Remove the thawed puff pastry from the fridge and unfold it. Crimp the seams together with your fingers. Use a rolling pin to to slightly flatten and seal the seams.
- You can choose to make a slab tart on a baking sheet or a round one in a tart pan.
- For a slab tart: Place dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to remove a half inch strip of puff pastry dough. Place these strips on the edges of your puff pastry to create a well to keep the filling in. (See photo below.) Before laying the strips of dough on the base, moisten the edges by lightly brushing with egg wash. This will "glue" the edges to the base. If you are making a slab tart, make your base about 9"x9" square. My tart pan is 9" in diameter.
- For the tart in a pan, cut parchment paper to fit the tart pan. Use the parchment paper as a template to cut the dough in a circle. You want to add a half inch all the way around to make a bit of a lip when you place the dough in the pan.
Slab tart on baking sheet with parchment paper.
Round tart in tart pan with parchment paper.
- Once your puff pastry is seated on parchment paper, whether on a sheet pan or in a tart pan, use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the pastry dough. This is called docking and it will keep the tart from forming large air pockets.
- Lightly brush the dough with Dijon mustard.
- Place the dough in the oven for approximately ten minutes, or until it is lightly golden brown on top. (refer to photo below) Remove from oven and allow to cool. This is good time to check your tomatoes and perhaps flip them over on dry paper towels.
- When the crust is cool add most of the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, reserving the remainder.
- Arrange the onions evenly over the cheese. Tear pieces of basil and place on top.
- Arrange the tomato slices on top in a single layer, not overlapping. You may have extra.
- Evenly sprinkle the tart with the salt, pepper, and dried herbs.
- Sprinkle the remaining Gruyere and Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake the tart in a 400 degree oven. Allow tart to bake for 30 minutes. If the edges start to get too brown, cover them with strips of aluminum foil. Check frequently for big air bubbles. See Expert Tips for rescuing your tart from a big bubble mishap.
- Remove the tart from the oven after 30 minutes. Use a scrunched up paper towel to absorb any standing liquid on the top of the tart. Excess water from the tomatoes will make the otherwise flaky pastry soggy.
- Put the tart back in the oven for an additional 12-15 minutes of bake time.
- Remove tart from the oven and allow to cool until just warm. This is the best time to eat this tart. You can eat it hot, warm, room temperature or cold as well, but warm is best. Use a pizza cutter to cut into desired slabs. I like a big slab but smaller pieces make great appetizers.
- To re-heat, wrap loosely in aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for a few minutes.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Slice tomatoes ½" thick and place on paper towels to draw out moisture.
Slice onions to ¼" thick and add to saute pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil.
Saute onions until softened and lightly brown on edges.
Grate Parmesan cheese and Gruyere cheese. Cover and set aside.
Cut parchment paper to fit tart pan or the size of a slab tart on baking sheet.
Unfold pastry. Crimp folds and roll flat. Place crust in tin or on baking sheet.
Dock the pastry with a fork and brush with a thin layer of Dijon mustard.
Partially bake in 400 degree oven until lightly brown. Remove and cool.
Add most of the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, reserving the remainder.
Add onions on top of cheese followed by torn pieces of basil.
Add sliced tomatoes on top of cheese, onions and basil.
Sprinkle salt, pepper and dried herbs on top.
Add remaining cheese and small pieces of chopped basil.
Bake in 400 degree oven approximately 45 minutes.
Looking for More Tomato Tarts?
Equipment
- Sheet of parchment paper
- Sheet pan
- Medium or large skillet
- Rolling pin
- Paper towels
- Pastry brush
- Small bowl
Expert Tips
- The most important part of making my French Tomato Tart Recipe with Puff Pastry is to remove any excess water from the tomatoes and to poke enough air holes (docking) in the dough to prevent large bubbles from forming. Check the tart frequently while baking. If a large bubble forms, open the oven and use the tip of a knife or a skewer to let the trapped air out. Stick the tip into the lift up slightly to deflate the bubble. Your tomato slices may slide around when a bubble happens. Just pull them back into place.
Calories: 345kcal
Servings: 6
Equipment
- Sheet pan
- Parchment paper
- Medium to large skillet
- Small bowl
- Pastry brush
- Paper towels
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 frozen sheet of puff pastry
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2-3 fresh tomatoes
- 10-12 fresh basil leaves
- ½ small sweet onion
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence optional
- ¾ cup grated Gruyere cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Thaw frozen puff pastry until you can unfold it. Keep thawed in refrigerator until just before you need it. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Make an egg wash by beating one egg with one tablespoon water. Set aside.
- Slice tomatoes to ½ inch thickness. For the perfect way to remove the excess water in the tomatoes, place on folded paper towels for 30 minutes. Repeat on the opposite side if needed.
- Slice onion and sauté in a medium skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil. You are not going for caramelized onions. When the onions are lightly golden brown remove them to a small bowl.
- Grate the cheeses on a box grater.
- Remove the thawed puff pastry from the fridge and unfold it. Crimp the seams together with your fingers. Use a rolling pin to to slightly flatten and seal the seams.
- You can choose to make a slab tart on a baking sheet or a round one in a tart pan.
For a slab tart on a sheet pan:
- For a slab tart: Place dough on parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife to remove a half inch strip of puff pastry dough. Place these strips on the edges of your puff pastry to create a well to keep the filling in. (See photo below.) Before laying the strips of dough on the base, moisten the edges by lightly brushing with egg wash. If you are making a slab tart, make your base about 9"x9" square. My tart pan is 9" in diameter.
For a tart in a tart pan:
- If you are making your tart in a pan, cut parchment paper to fit the tart pan. Use the parchment paper as a template to cut the dough in a circle. You want to add a half inch all the way around to make a bit of a lip when you place the dough in the pan.
- Once your puff pastry is seated on parchment paper, whether on a sheet pan or in a tart pan, use a fork to poke holes in the bottom of the pastry dough. This is called docking and it will keep the tart from forming large air pockets. IMPORTANT!
- Lightly brush the dough with Dijon mustard.
- Place the dough in the oven for approximately ten minutes, or until it is lightly golden brown on top. (refer to photo below) Remove from oven and allow to cool. This is good time to check your tomatoes and perhaps flip them over on dry paper towels.
- When the crust is cool add most of the Gruyere and Parmesan cheeses, reserving the remainder.
- Arrange the onions evenly over the cheese. Tear pieces of basil and place on top. Arrange the tomato slices on top in a single layer, not overlapping.
- Evenly sprinkle the tart with the salt, pepper, and dried herbs. Sprinkle the remaining Gruyere and Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake the tart in a 400 degree oven. Allow tart to bake for 30 minutes. If the edges start to get too brown, cover them with strips of aluminum foil.
- Remove the tart from the oven after 30 minutes. Use a scrunched up paper towel to absorb any standing liquid on the top of the tart. Excess water from the tomatoes will make the otherwise flaky pastry soggy.
- Put the tart back in the oven for an additional 12-15 minutes of bake time.
- Remove tart from the oven and allow to cool until just warm. This is the best time to eat this tart. You can eat it hot, warm, room temperature or cold as well, but warm is best.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut into desired slabs. I like a big slab but smaller pieces make great appetizers.
Nutrition
Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 419mg | Potassium: 165mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 578IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 220mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Heather says
Has anyone tried to make this as small individual (either square or round) tarts?
jessie says
This was one of those summer meals that will be on repeat until the end of tomato season! Wonderful flavors and I paired it with a lovely rose; just amazing!
James Strange says
I can not wait to try this.
Liz says
We loved this yummy tomato tart! I made it with garden tomatoes and the cheeses and herbs were fabulous additions! Thanks for sharing!!