Summer tomatoes are something every gardener waits for with anticipation – like kids waiting for fireflies and warm, summer nights with no school the next day. They signal the peak of summer, the abundance of memories to be made and are a time for home chefs like myself to discover new dishes – like a Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart recipe.
Slicing into your first homegrown tomato of the season is like a treat for the senses. The vibrant colors, the smell of fresh dirt mixed with the promise of something delicious and the firmness as your blade makes the first cut are truly some of the mini joys in a gardener’s life.
My tomato history
Tomatoes were one of the first vegetables I grew when I began gardening about five years ago in our former Illinois home. I was about 7-and-a-half-months pregnant with Roman and standing in one of the garden beds Kevin made me, digging in the dirt in a maternity dress that I had hiked up around my knees. But even as my oddly-shaped body teetered to maintain balance on loose soil, I carefully and snuggly placed our first little tomatoes plants into the soil.
Over the years I learned many lessons when it came to growing tomatoes. Tomato horn worms? Bad. Spacing your plants properly? Good. Using other plants and vegetables to deter said horn worms? Also, good. Eating tomatoes from your garden in your homemade recipes? Perfection. This Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart recipe is the perfect place to use them!
Meals made from scratch
Some of my favorite tomato recipe in the summertime are often the simplest. We mix them with basil, cucumber and mozzarella and eat that almost every night with dinner each season. Or we will layer a similar combination on some delicious sourdough bread and call it dinner.
Most of the ingredients in this Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart recipe you can grow or make at home. Each year we grow tomatoes, arugula, basil and onions and usually by the end of the season they are all ready to go at the same time. (The arugula is on it’s second planting after bolting in the summer.)
Of course, if you want to make this earlier in the season, you can certainly buy the ingredients. Usually though I like to at least wait for our own tomatoes and basil. They always taste better than the store bought ones. If you’ve never grown tomatoes before, you can find some simple tips for growing them {HERE}.
Roasting the Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart recipe
The Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart recipe combines the full, beautiful flavor of roasted tomatoes, roasted onions, basil and herbed ricotta cheese on a homemade puff pastry. The roasting really makes the flavor here. It caramelizes both the tomatoes and onions and gives them each a richer, deeper taste that That might sound intimidating, but I promise you, homemade puff pastry is so easy to make and it’s perfectly flakey crust will rival any store bought brand. You can find my recipe for Homemade puff pastry {HERE}.
Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart recipe makes a simple dinner
The first time I made this Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart recipe, Kevin and I ate all of it for dinner that evening. It was the perfect way to end a very long day of running between work, checking on our newly hatched chickens and various garden projects. It didn’t feel overly heavy and it’s a fantastic meatless option when you just want an easy dinner.
Because you do need to make the puff pastry ahead of time – if you’re going the homemade route – this meal only takes less than 30 minutes to make. I love when dinners are fresh, simple and delicious and this one really checks all three boxes.
Thank you so much for visiting today, friends! You can find the full, printable recipe for the Caramelized Onion and Tomato Tart below. I hope you will come back later this season to check out all the progress we’ve made in the garden. For more garden posts, click here. For more recipe posts, click here. To find the recipe for the homemade Puff Pastry, click here.

Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart
Equipment
- Cookie sheet
- Mixing bowl
- Mini Food processor (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 Puff pastry. Either homemade or store bought. You can find my recipe here: https://www.sugarmaplefarmhouse.com/homemade-puff-pastry-recipe/
- 8 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped Plus a little extra for your topping.
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper
- 5 cloves of whole garlic, peeled and chopped
- 2-3 Heirloom Tomatoes If you can’t find Heirloom, you can use 4-5 Roma tomatoes.
- 3/4 large onion, sliced
- 4 Tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil, divided Don’t skimp on the extra virgin olive oil. A good, quality olive oil will always elevate your recipe.
- Additional salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: Arugula and balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- While the puff pastry cooks, slice your tomatoes and onions and add them to a cookie sheet. Also add your whole cloves of garlic. Brush all sides with 2 Tbsp. of your olive oil and sprinkle on salt and pepper to taste
- Once the pastry is done, preheat your oven to 425 and roast the tomatoes, onions and garlic for 20 minutes.
- When done, combine the Ricotta cheese, roasted garlic, 2 Tbsp. of olive oil, basil and the ¼ tsp. of salt and ¼ tsp of pepper in a small food processor. Blend together lightly until the garlic and oil are well combined. You can also do this by hand if you're fine with having chunkier bits of garlic.
- Push down the center of your puff pastry lightly and then spread your Ricotta mix onto the puff pastry. Layer on your tomatoes and onions. If you want to add arugula, add it before layering your tomatoes and onions.
- Sprinkle with additional salt and pepper and extra chopped basil. If you want to add balsamic drizzle it on right before you serve the tart.
Oh my goodness this tart looks delicious! I love tomatoes & onion, so this is something I would definitely make.
That sounds delicious! I’ve never had a tart like this. I love the caramelized onion. What a flavor. I have to make this.
I can literally smell this! Lol it sounds so good, my mouth is watering!
I am drooling over here. I love caramelized onions and this sounds delicious
My mouth is watering! This looks delicious. Caramelized onions are my weakness so I can’t wait to try this out.
These look so good! So many of my favorite flavors together! I totally need to try making something like this!
I really love your tips on growing tomatoes! I plan on growing a couple of tomato plants when we move into our house. I love this recipe, but, my wife and I are doing keto, so we’d have to make some substitutions.
These tart looks so good! We just planted all kinds of delicious tomatoes and I cannot wait until they are done.
What deliciousness! I need to make this tart. It looks so delicious!
I love recipes with caramelized onions — they are one of my favorites. I’ve never tried this combination of flavors. Sounds delicious!
One, that’s a really dang gorgeous tart! Two, wow, those flavor combinations are calling my name! YUM!
Love easy, delicious and genuine dishes and this is one of them. I will definitely try this combo!
I’ve made these tarts and my family loves it! They are incredibly delicious! Very easy to make but so fancy taste!
What a delicious and an easy recipe to make, I will definitely try this at home.
This tart looks really amazing! Would love to give it a try!
I’m starting up a garden this year as well! Also that recipe looks wonderful! I’ll have to try it.
My mom would love this! Sending her way!
This looks so good. I seriously want to jump into the picture and eat it all up. Saving to make!!
This recipe looks SO good! I am definitely showing this to my husband tonight – he loves to cook for us and I have a feeling these tomatoes would be right up his alley!
This looks absolutely delicious.
Yum!! This sounds absolutely amazing!! I can’t wait to make this!
These look so yummy! We’re going to try growing tomatoes, so may have to try making these!
This sounds super yummy! I just can’t wait to try it!
Um, okayyyy. I need this in my belly NOW!
Omgness, this looks absolutely delicious. I can’t wait to try this recipe!
I’m not sure I’ve seen onions look so DELICOUS!
I love fresh from the garden tomatoes but we didn’t plant any this year. This tart looks absolutely delicious.
I would love to try this! Looks so good!
Oh wow that looks fantastic. I love the flavors. I guess I could use plain pitta bread as a base for this. I’m not much a fan of puff pastry. I must give this a try asap.
I love making puff pastry tarts and this looks amazing! Not been brave enough to try making homemade puff pastry just yet though! Sim x