Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart Recipe

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

This Caramelized Onion & Tomato Tart is an easy dinner or appetizer for any summer gathering. Yielding 6 large, slices you can also just make it for an easy family dinner.

Print Pin

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Caramelized onion and tomato tart, puff pastry, tomato tart

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Rachel Quenzer

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.

Notes

Make sure to use a good quality extra virgin olive oil. It will add so much to all your recipes, not just this one. 

You can substitute 4-5 Roma tomatoes for Heirloom Tomatoes if you can't find them. 

If you want to add arugula, add it before layering the tomatoes and onions on.