This Tomato Tart Looks Fancy but Couldn’t Be Easier

Why It Works

• Cooking the tomatoes in butter before placing them in the tart reduces their juices, preventing a soggy crust.
• Adding a little sugar to the butter forms a caramel that glazes the tomatoes and intensifies their sweetness.

Late summer delivers tomatoes at their most glorious—sun-warmed, bursting with juice, and piled high at the farmers market in colors ranging from golden yellow to purple-black. Cut into one and you get that unmistakable rush of juice, sweet yet tart, the essence of the season captured in a single bite. It’s the kind of bounty that makes you want to celebrate tomatoes in every way possible—layered into sandwiches, tossed into salads, simmered into sauces, and, in this case, transformed into a shimmering upside-down tart. 

Calling this recipe a tarte tatin might seem surprising at first. The traditional French tarte tatin is an upside-down apple tart in which fruit is caramelized in butter and sugar before being topped with pastry and baked, then inverted for serving. Here, cherry tomatoes take the starring role: They’re arranged over a mixture of butter and sugar, topped with a round of pastry, and then baked until the pastry is crispy, the butter mixture is caramelized, and the tomatoes are almost impossibly sweet. The tart is then turned out onto a plate to reveal a glossy, jewel-toned crown. As with our French onion soup tarte tatin, the method borrows directly from the original, but the result is more savory rather than sweet, with tomatoes offering the same bright, juicy contrast that apples provide in the dessert version. 

This tomato tarte tatin comes to us from my colleague Melissa Gray-Streett in our Birmingham, Alabama, test kitchen, where it quickly became a staff favorite. Her onion and tomato cooking techniques are what make this tart special and what save it from the common pitfall of a soggy crust often associated with tomato tarts. It begins with onions, slowly cooked in butter until they collapse into a tangle of golden sweetness. A splash of dry sherry deglazes the pan, lifting the browned bits and adding a briny note that sharpens the richness. Stock is stirred in and simmered down until it clings to the onions, reducing to a glossy, savory jam that becomes the tart’s backbone.

Then, in an oven-safe skillet, butter, sugar, salt, and pepper are spread across the bottom before a layer of cherry tomatoes is nestled in on top. As the skillet heats, the butter and sugar bubble into caramel around the tomatoes, softening their skins and concentrating their juices until they glisten in a deep amber glaze. The jammy onions are spooned into the spaces between the tomatoes, weaving in sweetness and body. A swipe of mustard across the dough adds a spicy, nose-tingling edge, while nutty, umami-rich Gruyère melts into ribbons, anchoring the tart against all that sweetness and brightness.

Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

By the time the pastry is laid over everything, the filling is already lush and concentrated, far from the watery chaos raw tomatoes would bring. Once baked, the crust emerges crisp, golden, and buttery—sturdy enough to hold the juicy filling yet delicate enough to shatter under your fork. Serve the tart warm, while the crust is crisp and the tomatoes gleam in their caramel. With every slice you get buttery pastry, jammy onions, and juicy, sweet-savory tomatoes—a reminder to savor tomato season to the very last bite.

This recipe was developed by Melissa Gray-Streett; the headnote was written by Laila Ibrahim.

This Tomato Tart Looks Fancy but Couldn’t Be Easier

Cook Mode
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• 1/2 recipe old-fashioned flaky pie dough prepared through step 2 or 1 sheet frozen puff pastry (397 g; 14 ounces), thawed

• 4 tablespoons (2 ounces; 57 g) unsalted butter, softened, divided

• 1 small yellow onion (4 ounces; 113 g), thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dry sherry (such as fino or manzanilla)

• 3/4 cup (180 ml) homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided; for table salt, use half as much by volume

• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar (1/2 ounce; 15 g)

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for serving

• 1 pound (455 g) cherry or grape tomatoes (see notes)

• 2 ounces (57 g) Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) Dijon mustard

• Fresh thyme leaves, for serving

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

1. If using homemade pie dough: Line a large plate with parchment. Roll one portion of dough into a 10-inch round and transfer to prepared plate. Working around circumference, fold 1/2-inch of dough over itself and pinch to create a 9-inch round with a raised rim. Cut three 2-inch shallow slits in center of dough, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. (If refrigerating overnight, cover dough with plastic wrap.)

   If using store-bought puff pastry: On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry large enough to cut out a 10-inch round. Place an inverted 10-inch skillet, bowl, or cake pan on the dough, then cut around it to form a circle. Transfer dough to a large parchment-lined plate. Working around circumference, fold 1/2-inch of dough over itself and pinch to create a 9-inch round with a raised rim. Using a fork, prick bottom of dough all over, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours. (If refrigerating overnight, cover dough with plastic wrap.)

   Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

2. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). In a medium stainless steel skillet, melt 1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce; 14 g) butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time as needed to prevent scorching, until caramelized and deep golden brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in sherry, using a wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Add stock, bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is jammy and liquid has thickened, 6 to 10 minutes. Stir in thyme and 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt. Remove from heat; set aside.

   Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

3. In a 10-inch oven-safe skillet, spread remaining 3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces; 43 g) butter evenly over bottom. Sprinkle sugar, pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt evenly over butter. Arrange tomatoes in an even layer over butter.

   Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

4. Transfer skillet to stove. Cook over high heat without stirring until tomatoes have slightly softened and butter-sugar mixture is amber, about 6 to 8 minutes, rotating skillet occasionally to maintain even browning. Remove from heat.

5. Spoon caramelized onions into empty spaces among tomatoes. Evenly top tomatoes with Gruyère.

   Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

6. Spread mustard evenly over prepared dough or pastry within rim, and carefully invert the dough over tomatoes, mustard-side down, making sure dough or pastry is centered.

   Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

7. Bake until crust is deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer skillet to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes.

8. Place a large plate over skillet, then carefully invert tart onto plate. Rearrange any tomatoes that have shifted during unmolding. Allow to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Top with thyme, flaky sea salt, and additional pepper. Serve.

   Serious Eats / Robby Lozano

Special Equipment: 

Rolling pin; medium stainless steel skillet; 10-inch oven-safe skillet; wire rack

Notes:

We prefer using multicolored cherry or grape tomatoes for their visual appeal and flavor contrast, but any kind of cherry tomatoes will work.

Make-Ahead and Storage:

Tomato tarte tatin is best eaten the day it’s made, while the crust is still crisp. Leftovers can be cooled completely, then covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 350°F (175°C) oven until warmed through to help restore some of the crust’s crispy texture.