Green Tomato Pie

When tomato season is winding down and those green tomatoes have run out of time to turn red, you’ll be grateful for this recipe idea. This is one of our grandma’s best garden tomato recipes. Green tomato pie turns mouth-puckering, tart green tomatoes into a sweet cinnamon-y pie. Serve it for dessert or as a morning treat for brunch. It’s just one way to use green tomatoes besides frying them.

When green tomatoes bake with sugar and cinnamon, the transformation is almost magical. The tomatoes mellow as they cook, losing their tart acidity while still keeping some of their texture. The filling with its texture, sugar and cinnamon almost tastes like apple pie; in fact, green tomato pie is sometimes called mock apple pie! Of course, the tomato seeds inside will give it away.

Make this green tomato pie recipe with one of our easy pie pastry recipes, or pick up a package of premade pie crust. It takes just 15 minutes to assemble the pie with sliced tomatoes, sugar and spice—then you can sit back and enjoy the delectable aroma as it bakes.

Ingredients for Green Tomato Pie

• Green tomatoes: For this green tomato pie recipe, gather four to five green tomatoes from your garden or from the farmers market. Choose tomatoes that are free from blemishes or cracks.
• Pie crust dough: Use a homemade or store-bought premade pie crust. You’ll need enough for a double-crust pie.
• Flour: To help hold the pie filling together, especially when sliced, add all-purpose flour to the filling to thicken the juices as the pie bakes.
• Butter: Pats of butter (you can use salted or unsalted) are added to the pie filling before baking. Butter adds flavor and blends with the flour to help thicken the filling.
• Sugar: Green tomatoes are quite tart and firm; granulated sugar in the filling sweetens and softens the tomatoes to make them perfectly palatable.
• Cinnamon: Use your favorite type of cinnamon. Whether mild or strong, cinnamon is showcased deliciously in this recipe for green tomato pie.
• Cider vinegar: Vinegar adds a touch of acidity to the pie that brightens the flavor. Apple cider vinegar brings a touch of sweetness and apple flavor too.
• Salt: The recipe for green tomato pie calls for only a pinch of salt, but that’s just enough to make all the other ingredients really pop.

Directions

Step 1: Make the filling

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add the thinly sliced green tomatoes and the cider vinegar to the bowl. Toss the tomatoes in the ingredients until they’re coated.

Step 2: Prepare the bottom crust

On a lightly floured surface, roll out half the pie crust into a circle large enough to fit a 9-inch pie plate. The dough should be about 1/8-inch thick. Move the circle to the pie plate, press it into place and trim the overhang to 1/2-inch beyond the edge of the plate.

Step 3: Assemble the pie

Pour the tomato filling into the pie shell and dot the top with butter. Roll out the rest of the pie dough into a 1/8-inch-thick circle; cut the dough into 1-inch wide strips. Weave the strips into a lattice on top of the pie filling. Trim and seal the strips to the edge of the bottom crust, then flute the edge all around.

Editor’s Tip: Don’t fear the lattice pie! Avoid cutting the strips too thin, especially if you’re a beginner (that will mean more weaving!). Lay the first strips on top of the pie, then fold back every other strip, lay down a new strip perpendicular and repeat.

Step 4: Bake and cool

Slide the pie into the oven and bake the pie until the tomatoes are tender, about one hour. Move the pie to a wire cooling rack; cool it to room temperature before slicing and serving.

Editor’s Tip: Protect the bottom of your oven! Place a baking sheet on the oven rack below your pie to catch drips from the filling and crust.

MARK DERSE FOR TASTE OF HOME

Green Tomato Pie Variations

• Add apples: Slice a tart baking apple and add it to the filling with the tomatoes. The best types of apples for baking include Granny Smith, Honeycrisp and Rome Beauty.
• Include more spices: Along with cinnamon, add more warming spices like ground cloves, cardamom, allspice or ginger.
• Make it with dried fruit: For chewy sweet bits in the baked pie, fold black or golden raisins into the green tomato filling.
• Try adding citrus zest: Add the zest and juice of a small lemon or orange to the pie; both are delicious with the cinnamon filling. Kitchen tools like a box grater or vegetable peeler can be used to quickly zest citrus.
• Use some brown sugar: Give the recipe for green tomato pie a deeper, more caramel-like sweetness by substituting light brown sugar for half the granulated sugar.
• Thicken with tapioca: Some readers prefer to use a different, old-fashioned pie thickener in this recipe: instant tapioca. To do this, omit the flour in the pie filling and use 2 to 3 tablespoons of instant tapioca instead. Let the pie filling sit for 15 minutes before spooning it into the crust.

How to Store Green Tomato Pie

When making this green tomato pie recipe in advance or if you have leftovers, let the pie cool completely, then wrap it tightly and store the pie in the refrigerator. The cold will help preserve the flavor and quality of the pie.

How long does green tomato pie last?

Your green tomato pie will last for three to four days when stored in the refrigerator. Serve slices cold or let them come to room temperature first.

Can you freeze green tomato pie?

You can freeze your green tomato pie recipe before baking it. After assembling the pie with the lattice top, cover it with storage wrap and place it on a tray in the freezer. Once the pie is frozen solid, wrap it tightly in freezer-proof food wrap. Store it in the freezer for up to three months.

When you’re ready to bake it, let the pie thaw overnight in the fridge before baking it as directed. While it’s also possible to freeze the pie after baking, the process may leave the green tomato filling and pie crust soggy.

Green Tomato Pie Tips

MARK DERSE FOR TASTE OF HOME

How do you make pie dough?

Our recipe for a buttery classic pie pastry comes together easily, and the flavor is a perfect pairing with the green tomato filling. Combine 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then cut in 1 cup cold butter until crumbly. Gradually add 1/3 to 2/3 cup ice water, tossing the dough with a fork until it holds together when pressed. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a disk; wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Other delicious pie crust options include our vegan pie pastry made with shortening, an old-fashioned lard crust or a gluten-free pie crust.

How can I make green tomato pie easier to slice?

Some folks find that adding green tomatoes to the pie in slices makes it harder to get neat wedges out once the pie is baked. To solve this, cut the green tomatoes into small chunks instead. Toss them with the dry ingredients and apple cider vinegar as directed before spooning the tomato filling into the pie shell. Letting the pie cool completely and using a sharp kitchen or serrated knife will also help get you a perfect pie slice.

What can you serve with tomato pie?

For a cinnamon-loaded green tomato pie recipe, look for the same accompaniments you’d serve with other sweet pies, like homemade whipped cream or a scoop of the best vanilla ice cream. Also, try a drizzle of thick, salted caramel sauce over green tomato pie.