Welcome to recipe #3 in Pie Week! We’ve had our fill of sugar lately and with Thanksgiving dessert and Christmas cookies on the horizon, I figured now’s the perfect time to hop on the savory bandwagon. This is an absolutely INCREDIBLE savory vegetable cheese tart. The filling tastes like cheesy ravioli. I mean… do I even need to continue?!
Why Bake a Vegetable and Cheese Tart?
Make a cheesy veggie tart. Trust me when I say this vegetable and cheese tart solves all your problems. Sitting in a buttery pie crust, this salty herbed cheese filling is the creamy cushion for a cornucopia of vegetables. Watch me make it:
Tart That’s Not Dessert
So, what is vegetable and cheese tart? Today we’re combining 3 things: The filling combines ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, 2 eggs for structure, garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Does it taste like quiche? No not at all. It tastes like ravioli filling!! In fact, I’m even thinking of sautéing some spinach and adding that to the filling next time. Let me know if you try that! Important step: Blind-bake (pre-bake) the crust before adding the filling, otherwise the crust will taste soggy. Pie weights are ideal for when we blind bake pie crust. Without pie weights, the pie dough will puff up, then shrink. Line the crust with parchment or aluminum foil, then fill the empty pie crust with the weights. You can watch me do this in the video above.
What Toppings Can I Use?
I used orange and purple sweet potatoes, but the options are seriously endless:
Mushrooms + peppers + onions (and crumbled cooked sausage!) Tomatoes + basil + add fresh pesto after it bakes Zucchini + tomatoes Sweet potato + eggplant + add goat cheese after it bakes Chopped asparagus + add a drizzle of balsamic after it bakes Butternut squash + mushroom + onion Shaved brussels sprouts Fresh lump crab + asparagus (with lots of Old Bay seasoning!)
Add lots of fresh herbs and switch up the parmesan cheese in the filling. As long as you stick to the basic butter crust + ricotta filling, you can truly make this vegetable and cheese tart your own by playing around with the flavors. If you love this recipe you’ll want to try my butternut squash tart and mushroom puff pastry tarts next.
What to Serve with Vegetable and Cheese Tart?
I’m including this because as I pulled a test veggie and cheese tart out of the oven, Kevin and I looked at each other and both said “what should we eat this with??” I have some ideas!
Side dishes like corn on the cob, a big crunchy green salad, or corn black bean & avocado salsa which also serves as a side salad Soup such as minestrone soup or even fresh tomato soup For some meat: turkey meatballs A lighter option like baked lemon herb salmon For lunch—a colorful fruit salad
Lots of options, but let me know how YOU enjoy this veggie tart!
See Your Savory Vegetable Cheese Tarts!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂 This recipe is part of Sally’s Pie Week, an annual tradition where I share a handful of new recipes that fit into the pie/crisp/tart category. Join the community below!
