Roasted Cherry Tomato and Pesto Tart

This Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart with homemade Basil Pesto is an easy summer lunch or dinner that the whole family will enjoy. Our tart is made with a store-bought puff pastry base and loaded with fresh vegan pesto and cherry tomatoes. A quick recipe to enjoy the best of the summer produce.

This year, I'm officially ready to make the most of my cherry tomatoes. If you are a gardener like me (even an aficionado one), you probably know that you can harvest tons of cherry tomatoes from one single tomato plant, and when that happens, you can easily get overloaded with this ingredient.

Now, this is one of those recipes, together with our Roasted Tomato Soup made with cherry tomatoes, you'll want to keep close to make the most of these mini tomatoes. Our Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart recipe also includes a herby layer of fresh basil pesto, which is the perfect addition to it. Why? Because basil and cherry tomatoes will be ready to harvest at very similar times, or you can find them in your local farmer's market during the same season.

We have a whole post about how to make vegan pesto with freezing tips, as every summer, we harvest our basil to make a great amount of pesto and store it during the colder months to make easy pasta dinners.

So, make the most of the summer produce with easy and quick recipes like this tart!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Cooking Method
• Roasted Cherry Tomato Tart with Pesto
• Variations to our Cherry Tomato Tart
• Serving Suggestions
• More Vegan Summer Recipes:

Ingredients

You'll be happy to know that you only need three ingredients to prepare this easy Cherry Tomato Tart, once you've made the pesto.

Vegan Puff Pastry. You should be able to easily find vegan puff pastry as most brands use margarine or another plant-based fat to make them.

Basil Pesto. You can make your own Vegan Pesto following our own recipe, buy it already made, or make another type of pesto, such as oregano pesto or spinach pesto. Finding vegan pesto in supermarkets is not always easy, as most brands use parmesan cheese, that's why we always make our own pesto with yeast flakes.

Cherry tomatoes. You can use any type of cherry tomatoes you like or have. Smaller, larger, yellow, or red. Choose whatever you like or have in your garden. For this recipe, we use a mixture of cherry tomatoes from different plants. You can also use large tomatoes for this recipe.

Cooking Method

If you’re making the pesto from scratch, you’ll need to add all the pesto ingredients in a blender jug or food processor and blend until you have a smooth pesto sauce. You can follow our Vegan Pesto recipe.

If you're using frozen puff pastry, you'll need to completely thaw the pastry before using it. Roll out the puff pastry and fold the edges to create a crust. Also, I always pierce the pastry with a fork a few times to make sure I don’t get air bubbles while baking the tart.

Once the puff pastry is rolled out and the edges folded, you can spread the pesto. Make sure you're generous with the amount of pesto you add, as it adds a delicious flavor to the tart, and it keeps it moist even after baking.

Wash and cut the cherry tomatoes. If you’re using different types of cherry tomatoes, slice them to a similar size to ensure that they all cook evenly. If you are using one type of cherry tomato, a good trick to cut it fast is to place it between two plates or lids and slice it with a sharp knife (working horizontally) while putting some pressure on it.

Place the sliced cherry tomatoes on the tart. Make sure they cover the whole surface; otherwise, the pesto will dry while baking.

Bake for about 20 minutes at 400°f (200°c), or until the crust is golden brown and crispy. Make sure the pastry is well done, especially in the middle of the tart. You can always set the oven to only bottom heat for the last bit.

Leave to cool for a couple of minutes before slicing it, and your Cherry Tomato Tart will be ready to serve!

Variations to our Cherry Tomato Tart

• Roast the cherry tomatoes ahead. You can have your tomatoes already roasted before adding them to the tart, but we simply skip this step as we like the tomatoes with a bit of crunch, and also, it saves time. By roasting the tomatoes ahead, you get softer and sweeter tomatoes.
• Add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar before baking to add sweetness.
• Top the tomato tart before serving with crumbled vegan feta or regular feta, nuts such as pinenuts, walnuts, or pistachios, some dried herbs, or black olives.
• Use store-bought pesto. We like making our own plant-based pesto, but you can us store-bought pesto for a quicker alternative.

Serving Suggestions

I love my Cherry Tomato Tart as a summer appetizer, or an evening snack. I've also enjoyed this recipe as a light lunch with a fresh salad, or prepared ahead to bring out on a beach day or picnic.

Some of my favorite salads to pair with this tart are cucumber salad, this zucchini and peach salad, or our classic Mediterranean pasta salad.

If you have leftover pesto, you can make this Trenette al pesto, or these crispy smashed potatoes with pesto.

Keep the leftover tart in an airtight container in the fridge and consume in the next 2 days. I find the best way to reheat it is with an air fryer, but you can also use the oven or microwave. Keep in mind that if you use the microwave, the puff pastry will get soggy.

More Vegan Summer Recipes:

• 11 Easy Vegan Summer Dinners
• Marinated Olives
• Cucumber gazpacho