Scalloped Tomatoes
I love, love, LOVE this Scalloped Tomatoes recipe! It has roasted tomatoes, garlic, basil, and croutons made from either baguettes or any other artisan-type bread. I’ve used Italian bread that was filled with different herbs and seeds, French bread and other artisan breads before.
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I’m a tomato lover so I enjoy just about anything made with tomatoes, and this recipe is exceptionally good. It’s also quite easy to make up as a side for any dinner menu, although I like eating it alone just as a luncheon dish! On top of that, Scalloped Tomatoes is quite economical, especially when tomatoes are in season like they are now.
The first time I heard about this fabulous side dish was when I was visiting my sister for the Thanksgiving holidays several years ago and we were watching the Food Network. On came Ina Garten and The Barefoot Contessa program. She was making this delicious recipe. I took hand written notes and copied the recipe down immediately. I’d been trying to find a good Scalloped Tomatoes recipe for over a decade by that point. This recipe is definitely a keeper if you like tomatoes. Over the years I’ve changed things quite a bit, but my recipe was inspired from her version.
Rather than 16 plum tomatoes, I used 8 large Roma tomatoes, and 2-3 cups of any kind of specialty bread. I’ve made this recipe with fresh and dried basil. While fresh basil definitely tastes better, it also browns really darkly causing the casserole to look scorched. I was making this for a friend who has had her gall bladder removed so I omitted the extra olive oil drizzled over the top since my friend has to be careful of oils. I’ve tasted it both ways and it’s delicious both ways.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy side dish that will go with just about any kind of meat entree then consider this fantastic Scalloped Tomatoes recipe. I can’t rave about it enough. If you like tomatoes you will love this recipe. The savory tastes of the olive oil, salt and pepper, and basil are simply sensational when you add an artisan-type bread or baguettes into the mix.
This side dish may be a little too much with most Italian dishes that are already based on spaghetti sauce. However, it is great for almost any other kind of main dish casserole that doesn’t have tomatoes in the dish. This is also a great recipe to try for holiday baking since so many of the side dishes are laden with sugar and excessively high in calories.
When I first posted this recipe in July 2013, I was really disappointed with the way the casserole looked after baking. It was my first time actually using fresh basil in a recipe. The basil turned really dark while baking and it made the casserole looked like it was scorched or burned in spots. Yikes. I recently remade this superb side dish for friends who were moving (February 2015). I also retook the pictures and these don’t have a scorched look and the cheese melted properly.
I used baguettes for the bread, dried basil (since I didn’t want the casserole looking burnt!), and plenty of cheese. Then I drizzled the olive oil over top before baking. I also made a very small side dish for me! I could have eaten ALL of the Scalloped Tomatoes I made–even those for our friends. But I refrained, but I sure wanted to gobble it all up. This is still my favorite tomato side dish. I hope you’ll give it a try.
Scalloped Tomatoes is a spectacular recipe.
The savory taste of Scalloped Tomatoes is amazing.
In this close up you can see the pieces of basil and melted Italian-cheese blend. I like Scalloped Tomatoes so much I can eat almost half the casserole in one sitting!
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients. I was making this recipe for another family so I actually made a double batch.
Place some olive oil in a skillet. Add baguette bread cubes. I’ve used French bread, artisan bread, and Italian bread (with seeds and herbs). Ina Garten originally said baguettes on the television program. On the online recipe she recommends boule-type bread. I think you could use almost any kind of bread and it will turn out wonderfully.
Saute the bread a few minutes in the olive oil. Add the tomatoes, sugar, salt, pepper, basil and garlic. Allow tomatoes to cook down a little. (I actually covered this with a lid and cooked for about 10-15 minutes).
Cover with lid and cook 10-15 minutes until tomatoes cook down slightly. Stir ingredients well to combine.
Here the tomatoes and bread have cooked down and softened.
Ina Garten uses a lot of fresh basil in her recipes. Scalloped Tomatoes tastes wonderfully with fresh basil but I don’t like the burned look that basil gets when it’s baked.
Spray a 9×13″ pan with olive oil cooking spray. Add the tomato mixture.
Sprinkle with Italian 6-cheese blend. Finally, drizzle olive oil over top.
Bake at 350 about 15-20 minutes or until casserole is heated through and cheese has melted.
I used a delectable 6-cheese blend in the recipe, although the original calls for parmesan cheese. If you choose to use parmesan cheese only, don’t use the cheap canned stuff. If you want the right combination of flavors, buy some REAL parmesan cheese!
Scalloped Tomatoes is probably one of the best tomato casserole recipes I’ve ever tasted. So easy, and economical, too.
Scalloped Tomatoes is a delicious side dish with Grilled Salmon, Creamy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, Spicy Honey-Brushed Chicken Thighs, or Parmesan Chicken Bake. This is one of those recipes that you can add more tomatoes to the contents if you desire. Her online version of this recipe calls for more tomatoes than I remember the original television version suggesting to use.
Here’s the recipe.
SCALLOPED TOMATOES
(Recipe inspired from the Barefoot Contessa, via Food Network)
Scalloped Tomatoes
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 9x13" glass baking dish
- 2 sharp knives to cut bread and tomatoes
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cups baguette cubed, about half of a baguette
- 3 lbs. Roma tomatoes, ½-inch diced 6-8 large Roma tomatoes
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic from a jar drained (or two cloves garlic, finely minced)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. dried basil or one-quarter cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup Italian 6-cheese blend shredded (Mozzarella, Romano, Asiago, Parmesan, Fontina and Provolone)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Cut baguette into cubes on a cutting board with a sharp knife.
- In large skillet, sauté baguette cubes in 3 tbsp. olive oil about 5 minutes or so over medium heat.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, granulated sugar, salt, pepper and dried basil and sauté between 10-15 minutes – enough to break down the tomatoes a little bit.
- Remove from heat.
- Empty contents into a greased 9x13” casserole dish.
- Sprinkle one cup of the 6-cheese Italian cheese blend, or more, on top.
- Then drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil.
- Bake at 350º about 15-20 minutes until bubbly and brown.
Notes
Recipe inspired from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, via Food Network.
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
- 3 tbsp. Olivari Mediterranean olive oil
- 3-4 cups baguette, cubed (about half of a baguette)
- 3 lbs. Roma tomatoes, ½-inch diced (6-8 large Roma tomatoes)
- 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, drained, from a jar
- 2 tbsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- 1 tbsp. dried basil or one-half cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup shredded Italian 6-cheese blend (mozzarella, romano, Asiago, parmesan, fontina and provolone)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- In large skillet, sauté baguette cubes in 3 tbsp. olive oil about 5 minutes or so over medium heat.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, pepper and dried basil and sauté between 10-15 minutes – enough to break down the tomatoes a little bit.
- Remove from heat.
- Empty contents into a greased 9×13” casserole dish.
- Sprinkle 1 cup 6-cheese Italian cheese blend, or more, on top.
- Then drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil.
- Bake at 350º about 15-20 minutes until bubbly and brown.
Scalloped Tomatoes makes a wonderful holiday side dish.
Scalloped Tomatoes are lip-smacking good! Now I’m drooling!
You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!
Scalloped Tomatoes
Equipment
- 1 large skillet
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- 1 wooden spoon
- 1 9×13" glass baking dish
- 2 sharp knives to cut bread and tomatoes
- 1 cutting board
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp. olive oil
- 4 cups baguette cubed, about half of a baguette
- 3 lbs. Roma tomatoes, ½-inch diced 6-8 large Roma tomatoes
- 1 tbsp. minced garlic from a jar drained (or two cloves garlic, finely minced)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp. dried basil or one-quarter cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 cup Italian 6-cheese blend shredded (Mozzarella, Romano, Asiago, Parmesan, Fontina and Provolone)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Cut baguette into cubes on a cutting board with a sharp knife.
- In large skillet, sauté baguette cubes in 3 tbsp. olive oil about 5 minutes or so over medium heat.
- Add tomatoes, garlic, granulated sugar, salt, pepper and dried basil and sauté between 10-15 minutes – enough to break down the tomatoes a little bit.
- Remove from heat.
- Empty contents into a greased 9×13” casserole dish.
- Sprinkle one cup of the 6-cheese Italian cheese blend, or more, on top.
- Then drizzle with 2 tbsp. olive oil.
- Bake at 350º about 15-20 minutes until bubbly and brown.