Individual circles of buttery puff pastry topped with grated mozzarella cheese and a garden-fresh tomato, these Tomato Tarts Puff Pastry Appetizer are another savory puff pastry appetizer.
Let me show you how to make one of the easiest and delicious appetizers you're be serving over and over again.
Check out all my other puff pastry recipes to help you make something amazing for your family and friends.
Aren't these tomato tarts puff pastry appetizers the cutest? They were super easy to put together as well.
In fact it only took me 20 minutes to assemble and get them in the oven. AND...it only took me that long because I had to take photos! So I'm sure you can get these together much quicker!
Looking for more Italian Puff Pastry Appetizers? Try my Mini Puff Pastry Appetizers or my Italian Puff Pastry Appetizers!
Table of Contents
- Puff Pastry Finger Food
- Puff Pastry Appetizers
- Helpful Kitchen Tools
- Main Ingredients Needed
- Recipe Variations and Substitutions
- Step-by-Step Directions
- Do you prick puff pastry before baking?
- Baking Instructions
- Before You Begin!
- Prep Ahead Tips
- Storage Tips
- Recipe FAQ's
- More Recipes to Love
- 📖 Recipe Card
- 💬 Comments
Puff Pastry Finger Food
These tomato tarts will look great on the buffet table with other finger food styled appetizers, however, they also work great for lunch when served with a salad or one of my favorite Fall soup recipes.
Feel free to swap out the mozzarella cheese for another favorite cheese if you prefer. I think a spicy pepper jack cheese would work great. You could also drizzle balsamic glaze on top of these right before serving.
Puff Pastry Appetizers
Creating puff pastry appetizers is easy when you can use frozen puff pastry dough already made for you. It's easy to find in your grocery's freezer. So when it's on sale, I try to grab a few boxes because it also stores well in the freezer at home.
Try my Tomato and Mozzarella Puff Pastry Bites or a few of these Italian Puff Pastry Appetizers the next time you're entertaining.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
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Main Ingredients Needed
Here's a quick overview of the ingredients for this recipe. Find the exact amounts and click the Instacart button to easily add them to your cart – all in the printable recipe card below!
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
Add minced garlic to the pastry base before baking or roast garlic cloves and spread them on the tart.
Spread a thin layer of pesto on the pastry before adding the tomatoes and cheese.
Try different cheeses like provolone, ricotta salata, goat cheese, or feta.
Drizzle balsamic glaze on top of the tarts before serving!
Step-by-Step Directions
Step 1: Remove the sheet of puff pastry, still in the wrapper, from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to defrost the night before you plan on serving this recipe.
Step 2: On a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment paper, unfold the sheet of puff pastry. Using a rolling pin, gently press out the creases in the puff pastry.
Step 3: Using a round biscuit cutter, cut out 12 to 15 circles. You can see from the photo below that I used 3 different sized biscuit cutters.
Do you prick puff pastry before baking?
Step 4: Place the circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick each circle with a fork. This will help let steam escape while they're baking and not puff up too much.
Step 5: Place about a teaspoon of mozzarella cheese in the center of each pastry circle. Add a thinly sliced tomato on top of the cheese.
Step 6: Sprinkle each round with ground pepper and the freshly chopped herbs.
Baking Instructions
Step 7: Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until golden, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature.
Before You Begin!
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Prep Ahead Tips
- You can prepare everything up to two hours ahead of time and cover the baking tray with plastic wrap before placing it in the refrigerator.
- Simply bake them in the oven about 30 minutes before you want to serve. This way, you can provide your guests with freshly baked treats straight from the oven as they arrive.
Storage Tips
- These tomato tarts are best served fresh from the oven but if you do have leftovers, they need to be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- They will remain fresh for about a day. Do not freeze.
Recipe FAQ's
To view the answers, simply click on the down arrow (⬇) next to each question. If you have any other questions not answered here, please leave a comment!
Puff pastry is sold frozen, so you need to first defrost it before using it. Place the puff pastry in the refrigerator the night before you plan to bake with it. This allows the pastry to become pliable without softening up the butter in the pastry too much.
Some people may think this is a silly question, but I do receive emails asking me where to find puff pastry in the grocery store. In my local grocery store, puff pastry is located in the freezer section next to the frozen whipped topping and frozen desserts.
Lightly dust the sheet of puff pastry with flour and then using gentle pressure with a rolling pin, press the seams out that occurred when the puff pastry was folded to fit in the box.
More Recipes to Love
- Puff Pastry Christmas Tree Appetizer - made with pesto. This is the perfect appetizer for the holidays!
- Asparagus and Cheese Tart - another great puff pastry appetizer.
- Brie Filled Phyllo Cups
- Mini Spinach and Bacon Quiche - another individual sized appetizer.
📖 Recipe Card
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Tomato Tarts Puff Pastry Appetizer
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese; shredded
- 3 plum tomatoes thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped basil
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped parsley
- Fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Remove the sheet of puff pastry, still in the wrapper, from the freezer and place in the refrigerator to defrost the night before you plan on serving this recipe.
- On a lightly floured surface or piece of parchment paper, unfold the sheet of puff pastry. Using a rolling pin, gently press out the creases in the puff pastry.
- Using a round biscuit cutter, cut out 12 to 15 circles.
- Place the circles on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Prick each circle with a fork. This will help let steam escape while they're baking and not puff up too much.
- Place about a teaspoon of mozzarella cheese in the center of each pastry circle.
- Add a thinly sliced tomato on top of the cheese.
- Sprinkle each round with ground pepper and the freshly chopped herbs.
- Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven until golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Serve immediately or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
- I used three different sized round biscuit cutters for this recipe.
- Depending on the sizes you use, this recipe should yield between 12 to 15 tomato tarts.
- Feel free to drizzle balsamic glaze on top of the tarts before serving.
Lizzie Kinsey says
These are delicious, we had a few friends over for a barbeque and had several trays of these made up using some English cheeses we bought with us and lots of beautiful local Italian cheeses. We even experiment with different vegetables and herbs, they went down a treat, the children thought it was fun as they were responsible. We tried different flavours and mixes until we found several that the children and the "assistant were happy with. Everybody that was present thought thy were delicious and I think a lot more experimenting and tasting will be happening both in Italy and back home in England. Christmas flavours for our King's party in January.
Lois says
Thank you for the wonderful comment! Glad you all enjoyed the recipe and made it your own!
Michael L. Corcorab says
It's not the recipe, it's an idea. I started with pesto, Monterey Jack, tomato, and shrimp! It was killer.
Teresa says
I made these last night. I adjusted it: feta cheese instead of mozzarella and oregano instead of basil. Greek flavors. Delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Lois says
What a great way to make the recipe your own! Thanks for sharing!
Daisy says
All these dishes look yummy. Its really makes my mouth watery. I will try this recipe .
Lois says
Thank you!