Philadelphia tomato pie is a classic Italian-American pizza style dish made on a focaccia-like crust and topped with a simple, savory tomato sauce.
It’s a delicious, no-frills comfort food throughout Pennsylvania. It’s my effort to find something similar to Senape’s Pitza in Hazelton, for my brother who misses it after moving back home.
- Do You Add Sugar to Pizza Sauce?
- Is There Cheese On Tomato Pie?
- About The Dough
- How Should Tomato Pie Be Stored?
- Recipe
Ingredients
Since the sauce of any Philadelphia Tomato Pie is the most important part, making your own is the perfect way to highlight all the delicious flavors you want.
I’m using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry to make things easier. You can get more creative and use fresher ingredients if you would like to experiment.
For instance, go ahead and use those Roma tomatoes you have growing in your garden to make your own crushed tomatoes. Add your own home grown basil or oregano.
The nice thing about this sauce is that you can use it for more than this recipe. Use it with pasta or as a sauce for meatballs.
You can replace the jarred garlic with fresh garlic. About three cloves garlic should be enough.
Do You Add Sugar to Pizza Sauce?
I’ve added a touch of sugar to this sauce. It’s not much. You just want to cut through any acid of the tomatoes. If you have ever had Tomato Pie at one of the bakeries in Pennsylvania, you will notice the lingering sweetness of the sauce.
If you’re using fresh tomatoes, like some heirlooms, you may not need to use any sugar at all. Taste it before adding when you’re starting from fresh.
Tomato Paste
I use only half a can of Tomato Paste so I went ahead and made two of these pizzas for sharing. If you’re not ready to make two, you could freeze the other half of the paste in a small air-tight container which can be refrigerated or frozen. You can also buy it in a squeezable tube to make it easier to save leftovers.
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Use Both Butter and Olive Oil
Butter adds the richness of dairy, while extra-virgin olive oil helps to thin the sauce and add unique flavor. Together, they help to enhance all the other flavors of herbs and spices.
Optional Spicy Heat
I love to add just a little bit of spicy heat. For this recipe, I’ve used Cayenne Pepper. You can use red pepper flakes or even Frank’s Hot Sauce. If you prefer to add your own, try a few shakes of Tony Chachare’s or the pepper flakes at the table so each person can have their own amount of heat.
Is There Cheese On Tomato Pie?
Sometimes, there is no cheese at all! Tomato Pie originated in Italy, in a location that didn’t have many dairy cows. That meant no cheese (so sad!) and, in parts of Philadelphia and even New Jersey, you can still find the cheese-less tomato pies, after Italian immigrants brought over the recipe to the United States.
There is a very light sprinkling of grated Parmesan on my version. You can easily use about 1 ½″ of the tip of the triangle. It’s surprising how much cheese you can grate from one small piece.
Although I like to use fresh Parmesan, I’ve seen many Tomato Pies with your standard green can of shaker cheese on top. I don’t use it often, but there’s a time and place, even for shaker cheese. Use Parmesan, or use Pecorino Romano Cheese if you can find it.
About The Dough
Typically, when I make pizza, I stick to my bread machine recipe and the crust is pretty thin because I cut it in half to make two pizzas.
With Philadelphia Tomato Pie, you need to shake things up a bit. Your crust will be more like a thick foccacia bread by using the entire pizza dough recipe. It’s thick, soft and chewy.
This is my original pizza dough. You can get my tips at the link for additional information or see the full recipe below. Use the entire recipe instead of cutting it in half. The difference with this recipe and my other recipes, is that you spread it in a rectangle and allow it to rise several times so that it gets nice and fluffy.
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Bread Flour or All Purpose Flour?
I always use bread flour instead of all purpose flour. You can use all purpose flour, if you like, but you may not get as fluffy a rise on the dough.
How To Serve
Unlike regular, round pizzas that you serve by a triangle slice, this style of pizza is cut into squares or rectangles. This certainly isn’t your New York style pizza!
Serve it at room temperature for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a snack. It’s especially great for meatless meals.
With this much bread, you may not be interested in having a side dish, but a little fresh garden salad would be nice.
How Should Tomato Pie Be Stored?
Although you’ll serve this pizza at room temperature, you shouldn’t leave it out too long. The leftovers need to be refrigerated in an airtight container because bacteria can start to grow in as little as two hours.
Be sure to eat it within two days. The weight of the tomato sauce will start making the crust soggy. You can reheat lightly in the air fryer or toaster oven, or eat straight out of the refrigerator. (Perfect for breakfast!)
More Pizza, Please!
Pizza recipes are where this blog started, so I have lots of ideas in the Pizza category. Here are a few of my favorites:
Once you start making your own pizza dough, you’ll find that it’s really the best! You won’t miss take out at all.
Recipe
Philadelphia Tomato Pie
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For more information, be sure to check the recipe details in the attached 24Bite® post.
Equipment
- Large Sauce Pan
- 9" x 13" Baking Sheet (quarter sheet pan)
- Supplies needed for Pizza Dough at linked recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Pizza Dough, homemade, recipe at link
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Butter, unsalted
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 28 ounces Crushed Tomatoes, canned
- 3 tablespoons Tomato Paste, canned
- 1 tablespoon Sugar, granulated
- 1 teaspoon Minced Dried Onion
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic, fresh or from a jar
- 2 teaspoons Oregano, dried
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, ground, optional
- ½ cup Water
Assembly
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- ½ cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Prepare Pizza Dough from the linked recipe, using a bread machine, standing mixer or by hand. For best results, after the dough is ready from the bread machine, proof in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes or overnight, up to two days before using.
- Sauce. Place butter and olive oil in large sauce pan on medium heat. Once butter is fully melted and incorporated with the olive oil, add all other Sauce ingredients. Heat until just boiling then reduce heat to low. Stirring frequently, you're reducing the liquid, without allowing it to burn on the bottom, about 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, then store in the refrigerator until you're ready to start the pizza.
- Place 2 tablespoons olive oil on 9" x 13" baking sheet and spread evenly. Place dough ball in center. Push the dough ball around, turning it to completely cover with olive oil. Flatten as best as possible to fit the baking sheet. Use gravity by picking it up and shaking it lightly whenever necessary to stretch the dough gently. It won't stretch all the way to the outside yet since the olive oil allows it to spring back. Cover with a clean, dry cloth and place in a warm place to proof about 30-60 minutes, until doubled.
- The dough will be more fluffy and pliable at this point. Press it out to the edges. It should be more cooperative now. Cover again and allow to proof for 30 minutes.
- Using a paper towel, soak up any excess olive oil in the corners.
- Move the wire rack from the center to one below, to get it a little closer to the heat source. Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Spread the Sauce evenly on the dough, leaving the edges bare about 1" around.
- Place pizza in the oven and bake about 18-22 minutes until the edges start to turn golden
- Remove from oven to trivet. After 5 minutes, remove carefully to a wire cooling rack to keep the bottom from getting soggy. Allow to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour.
- Sprinkle evenly with grated Parmesan cheese. Cut into 8 or 16 equal pieces.
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Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
© 2019-2025 Kim Guzman and Christian Guzman. All rights reserved. Subscribe to 24Bite email newsletters.
Recipe for Homemade Pizza Dough
Homemade Pizza Dough in Bread Machine
Tap to leave a star ratingFor more information, be sure to check the recipe details in the attached 24Bite® post.
Equipment
- Bread Machine (Cuisinart Bread Maker 2 Pound used)
- Rolling Pin
Ingredients
- 1 pkt Active Dry Yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons
- 1 ⅛ cup Very Warm Water, 110° to 115°
- 2 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 2 tbsp Avocado Oil, or olive oil
- 450 grams Bread Flour, (about 3 ¾ cups spoon and fill) plus a little bit more for rolling
- 1 tsp Salt
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together yeast, water and sugar. Set aside. After 10 minutes, check that it's bubbly. If so, continue. If not, you may want to try again with fresher yeast.
- Add yeast mixture to bread pan in bread machine.
- Add oil to bread pan.
- Add flour to bread pan.
- Add salt to bread pan.
- Set bread machine to make dough only. Once finished, take out and separate into two balls. Cover with plastic wrap and put in refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
- Roll out and add toppings as desired. When the recipe is split in two crusts like this, it takes about 15-20 minutes to cook the completed pizzas in a 425℉ oven.
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Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
© 2019-2025 Kim Guzman and Christian Guzman. All rights reserved. Subscribe to 24Bite email newsletters.
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Gwynn Galvin says
This is my new favorite pizza recipe! Delish!
Amy Liu Dong says
I think I can make this for the kids for pizza night. It is so easy and delicious!
Sean says
Such and an easy and flavorful pizza I made this with my cousins and they loved it.
Cathleen says
Pizza night just got an upgrade with this recipe! Thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Jamie says
Amazing! Very easy to do and will try this later for dinner! Must try everyone!