Fresh summer tomatoes, sweet sauteed onions and crumbled bacon topped with a crunchy mix of breadcrumbs and fresh herbs, this simple savory side dish will become a favorite with all the tomato lovers at your house.
I actually made this recipe back in August when I was swimming in tomatoes from my mom and dad’s garden. I used all the different colors of tomatoes that I had, hoping they would make the dish extra pretty, but when you top them all with breadcrumbs, well, the color of the tomatoes doesn’t really stand out. Even so, it was a gorgeous dish and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
What is a gratin, anyway?
According to Food 52, a gratin—sometimes written as gratinée or au gratin—is a very flexible dish, always baked in a shallow dish (sometimes called a “gratin dish”) and always topped with something that will crisp up when the dish goes into a hot oven or under a broiler, like cheese or buttery breadcrumbs. So basically:
- A gratin is always baked and/or broiled in a shallow dish.
- The topping is traditionally cheese or breadcrumbs, and they should get crispy under the broiler.
“Gratin” is derived from the French verb gratiner—to broil. Gratter (to scratch or scrape) is a close verb, and definitely suggestive of a gratin’s crispy crust. And in colloquial French, there’s the fun expression le gratin de la société—a.k.a., “the upper crust.”
Probably the most well known gratin is the potato gratin, but why not a tomato gratin? Especially if you have a bunch of lovely garden tomatoes about. (If you don’t have fresh garden tomatoes, try Campari or sweet cherry tomatoes in their place.)
You can serve this lovely tomato gratin as a side dish, as shown here. or try it for breakfast. Say what? Yes, I enjoyed it as pictured here, fresh out of the oven, but then discovered the next day it was even better when topped with an egg for breakfast. So I ate it for breakfast all week. Because why not have gratin for breakfast?
I would suggest putting the bacon UNDER the breadcrumbs, though, because the bacon gets a little overcooked when you put it on top. I think it would be divine sprinkled with goat cheese or feta too.
You can leave out the bacon to make this a vegan dish, or use gluten free breadcrumbs to make it gluten free. Garnish with fresh herbs to make it extra pretty.
Print
Bacon & Onion Tomato Gratin
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 - 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- 1 cup toasted breadcrumbs (whole wheat or gluten free is fine)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked salt
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan or asiago cheese
- 1 Tablespoon finely chopped fresh herbs (I used rosemary, oregano, basil & tarragon) or 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
For the rest:
- 1 Tablespoon bacon butter (fat from baking bacon) or olive oil
- 2 – 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 medium vidalia onion, peeled & chopped
- 2 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 2 – 3 good-size tomatoes, cored & sliced thick
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together the crumb topping ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat an oven-proof skillet over medium heat on the stovetop. When hot, add the bacon butter or olive oil, half the bacon and the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are very soft. Add the garlic in and cook a little longer, until the garlic is fragrant. Remove the onion mixture from the pan. Sprinkle the bottom of the pan with half of the crumb mixture. Cover with the onions, then arrange the tomatoes on top. Sprinkle the top with crumbs and the rest of the bacon.
- Bake at 425 F. for 45 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and the crumbs are nicely browned.
Notes
RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/
© Copyright 2018, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Looking for more gratin recipes?
Here are some excellent gratin recipes from me and my foodie friends (and a few more, just for good measure):
- Tarragon Sunflower Roasted Vegetables
- Roasted Asparagus with Asiago Chive Breadcrumbs
- Baked Pumpkin Mac & Cheese with Spinach and Tomato
- Easy Sweet Potato Gratin – Bacon Fatte
- Grandma’s Extra Cheese Au Gratin Potatoes – ChinDeep
- Asian Style Plank Flounder with Butternut Gratin – ChinDeep
- Zucchini Rice & Cheese Gratin – Smitten Kitchen
- Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin – Peace Love and Low Carb
- Broccoli Cauliflower Brussels Sprouts Gratin – Peas and Crayons
- Skinny Sweet Potato Gratin – Iowa Girl Eats
- French Cauliflower Gratin – Olive Tree Kitchen
- Butternut Squash Gratin – The Kitchen is my Playground
- Vegan Creamy Corn Gratin – Avocado Pesto
3 comments
Oh my goodness, Ann, this looks so good! What a delicious way to enjoy fresh tomatoes and herbs… I’ve got to try it soon!
Oh I hope you do, Michele! It’s so good. (And seriously, try it with an egg on top. It makes a fabulous healthy breakfast!)
[…] Bacon & Onion Tomato Gratin – skip (or limit) the bacon, use whole grain breadcrumbs and olive oil instead of bacon fat to up the heart health benefits of this dish featuring garlic, onion and heart-healthy tomatoes. […]