Cream Cheese Tart

Name: Cream Cheese Tart
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: United States
Ingredients: 250g Flour; 125g Butter; 1 Egg; Pinch Salt; 300g Cheese; 100ml milk Milk; 3 Eggs; 100g Parmesan Cheese; 350g Plum tomatoes; 3tbsp White Vinegar; 1 tbsp Honey; Topping Basil

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Starter recipe with United States flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 69 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 42 min total

250g Flour
125g Butter
1 Egg
Pinch Salt
300g Cheese
100ml milk Milk
3 Eggs
100g Parmesan Cheese
350g Plum Tomatoes
3tbsp White Vinegar
1 tbsp Honey
Topping Basil

Step-by-step instructions

Crust: make a dough from 250g flour (I like mixing different flours like plain and wholegrain spelt flour), 125g butter, 1 egg and a pinch of salt, press it into a tart form and place it in the fridge.
Filling: stir 300g cream cheese and 100ml milk until smooth, add in 3 eggs, 100g grated parmesan cheese and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Take the crust out of the fridge and prick the bottom with a fork.
Pour in the filling and bake at 175 degrees C for about 25 minutes.
Cover the tart with some aluminium foil after half the time.
In the mean time, slice about 350g mini tomatoes.
In a small pan heat 3tbsp olive oil, 3tbsp white vinegar, 1 tbsp honey, salt and pepper and combine well.
Pour over the tomato slices and mix well.
With a spoon, place the tomato slices on the tart, avoiding too much liquid on it.
Decorate with basil leaves and enjoy.

Why this works on a weeknight

Cream Cheese Tart lands at about 42 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Cream Cheese Tart actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Starter United States Tart Savory Cheesy