It’s easy to make your own oven-dried tomatoes! These tomatoes are tangy and delicious, and will bring a ton of flavor to your recipes.
Do you plant a summer garden? We love to plant zucchini, cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes.
We usually do quite a few varieties of tomatoes, and inevitably the ones that do the best are the little cherry tomatoes.
One summer, we had lots of cherry tomatoes, and I decided that I wanted to try drying them in the oven. I had heard that the flavor was the same as if you were to dry them in the sun, and since I don’t have a safe way to do that, into the oven they went!
These oven-dried tomatoes were so tangy and delicious, this has become a summer tradition. The tomato flavor is really concentrated, and they are a little bit sweet. I think they’re more flavorful than the store-bought variety. They are a delicious addition to salads, soups, and pasta.
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Step by Step Instructions
Making oven-dried tomatoes is SO easy to do, and I highly recommend it. It just takes a few simple steps.
- Slice the tomatoes, pat them dry, and give them a generous sprinkling of salt.
- Once that’s done, place on a rimmed baking sheet and leave them in a 225 degree Fahrenheit oven for 5-6 hours.
- When they’re wrinkly and dried, you just store them in the fridge – either dry in a plastic bag, or with some olive oil in a sealed container.
Variations
You should be able to dry other types of tomatoes in the oven as well.
Just make sure to slice the tomatoes very thin, and pat them dry. I think this recipe will work with Roma tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and other varieties.
Please watch the drying time – different types and sizes of tomatoes will take a bit more time to dry out fully.
Special Equipment
You do want to make sure that you slice the tomatoes evenly, if some are thicker than others, they won’t dry out evenly. You need to use a sharp, serrated knife, and there is a special tool for holding the tomatoes while slicing them that makes this task a lot easier. See the recipe for that utensil.
Storage
- If you store dried tomatoes in the refrigerator or freezer in a sealed plastic bag, these should keep for about six months.
- If you store them in a jar with oil, these should be consumed within two weeks.
- For safety reasons, my recommendation is to store them dry in plastic bags, and then just add them to oil right before you want to use them.
- You can read more about storing these sun-dried tomatoes here.
These oven-dried tomatoes do have a nice long shelf life, although I can’t vouch for that because we ate ours up pretty quickly!
Serving Suggestions
- Try putting these on salads or pizza
- These would be a great addition to a dairy free charcuterie board
- Use these to make a creamy tomato and mushroom pasta
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
Recipe
Oven-Dried Tomatoes.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- olive oil for storing if desired optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Rinse the tomatoes and pat dry. Slice lengthwise and place on the cookie sheets, seed side up.
- Pat the tomatoes with a paper towel to absorb some of the juice. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake at 225 degrees until dried and deep red – about 5-6 hours.
- Check the tomatoes regularly after the 4 hour point. They will look wrinkled, dried, and rich red. Some of them may dry faster than others, so you can remove those so they don’t get burnt. Once they are all dried, dark red, and wrinkled, remove the pan from the oven.
- Let cool completely. Store in a plastic bag in the refrigerator, or in a glass jar with some olive oil, about 3-4 tablespoons. They can be stored safely for about a month in the refrigerator. Makes about 1 cup of dried tomatoes.
Notes
Nutrition
Pat Sprowl
Hi. What is considered a serving size. Thanks
Heather
I have used all types of tomatoes with this recipe and they have turned out just fine!! Just keep an eye on them you may have to do a little longer. And def make sure you pat them dry with a paper towel!! We have a garden and at the end of each year I go out there and pick as many as I can and use this recipe to use them up!
Malvika Mehra
Must try this. No cherry tomatoes. Can use the regular ones?
Kelly Roenicke
Probably, but just slice them thin, and pat any excess moisture away with a paper towel.
Michael
I usually make these for a cheese table. I prefer using Roma’s because they are meatier. I dry them at 175 degrees overnight. Put them in at bedtime and the whole house smells great by morning. I usually use some immediately for a frittata ior quiche.
Fran
I tried your recipe over the weekend and it worked perfectly. Did two cookie sheet of grape tomatoes from the garden as it produced hundreds of tomatoes this year. Five hours later I had beautifully dried tomatoes and the house smelled great too. I tossed them with some oregano and garlic, put them in mason jars and filled with olive oil. Will let them sit for a few weeks and then enjoy in our favourite recipes. Thanks Pretty Bee.
Violet
Can we use a toaster oven ?
Kelly Roenicke
I have never tried that, but it seems like it may be really hard to control the temperature for a long time.
Darcey
I did this, and they will not make it the storage part, I immediately put olive oil garlic salt and Italian seasoning wrapped with slice of Swiss cheese, so good,darc
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you loved them! Thank you for telling me!
Ente
Hey, thanks for this recipe.
But how long do they last if stored in a jar with olive oil?
Kelly Roenicke
This link has more info on storing them for longer periods: http://www.tomatodirt.com/storing-dried-tomatoes.html
Rochean
Tried this for the 1st time yesterday and they were delicious. Looking forward to more of your recipes. Thanks
Kelly Roenicke
So glad you liked them!
Shelly
Sometimes tomato skins can be tough or thick. Has anyone had any trouble with the dried tomato skins being tough? Or has anyone tried taking the seeds out before drying?
HEATHER
I took the seeds out of my one. Still tasted great to me!! Skins were not tough at all for me. Just super addicting!! Lol :)
Tina
Throw them in a Salad, a Sandwich or toss them in Pasta, anything really, yummy and Tangy!
Kelly Roenicke
All great ideas! :)
Pamela
New to the whole drying thing, how are you using the tomato’s
After dried?
Kelly Roenicke
We love them with pasta, and we also just eat them as a snack!
Fran
OmG 2 years after you posted this & we are Still going Crazy for this tip. Thank You for Sharing it!! I tried it this morning using some grape tomatoes & I wanted to try some larger tomatoes that had some spots on them as well. I sliced the larger ones a little too thin and of course the ends came out better but I am Hooked!! I also used the convection option in my oven & they were done in 2 to 3 hours (thicker grape tomatoes took longer). Thank you again for sharing you get ???? for this ?Idea!
P.S. It won’t allow me to tate it with 5 stars or I would!!
Kelly Roenicke
Yay, so glad it worked for you! Thanks for letting me know!