Homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes are a delicious way to preserve your summer harvest. Most gardeners know just how prolific cherry tomato plants can be—one plant can produce hundreds of juicy little fruits. While giving extras to neighbors is always nice, turning your bounty into sun-dried tomatoes is even better. This easy method requires no special tools, and with just a few simple steps, you can enjoy the flavor of homegrown tomatoes all winter long.
Traditionally, sun-dried tomatoes are dried using only the power of the sun. While this is possible for many gardeners in North America, most of us find it far easier (and faster!) to dry cherry tomatoes in the oven. You can also use a food dehydrator, too, if you have one on hand. Here’s the method I use to make my homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes that can be used in recipes such as sun-dried tomato and walnut pesto and harvest-time corn bread with sun-dried tomato spread.
Choose the Best Cherry Tomatoes for Drying
Though just about any variety of cherry tomato will dry well, avoid using any fruits that are cracked open or blemished. Select plump, ripe fruits, and dry them within a day or two of harvest.
How to Wash Cherry Tomatoes Before Drying
Put the harvested cherry tomatoes in a colander and run cold water over them. Then remove any stems.
Should You Slice Cherry Tomatoes Before Drying?
Though slicing isn’t necessary, the drying time is greatly reduced by slicing each of the cherry tomatoes in half before the drying process begins.
How to Arrange Cherry Tomatoes for Oven Drying
Spread the halved cherry tomatoes on a non-stick cookie sheet in a single layer. Line the cookie sheet with parchment paper for easier clean up if you’d like. Smaller cherry tomatoes will dry faster than larger ones, so try to keep smaller tomatoes on a separate cookie sheet from larger varieties so they can come out of the oven as soon as they’re finished drying.
Oven-Drying Cherry Tomatoes: Time and Temperature Tips
Depending on the size of the cherry tomatoes and their moisture content, it will take anywhere between two and five hours for your homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes to be finished drying. Begin to check for doneness after two hours and then check again every hour or so until they are finished.
How to Tell When Cherry Tomatoes Are Fully Dried
Your homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes are finished when they’re leathery to the touch (like a raisin). Squeezing fully-dried fruits should result in no juice production, and if you pop one into your mouth, it should be chewy, not crunchy (if they’re crunchy, they’ve been in the oven too long).
Storing Homemade Sun-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
Let the tomatoes cool on the cookie sheet and then move them into a clean, screw-top glass jar. Place the jar in the fridge where they’ll last for a week or more. Or, put the dried cherry tomatoes in zipper-top plastic bags and keep them in the freezer for even longer storage.
Extra Tips for Making and Using Sun-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
- Any tomato can be dried, not just cherry types. But the bigger and juicier the fruits, the longer they take to dry.
- You can rehydrate the tomatoes before using them in a recipe by soaking them in water (or wine!) for a few hours.
- Homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes are excellent in omelets, salads and quiches as well as on pizzas, pastas and sandwiches.
- Some drying recipes call for coating the fruits in olive oil, salt, or herbs before putting them into the oven, but I find I get better results without it. I add those extras when I’m ready to eat the dried tomatoes instead.
Final Thoughts on Homemade Sun-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
Making your own homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes is a simple, rewarding way to preserve your garden’s abundance. Whether you dry them in the oven or use a dehydrator, the result is a concentrated burst of tomato flavor that can elevate countless recipes. With just a little time and effort, you’ll have a delicious reminder of summer that lasts well into the colder months.
This article about making homemade sun-dried cherry tomatoes was written for Hobby Farms magazine. Click here to subscribe.
