How To Dehydrate Cherry Tomatoes (oven recipe too!)
Aug 23, 2024, Updated Sep 12, 2024
Preserve summer by dehydrating or oven drying your favorite tomatoes. Pack some in jars with extra virgin olive oil and thyme branches. A refreshing burst of sweetness! Use them to top many of your culinary creations.
Savor Summer and learn how to dehydrate all those fabulous tomatoes!
I save some for adding to many recipes ~ layer others in jars and cover with olive oil and thyme branches. See below all my brilliant ideas for using them.
What to Expect:
I like to dehydrate my tomatoes until somewhat dry and chewy. These are not very dry tomatoes. They still have tomato texture a little chewy with dry edges.
Use them to top many of you culinary creations
Toss into pasta dishes (even lasagne!), any sautéed chicken or fish dish, as a topping for sandwiches, the base for bruschetta, toss with warm pasta & fresh herbs, fold into a softened cheese for the ultimate dip or filling – as a filling for omelets and frittatas…
More notes from Karen:
I made so many (couldn’t resist all those colorful tomato gems at the farmers’ market) dried tomatoes ~ and layered them into canning jars and poured in a good fruity olive oil to submerge them ~ these will last for weeks in the refrigerator.
I also added thyme branches from my garden and dehydrated them with the tomatoes. When stored in oil – it’s best to dry the thyme for long storage (fresh thyme has a lot of moisture, and will not last as long.)
And ~ they are so simple to prepare! Lay the tomatoes on mesh trays of your dehydrator, set it and forget it! Takes about 4 hours to dehydrate. See my recipe too for an oven dehydrated method.
For a quick room temperature sauce: Scoop out some dried tomato halves with some olive oil their packed in – to a small bowl. Add grated garlic to taste, salt and freshly grated pepper and a good dash of aged balsamic vinegar. Add fresh herbs and let macerate for a half hour. Toss into warm pasta. I love topping fresh grilled salmon off the grill with this sauce.
Have fun dehydrating and enjoy!
Karen
Dehydrated Heirloom Tomatoes Packed in Olive Oil and Thyme
Ingredients
- 4 pints cherry tomatoes, (I used heirloom colorful ones)1 1/2
- 1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 medium fresh thyme branches
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Wash, dry and cut cherry tomatoes in half. Add them to bowl to fit and gently toss in the olive oil, salt and seasonings. (I do not like too many seasonings – prefer a natural tomato flavor.)
- Add the tomatoes halves cut side up on mesh trays of the dehydrator and set in the machine. Give each a little space. Add thyme branches to a tray.
- Set temperature to 140 degrees. Set time to 4 hours. (I've used a Magic Mill Dehydrator.)
- Tomatoes are done when the edges have curled, the tomatoes have somewhat dried – but still a little "meaty." Dehydrated Tomatoes are Sweet! A refreshing burst of sweetness!
Layer in Jars:
- Place the dried tomatoes halves in little sterile glass jars, cut side up. Cover with extra virgin olive oil to submerge. Top with dehydrated thyme. Close tightly and place in the refrigerator, will last a few weeks.
To Oven Dry:
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Add the cut tomatoes with the oil, salt and seasonings to a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet. Give each a little space. Cook/dehydrate for 2 hours, or until somewhat dried and wrinkly. Depending on your oven and the original moisture of your cherry tomatoes, the total amount of time they spend in the oven may vary.
For a quick room temperature Tomato sauce:
- Scoop out some dried tomato halves with some olive oil their packed in – to a small bowl. Add grated garlic to taste, salt and freshly grated pepper and a good dash of aged balsamic vinegar. Add fresh herbs and let macerate for a half hour. I topped fresh grilled salmon off the grill with this sauce. Great too over pasta!
Notes:
- I like to dehydrate my tomatoes until somewhat dry and chewy. These are not very dry tomatoes. They still have tomato texture with dry edges.
- These tomatoes freeze well, just wrap carefully and diligently.I save some tomatoes for tossing into recipes in the next few days – and add the rest to jars submerged in oil.
- 4 Pints of tomatoes of cherry tomatoes yields approximately 6 cups sliced in half. Dehydrated: yield about 3 cups.
Wow this was some recipe! I did the dehydrated method and 2 hours initially did not seem like enough time, but it was. Dried but with some body, not typically sun dried tomatoes, chewier consistency.
I packed into 3 one cup canning jars with evoo and the thyme. Maybe next time I will add some cracked pepper. Yes, so many uses, really enjoying them
Thanks Karen for this wonderful recipe.
Thank you Bethany for your review and thoughts! 😀Karen