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If you grow your own tomatoes, you probably know the feeling. One week you’re waiting forever for the first ripe tomato and the next… suddenly you have bowls full of them! Even if you don’t have a vegetable garden, it’s easy to come home from the supermarket or farmers market with far more tomatoes than you can realistically eat.
Luckily there’s a delicious solution: oven sun-dried tomatoes. They don’t actually need the sun at all, just a low oven and a little patience. The result? Intensely sweet tomatoes that are so much tastier than the ones you buy in a jar.
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The Perfect Way to Enjoy Summer Tomatoes for Longer
Whenever tomatoes are in season, I always make a big batch of these. They keep beautifully and instantly make salads, pasta dishes, sandwiches and even homemade hummus taste extra special. If you have homegrown tomatoes, this is one of the best ways to enjoy them long after the harvest.
Recipe Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients:
- Cherry tomatoes – I love using cherry tomatoes because they’re naturally sweet and dry relatively quickly. Mixing different colours makes the final jar look beautiful too.
- Coarse sea salt – optional, but it really brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes.
- Fresh thyme – rosemary or Italian herbs also work well.
- Garlic – adds subtle flavour while the tomatoes are stored in oil.
- Olive oil – enough to completely cover the tomatoes once they’re in the jar.
Possible substitutions
This recipe works with almost any tomato variety.
- Cherry tomatoes dry the fastest.
- Roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes are perfect too but need a little longer in the oven.
- Larger tomatoes can also be used; simply cut them into smaller wedges first.
Feel free to experiment with herbs like oregano, rosemary, basil or Italian seasoning.
Why Make your Own Sun-Dried Tomatoes?
Growing tomatoes is surprisingly easy, even if you only have a balcony or a small patio. The only downside? They all seem to ripen at exactly the same time.
Instead of trying to eat tomatoes every single day (nothing wrong with that tough), drying them is a fantastic way to preserve their flavour. The slow drying process concentrates their natural sweetness and gives them that rich, intense tomato flavor we all love.
And honestly? Homemade oven-dried tomatoes taste so much better than most store-bought versions.
How to Make Oven Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Step 1: Prepare the tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
Cut all the tomatoes in half lengthwise and place them cut-side up on a baking tray.
Sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt and scatter the thyme over the tomatoes.
Step 2: Dry them slowly
Bake the tomatoes for about 2 hours.
Every oven behaves a little differently, so start checking after about 1½ hours. The tomatoes should look dried and slightly wrinkled, while still remaining a little soft and juicy inside. You can see in the photos how they’re supposed to look.
The exact drying time depends on the size of your tomatoes. Cherry tomatoes dry much faster than larger plum tomatoes.
Step 3: Store
Allow the tomatoes to cool to room temperature.
Place them in sterilised jars together with the thyme and garlic cloves. Pour enough olive oil over the tomatoes so they are completely submerged.
Store the jars in the refrigerator.
Why The Oven Temperature Matters
The secret to good oven-dried tomatoes is using a low temperature.
At 120°C (250°F) the tomatoes slowly lose their moisture while their flavor becomes beautifully concentrated.
Turn the oven up much higher and you’ll end up with roasted tomatoes instead. Also delicious but a completely different recipe.
What Can You Use Sun-Dried Tomatoes For?
Once you’ve made your own, you’ll find yourself adding them to everything.
They’re delicious in:
- Pasta dishes
- Salads
- Sandwiches and wraps
- Homemade focaccia
- Pizza
- Grain bowls
- Omelettes
- Tomato hummus
- Homemade dressings
- Antipasti platters
One of my favorite ways to use them is simply stirred through a bowl of warm pasta with a little Parmesan, basil and olive oil. Super simple but so tasty!
Storage
Refrigerator: Stored completely submerged in olive oil, they’ll keep for several weeks in a sterilised jar in the fridge.
Freezer: You can also freeze the dried tomatoes without the oil. Freeze them first in a single layer before transferring them to a freezer bag so you can easily take out exactly what you need.
FAQ Oven Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Not at all! Despite the name, the oven does all the work here.
Cherry tomatoes are my favorite because they’re naturally sweet and dry relatively quickly. Roma and plum tomatoes also work very well.
Absolutely. Thyme, rosemary, oregano and Italian herbs are all delicious choices.
The oil helps preserve the tomatoes and prevents them from drying out further during storage.
Definitely! The oil becomes infused with garlic, herbs and tomato flavour and is delicious for salad dressings, roasted vegetables or drizzling over bread.
Recipes to use Oven-Dried Tomatoes
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Oven Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 1-2 kg cherry tomatoes extra fun if you use different colours
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt or maldon flakes
- 4 cloves garlic
- 5 sprigs thyme or use rosemary
- 1/2 liter olive oil neutral
How to make the oven sun-dried tomatoes
- Preheat the oven to 120˚C (250˚F). Slice all tomatoes in half length wise. Place them cut side up on the baking tray. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and add the sprigs of thyme.
- Let them dry in the oven for about 2 hours. Every oven is different, so check after 1.5 hours. The tomatoes should be dry but still slightly juicy.
- Let the tomatoes cool for about 30 minutes and store them in sterile jars with the herbs and 2 cloves of garlic per jar. Pour olive oil over the tomatoes until they are submerged. You can keep them like this in the fridge for at least a few weeks. You can also freeze the tomatoes (without oil), preferably in a single layer. Then you can always get the quantity you need!
Nutrition Information per portion:
Disclaimer:
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
