This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Don’t buy sun-dried tomatoes anymore! Make your own with our Easy Dried Tomatoes recipe! It is easy to make, and tastes so much better!
With the huge amount of tomatoes I was given by my mom this summer, it would have been difficult to use them all before they went bad. If you also happen to have a lot of tomatoes, I have the solution! Let them dry and store in oil! Drying them is a great way to keep your tomatoes for weeks!
I shared a way to make dried tomatoes in my Vegan Sun-Dried Tomato Camembert, but I thought it needed its own recipe (because, seriously, it’s so good). So here it is!
This recipe is super easy. All you have to do is quarter your tomatoes, discard the pulp and seeds, and coat them with some olive oil and your favorite herbs for extra flavor.
Then, let the tomatoes slowly dry in the oven at a low temperature. No dehydrator is required!
After about 4 hours in the oven, your tomatoes will have reduced to half size. I used homegrown tomatoes that were very juicy, so it took about 4 hours in the oven until they were ready. If using regular tomatoes, 3 hours in the oven should be more than enough.
It results in soft, chewy, and perfectly dried tomatoes that pack a deep and intense tomato flavor!
You can immediately use the dried tomatoes or transfer them to a large jar and cover them with oil. The oil helps keep the tomatoes chewy and extends their shelf life.
These tomatoes taste so much better than store-bought ones! Plus, it’s a lot cheaper to make. Use these dried tomatoes in salads, sauces, on top of a pizza, wraps, tacos, risotto, and more!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Easy Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 5 large tomatoes or 7 small ones
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp thyme
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°F (94°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Cut the tomatoes into quarters, remove the core and discard. Scoop out the seeds and as much tomato pulp as possible.
- Transfer the tomato quarters to a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with the salt, mix, and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Tomatoes will release some of their juice. Then, drain them.
- Add the oil, oregano, and thyme and stir to coat. Place the tomato quarters cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet, ensuring the tomatoes don't touch each other.
- Bake for about 4 hours, or until the tomatoes have reduced in size. Let cool completely.
- To store: Place the dried tomatoes in a glass container and cover with canola or sunflower oil (olive oil would firm up in the refrigerator).
- Dried tomatoes stored in oil will keep for up to 6 weeks in the refrigerator.
Notes
- I don't recommend adding fresh herbs or garlic cloves to your dried tomato jar, as it will reduce the shelf life.
About the Author
Thomas Pagot is the founder, photographer, and recipe developer behind Full of Plants. He created the blog in 2016 as a personal cookbook for vegan recipes. Through years of recipe development, Thomas has successfully grown Full of Plants into a trusted resource for plant-based recipes.
🧀 25 Mind-Blowing Vegan Cheese Recipes!
Sign up for the Full of Plants newsletter and you’ll get new recipes delivered by email weekly, PLUS your FREE 100-page printable eBook!
What a great way to store summer’s bounty! I suggest you freeze the dried tomatoes rather than putting them in oil. I believe you run a risk of botulism poisoning using the method described.
Glad you like the recipe Steve! Regarding the poisoning, as long as you don’t add fresh herbs to the oil and keep it in the refrigerator there is no problem. You can always add a tablespoon of vinegar to the jar if you plan on keeping them for more than a few weeks but it never lasts that long here! 🙂
I’ll need to try this! Thanks for sharing!
Let me know if you try it Karly 🙂
Hi Thomas !
Such an amazing website… I feel like it’ll take me years to discover everything !! I’ve restrained myself and bookmarked only about 20 recipes so far… I’ll let you know how it goes ! I’m also hoping you’ll write a book someday. I’d buy it in a heartbeat.
I need your advice. My son is vegetarian (like I am, we are slowly transitioning to veganism), but his school doesn’t serve vegetarian food: a veggie meal is basically a regular meal with the meat of fish taken out of it. As a result, my son has next to no protein for his lunch, which isn’t great when you’re growing as fast as he is.
I’m allowed to send him with a snack, so I thought I could find a recipe for a homemade protein-packed snack. It has to be a little on the sugary side for appeal, easy to eat with little fingers (if possible not too crumbly), and easy to carry in a backpack.
Is there any recipe on your website that you think will fit this bill ?
Thank you so much for your help !
Anne
I found the Cinnamon roll protein bars already, but I don’t have protein powder…
Hi Anne,
Thanks for the kind words! Glad to hear you like the blog and recipes 🙂 It’s too bad schools don’t have substitutes for vegans/vegetarians. What is crazy is that they usually have dieticians preparing the menus, but still, they don’t know the basics of nutrition apparently… Anyway, regarding your question, I’m afraid I don’t have anything like that (yet!) as most of my protein-packed snack recipes require some protein powder.
I think I’ll try the protein bars. I try to cook with natural ingredients, but I guess I can make an exception once in a while !
Nutrition at school is an ongoing mystery to me. Yesterday it was chicken, fries, carrots with vinaigrette, and pie for desert. I just don’t get it, and I only know the basics of nutrition. And the quality couldn’t be lower. Instead of dirt-cheap meat, couldn’t they use organic, local, high-end lentils ? There’s tons of farmers who produce those in the area ! Anyway, sorry about the rant, I’m just depressed that I have to send my kids there twice a week… (because no lunchbox is allowed).
On to the vegan butter !! Can’t wait !!
I hear you Anne, many things need to change at school. You are right, even for non-vegans the quality is terrible, almost “fast-food quality”.
Let me know if you try the butter!