Making Sun Dried Tomatoes
Looking for a ridiculously delicious way to use and preserve all the cherry tomatoes from your garden? You’ve got to try these Sun Dried Tomatoes!
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Sun Dried Tomatoes.
Yes, this is probably my favorite little snack and luckily enough, I don’t only have to enjoy them in the summer, I can preserve them an feast on them all winter long!
I’ve gotten a lot of grief on this recipe over the years since they aren’t actually “sun-dried”. However, the store calls them Sun Dried Tomatoes and these are similar to the store version so that’s what we call them too.
Here’s my yummy recipe for making Sun Dried Tomatoes. I love these things but they are so expensive and the ones from the stores come full of sulfates which my son and I are allergic to. These homemade tomatoes are only a good deal if you grow the tomatoes or you get them from free. This recipe takes A LOT of tomatoes and the cherry tomatoes are very expensive per pound. I do not have exact measurements or times, it’s just one of those recipes that you do with what you have!
How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes
What You Need:
- Several pounds of cherry or pear or grape tomatoes
- Salt
- Olive Oil
- Roasting Pan
Cut the little tomatoes into tiny slices. I usually get 3-4 slices from each but it depends on the size of your tomatoes. I love using my Tomato Knife for tasks like this.
Place them on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and separate them so they lay flat on the pan. Once you cut enough to fill up the tray drizzle olive oil on the top (the amount depends on you, I like mine a little crispy so I add less oil) then sprinkle salt on top of that(again the amount depend on how you like it).
The thriftiest way to cook these is to make at least 2 full pans and put them in the oven at the same time. Cook them at 275F for several hours. (At least 2-3) I just check on mine every so once in a while to make sure they are ok.
To store these I put several scoops into a baggie until it’s partially full (I only put as much in a bag that I will use at a time) I fill up several bags like that and then put 4-5 of the little bags into one freezer bag. These freeze very well and it only takes about 4 seconds in the microwave to revive them.
These are excellent on pizzas, pasta, or just to eat!
Want to print this recipe for your Recipe Binder? Grab it below!
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients
- Several pounds of cherry or pear or grape tomatoes
- Salt
- Olive Oil
Instructions
-
Cut the little tomatoes into tiny slices. I usually get 3-4 slices from each but it depends on the size of your tomatoes. I love using my Tomato Knife for tasks like this.
-
Place them on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and separate them so they lay flat on the pan. Once you cut enough to fill up the tray drizzle olive oil on the top (the amount depends on you, I like mine a little crispy so I add less oil) then sprinkle salt on top of that(again the amount depend on how you like it).
-
The thriftiest way to cook these is to make at least 2 full pans and put them in the oven at the same time. Cook them at 275F for several hours. (At least 2-3) I just check on mine every so once in a while to make sure they are ok.
-
To store these I put several scoops into a baggie until it's partially full (I only put as much in a bag that I will use at a time) I fill up several bags like that and then put 4-5 of the little bags into one freezer bag. These freeze very well and it only takes about 4 seconds in the microwave to revive them.
Enjoy this video as well on how to make sun dried tomatoes!
Looking for more ways to preserve and use tomatoes?
- Cheesy Baked Tomatoes
- Fresh Tomato BBQ Sauce; Freezing Tips
- How to Freeze Tomatoes
- Canning Tomato Soup
- Simple (and Delicious) Uses for Green Tomatoes
Have you ever tried making sun dried tomatoes? Which are your favorite tomatoes to dry?
This recipe for Sun Dried Tomatoes was originally posted on Little House Living in October 2009. It has been updated with current information as of August 2020.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I have several pounds of cherry tomatoes in my freezer that I had no idea what to do with. I got them for free when we had a party at work and no one wanted them! This is perfect. Thanks again.
No problem, I hope you like it! What a great freebie!
Just made these and they’re fantastic! The only thing I would NOT do next time is place them on foil on my cookie sheet. I figured they’d be messy so I put foil down…a challenge to get the tomato pieces up without foil sticking to them 🙁 next time I’ll use parchment paper!
Oh bummer about the tin foil. I usually use the non-stick pan liners that you can get at kitchen stores. Along with the oil from the tomatoes that usually does the trick for me!
I use parchment or Reynolds pan liner which you probably know is foil on one side and parchment on the other ( the food side) because I have read that foil should never touch your food…they are finding aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. No thanks!
Merissa, this would be a great pin on Pinterest! <3
Thanks for all the wonderful posts you give us.
God Bless!
they get eaten too fast here!
I know, I have to try REALLY hard to get some into the freezer for later!
Great information. Thank you.
Oh, I am going to do this! Thanks!!
Thank you so much!!! I just picked a couple of lbs off of my plant today and have serveral more coming! Now I know what else I can do with them!
You mention that “I put several scoops into a regular sandwich bag until its about 1/4 full (I only put as much in a bag that I will use at a time)”, if you only make them 1/4 full, it might be better to use the snack size ziplock bags. The brand I use most, are about the same price but you get more of them. Just thought I would suggest it.
True I could do this if I ever kept snack size bags on hand 🙂
I used the dehydrator and depending on how I’m using them, ex: if for pizza – I put some minced garlic, olive oil and the tomatoes in a bowl and let them “marinate” while I’m prepping the rest of the ingredients. I also put a little extra olive oil on the crust before adding the toppings. We like this as well as or better than pizza sauce. I have also just used fresh tomatoes the same way. Yum – O!
I love sun dried tomatoes ! When I make mine I like to use Roma tomatoes , slice them in half long ways , put on sheet pan , sprinkle with kosher salt , garlic powder then drizzle olive over them and bake @ 250 . I store them exactly like you do , little regular sandwich bags then one big freezer zip lock . I store cilantro cubes this way as well . We grow a lot of cilantro and can’t possibly eat it all . To make the cilantro cubes I just put a bunch of cilantro in my food processor blend fine then add just enough water to pour into ice cubes trays . They work very well with Mexican and Thai food or any food you like to have cilantro with .
I love making them with Roma tomatoes. A friend of mine rehydrated hers by simmering in italian dressing and they were amazing!
I do a lot of canning/preserving and I will be trying this out. thanks for sharing. Gday!
Thank you for sharing how to do this. I just started a tomato board today on Pinterest.
G’day! Thanks for sharing your wonderful recipe at our #SayGdayParty!
Please make sure to stop back if you haven’t already and visit some other people’s blogs!
I am also curious if you have answered any of the questions I asked on my blog about this week’s party?
Cheers! Joanne
Oh gosh, these look fantastic!! I’ve been meaning to try to make oven-dried tomatoes for forever, and you’ve reignited that desire! Thanks so much for linking up at Snickerdoodle Sunday- I hope you’ll come back with your latest makes next week!
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
Thank you for sharing this great recipe. I am up to my eyeballs in tomatoes right now. I will absolutely try this out!
I love this post! I pass up cherry tomatoes too many times. I need to grab them next time and do this with them! Thanks for sharing!
A question, could this method be used with regular sized tomatoes and how thin or what size would the pieces or slices be, just wonderin??
Thanks,
They won’t dry quite the same with a regular sized tomato since what you are mainly eating in the little ones is the skins. You can always try it though!
Happy Sunday! Hope you’re having a FABULOUS weekend–just wanted to swing by and give you a huge “Thank you!” for linking up at Bewitchin Projects last week.
XO
~Cathy Mini~
OurMiniFamily.com
Any idea how long these will keep in the freezer?
thanks for the recipe!
I keep them in the freezer all winter (if they last that long!) so at least a good 3 to 4 months. 🙂
Mmm, looks yummy! Now I know what to do with my tomatoes 🙂 Thanks for linking up with us at Thursday Favorite Things!
These sound good. I have dried tomatoes in my old work vehicle but haven’t used the oven.
Thanks for sharing this with us on the Homestead Blog Hop. Hope to see you there this week.
Looks like you need a new knife. It shouldn’t take that much effort to slice tomatoes, even tiny ones. When I slice cherry or grape tomatoes, the knife goes through them with one clean slice, not 14.
I love this idea! Sundries tomatoes are some of my fav. Thank you for sharing how easy it is to make them!
Oh my gosh! Amazing!!!! I have a garden full of tomatoes turning red right now and personally, I don’t even like them (raw anyways), but this is such a great and EASY idea! I’m so happy I found your post. I will definitely be making these. My daughter loves tomatoes and I think this would be perfect to add to her school lunches. =)
What a terrific recipe. I can’t grow a tomato matter hard I try but I can’buy them at Sam’s and will be good to go.
I leave off the salt and call these my Oven-Roasted Tomatoes. I stick them in the freezer in small amounts and use them on our salads throughout the winter. Much better flavor than cherry tomatoes from the grocery store in January!
My only problem is that whenever I make a batch of sundried tomatoes – no matter how large – I can’t help but eat them all up right away! I never have any left to freeze!
Those look amazing and so much cheaper to do ourselves. So thanks for the recipe, definitely going to try this.
After reading the article on making cheese, I also want to try this. Thanks for the great ideas. — Martha
I love that I found this. I use my Roma tomatoes.
This is wonderful! My garden is exploding with tomatoes right now, so this will come in handy, thanks!
I made this last night—3 pans. Two pans came out ok, but one burnt in about an hour or so! I’m guessing using the middle rack was too low/hot, and/or there wasn’t enough oil. The ones that turned out are tasty though!
Ah yes, enough oil is important as well as rotating the trays if you are doing more than one at a time. I’ve never had luck with trays cooking evenly, even with a brand new oven!