Oven-Dried Tomatoes Recipe

Oven-dried tomatoes

The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 3 hrs
Optional Additional Cooking Time: 3 hrs
Total: 6 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings
Yield: 2 cups

When plum tomatoes from the garden or farmer's market come in faster than you can eat them, extend the life of those ultra-ripe beauties by drying them in your oven. Sturdy plum tomatoes work particularly well for oven-drying. The low-temperature roasting intensifies the flavor and preserves them for later use. Serve them on their own sprinkled with salt, in a pasta dish, or anywhere a recipe calls for sun-dried tomatoes.

"Chewy, sweet, and delicious are the words I use to describe these delectable petals of oven-dried joy. I didn't use any of the optional seasonings, but I did top a few with smoked salt at the end. I baked them for about 6 hours total, and they were heavenly!" —Diana Andrews

Oven-Dried Tomatoes/Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds plum tomatoes, or other variety of paste tomatoes

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • Salt, optional

  • Freshly ground black pepper, optional

  • Garlic salt, optional

  • Dried basil, optional

  • Dried oregano, optional

  • Crushed red pepper, optional

  • Other spices, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make oven-dried tomatoes

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  2. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 200 F. Rinse the tomatoes with cool water and dry them thoroughly with a clean kitchen towel or layers of paper towels.

    clean and dried tomatoes on paper towels

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  3. Hull or remove the core of each tomato. Use a teaspoon or the tip of a dinner knife to remove the seeds and any juice from the tomatoes.

    hulled tomatoes with seeds removed

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  4. Cut small tomatoes into quarters and larger tomatoes into bite-size pieces.

    Hulled tomatoes cut into wedges

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  5. Put the tomato pieces in a large bowl and drizzle with the olive oil and seasonings of choice, if using, tossing gently to evenly distribute.

    Tomatoes in a large bowl with spices and oil

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  6. Position the cut tomatoes on a wire rack set on a large rimmed baking sheet, leaving about 1-inch of space between pieces.

    Cut tomatoes on a baking rack over a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  7. Transfer to the oven. After the first hour, check the tomatoes every half hour, removing them when the edges curl up, and they reduce in size by about a third, about 2 to 3 hours depending on the ambient humidity and the juiciness of the tomatoes.

    A baking rack with oven-dried tomatoes

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

  8. Leave them to cool at this plump-dry stage, or put them back into the oven for up to an additional 3 or 4 hours if you prefer a chewier texture.

    A bowl of oven-dried tomatoes

    The Spruce Eats / Cara Cormack

Tips

  • Feel free to oven-dry more tomatoes than the recipe calls for; just spread them out on extra pans–the drying process works best when the hot air can circulate completely around each tomato piece.
  • You can dry tomatoes directly on a baking sheet, without a wire rack, but be sure to flip them a few times, so they dry out evenly. With larger pieces, prick the skin side a few times with the tip of a sharp knife, which also helps them dry out more evenly.
  • Try drying cherry tomatoes to add an unexpected bite of chewy sweetness to salads.

Variations

  • Try drying cherry tomatoes to add an unexpected bite of chewy sweetness to salads.
  • Try drying other types of tomatoes too, but they'll probably take much longer to oven-dry due to their water content.

How to Store

  • Store oven-dried tomatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for up to six months. You can optionally cover them with olive oil to extend their life and create an infused oil you can use in salad dressings or drizzle on any dish as a finishing oil to give it a pop of flavor.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
47 Calories
3g Fat
6g Carbs
1g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 47
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g 3%
Saturated Fat 0g 2%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 8mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 6g 2%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 4g
Protein 1g
Vitamin C 21mg 104%
Calcium 15mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 358mg 8%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)