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Dehydrating tomatoes is such a delicious and simple way to preserve this tasty summer crop! This dried tomatoes recipe can be made in a food dehydrator or in the oven.
The end of the summer brings a delicious abundance of tomatoes.
When you don’t want to can one more tomato, your freezer is already full of frozen tomatoes, and you’ve already made endless batches of crockpot spaghetti sauce, it’s time to bring out the dehydrator!
I have owned this dehydrator for at least a dozen years, and it has held up beautifully.
Paste-style (like Roma) tomatoes have an amazingly deep and complex flavor that works great in so many dishes. They also contain fewer seeds than slicing tomatoes, making them easier to work with.
With paste tomatoes, you’ll want to cut them in half and place them cut side up in the dehydrator. This will allow all the amazing natural sugars to concentrate in the “belly” of the tomato as it dries.
For snacks, cherry or plum tomatoes work great. Cut these in half, using a serrated (bread) knife.
If you want the “wow” factor of gorgeous dried sliced tomatoes on something like homemade pizza, use large slicing tomatoes (like what you’d put on a sandwich). Cut each slice about 3/4 inch thick. Do your best to make the slices consistent in size.
How Do You Store Dried Tomatoes?
You can store them in glass jars or reusable silicone bags (these are our favorite). Pro tip: if you’re dehydrating tomatoes storing at room temperature, check the jar/bag in the first 72 hours to see if there is any condensation. If so, pop that jar into the fridge or the tomatoes will mold.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Serrated/bread knives, as well as cheese knives, work best for cutting through the soft skin of tomatoes without crushing them.
- If you plan to use tomatoes for sauces, removing the seeds can help reduce a potentially bitter aftertaste.
- It’s optional to remove the skins, but it’s very easy if you choose to do so. Simply place tomatoes in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, and then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and blanch in ice water. The skins will slip right off! Dry the skins alongside the tomatoes for making tomato powder.
- You can season the tomatoes while they dry. Sprinkle with fresh herbs (basil, rosemary, oregano, and parsley) and dry together. You can also marinate them in olive oil, garlic, and herbs before drying, but they will take 12-18 hours to dry.
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Dried Tomatoes Recipe {Oven or Dehydrator}
Equipment
Ingredients
- tomatoes
Instructions
Prep Tomatoes
- Cut Roma, cherry or plum tomatoes in half.tomatoes
- For larger slicing tomatoes, cut into slices about 3/4 inch thick. Do your best to make the slices consistent in size.
Dehydrating
- Lay your tomatoes on the dehydrator trays. Don't let them touch and try not to overcrowd.
- Set the dehydrator to 135˚F.
- Allow tomatoes to dehydrator for 4 hours and then check on progress. If your trays are moveable, rotate them so that the trays on the bottom are now on top.
- Dry another 4-6 hours, or until the tomatoes are dry and chewy without any moisture when you touch them.
- Store in a jar or zipper bag at room temperature for 3-4 months (dry climates) or in the fridge/freezer for up to 6 months (humid climates).
Notes
- Serrated/bread knives, as well as cheese knives, work best for cutting through the soft skin of tomatoes without crushing them.
- It’s optional to remove the skins, but it’s very easy if you choose to do so. Simply place tomatoes in boiling water for 30-60 seconds, and then scoop them out with a slotted spoon and blanch in ice water. The skins will slip right off! Dry the skins alongside the tomatoes for making tomato powder.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Bea’s review sounded so good that I made them, too. Mine were still flexible at 9 hours, so I let them go overnight. Still somewhat flexible, but they sure taste good!
Great idea for using up those extra tomatoes!! I dehydrated mine with some, chopped fresh basil and they turned out perfectly dried at the 9 hour mark.
I pulverized half of these into a fine powder with my spice grinder for later use in soups or sauces.
The dried tomatoes make for an awesome snack. Thx for sharing your method
here!!
The basil sounds absolutely delicious!
And I can’t say enough wonderful things about tomato powder. It’s so good in rice and soups!
Can these be rehydrated and used on sandwiches? If so, how would I go about that please?
To rehydrate dried foods, you can soak in warm water for 15-30 minutes.
That being said, I think you’d be disappointed with the texture of these on sandwiches. They’re much better on top of a saucy warm dish like pizza.
I just ordered the dehydrator through your page! Excited to start using it. Thanks for the recommendation!
I just got done dehydrating a batch of tomatoes that were going to go bad before we could eat them.. I do the same with zucchini and yellow squash. My problems are with the tomatoes.. they are gone within a day or two of dehydrating because I have a hoard of locust in my house.
They are pretty snackable aren’t they? 🙂