• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Delicious Table logo

  • All Recipes
  • Holiday Recipes
    • July 4th, Memorial, Labor Day
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • New Year's Eve and Day
    • Superbowl Party & Game Day Food
    • Valentine's Day
    • St. Patrick's Day
    • Easter
    • Cinco de Mayo
    • Mother's Day Recipes
  • Party Food
    • Cookout
    • Grill, BBQ, and Smoke Recipes
    • Holiday
    • Game Day Food
    • Comfort
    • Appetizers & Snacks
  • Shop Kitchen Collection
  • Newsletter Sign Up
  • About
    • Lisa Hatfield’s Bio
    • Work With Lisa
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
  • Press
  • Culinary Adventures
  • Reader Favorites
  • Cooking Tips
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • 🍽 DELICIOUS TABLE
  • 👩‍🍳 RECIPE GUIDE
  • 💌 SUBSCRIBE
  • 📖 FREE eCOOKBOOK
  • 🎄HOLIDAY RECIPES
  • 🏆 MOST POPULAR RECIPES
  • 🛒 SHOP
×

Sun Dried Tomatoes

Published: July 7, 2021 | Last Updated: March 7, 2022 | Lisa 1 Comment
This post may contain affiliate links.

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

Last Updated March 7th, 2022 at 07:58 pm by Lisa

A graphic for a recipe for sun dried tomatoes of them in a small clear jar filled with dried tomatoes and topped with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and basil for use in recipes.

You can make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at home in the oven or by using a food dehydrator. I am sharing all my cooking tips, plus 20+ dinner inspiration recipe ideas, and creative ways to enjoy your homemade dried tomatoes.

If you grow tomatoes, you know that they often are all ready around the same time, so this is one more way to preserve them and put them to work in your cooking. These would make a great gourmet food gift too.

Why make your own? Well, for many reasons, they last for months and go into so many recipes like sauces, baked bread, compound butter, casseroles, pasta, vegetables, and more. The pop of color they add is so gorgeous. And nothing from a package will taste as sweet and "tomatoey", these are garden candy...

⬆ Sun Dried Tomatoes Video ⬆

What Are Sun-Dried Tomatoes?

Sun Dried tomatoes are an easy way to preserve fresh tomatoes. For centuries food has been preserved to eat during winter months when fresh produce won't grow.

Once the moisture evaporates, it halts the deterioration process and locks in a state of preservation.

Delicious Table logo
Join Our List

And receive a free recipe ebook as our thank you.

By drying ripe tomatoes, these foods could be enjoyed and provide valuable nutrition in the winter when it is difficult or impossible to grow fresh produce. The true origin of dried tomatoes is unclear. It is believed the Italians originally dried their tomatoes on their ceramic rooftops in the summer sun.

3 Ways To Dehydrate

  1. Sun - people have preserve dried tomatoes in the sun this way for centuries
  2. Oven - home and commercial ovens can dry tomatoes
  3. Food Dehydrator - are inexpensive and available online

PRO TIP: Use and slice tomatoes that are similar sizes so they are done at the same time.

Watch ~ Our Video Tutorial

Can You Dry Tomatoes With The Sun?

Yes. In fact, people have dried tomatoes in the sun for centuries, but this process is not always practical for most of us. It can be done by placing thinly sliced tomatoes on raised screens in the hot dry sun day after day.

There are challenges with this method.

  • You need consistent hot dry days.
  • And to bring the tomatoes in at night.
  • Humidity will affect this drying method and can make it impossible.
  • You would want to cover them with cheesecloth to deter flying critters as well.
  • It can take from a few days to a couple of weeks depending where you live.

So how about we skip that method and try a couple of easier ways to dry tomatoes in just hours?

Oven Dried ~ My Fave Way...

Most of you will like this method, I find it easy and even faster than using a dehydrator.

If you slice the tomatoes thin enough, you will have sun-dried tomatoes in just about 3 hours. No critters to battle, and done in hours not days!

PRO TIP: When you dry tomatoes by any method, the liquid evaporates thus shrinking them much smaller. They will become a darker color, chewy, odd-shaped, and have an intense sweet flavor. So they either need to be rehydrated or packed in oil.

Food Dehydrator

Drying tomatoes in the food dehydrator has the advantage of not heating the house as you can place your dehydrator out of the main living area like a garage.

Dehydrators have a large fan that is quite loud, but the advantage is that it frees up your oven to use for other things.  But heat does come from a food dehydrator, it's like a giant hairdryer!)

What Do Sun-Dried Tomatoes Taste Like?


They lose most of their water but retain their sugar, sweetness, and nutrients and what you’re left with is the deliciously dried tomato flesh with an absolutely incredible and intense, concentrated tomato flavor. 

Are sun-dried tomatoes good?

In the 1980s to early 1990s, Sun-Dried Tomatoes became a trendy ingredient in the United States. They were tossed into pasta dishes and salads, baked into casseroles, and starred in family chicken dinner recipes like Creamy Tuscan Chicken.

Now, How To Store Them?

Pantry

Keep in a dark dry pantry in a small airtight container or glass jar.

Freezer

Place sun-dried tomatoes in an ice cube tray, cover with olive oil and freeze in zip-top bags for fast cooking. Use them in sauces like bolognese, marinara, or marinades.

Refrigerator

In small glass jars, place sun-dried tomatoes and top with olive oil and garlic cloves, and chill in the fridge, bring to room temperature and use in recipes for salad dressings, sauces, marinades, meat dishes, and pasta salads within 2-3 weeks.

Cooking Tips

Since Sun Dried Tomatoes have a concentrated, intense sweet yet tart flavor, it is best to either chop them finely to put into pasta salads and dishes or rehydrate them and blend them into sauces in cooking.

People love to snack on them, they are sooo tasty. They get a chewier texture and hydrating them before using them is a really important step in your cooking.

PRO TIP: Dried tomato flavor is quite concentrated and strong, so don't substitute sun-dried tomatoes one-for-one in a recipe.  Use them in recipes when you really want a concentrated flavor.

How To Rehydrate Tomatoes?

Rehydrating can be done with water, broth, or even wine. But which is best? Water does hydrate them but dilutes the tomato's flavor and wine overpowers the tomato's natural flavor.

A vegetable broth or chicken stock adds savory flavor. Soak in warm broth or stock for 30 minutes until soft and pliable, drain. Save the stock liquid and add flavor to stocks and sauces, dry, and use in your cooking.

Store-Bought (Dry-Packed) Sun-Dried Tomatoes

  • Less expensive than olive oil packed, sometimes ⅓ the price.
  • Dry-packed variety can have tougher skins and a chewier texture.
  • They are unseasoned without herbs, and to flavor recipes your way.
  • Some people try to approximate oil-packed tomatoes by soaking the dry-packed sun dried tomatoes in olive oil. It helps, but they still have a tougher chewy texture and need to be diced.

Store-Bought Oil Packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes

The tomatoes left in the jar should be covered in oil and chilled in the fridge.

  • Oil packed Sun-Dried Tomatoes come in several ways, they may julienned, finely chopped, or whole. Herbs and/or spices is often added to the oil like Italian Seasoning, salt, etc.
  • Use the oil from the jar to make salad dressings and to saute meats and vegetables. It is packed with tomatoey flavor.
A wire spatula scooping up sun dried tomatoes that were oven baked on a sheet pan.

What Kind of Tomatoes Should I Use? 

Use bright-colored tomato varieties. Any size of tomato will work in these recipes. Small ones are easy to slice and they dehydrate quickly due to their size.

  • Cherry
  • Yellow Pear
  • Red Torch
  • Patio Choice Yellow
  • Juliet
  • Grape
  • Valentine
  • Roma
  • San Marzano

Uses In Recipes

  • Blend into Red Pepper Tomato Soup
  • Top on Chicken Parmesan
  • Sun Dried Tomato Butter
  • Mix into Chicken Piccata
  • Use as a topping on Pizza
  • Chop and mix in an easy Pasta Salad
  • Mix into Breakfast Omletes or Egg Muffins
  • Bake into Dinner Casseroles
  • Mix into Italian Tuna Salad
  • Blend into Sauces; Marinara or Bolgonese
  • Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto
  • Bake into a Hot Dish or Pasta Bake
  • Rehydrate and blend into Tomatos Soup and Beef Stew
  • Saute into Gnocchi with Bacon or Sliced Sausages

More Tomato Recipes

Fried Green Tomatoes can be a snack, lunch, or a side for family dinner. Dip in remoulade sauce or buttermilk ranch dressing, and use up green tomatoes from your Summer garden.

Homemade salsa has a fresh taste you will never get out of a jar or from any store.  The fire-grilled flavor from tomatoes, onions, and peppers with medium heat in this homemade Tomatillo Salsa will have people loving each and every bite scooped on a tortilla chip...

Cobb Salad became famous in Hollywood at the Original Brown Derby restaurant, it is served with a Special French Dressing aka Cobb Salad Dressing and is loaded with delicious toppings like tomato, chicken, crumbled bacon, avocado, and chopped eggs.

Tuna Salad can be made as a sandwich wrap or in a low-carb style in a colorful bell pepper bowl. And this recipe has no mayo. Bursting with flavor from crunchy celery, avocado, basil, capers, kalamata olives, and sun-dried tomatoes...

  • Fried Green Tomatoes
  • Tomatillo Salsa
  • Cobb Salad
  • Tuna Salad

More Sun Dried Tomato Recipes

  • Tuna Salad
  • Sun Dried Tomato Butter

CRAVING MORE?

Get my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for more Delicious Table recipes!

A small clear jar filled with sun dried tomatoes and topped with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and basil for use in recipes.
Print Pin Recipe

Sun-Dried Tomatoes (Oven & Dehydrator Recipes)

You can make Sun-Dried Tomatoes at home in the oven or by using a dehydrator. Get easy storage tips plus 10+ dinner inspiration recipe ideas!
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Servings 24
Calories 7kcal
Author Lisa Hatfield

Equipment

Food Dehydrator
Large Metal Sheet Pan
Parchment Paper Sheets
Small Serrated Knife

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds small mixed tomatoes or Roma tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning optional
  • olive oil optional (if olive oil packing)

Instructions

Oven Dehydrator Method

  • Line metal baking sheets with parchment paper. Don't place directly on the metal or use foil which can react with the tomatoes.
  • Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
  • Wash and slice the small tomatoes ¼" thick slices, the thinner the faster they will dry out. You can cut them round or the long ways into different shapes you like!
  • Arrange cut side up on a baking sheet. Optional: sprinkle very lightly with sea salt and or Italian seasoning. I highly recommend sprinkling sea salt and Italian seasoning on them, it makes them spectacular.
  • At 2 hours rotate your pans in the oven, this helps distribute the heat evenly on your sun-dried tomatoes.
  • Return to the oven and bake for at least 2 more hours, until tomatoes are "dry and leathery". My top sheet pan was done in 2:45 minutes but the bottom pan was 3 hours 15 minutes.

Food Dehydrator

  • Wash and slice the small tomatoes ¼" thick slices, the thinner the faster they will dry out. You can cut them round or the long ways into different shapes you like!
  • Arrange cut side up on a baking sheet. Optional: sprinkle very lightly with sea salt and or Italian seasoning. I highly recommend sprinkling sea salt and Italian seasoning on them, it makes them spectacular.
  • Spread tomato slices on food dehydrator screens. Set temperature on your dehydrator at 135°F and allow 5-7 hours to dry or until crispy. Check every few hours as they dehydrate, you are looking for them to become dry and leathery.

Notes

oven cooking time
The oven dehydration method was about 3 hours in a gas oven. The top tray was done in 2 hours 45 minutes, and the bottom tray 3 hours 15 minutes. 

food dehydrator time

Food Dehydrators take almost double the time, mine was done at 6 hours at 135 degrees on the fruit and vegetable setting. 

tomatoes

Use small bright-colored tomato varieties like; cherry, yellow pear, red torch, patio choice yellow, Juliet, grape, and valentine.  Roma tomatoes work well too.

freezing

Pack in airtight ziptop bags or containers, they last 6 months. 

olive oil packing

In a small jar, add sun dried tomatoes, top with olive oil. Use in recipes like salad dressings, sauces, and marinades. You can add garlic cloves, basil, and rosemary for added flavor. Keep refrigerated and use within a month. 

Nutrition

Calories: 7kcal | Carbohydrates: 2g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 92mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 318IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let's see it on Instagram! Follow us @Delicious.Table and tag us on your recipe photo with #delicioustable
Need ingredients or equipment to make this recipe? Shop Now Every cooking product recommended I own, use, and love how they perform in my kitchen. Happy Cooking! Lisa
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, Delicious Table earns advertising fees from qualified purchases linking to Amazon.com
112 shares

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Laura says

    July 08, 2021 at 6:21 pm

    5 stars
    I can't wait to try these. They look so easy. Who knew? I'm excited to make them at home because the packaged ones are so expensive.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm LISA! Welcome, can I get you something delicious to eat? Let's find that recipe you are craving. Delicious Table features simple recipes, holiday and party food ideas.

Find out more →

FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

MOST POPULAR RECIPES

  • The Best Cheeseburger
  • 15 Lemon Recipes
  • Homemade Dog Food Recipe
  • Lobster Ravioli
  • Limoncello
  • Classic Taco Salad

ALL READER FAVES ►

COOKOUT & JULY 4TH RECIPES

  • Lamb Gyros With Greek Tzatziki Sauce
  • Cherry Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches
  • Homemade Relish
  • Burger Sauce
  • The Best Burger Seasoning
  • Mexican Street Corn (Authentic Elotes)

MORE RECIPES ►

Footer

Most Popular "Reader Favorite" Recipes

A person holding a messy grilled burger topped with melted cheese, burger sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

The Best Cheeseburger

A pile of bright yellow lemons in a pile ready to make lemon recipes.

15 Lemon Recipes

A white ceramic dog dish that says woof filled with homemade dog food.

Homemade Dog Food Recipe

A white plate filled with heart shaped lobster ravioli garnished with parsley.

Lobster Ravioli

Two small glasses of icy cold limoncello (lemoncello) ready to sip.

Limoncello

A white plate full of taco salad topped with taco meat, grated cheese, Fritos, sour cream, black olives and tomatoes.

Classic Taco Salad

Three golden crispy edged hash browns baked in a muffin tin on cutting board.

Oven Baked Hash Browns

A square collage of colorful grilled food at a cookout with a logo that says Cookout Menu.

Cookout Menu

A small clear jar filled with sun dried tomatoes and topped with olive oil, rosemary, garlic, and basil for use in recipes.

Sun Dried Tomatoes

A red bowl with fluffy vanilla frosting ready to frost a cake.

Fluffy Buttercream Frosting

A large glass clamp jar filled with pickled eggs, fresh jalapeno slices, and spices.

Jalapeno Pickled Eggs

A large pork loin roast with a lot of dry rub seasoning pouring over the top.

Grill & BBQ Rub

A graphic showing lots of food for July 4th including cheeseburgers, corn, and baked beans.

100+ July 4th Recipes

A Cinco de Mayo party with frozen margaritas, guacamole, and chips on a green table.

CoronaRita Margaritas

A white casserole dish with roasted pulled pork just out of the oven and seasoned with bbq rub.

Oven Roasted Pulled Pork

A large white spoon scooping a serving of cowboy baked beans out of a casserole dish.

Cowboy Beans

More Delicious Recipes

AFFILIATE DISCLAIMER

As an Amazon Associate and Affiliate Marketer, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click a product affiliate link on Delicious Table and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you, ever!  I own every cooking product I recommend and love how they perform. Happy Cooking! Lisa XO

I've Been Featured On

Lisa Hatfield Torres with Delicious Table shares everyday and holiday fresh seasonal ingredient real food recipes, cooking techniques, kitchen tips, and more at www.DeliciousTable.com.

PLEASE FOLLOW US!

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Reader Faves!

A person holding a messy grilled burger topped with melted cheese, burger sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

The Best Cheeseburger

A pile of bright yellow lemons in a pile ready to make lemon recipes.

15 Lemon Recipes

A white ceramic dog dish that says woof filled with homemade dog food.

Homemade Dog Food Recipe

Copyright © 2021 ♥︎ Delicious Table ♥︎ Privacy policy ♥︎ Accessibility Statement