Dehydrating Cherry Tomatoes the Easy Way

Tomato season is on! You planted your tomatoes in the best way and now you have an amazing crop of cherry tomatoes. Dehydrating cherry tomatoes is an easy way for garden fresh cherry tomatoes to be preserved. 

Using this recipe with a low-temperature oven or food dehydrator can be a whole lot faster than the long wait for the sun to dry them. This way you will have your tomatoes from the garden year-round. 

It's no tomato sandwich, but I love pulling out a jar of sun-dried tomatoes in the middle of winter for that taste of summer!

Cherry Tomato Varieties

Cherry tomatoes come in many different varieties, but all contain less moisture, which makes dehydrating them easier than their larger tomato counterparts. 

Depending on the variety of your cherry tomatoes you can have red, green, yellow, orange, or even purple fruit. My must-grow heirloom list gives a list of all the varieties of tomatoes we grow.

Some of our favorite cherry or grape tomatoes are from Wild Boar Farms varieties. The Blue Berry and Blue Gold are great producing plants that are the first and last to produce a harvest. 

Here's a list of some other cherry tomato varieties I've tried:

• Barry’s Crazy Cherry
• Sunrise Bumblebee
• Pink Bumblebee
• Purple Bumblebee
• Sungold

These will produce a lot of fruit and are very flavorful.

Are Sun-Dried Tomatoes the Same as Dehydrated Cherry Tomatoes?

Sun-dried tomatoes and dehydrated tomatoes are one and the same. Dehydrating is the process of taking the water content out of fruit, vegetables and meat, leaving behind the flavor and flesh. 

The sun was the first dehydrator. This is where sun-dried tomatoes got its name. 

Nowadays, it is a simple process to dehydrate cherry tomatoes. Preserving the tomato keeps the flavor in the flesh of the dried-out fruit and makes storing simple.

Reasons to Dehydrate Cherry Tomatoes

If you have an abundance of cherry tomatoes, dehydrating them will give you the ability to have garden cherry tomatoes all year round. No need to let the cherry tomatoes go to waste.

• Dried tomatoes are a delicious sweet snack, and if you add a little salt or herbs, it can be a savory snack.
• Dehydrated cherry tomatoes can be used in any of your favorite recipes such as salads, pasta dishes, toppings on pizza, added to savory loaves of bread, and even added to your morning eggs or my homemade farmhouse quiche.
• Adding dried cherry tomatoes to olive oil will release a sweet flavoring into the oil for salad dressings, bread, and even cooking.

Supplies for Dehydrating Cherry Tomatoes

Having the right equipment makes any task in the kitchen easier. 

• Cutting board – Save your countertop by using a cutting board to cut tomatoes. 
• Knife – A kitchen is as good as its utensils. A sharp knife will make cutting the cherry tomatoes fast and easy.
• Dehydrator or Oven – I use the Excalibur Dehydrator. It is efficient and I love it, but any dehydrator will work. An oven can work as well.
• Sealed Storage Container – Storing your dried tomatoes in a sealed container will preserve them longer.

Ingredients Needed 

• Cherry Tomatoes – Use whatever variety that you have available.
• Salt (optional) – Salt will pull out the savory taste in the tomatoes. Salt and pepper would add a different dimension to the flavor. 
• Extra seasoning – You can use all different kinds of seasonings to fit your desired taste. Salt and pepper are simple and basic. Balsamic vinegar will add a sweet flavor. Italian herbs will give a more savory twist. Use flavor profiles you like or try something new! 

Dehydrating Cherry Tomatoes Step by Step

1. Rinse cherry tomatoes and pat dry.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half on the cutting board.
3. Place in a bowl to add salt, oil, or other seasonings as desired.
4. If seasoning, place tomatoes cut side down on the dehydrator trays. If you are not seasoning, place them face up. Pro Tip: You may want to line the dehydrator trays or baking sheets with parchment paper so the tomato liquid does not drip all over your dehydrator or your oven.
5. Make sure the tomatoes are spaced out evenly and in a single layer.
6. Dehydrate the cherry tomatoes for about 12 hours. The temperature needs to be between 125°F – 135°F. Pro Tip: Most ovens do not have a temperature setting this low. Just put the oven on its lowest setting, and crack the door slightly to allow some of the heat to escape, and to allow more airflow so condensation does not occur.
7. Start checking the cherry tomatoes at about the 10-hour mark to see if some are done. Remove those that are completely dehydrated and continue dehydrating the larger tomatoes.
8. Remove tomatoes from trays and place them in an airtight container. Pro Tip: Make sure there is no moisture left in the cherry tomato when storing. Any moisture remaining will cause mold.

Storing Dehydrated Cherry Tomatoes

There are a couple of different options for storing dehydrated cherry tomatoes.

• An airtight container such as my go-to sealable Weck Jars or plastic containers are the simplest choice. Dehydrated cherry tomatoes stored in a sealed container in the fridge last for up to a year. Pro-Tip: If you have different varieties of cherry tomatoes, label the containers to keep track of which tomatoes you enjoy most to know what to grow next year. 
• You can also store dehydrated cherry tomatoes in a jar full of olive oil at room temperature. This will last up to a year unopened, but after opening, they last a few months. The oil or the tomatoes can be used anytime.

More Tomato Tips and Tricks

• How to Start Tomato Seed
• Growing Determinate and Indeterminate Tomatoes
• How To Prune Tomato Plants Properly (For a Larger Harvest)
• Roasted Tomato Salsa Recipe
• 4 Ingredient Classic Tomato Sandwich
• How to Make Bruschetta – My Favorite Summer Treat