An Easy Way to Preserve Homegrown Cherry Tomatoes

Looking for an easy way to preserve your homegrown cherry tomatoes? This simple method is my favorite way to preserve tomatoes and enjoy the harvest months later.

Nothing tastes more like summer to me than a handful of sun-warmed, sweet cherry tomatoes. In the dead of winter, this is the flavor that warms my soul and reminds me that this winter, too, shall pass.

In summer, I love growing cherry tomatoes because they grow so abundantly and prolifically. Every year, I cut back on the number of cherry tomatoes I grow, and every year we have tomatoes coming out of our ears.

When we finally are sick of eating fresh cherry tomatoes, it’s time to turn to our favorite cherry tomato recipes.

It just so happens that my favorite cherry tomato recipe is also an easy way to preserve fresh tomatoes.

I’m going to show you my favorite way to preserve homegrown cherry tomatoes that doesn’t take a lot of time or fancy equipment.

No canning, no peeling, no seeding.

This simple method will provide you with delicious cherry tomatoes to be turned into sauce, soup, eaten alone, or as a topping for cheesy garlic bread (my favorite!).

This recipe is perfect for beginner homesteaders and anyone who needs to deal with an abundance of cherry tomatoes quickly.

Or even just a small harvest when you don’t feel like pulling out a canner and food mill to preserve sauce.

It’s also perfect for those farmer’s market cherry tomatoes that you simply want to enjoy to the fullest!

This is a delicious recipe.

How to Preserve the Most Delicious Cherry Tomatoes

You will need:

• a baking sheet
• an oven
• cherry tomatoes
• olive oil
• glass jars, freezer safe containers, or freezer zip-top bags

First, pop the stems off your tomatoes and discard any bad fruit. Wash the tomatoes and drain dry.

For this batch of tomatoes, I’m using Sun Golds (my favorite cherry tomato variety), Black Strawberry, Cherry Baby, and Patio Yellow Cherry tomatoes.

I just love having a variety of colors in my cherry tomato basket. But any type of cherry tomato will do, as long as they are good quality and fresh.

Lay the tomatoes out on a large baking sheet in a single layer.

Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle a pinch of salt if desired. My herb infused salt recipe is a great seasoning to add here!

Preheat the oven to 400°F (about 200°C). Roast the tomatoes in the oven for about 20 minutes or until they are wrinkly and browned on top.

Like this.

Finally, let the tomatoes cool completely. You can eat these tomatoes right away, and I often do a taste test for quality control at this point!

If you would like to preserve them for later, you can either: freeze or store them in oil.

Preserve Roasted Cherry Tomatoes in the Freezer

Freezing roasted cherry tomatoes is a quick, safe option. You can use freezer-safe containers, like these.

I prefer to keep my roasted cherry tomatoes in a gallon zip-top bag. I siphon the air out as best I can, then lay the bags flat in the freezer on a tray.

Once the tomatoes are completely frozen, I can store them upright like books on a bookshelf.

They defrost must more quickly this way as well.

Preserve Roasted Tomatoes in Olive Oil

If you don’t want to freeze your tomatoes, or don’t have room in your freezer, you can keep the tomatoes submerged in olive oil in the refrigerator for up to three months.

Follow the roasted tomato recipe above. Once they have cooled, transfer the tomatoes into a glass jar and leave about an inch of headspace at the top.

Top off the jar with good quality olive oil.

Use a butter knife to release any air bubbles trapped inside. You do not want any air stuck under the olive oil at all or the tomatoes will spoil.

Once you think you’ve gotten all the bubbles, check again to be sure!

Add more olive oil to the jar if any tomatoes are poking out at the top. You do not want the tomatoes to be exposed to air at any time.

Screw on the lid and label the jar with the date you packed it. Keep your olive oil roasted tomatoes in the back of the refrigerator where it is coldest.

How to Use Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Here are my favorite ways to use my roasted cherry tomatoes.

• on top of toasted baguette slices rubbed with fresh garlic
• with spaghetti noodles and fresh basil as a quick pasta sauce
• with feta crumbles and pasta noodles
• pureed with sautéed onion and garlic for an easy tomato soup
• as a homemade pizza topping or dip for the crust
• added to ground beef and kidney beans to make chili

Use these tomatoes as a far more superior substitute for canned tomatoes in any recipe and your taste buds will be thanking you!

FAQs About Preserving Roasted Tomatoes

• I have kept my roasted tomatoes in the fridge for three months. Frozen tomatoes can be kept in the freezer up to a year. I don’t have experience with keeping tomatoes beyond these times and would recommend using them sooner rather than later.
• Check on the refrigerated tomatoes every so often. If you see signs of spoiling (mold, turning black, weird smell, bubbles forming or puffed up lid indicating fermentation), toss out the tomatoes and oil.
• Oil-packed tomatoes must be kept in the refrigerator at all times. If you don’t consume the whole jar, de-bubble with a butter knife as you did when you first packed it, and top off with olive oil until no tomatoes are exposed to air.
• According to the FDA, botulism forms toxin at higher temperatures. Storing your roasted tomatoes packed in olive oil below 38°F (3.3°C) will keep botulism from growing. The best temperature for keeping food cold in refrigerators is 35°-38°F. Check your fridge temp with a thermometer if you are worried about this, or just make sure to eat your roasted tomatoes within a week or two!