How to Make and Store Roasted Tomatoes

This roasted tomato recipe might just be my favorite condiment. Especially roasted cherry tomatoes—those little beauties are incredibly sweet, packed full of flavor, and so versatile. 

What’s better, slow roasting tomatoes might just be one of the easiest things you’ll do in the kitchen or on the grill. They are of course amazing as a snack or served on a toasted baguette, but don’t stop there.

I add them to one of my all-time favorite sandwiches and that’s saying a lot given how many sandwiches I make. Add roasted cherry tomatoes to a steak salad; the sweetness goes a long way with the savory steak. 

They also go really well added to a simple jar of store-bought pasta sauce. You know the kind—the cheap stuff, store brand, or whatever is on sale. Add these to that sauce and nine out of ten people won’t know it’s not homemade sauce.

I started making these one summer when I got a bit carried away with the tomato plants in my garden and had more fresh tomatoes than I knew what to do with.

At the time I was just using a simple drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper seasoning, and that’s still excellent. Over time however, I’ve tweaked this recipe a bit and finally decided to share it with you all here. 

I’ve used a variety of tomatoes, but my preferred method is to use a mix of grape or cherry tomatoes. Roma tomatoes are excellent for roasting, too, but roasted cherry tomatoes have a special zing.

How to Store Roasted Tomatoes

I tend to make these in large batches because they keep well and are great to have on hand for that last-minute sauce, salad, or snack. Storing roasted tomatoes is super easy, and they’ll keep on your countertop for a week or longer. 

To be honest, they may keep much longer but they never last that long around my place. Anyway, to store them, just put them in a mason jar along with some fresh thyme (and garlic cloves if you like garlic) and cover them with olive oil. That’s it.

What you’ll find is the tomatoes are still amazing to eat or use after being stored in the olive oil, and the oil itself makes a great dipping sauce for some fresh bread. 

When the tomatoes are all gone, mix the oil with some grated Parmesan cheese and use it with some garlic bread… A-MAZE!

Roasted Tomatoes Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 3 hours

Ingredients
2 lbs cherry tomatoes
2 tsp olive oil (plus more for storage)
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cayenne powder (optional)
3 sprigs fresh thyme (optional)
3 cloves garlic (optional)

How to Roast and Store Tomatoes

Step 1: Light your grill and set up for two-zone cooking, or preheat your oven and establish temperature in either at 225 °F.

Step 2: While the grill or oven is preheating, slice the tomatoes in half. Place cut side up in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.

Step 3: Spritz tomatoes with a light coat of olive oil. I use this olive oil sprayer, but if you don’t have one you can also place the cut tomatoes in a bowl, and toss with olive oil.

Step 4: Season tomatoes with salt, pepper, garlic powder, dried thyme, and optional cayenne pepper.

Step 5: Place in the oven or on the grill over indirect heat. Allow to slow roast for 3 hours. If your oven is prone to hot spots, you may have to rotate the baking sheet throughout the cook time.

TIP: Depending on the consistency of your oven or grill temperature, these may roast for an extra 30 to 60 minutes.

Step 6: Remove tomatoes from the grill or oven and allow to cool.

Step 7: Place tomatoes in a glass jar or freezer bag and cover with olive oil. I love fresh herbs so I always toss in some fresh thyme with the tomatoes.

Step 8: These keep for several days on the countertop, but feel free to serve them right away.