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Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
If you have too many tomatoes from your garden, if you got carried away at the farmers' market, or if you’re looking to give a little more oomph to off-season grocery store tomatoes, roasted tomatoes is the best way to maximize your tomato supply. Roasting tomatoes intensifies their sweetness, caramelizing the sugars and adding a richer flavor. Here, learn how to make the best roasted tomatoes.
What Kind of Tomatoes Are the Best for Roasting?
Pretty much any kind of tomato can be roasted! We recommend plum, Roma, or other small-to-medium tomatoes for roasted tomatoes that will be served as a side dish or turned into soup.
To choose the best tomatoes for roasting, look for tomatoes that are ripe but still firm. Save those extra-ripe, super juicy tomatoes for tomato gravy, tomato sandwiches, or salads.
Do You Have To Cut the Core out of Roasted Tomatoes?
This is optional. If you’d like to take the core and seeds out of the tomatoes, do that before roasting. Note that they may cook a bit faster, so start checking a few minutes earlier if you leave the cores in the tomatoes.
Ingredients in Roasted Tomatoes
Once you have the tomatoes, the ingredient list is fairly simple:
- Olive oil: Olive oil helps keep the tomatoes from sticking to the pan and helps them caramelize as they roast.
- Balsamic vinegar: Because balsamic vinegar is sweeter than other varieties, it adds some sweetness to the tomatoes.
- Minced garlic: A classic tomato pairing.
- Fresh rosemary or thyme: We like the extra flavor that these heartier herbs add to the tomatoes as they’re roasting. If you’d like to flavor the tomatoes with basil or chives, wait to add those until after the tomatoes are done roasting.
- Salt: Salt intensifies the flavor of the tomatoes.
- Pepper: We use freshly ground black pepper, but you can also add a pinch of crushed red pepper for a little more spice.
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Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
How To Roast Tomatoes
Full instructions for this easy recipe are below, but here's a brief recap before you get started:
- Step 1. Prepare the oven: Preheat the oven to 425°F. A hot oven will help the sugars in the tomatoes caramelize.
- Step 2. Prepare your pan: You’ll need a rimmed baking sheet, which will help keep any juices from the tomatoes contained. Lining it with aluminum foil will make clean up easier.
- Step 3. Make the olive oil mixture, and drizzle over tomatoes: Whisking together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, herbs, and seasonings will help distribute everything easily when you drizzle it over the tomatoes. Give the tomatoes a good toss to make sure they are evenly coated.
- Step 4. Roast the tomatoes: Roast the tomatoes until they are softened and starting to brown on top.
![Southern Living How to Roast Tomatoes before roasting](https://www.southernliving.com/thmb/RjATsu9NDgWSIyRUysa68-awrW8=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/How_To_Roast_Tomatoes_010-adf8bd12f76d45599bd17de1ef05e09f.jpg)
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
How Long Does It Take To Roast Tomatoes?
Plum, or other similarly-sized tomatoes, will take about 30 minutes to roast. If you’re roasting larger tomatoes, cut them into quarters before roasting, and they should take a similar amount of time.
How To Roast Cherry Tomatoes
For cherry or grape tomatoes, follow the instructions below for seasoning the tomatoes and use 3 pints (10 oz. packages), halved. Roast 15 to 20 minutes or until softened and beginning to brown.
How Do You Serve Roasted Tomatoes?
The tomatoes can be served warm, just as they are, for a side dish. For some extra flavor, sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta over the tomatoes while they’re still warm.
Roasted cherry or grape tomatoes are perfect for serving on crostini with ricotta and an extra drizzle of balsamic vinegar, or used as the base for a quick pasta sauce.
Roasted tomatoes are also great used as the base for tomato soup or tomato sauce.
![Southern Living Roasted Tomatoes after roasting ready to serve](https://www.southernliving.com/thmb/12TNe1JOF5j3Kb0HPfEwV1c4V9s=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/How_To_Roast_Tomatoes_012-d9eedfad588b45cda6a37a902d84c03c.jpg)
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
How To Store Roasted Tomatoes
Once cool, roasted tomatoes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for 2 to 3 days. If keeping longer, they can be frozen for 2 to 3 months. After freezing and thawing, roasted tomatoes are usually best for pureeing into soup or sauce.
Ingredients
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2 1/2 lb. plum tomatoes (about 9 large)
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3 Tbsp. olive oil
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1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
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2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 tsp.)
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2 tsp. fresh minced rosemary or thyme leaves
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3/4 tsp. kosher salt
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1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Directions
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Prepare oven and pan:
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
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Prepare tomatoes:
Cut tomatoes in half. If tomatoes are very large, they can be quartered.
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
Place tomatoes on prepared baking sheet, cut side up.
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
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Make dressing:
In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
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Drizzle tomatoes with oil mixture:
Drizzle mixture over tomatoes and toss lightly to coat. Make sure tomatoes are still facing cut side up.
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins
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Roast tomatoes:
Roast in preheated oven 30-35 minutes or until tomatoes are tender and lightly browned on top.
Caitlin Bensel, Food Stylist: Rebecca Cummins