Make your own "sun dried" tomatoes at home with a dehydrator and enjoy them any time of year in so many recipes.
Right next to our gorgeous chili peppers we grew in the garden this year, we also grew a SLEW of just-as-gorgeous tomatoes. We grow them every year, but this year we picked up some fabulous heirloom tomato plants during a visit to Asheville, NC, and gave them a try. Talk about flavor.
Heirlooms are BY FAR my favorite types of tomatoes, and luckily there is a large variety to choose from. Weirdly, they produced quite late in our season, so we had to pick a number of green tomatoes off the plants just before frost struck us. We had a large batch, but let them sit on the kitchen counter with apples to help them ripen. And ripen they did! Neat trick, the apples.
If you bury an apple in your tomato bowl, it will speed along the process. And you want to cut the tomatoes off the plant so you are not severing the stem from the tomato. This helps them last longer which is needed for the ripening process.
So, the question remains. What to do with all these tomatoes? We've made plenty of sauces and froze a lot, but another way to consider preserving your outstanding tomato harvest is to make sun dried tomatoes at home. But wait? It isn't very sunny! And it's cold outside! How can we do this?
You do this, my friends, with a dehydrator. I've posted information on how to dehydrate chili peppers, and the same principal works for tomatoes. The process is simple. First, you need a dehydrator.
Here is a link to the one I own - It's an affiliate link, FYI: Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A
. I LOVE this dehydrator. AND! You need some tomatoes, olive oil, and a few other ingredients. The recipe is listed below, but here are some photos to help you out.
How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes (in a Dehydrator)
First things first. Clean and dry your tomatoes, then slice them into fairly thin slices, about a quarter inch thick or less. Some recipes call for coring them out, even peeling them, blanching them first, but we don't think so. We're making it easy, and to be honest, the resulting tomatoes come out great this way. Try it. You'll see.
Lay out your tomatoes like so. Give them room to dry. Sprinkle the tomatoes with a bit of salt, pepper, dried basil and/or dried oregano. Cover, and turn on the dehydrator. You'll want a temperature of 140 degrees, the same for dehydrating chili peppers.
A difference here, though, is that you don't necessarily want your tomatoes to dry out completely. You want them to be somewhat pliable, so keep your dehydrating time at about 6-8 hours. You'll need to check on them to make sure they are dried out enough, but not TOO dry.
Ours were done at the 6 hour mark, but again, be sure to keep an eye on them after about 6 hours or so. If you flip them half way through it will help prevent them from sticking to the dehydrator tray. Plus it allows you to season the other side if you'd like more seasoning.
Once dried, remove them and layer them in a jar with fresh basil leaves, rosemary sprigs, and a bit more salt, pepper, dried basil and dried oregano. Like so.
Once you've got your tomatoes nicely layered, cover them in olive oil. You can press down on the tomatoes and contents of the jar to compress them, making room for more tomatoes. Just be sure the ingredients are all submerged in oil.
Just like this...
Doesn't it look delicious? Oh yes! Cover tightly with a lid and refrigerate. They should last 4 days this way in the refrigerator, or several months in the freezer. Perfect for so many recipes!
How to Make Sun Dried Tomatoes - with a Dehydrator - Recipe Steps
Ingredients
- 2-3 pounds fresh tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Basil leaves - 10-12 should do
- 2-3 rosemary sprigs
- 2 cups olive oil - as needed
Instructions
- Clean and dry the tomatoes. Slice them into fairly thin slices, about a quarter inch thick or less.
- Lay out your tomatoes on dehydrator racks. Do not overlap.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes with a bit of salt, pepper, dried basil and/or dried oregano. Cover, and turn on the dehydrator at 140 degrees.
- Dry for 6-8 hours, but check them after 6 hours to ensure they do not over dry. You want them to be slightly pliable. Flip them once about half way through the process.
- Remove the tomatoes and layer them in a jar with fresh basil leaves, rosemary sprigs, and a bit more salt, pepper, dried basil and dried oregano.
- Cover them in oil and store in the refrigerator in tightly capped jars. Should last 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Here is a link to the one I own - It's an affiliate link, FYI: Nesco Snackmaster Pro Food Dehydrator FD-75A
Robert willis says
I made this last sept, and ate it all year still using on pizza's and it is august. Just wondering why you say will last 4 days? And you are not only one same way with fridge pickles and peppers. They last til next years crop , why is this just to be safe or what ? Thanks great recipe love it .
Mike Hultquist says
Robert, it's because of the oil. It will likely last longer, especially in the refrigerator, but you'll want to keep an eye on it. Enjoy!!
Lizzie says
If I canned these, would they keep for longer? Can’t wait to try this recipe!!!
Mike Hultquist says
Lizzie, it's not recommended to can foods with oil. You might look into saving them in water, then pressure canning, or pickling.
Amy says
In your photo the basil leaves and rosemary sprigs look fresh (not dried) yet your recipe calls for dried basil, rosemary etc?
Mike Hultquist says
Amy, use the dried herbs (if desired) to sprinkle on the tomatoes before dehydrating. Then, you can add fresh basil and thyme to the oil in the jar.
Kristen says
The recipe calls for fresh basil and rosemary to put into the jars after the tomatoes are dried.
Jessi says
I made these and dried them a bit longer like you would dehydrate anything else completely and they were delicious with the seasoning just like that. without the oil, I stored them in a zip lock and they lasted until we ate them all!! (about a month but probably could be longer in an airtight container). Thanks so much for the recipe!
Jessica says
Thank you for the tip. I was looking for a way to make them last longer. I will start dehydrating today.
JEN says
I love this recipe. It’s simple and looks delicious and I love the way you said “like so.” you are down-to-earth I like that.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Jen!
Jody says
I love the recipe, but you mentioned that this can also be frozen to last longer. Do you freeze them in the oil or without oil? I am interested to know. Thank you for publishing the recipe.
Mike Hultquist says
Jody, you can freeze them without the oil. Enjoy!
Ellie says
Is it okay to freeze these in jars?
Mike Hultquist says
Ellie, I've never frozen these, but don't see why you couldn't. They're already dried out, though.
Beth Davis says
They typically tell you not to freeze canned goods because it messes up the texture. I would think that ziplock freezer bags would be better?
Vickie says
I made the recipe for the sun dried tomatoes and they are great. Since I did not eat them all so I put them in the refrigerator as suggested not a good idea by the next morning the oil had solidified. So in the trash they went.
Mike Hultquist says
Vickie, you just wasted good tomatoes. It is normal for the oil to congeal in the fridge. It goes back to normal consistency when you take them out. FYI.
Kay says
Happy Holidays Vickie! I co-sign with others responding to u...
Yes, u did waste all that effort u put in, to then throw it all out (because the olive oil solidified with the cold fridge temperature). Vickie, this is VERY normal--as with ANY food containing oil, that gets refrigerated.
After u reheat/cook ur refrigerated food containing oil, it all comes back together cooking nicely-- and it will taste awesome!
Beth Davis says
This comment makes me want to cry. I thought everyone knew oil would solidify in the refrigerator. Sadly, she only gave 3 stars when it was her mistake.
Pat says
You say "cover" and turn the dehydrator on. What do you cover them with, foil or parchment paper or what?
I am trying this with cherry tomatoes as we speak but I missed the "cover" before I started.
Charity says
Do you store them in the freezer just like you would in the fridge, submerged in oil?
Mike Hultquist says
Charity, you can freeze this. Also, the dehydrated tomatoes will keep indefinitely, so you can keep those in a baggie in the pantry, then make this recipe in small batches any time you want.
Erin says
Thanks! Gonna give this a try. I'm going to infuse my olive oil with fresh garlic and fresh basil before storing with the sun dried tomatoes. The oil shouldn't go bad if it's topped with cheesecloth to collect moisture and kept somewhere dark while infusing.
Mike Hultquist says
Enjoy, Erin.
Jenn says
Can't I just use garlic powder with the dried herbs in olive oil so won't go bad quickly??
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, you can use dried seasonings. Enjoy.
Melanie says
Ok, I went through the other comments and your replies and I just wanted to clarify. I want to make batches of these to last a long time and have on hand so I am looking to freeze them. If I want to do that you said to omit the garlic the oil in the fresh herbs only put dried herbs in there? Is that the right way?
Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says
You can omit the garlic and use only dried herbs, yes.