How to Make Garden Sundried Tomatoes

Sundried tomatoes are one of the easiest things to make yet are super expensive at the grocery store. In todays article I wanted to take you through everything you need to know about dehydrating tomatoes and rehydrating them to that classic sundried tomato flavour.

The Best Tomato Varieties for Sundrying

This blog is reader supported. Some of the links in this article are affiliates that earn us a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

Although you can dehydrate any tomato, there is one variety that is grown specifically for sundried tomatoes – Principe Borghese. If you’re hoping to use a variety that you already own, focus on varieties that are smaller, sweet and full of flavour so that you get that burst of flavour later when you eat them. Cherry or midsize tomatoes are way better to use in comparison to beefsteak varieties because they are easier to dry and to later work with in the kitchen. Learn more on how to grow tomatoes from seed.

Preparing Your Tomatoes to Dry

Luckily, the prep work is super simple. Clean your tomatoes and remove the stems from the fruit. If you’re using cherry tomatoes, you can just cut them in half. If you’re using midsize tomatoes, cut them into even slices that are about 1-2cm in width. The thinner you cut them, the faster they will dry.

Dehydrating Tomatoes in the Sun

There are a few ways you can dehydrate in the sun. The first is to put your tomatoes on a baking sheet and to leave them out on a table in full sun. They will dry, but it’ll take multiple days. The other thing to keep in mind is that they aren’t covered which means insects will land on your fruit and that does come with the potential for bacteria finding their way onto your food.

The second is what you see in the photo above! I turned my cold frame into a solar dehydrator since I have no use for my cold frames in the summer. It’s quite simple to do this, all you need to do is build a dark coloured shelf that sits in the cold frame. The dark colour helps heat up the frame. We also have an air vent cut in the back to help with airflow. The cold frame easily went to 40-50°C which helped dry them out.

The most difficult part about using a solar dehydrator is that it will take a minimum of 2 days to fully dry your tomatoes so you need 2 good weather days with warm temperatures and blue skies. If you choose to dehydrate your peppers outdoors, you’ll want to take them inside overnight and then flip them before bringing them out for the second day. Depending on how hot out it is, it could take over 2 days to dry them.

Dehydrating Tomatoes in a Dehydrator

The easiest way to dehydrate your tomatoes is in an electric dehydrator because the temperature stays consistent, you can leave it on all day regardless of the weather, and it can take less time. We use the Cosori dehydrator in the photo above, and chose it because of all of the stainless steel components that last us a lifetime, and be properly recycled at the end of its life. I also live it because it has a lot of shelves so I can dehydrate a lot of tomatoes at once (and don’t have to flip them).

When dehydrating in an electric dehydrator, you’ll want to do it at 140°F (60°C) for 12-18 hours. Assume it will take the 18 hours because you want to ensure that your tomatoes are fully dry with no soft, flexible or goopy spots left. Check on them at the 12 hour mark. If they’re fully dry, you can take them out but if there are some that have dried slower than others you’ll want to check on them every few hours after that and pull out any tomatoes that have fully dried, until they’re all dry.

Continue growing your garden knowledge

• Are Organic Chemicals Safe To Use in a Home Garden?
• Save Your Lawn: How to Control Lawn Grubs
• Seedlings Randomly Die? Damping Off Could Be the Culprit
• How to Manage Aphids in Your Garden
• The Healthiest Vegetables to Grow in Your Garden

How to Store Dried Tomatoes

Before you store your tomatoes, make sure they are completely dry. When in doubt, dry them a bit longer until they feel crispy and aren’t pliable. If you don’t fully dry them they won’t last in the pantry as long and could possibly mould. Once they are fully dry you can store them in an airtight container in your pantry. Keeping them in a cool, dark place is best and they will last for up to a year. As it always is with food, as the tomatoes age, make sure they look and smell right before using them. When in doubt, throw them out.

Rehydrating Your Tomatoes

Although you can rehydrate and can tomatoes to keep in your pantry (like how you buy them in a jar at the store), I prefer to keep them dry and rehydrate them as needed since it’s quick to do. To rehydrate your tomatoes, place whatever amount you want to eat in a small pot. Add herbs such as Italian seasoning, bay leaves, garlic powder or anything else you may want. You can rehydrate them in plain water, but I like to add some balsamic vinegar and red wine vinegar into the water as well. Bring the tomatoes to a boil for 5 minutes. Test them to determine if they are as soft as you want, then you can drain the water and add them to your recipe.

Ways to Enjoy Sundried Tomatoes

The first way to enjoy dried tomatoes is by snacking on them as is! They taste amazing dried and straight from the pantry. Other ways to enjoy sundried tomatoes is by putting them on pizza, on top of a frittata or quiche, make a sundried tomato pasta sauce, or even sundried tomato risotto.