How to Dehydrate Tomatoes

Congratulations! You're at the right place to learn how to dehydrate tomatoes...

Tomato Trio: on the vine, in a bowl, and sundried

Whether you grow your own or prefer to buy from grocery stores or roadside vegetable stands, after you've seen just how easy it is to dehydrate tomatoes, you'll wonder why on earth you didn't start sooner!

Just Like Sun Dried!

After you learn how to dehydrate tomatoes, you'll end up with the taste of delicious sun-dried tomatoes.

Consider packing your dehydrated tomatoes in a light extra-virgin olive oil too and add some herbs and garlic to help it along. These taste every bit as good (if not better) as the ones you buy in jars at the grocery store!

Suggested herbs to try:

  • Basil - The classic complement to tomatoes. Its sweet, peppery flavor balances the rich oil and sweet tomato notes beautifully. Pairs well with balsamic too.
  • Oregano - Earthy, zesty oregano is perfect with olive oil and brings out the savory essence of rehydrated tomatoes. One of the quintessential Italian spice blend ingredients.
  • Thyme - Offers a woodsy, citrusy aroma that infuses olive oil nicely. It also stands up well to the richness of oil infused tomatoes.
  • Rosemary - The piney punch of rosemary works excellently with fruity olive oils and tastes wonderful when paired with sun-dried tomatoes too.
  • Parsley - Its fresh, herbaceous flavor serves as a nice palate cleanser for olive oil richness and brings a vibrancy to dried tomatoes.

You really can't go wrong blending any combination of classic herbs like garlic, parsley, oregano and fresh peppers too for an oil and tomato dressing bursting with flavors. Play with pairings!

TOP Frequently Asked Questions:

Top question: How to dehydrate tomatoes?

And the answer is on the page you're reading in the pink dotted box!

Dehydrate tomatoes in oven?

Yes, you can dehydrate tomatoes in the oven. Here's how:

Ingredients:

Fresh tomatoes, cored, seeded, and sliced 1⁄4 inch thick

Optional: Fresh herbs like oregano, basil, thyme

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 170°F-200°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Arrange racks to accommodate multiple trays.

Wash and slice tomatoes. Spread out slices evenly in a single layer without overlapping on the prepared baking sheets.

Optionally, sprinkle thinly sliced fresh herbs over the tomatoes for more flavor.

Place trays on oven racks. If possible, prop the door open slightly with a wooden spoon to allow moisture release.

Dehydrate tomatoes for 6-8 hours until no moisture remains. Flip slices halfway through. Start checking at 5 hours.

Finished tomatoes will be shrunken down, darker red, and leathery but not crunchy or brittle when fully dry.

Turn off the oven and allow to cool before handling. Store in airtight bags or jars. Use within 2 weeks or blanch then freeze for longer periods.

The relatively low, consistent oven temperature makes it suitable for drying tomatoes out slowly for the best preservation of nutrients and flavor.

Tomato Nutrition Info.

Did you know this? While you dehydrate tomatoes, their Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Thiamin, and Niacin, along with Folate, and Choline, content increases!

VITAMINS: Vitamin A, followed by Vitamin C, and Choline. Trace vitamins are Niacin, and Vitamin E, along with Thiamine, Betaine, Pantothenic Acid, Folate, and Vitamin K.

MINERALS: Potassium, Phosphorus, Magnesium, and Calcium. There are trace amounts of Iron, Zinc, Manganese, and Copper.

Tomatoes contain Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.

Here's How to Dehydrate Tomatoes

Let's get busy and learn how to dehydrate tomatoes!

Whole and sliced tomato
  1. Wash and slice the tomatoes into 3/8" slices. You may first dip them into boiling water to make skin removal easier if you wish to skin them. For cherry tomatoes, cut in half, no skinning is required.
  2. Arrange the tomatoes on your food dehydrator trays, making sure the tomato slices don't overlap—or if using the cherry tomato halves, place them cut side up to prevent dripping to the lower trays.
  3. Turn on your food dehydrator and set the temperature between 125°F and 135°F (or per your food dehydrator's instructions).
  • Tomatoes will be leathery or brittle when fully dried.
  • Drying time for tomatoes: between 5-12 hours.
  • Please remember to rotate your trays for even drying.

For dehydrating tomatoes in a regular oven, see the FAQs on how to do that at the top of the page!

freshly baked pizza on a pizza paddle

Dehydrated Tomatoes are Great for Pizza...

When you've finished dehydrating your tomatoes, you'll find they are great to use in many recipes and are excellent for sauces and puréeing.

Tomato Sauce simmering in a pan, by Chef JohnTomato Sauce by Chef John at Allrecipes

...and for Making Tasty Tomato Sauce!

Try this great tomato sauce by Chef John, over at Allrecipes.

Make your dehydrated tomatoes into a powder in your blender and add water to make a paste (or add more water to make a sauce).

This way, you can store the tomato sauce for use later, maybe as a pizza or as spaghetti sauce!

When made into a sauce, consider pouring the sauce onto the special roll-up sheets and make a 'tomato roll up/leather.' 

For more on "leathers" check out this "dehydrating fruit rolls" page.

Sweet Tomato Soup Memories...

Memories: As a young girl of eight or nine, I used to walk barefoot down our tree-lined avenue where Mum and Dad's bungalow was, to visit my friend, Gillian, down the road. I always looked forward to seeing Gillian.

Her mum used to serve us hot, delicious tomato soup for lunch! It's just one of those things that you'll always recall. It was over 50 years ago... how time flies.

Dehydrated tomatoes in a bowl

Dehydrated Tomatoes Have a Stronger Taste!

NOTE:

When dehydrating tomatoes, like sun-dried tomatoes, look out for them imparting a stronger 'tomato' taste in your recipes.

As mentioned at the top of the page: Consider packing your dehydrated tomatoes in a light extra-virgin olive oil too and add some herbs and garlic.

You've just created your own version of 'store-bought,' and wasn't it fun?

A TIP from "Mj" regarding
her dehydrated tomatoes:

I also was wondering if you ever turn tomatoes into powder. I dehydrate whole tomatoes sliced (skins and seeds included) and then put it through my grinder.

I found it is a cheater's way of thickening tomato juice for soup and sauces, and I find that not cooking my juice down to a sauce and just adding a little tomato powder has tenfold the flavor.

Last year for holiday gifts I made friends a jar of "All Michigan Vegetable Soup" and the big question from everyone was "Where did the awesome tomato flavor come from?" — I told them it was my little secret!

Thanks for taking the time today to stop by to learn how to dehydrate tomatoes. If you have a question, please drop me an email here.