Master The Art Of Making SUN DRIED TOMATO Without Breaking A Sweat

Want comes to my mind whenever I want to make sun dried tomato is (it’s going to the oven). Making oven dried tomatoes is quite easier when you have a working oven. 

In today’s article, I will quickly show you how you can make sun dried tomato using an oven.

What’s sun dried tomato without having fresh tomatoes in the first place? Be sure you have or can get fresh tomatoes before trying to make this. 

If it isn’t the time of the season to get fresh tomatoes, you can simply forget about this recipe. However, you can bookmark this page so you can come back when it’s about the time for fresh tomatoes. 

Trust me guys, it is better made with fresh tomatoes. Don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

Jump To Recipe

Sun Dried Tomatoes: The Definition

If someone asked you what are sun dried tomatoes would you be able to give them a definition? Well, I am here to help in case you don’t know. Sun dried tomatoes as the name implies are tomatoes that have been dried out in the sun leaving nothing else other than a sweet and quite crisp. 

They are a lot of ways to making sun dried tomatoes, most people make it by drying out the tomatoes in the sun as the name implies, but if it’s raining can you still have sun dried tomatoes? Yes! An oven will come in handy in this case.

I had a friend named “Carol” I saw her using a dehydrator once to for homemade sun dried tomatoes. You too can use a dehydrator if you have one. If you don’t, there’s absolutely no problem, I will show you how to make this amazing sun dried tomato recipe using what you already have in your house, an oven!

How To Make Sun Dried Tomatoes 

It requires, stealth, and 100% precision, scratch that! It doesn’t require any of that, just be careful in the making process and you’ll have yourself some nice looking sun dried tomatoes.

You’ll need salt and tomatoes, preferably sea salt! 

Here’s what to do; Brace yourself!

Slice Campari tomatoes and then get rid of the parts attached to the stem, get the sea salt and sprinkle on the sliced in half tomatoes then bake. For the tomatoes, the smaller the better. You can use Campari tomatoes, grape tomatoes or maybe cherry. The main idea is to get tomatoes that don’t have much water and seeds in them. This makes them dry faster. 

When sprinkling the sea salt, do not add too much, just sprinkle a little. Do too much and you’ll end up with very salty sun dried tomatoes.

Here are some other tips that you should consider if you want to make the perfect sun dried tomatoes.

Remove The Water From The Tomatoes

To make the sun drying process faster, I suggest you use a spatula to press on the sliced tomatoes to drain out some water from the tomatoes so it sundries faster. Press on the sliced tomatoes after about 2 hours inside the oven or dehydrator.

Add Spices If Necessary

At the beginning, you can add species before baking, or you can add the spices after baking, it’s your choice really. Italian seasoning, in particular, makes the sun dried tomatoes extra spicy and amazing when added. You can add any spice of your choice.

Tomatoes Not Drying Properly? Try This

Here’s one trick I learned from a friend. If you are using an oven and the tomatoes aren’t taking much time to dry up, you can leave the oven door open, this method actually works fast. But make sure you turn off the oven before opening it up. Natural air will find its way in and help dry the tomatoes even faster.

How To Sun Dry Tomatoes

Drying tomatoes in actual sunlight takes more time than when you are using an oven or dehydrator. Here’s how to sun dry tomatoes.

• Slice the tomatoes in half.
• Squeeze out the juice and seeds from the tomatoes.
• Place the tomatoes on a rack that has an opening for airflow underneath.
• Place them directly under sunlight. 
• Turn the tomatoes at day and bring them in at night, repeat this process until they are totally dried up.

Final Words

Sun-drying tomatoes should never be a problem, if you have a dehydrator, that’s cool. Use it. If you don’t have one an oven would be your next best oven. Even if you don’t have an oven you can settle for using direct sunlight, although it might take more days, the task will still be completed.

Recommended Products

I used these products when I made my first sun dried tomato. 

• Parchment paper.
• Spatula.