12 Best Cherry Tomato Recipes
Cherry tomatoes — like all tomatoes — signify the beauty of the summer's bounty. Sweet and acidic, they burst with juice when popped whole in the mouth, seemingly capturing sunshine in a bite. As such, they're typically left as unadorned as possible, simply split and tossed about a salad or perched atop a crackling slice of crostini. But cherry tomatoes — which are different from grape tomatoes — also perform ably in a number of cooked dishes, adding their concentrated flavor and understated beauty to everything from pasta to frittatas.
Of course, summer no longer holds tomatoes, cherry or not, in its grip. A wide and fine variety of the nightshades can be found throughout the year at most grocers. Red, yellow, orange, and even green cherry tomatoes can be deployed to add the essence of summer and splashes of color to meals year-round. It is important, though, to know which types are worthwhile and which come up short. The best have abundant flavor, a snappy, but yielding skin, and firm (not mealy) flesh. Once you've landed on one you like, take a package home and try them in a few of the dishes listed below, some of Tasting Table's best cherry tomato recipes, and decide just what type fits your palate best.
Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
Simplicity is not a swear word in the kitchen. A cacophony of ingredients often drown each other out. That's why we love this take on an Italian classic that is both austere in ingredients and a cinch to throw together for an easy supper or a backyard barbecue. The key here is to buy the best of each element, so take your time to shop around. The cherry tomatoes should be either peak season fruits or the best off-season variety your market carries.
Recipe: Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad
Simple Flavor-Packed Tomato Confit
Let's say you have a bountiful garden producing copious amounts of beautiful cherry tomatoes or just a bevy of them leftover from the market. You may not be able to move through them all while they're still fresh, but you don't want them to go to waste. That's why we recommend making a luscious, rich tomato confit that preserves their beauty all year long. The recipe couldn't be simpler; all you need are the cherry tomatoes, some good olive oil, a little sugar, salt, pepper, a bit of optional Aleppo pepper or chili flakes for heat, and some time.
All-Star Tomato Bruschetta
Bruschetta had a moment a few decades back and was everywhere. It reigned supreme ages before avocados had everyone agog over toast, and that's with good reason: It's simple to make, highly customizable, abundantly flavorful, and anything but dated. Fresh cherry tomatoes are the stars of this show, so make sure you pick the best from your garden or market. Toss them in a bit of grated garlic, salt, and pepper before spooning them onto garlic-rubbed crostini that has a hearty schmear of whipped ricotta on top. Finish off the bruschetta with chopped, fresh basil for an herbaceous pop.
Recipe: All-Star Tomato Bruschetta
Roasted Caprese Sandwich
If you don't love an open-faced sandwich, bruschetta may not be your thing, and that's fine. Our roasted caprese sandwich fills in gamely, putting all the favorite flavors from the classic salad between baguette or a nice sourdough ciabatta roll. The cherry tomatoes get a light roast with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper until they just burst open and the garlic is roasted. Then they join slices of fresh and creamy burrata, the sweet roasted garlic, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil on the toasted bread of your choice. The result is a zesty, yet rich sandwich that is sure to satisfy.
Recipe: Roasted Caprese Sandwich
Pasta with Burrata and Charred Tomatoes
Up to now we've cautioned a delicate touch with cherry tomatoes in order to not obscure their natural goodness. Changing lanes a bit, we now want you to burn them, or, more accurately, char them. Don't worry, though, this doesn't mean reducing them to ash. For this creamy, bright pasta dish, the cherry tomatoes get the high heat treatment which only serves to add a layer of caramelization and concentration to the whole dish.
Fried Polenta Frittata with Cherry Tomato Sauce
One may argue that cherry tomatoes aren't the scene stealers in this fried polenta frittata, but we beg to differ. Yes, the frittata is the bulky, starchy, protein-forward "main," but it would be nothing without the sweet, zippy flavor of the cherry tomato sauce that gets ladled alongside. Fried medallions of polenta and eggs baked into a pie become the canvas. The paint comes in the form of cherry tomatoes cooked down with shallots, an optional pinch of red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Cherry Tomato and Burrata Hand Pies
If you loved Pop-Tarts as a youth (or maybe to this day) but crave something a bit more mature in taste — a bit more savory — then these hand pies are just the thing. Perfectly ripe cherry tomatoes are cooked down with garlic, salt, and pepper, then brightened with lemon juice. That sauce gets stuffed inside envelopes of dough along with burrata and basil, and baked until golden brown and transcendent.
Baked Feta Pasta
This recipe is from the "viral" files as TikTok and other social media sites blew up with it in 2022. You start by baking a block of briny, firm feta cheese in a dish surrounded by cherry tomatoes and minced garlic. As everything bakes, the cheese melts into a creamy sauce that is enlivened by the bursting tomatoes. All that's left is to add in herbs and cooked pasta, such as cavatappi, and give it a stir for a quick, sharp pasta that wows.
Recipe: Baked Feta Pasta
Caprese Frittata with Arugula
While our first frittata on the list had the cherry tomatoes on the outside, this version incorporates them into the mix. First, though, they get roasted with whole garlic cloves to accentuate their flavor. Then the tomatoes, as well as fresh basil, are added to an egg and cream mixture along with fresh, melty mozzarella. Next, bake until the frittata is golden brown all around and just set in the center. You don't need any sort of sauce with so much moisture and flavor within, but a sprinkling of peppery arugula on top sets this egg pie off right.
Recipe: Caprese Frittata with Arugula
Roasted Garlic Tomato Lentil Bowls
You could view this healthful, yet hearty bowl as a warm salad of sorts, but it seems like so much more than that. Here, the brightness of cherry tomatoes is matched by the savory earthiness of lentils and sweet roasted garlic. All of this is combined with a piquant dressing as well as diced raw green and yellow peppers for a vegetal crunch. A bit of arugula on top is all that is needed for a celebration of cherry tomatoes harmonizing with a medley of other vegetables and legumes.
Oven-Roasted Tomato Bucatini
Cherry tomatoes are going back in the roasting pan for this final pasta entrant in our list of recipes. You'll halve them here and toss with olive oil, salt, pepper, dried oregano, and an optional bit of red pepper flakes before they get roasted until they are jammy and flavorful. Boil up some bucatini — it's like hollow spaghetti — and toss with the cherry tomatoes, a bit of starchy pasta water, and some bright and briny capers for a weeknight meal that comes together quickly and always impresses.
Recipe: Oven-Roasted Tomato Bucatini
Sheet-Pan Caprese Chicken Gnocchi
Who doesn't love a good sheet-pan meal with its minimal cleanup and intermingling of flavors? Our sheet-pan caprese chicken gnocchi comes together with just a few good boneless and skinless chicken breasts, some store-bought gnocchi, cherry tomatoes, garlic, mozzarella, arugula, and basil. While we're happy that meals are always a breeze with this dish, we're even happier with the way these flavors bring out the best in each other.