Don't Throw The Oil From Sun-Dried Tomatoes Away: 12 Ways To Use It Instead

We should all be doing our part to reduce food waste. Though restaurants and grocery stores are huge culprits, American households don't have much of a leg to stand on in the food waste arena either — a study from the We Don't Waste project estimates that U.S. consumers may squander up to 40% of their food supply annually. Fortunately, there are countless ways to reduce waste and save money and energy right at home, many of which involve repurposing kitchen scraps to give items that might otherwise be discarded a second chance.

If you're a fan of sun-dried tomatoes and usually buy them in a jar with olive oil, you might not realize you're sitting on a goldmine. Sun-dried tomatoes have a vibrant tomato flavor — tart, sweet, tangy, and rich in umami — and the oil they're packed in soaks up this flavor like a sponge. Leftover sun-dried tomato oil can be put to work in a wide variety of ways, from marinating chicken cutlets to whipping up flavor-packed homemade mayonnaise. The next time you pluck the last melancholic sun-dried tomato from the jar, think twice before throwing it out. Your taste buds and the planet will thank you. 

When used right out of the jar, the oil left over from jarred sun-dried tomatoes has a flavor reminiscent of the preserved tomatoes themselves: deep and jammy, with a hint of sweetness. However, when heated, the oil takes on a slightly different flavor. The oil retains the acidity of sun-dried tomatoes, but it also takes on a flavor closer to that of roasted tomatoes, with an almost caramel-like sweetness lurking beneath the surface. Using extra sun-dried tomato oil to saute meat, veggies, and other foods is an out-of-the-box hack that will take your next meal to the next level.

Sun-dried tomatoes are a melting pot of flavor, and when it comes to their oil, a little goes a long way — you're not going to want to deep-fry with this stuff. It's versatile, pairing well with an array of foods that can be cooked in a frying pan. Use the oil to impart bold, sweet, and lightly salty undertones to a gorgeous cut of steak. Give cauliflower rice a bright, funky, and unexpected pop. Coat your frying pan with it before frying up some plantains and eggs, and your breakfast will be sinfully delicious. The sky's the limit when it comes to foods that can be improved by sauteing them in leftover sun-dried tomato oil.

Dipping a hearty chunk of rustic, crusty bread in high-quality olive oil is one of life's greatest simple pleasures. It's a common practice at restaurants, especially Italian joints, but it's also a super easy and cost-effective way to elevate the home dining experience and impress friends and family. There's something innately satisfying in gliding a crisp-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside piece of bread across a shallow pool of olive oil, hesitating a moment as the bread soaks it up, then relishing the soothing and familiar medley of flavors and textures that dance across the tongue.

Infused olive oils take things a step further. While there's always room for the run-of-the-mill herb and garlic-infused oils on the table, sun-dried tomato oil provides an unexpectedly decadent addition or alternative. The oil from leftover sun-dried tomatoes pairs beautifully with just about any bread you'd normally dip into oil, including funky sourdough, spongy focaccia, and crispy ciabatta. Or, you can shake things up and use fluffy challah, warm pita, or naan. The downside here is that the oil used to package sun-dried tomatoes isn't typically high-quality, but the flavor makes it still worth trying. 

Store-bought marinades may be easy to use, but they're often loaded with unsavory ingredients, like added sugars, sodium, and preservatives. Luckily, there are seemingly limitless marinade recipes out there, many of which simply involve whisking together a couple of ingredients in a bowl or shaking them up in a jar. Marinades are a fantastic way to infuse everything, from rib eye and chicken thighs to pork chops, with flavor. In some cases, marinades can even help make the meat more tender. Acids break down the protein in meat, so marinades containing citrus juices or vinegar can increase tenderness.

Oils are common ingredients in marinade recipes, and the leftover oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes can be used for an array of proteins. You'll first want to look at the other ingredients before swapping in sun-dried tomato oil for olive, avocado, coconut, or other oils. Consider how the deep, rich, sweet, and slightly salty flavor of sun-dried tomato oil will harmonize with everything else. For example, the oil's flavor fuses beautifully with ingredients like balsamic vinegar, minced garlic, fresh herbs, and a cornucopia of seasonings.

If you grew up hating vegetables (or if you're still #TeamPizzaAndChickenNuggetsOnly as an adult), you may not be prepping and cooking them correctly. Coating vegetables in oil and adding a little razzmatazz via seasoning can dramatically transform the taste of even the most intimidating vegetables — like Brussels sprouts, eggplant, or cauliflower. Tossing vegetables in oil prior to roasting prevents them from drying out and helps any spices or seasonings better cling to the vegetables. Leftover sun-dried tomato oil is a unique ingredient that can refine many a roasted veggie. 

Vegetables found in the Mediterranean area, like eggplant, artichokes, and bell peppers, are especially great here, but you'd be hard-pressed to come up with a roasted veggie that can't be enhanced by tossing it in this brilliant oil before (or even after) cooking. Little seasoning is required for this hack; keep it simple with salt and pepper for best results. Veggies roasted in sun-dried tomato oil are delicious when served over rice or pasta, eaten as a flavorful side to steak, or stuffed in a pita with dressing the next day. 

Homemade salad dressings are wallet-friendly, generally straightforward to make, and can be adjusted to account for a wide breadth of flavors, including bitterness, acidity, sweetness, saltiness, and umami. Some salad dressing recipes are as simple as combining olive oil and vinegar, while others involve a laundry list of ingredients, steps, and kitchen equipment. 

Regardless of the difficulty, most salad dressings are prepared with some sort of oil. Incorporating the leftover oil from a jar of sun-dried tomatoes can make a massive difference in the taste of your dressing, even in an otherwise uncomplicated recipe. 

The sweet, jammy flavor of the sun-dried tomatoes can brighten up a simple salad immensely, so why not ramp things up by drizzling the oil over the whole salad? Even when it's not combined with vinegar and other ingredients, leftover sun-dried tomato oil's unassuming vibrance can add a layer of complexity to a simple dish of greens and veggies. The next time you reach for your favorite store-bought dressing only to find your housemate put the empty bottle back in the fridge, bust out the sun-dried tomatoes (and reprimand your roomie later).

The two primary ingredients in most classic mayonnaise recipes are eggs and oil. The type of oil will vary from recipe to recipe, but many employ more readily available and cheap options, like canola and vegetable oil. Homemade mayonnaise will take on the flavor of the oil used to make it, so incorporating infused oils instead of conventional options can be a real game-changer. 

Leftover sun-dried tomato oil is an excellent way to level up your homemade mayonnaise. You can replace up to half of the oil your recipe calls for with the stuff in your jar of sun-dried tomatoes to harness that gorgeous, earthy, jammy, and sweet flavor. It's perfect for dipping fries, upgrading potato salad, or slathering on fresh, thick-sliced tomato sandwiches in the summer.

Sun-dried tomato oil usually has chunks and tomato particles swimming in it, which you probably don't want in your finished mayo. There are several ways around this. If you're using an immersion blender, or a blender or food processor with a pour spout, you can easily blend the chunks into the rest of the mayo. If you're whisking the mayonnaise together by hand, either run the oil through a fine-mesh strainer or blend it before combining it with the remaining components. Feel free to spice up your homemade mayonnaise even further by adding herbs, garlic, and spices.

Pesto is yet another fancy-seeming sauce that is incredibly easy to make at home. This spread, which originated in Genoa, Italy, is absolutely jam-packed with dazzling flavor. Its most basic iteration contains just a handful of ingredients: basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese, and salt. Pesto has long been celebrated for its ability to enhance everything from pasta to pizza to sandwiches, and it's a great recipe to have in your arsenal.

Although traditional pesto is beautiful in its simplicity, there are myriad ways to alter it to your liking, such as adding different herbs, playing with seasonings, and trying out various nuts. The thought of experimenting with olive oil alternatives might be horrifying to pesto purists, but there's no law against substituting sun-dried tomato-infused oil for the standard olive oil. Sun-dried tomatoes are often packaged in olive oil anyway, and this ingredient adds a deep, sweet, and jammy flavor to an otherwise simple pesto. Test it out with a traditional pesto recipe or try it in pesto rosso, an umami-rich take in which sun-dried tomatoes are substituted for basil.

Cheese and charcuterie boards are the ultimate party food. Who doesn't like a board loaded up with fun cheeses, cured meats, nuts, olives, bread, crackers, and condiments? A good charcuterie board will contain something for every guest — including those with special diets or food allergies. Spreads like pepper jelly, stone-ground mustard, and garlic aioli are all pretty typical cheese board fodder — but if you're looking for a different, underutilized option for your board, consider grabbing an infused oil. Not only is it a fancy upgrade for your board, but it offers even more potential for crafting the perfect bite. 

The leftover oil from sun-dried tomatoes, especially when warmed in the microwave or on the stove for a few minutes just before serving, fits perfectly here. There are myriad ways to incorporate it with your charcuterie board items of choice. Sun-dried tomato oil is great for drizzling over bread, so consider using it to stipple crostini or a chunk of baguette. The oil's complex, sweet, and umami-laced flavor plays brilliantly with a wide variety of cheeses; tangy goat cheese, creamy Brie, and ricotta are all great choices. Play around with pairing different meats, cheeses, nuts, olives, and crackers until you find the ultimate amalgamation of flavors.

Bolognese is a great recipe to have in your culinary repertoire. This hearty comfort meal may contain more ingredients than you're used to, especially if you're a cooking novice. But, classic bolognese is actually very beginner-friendly. Once you've nailed the basics, it's easy to put your signature spin on it ... and speaking of recipe tweaks, bolognese sauce is way better with sun-dried tomatoes. Traditional bolognese already utilizes tomato paste for rich flavor, so the addition of sun-dried tomatoes doesn't veer off in a totally new direction. However, it does add an enticing layer of complexity and richness to the dish.

Whether you're planning to add actual sun-dried tomatoes or not, the majority of bolognese recipes kick off with a mix of sauteed onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, and other veggies. Olive oil is generally the go-to oil here, but this is yet another place where the oil from leftover sun-dried tomatoes can come in handy. Start off the bolognese by cooking the veggies in sun-dried tomato oil, which will add satisfying sweet, tart, and salty components without overpowering the rest of the dish. If you don't have sun-dried tomatoes to add to your bolognese, but do have the oil, use this hack to take this classic comfort food to a new level.

The sandwich is one of the world's universal foods. Hop a flight to Mexico and snag a torta, jet over to France and revel in the beauty of a croque monsieur, make your way to Vietnam and devour a bánh mì. No matter where you are in the world, you can always find a sandwich. Sandwiches don't have to be fancy, either — who doesn't love a simple grilled cheese or fried bologna sandwich? 

That said, there are lots of ways to liven up even the most basic of sandwiches. In some cases, a straightforward ingredient swap or addition can make a world of difference. Leftover sun-dried tomato oil presents an excellent case study. Adding sun-dried tomato oil to sandwiches is a game-changer for both their taste and texture. The signature jammy, earthy, and sweet flavor of the oil is gorgeous when combined with a broad range of sandwich components, and the texture of the oil itself can prevent dryness. 

It's important to use a light hand when adding sun-dried tomato oil to a sandwich. Whether you're drizzling it over the bread or directly onto the sandwich, too much oil will make it soggy and ruin the bread (or pita, bun, or your vessel of choice). Sun-dried tomato oil slaps on a grilled cheese with bacon, adds character to an egg salad sandwich, and is a great way to gussy up a veggie hummus pita. But don't be afraid to dream big — there are endless sandwiches that could benefit from a few dollops of sun-dried tomato oil.

Technically, the oil left over from sun-dried tomatoes is already an infused oil since it absorbs the flavor of the fruit itself. As we've established, sun-dried tomato oil is an incredibly versatile product in and of itself — but that doesn't mean it can't be spiffed up even more. Remember those fancy-schmancy-infused olive oils with shallots, thyme, jalapeños, and other ingredients marinating in them that can set you back $10 for a 4-ounce bottle?

Infused olive oil is so simple to make at home. You'll be kicking yourself for not trying it sooner. Though, it's important to note that infusing your own oils incorrectly can potentially cause botulism, so make sure to follow instructions carefully.

When infusing at home, it's ideal to use a high-quality olive oil. The oil used to pack sun-dried tomatoes doesn't usually fit that description, but superlative quality is a "nice-to-have," not a requirement. When you've used up all the sun-dried tomatoes in your jar, infuse the leftover tomato oil with tasty aromatics and spices like garlic, rosemary, dill, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. You don't even need to remove the oil from the jar for this hack, so as a bonus, you're repurposing both the oil and the container. Infused sun-dried tomato oil can be used for many of the purposes we've listed above and makes great gifts for foodie friends, colleagues, and family members.

Sun-dried tomatoes' bright, tangy, umami-rich flavor doesn't jive too well with sweet ingredients like chocolate, peanut butter, or vanilla. No one is throwing sun-dried tomatoes on a birthday cake or baking them into chocolate chip cookies — and for good reason. However, these jammy preserves are fabulous for savory bakes, and this holds true for the oil used to preserve them as well.

Because baking is much more of a science than cooking, begin your sun-dried tomato oil baking journey by experimenting with baking recipes that call for olive or similar oil; swapping it in for butter and other shortening may not work as well. With the proliferation of plant-based eating these days, more and more recipes are using olive or other oils in place of dairy-based products, so there's no shortage of recipes to try out. Olive oil is rarely the star of the show in a baking recipe, so the sun-dried tomato oil should make a small, but noticeable and pleasant, difference. Try swapping in sun-dried tomato oil for olive oil in your favorite cornbread, test it out in a batch of savory zucchini muffins, or experiment with something like this easy homemade focaccia bread recipe.