Recipes Using Garden Tomatoes

It’s Tomato Overload Season!

It feels like all the tomatoes are ripening at once, yet I have a limited number of tried and true recipes to go around.

Bruschetta? Love it. Salsa? A million variations. Spaghetti sauce? A bunch of jars already in the freezer to tide us over the winter. Caprese salad and BLTs? Check and check. So last month I begged my reader friends for their unconventional tomato recipes. And thankfully they delivered!

Today I’m sharing six yummy recipe recommendations. I’ve tried three so far and bought ingredients for another one. I plan to make more when the next batch of red lovelies are ready later this week.

Send me photos if you try any of these! You can tag me on Instagram or add them to the comments. I’d love to hear how yours turns out.

#1: Air Fryer Cherry Tomatoes

The first up is so simple, it’s hard to even call it a “recipe.” More like a cooking method that transforms those gazillion little cherry or grape tomatoes into mini flavor balls that spruce up nearly every meal. Throw them in your omelet, add them to a charcuterie board, atop a salad, with some chopped onion and basil over bakery bread, on grilled meat or fish, on meatballs for a sub sandwich . . . Pretty much anything on your menu. (Except ice cream. Roasted tomatoes would be gross on ice cream.)

Air-fryer Method:

Before you start cooking, wash the tomatoes and pat them dry. You can cut the cherry tomatoes in half, but it works fine to keep them whole. (More of a personal preference thing.)

Drizzle in olive oil and add Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper to cherry tomatoes. Toss everything to coat the tomatoes evenly.

Transfer the cherry tomatoes to the air fryer basket and cook them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Carefully dump the roasted cherry tomatoes into a bowl to cool. After you use what you need right away, store the rest in covered mason jars in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I wouldn’t freeze these guys because the tomatoes would get mushy.

#2 Kim’s Tomato Salad

This one was delicious even though cutting the red onions made my eyes water like a fountain. Does anyone know how to cut an onion without crying? Ugh.

This reminds me of recipes my stepmother made where she just eyeballed the quantities. I think you start with how many tomatoes you want to include and go from there.

My husband ate leftover salad with a grilled salmon burger patty and said that was also very good! (Don’t you just love the vintage 1960s Tupperware gigantic green bowls?)

• Fresh tomatoes seeded chopped in 1/2 inch pieces
• Pickle-size cucumbers chopped in chunks
• Red onion chopped in 1/4 inch chunk
• Can of black olives
• Gruyere Cheese, shredded (A type of Swiss cheese)
  Hendricksons salad dressing
  Directions: Mix all the ingredients, chill, and serve.

Before trying this recipe, I had never heard of Hendrickson’s Original Salad Dressing, but luckily my friendly Amazon driver brought me a couple of bottles soon after Kim sent her recipe. It’s sweeter than regular Italian dressing we buy in our region and makes a great salad or marinade.

#3: Simone’s Shakshuka

This is a classic North African and Middle Eastern dish. The combination of spices and fresh tomatoes was delicious and I will definitely make this again. The leftovers are also good for breakfast with an egg in the middle. My son said he makes this with leftover chili. Yum!

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp paprika*
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp chili powder*
• 1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• (You can use fresh tomatoes, by holding over the hob, until the skin blisters, then peel off the skin). Keep as much of the juice as possible
• 6 large eggs (traditional, but it is very tasty with or without)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped

*Of course you can add more or less, depending on how spicy you want to make it

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan on medium heat. Add the chopped bell pepper and onion and cook for 5 minutes or until the onion becomes translucent.
• Add garlic and spices and cook an additional minute.
• Pour the tomatoes and juice into the pan and break down the tomatoes using a large spoon. Season with salt and pepper and bring the sauce to a simmer.
• Use your large spoon to make small wells in the sauce and crack the eggs into each well. Cover the pan and cook for 5-8 minutes, or until the eggs are done to your liking. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Tips

• Traditionally, this is served with pita, but we love to eat this with ciabatta. Essentially any good quality bread is great to use
• **Best not to cook in a cast iron skillet, as this does affect the taste.
• You can also make the tomato part of this dish beforehand, store it in the fridge, then the day it is to be eaten, warm it up and add the eggs.

#4: Barb’s Fresh Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti

Spaghetti with fresh tomato sauce. We tried this for a quick weeknight dinner and added ground beef. Dave raved about it and wants to make this one again soon!

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 to 3 ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces (2 ½ cups)
1 cup cubed fresh mozzarella cheese (1/4 inch pieces)
2 garlic cloves, minced and mashed
2 teaspoons plus 1 heaping tablespoon salt, preferably kosher
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 ounces spaghetti ( I like the chickpea spaghetti from Banza)
2/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

Directions

In a medium-size bowl, combine the tomatoes, mozzarella, garlic, 2 t salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes, & olive oil. (More 60’s Tupperware. Pretty sure I “borrowed” this from my mom. Shhh. Don’t tell her.)
Stir gently to mix, and let marinate for 30 minutes. (While you wait, you can enjoy a glass of wine)

Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in a stockpot. Add the remaining salt and the spaghetti, stir, and cook until al dente. Drain.

Return spaghetti to the stockpot, add the marinated tomato mixture and the basil, and stir to mix. Serve immediately.

#5 Yoko’s Goat Cheese and Tomato Casserole

Yoko sent me this one by way of Instagram and the goat cheese shines with the tomatoes and simple spices. Light and fresh!

Place goat cheese in the middle of a baking dish, place cherry tomatoes around cheese, add sliced shallots and minced garlic. Sprinkle with olive oil.

Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes.

Then mix it with cooked pasta and pesto and eat. So easy and good. We made a double batch since we had so many tomatoes and used two different kinds of goat cheese. One was a tomato basil flavor and the other was truffle flavored. Both were very good. We served ours with salmon filets on the side, but it’s a good vegetarian dish by itself.

#6 Betty’s Bruschetta

You can’t have too many good recipes for bruschetta. This is similar to one I make quite often. If you haven’t tried bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and basil, try it!

2 Cups diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-1 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil

Minced onion, optional
season with salt, pepper & olive oil

Combine all ingredients. Serve on toasted bread (like sliced French bread) and top with grated parmesan cheese.

Whip up this delicious treat, pour yourself a cozy cup of tea, and settle in with one of my Cassandra Sato Mysteries! Nothing pairs better with a fresh-from-the-oven snack than a twisty mystery to keep you on the edge of your seat. 🍵🔍 Happy reading and happy baking!

Kelly Brakenhoff is the author of 15 books and a seasoned ASL interpreter. She splits her writing energy between two series: cozy mysteries set on a college campus and children’s books featuring Duke the Deaf Dog.

Parents, kids, and teachers love the children’s books and activity guides because they introduce ASL and the Deaf community through fun, engaging stories. And if you enjoy a smart female sleuth, want to learn more about Deaf culture, or have ever lived in a place where livestock outnumber people, the Cassandra Sato Mystery series will have you connecting the dots faster than a group project coming together the night before it’s due.

A proud mom to four adults, head of the dog-snuggling department, and grandma to a growing brood of perfectly behaved grandkids, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home.