By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 4
67 cal · 195 min
Oven-Dried Tomato Raisins
Recipe GLPR1168b54542b181
Slow-roasted cherry tomatoes concentrated into intensely sweet and savory "tomato raisins" with just a hint of salt and olive oil. These caramelized morsels develop a chewy texture and deep umami flavor as they dry in the oven, making them perfect for snacking, garnishing dishes, or serving as a sophisticated appetizer.
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Ingredients
3 pounds cherry tomatoes
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for covering
Directions
Preheat your oven to 250°F (120°C).
Rinse the cherry tomatoes and pat them dry thoroughly with paper towels to remove excess moisture.
Halve each cherry tomato lengthwise and arrange them cut-side up on a large rimmed baking sheet, working in batches if necessary.
In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar and kosher salt until combined.
Sprinkle the sugar-salt mixture evenly over all the cut tomatoes, then drizzle with the 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil.
Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and roast for 2.5 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have shrunk significantly, the edges are lightly caramelized, and they have become chewy and concentrated in flavor.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature on the baking sheet.
Transfer the cooled tomato raisins to a clean glass jar and cover completely with additional extra-virgin olive oil to preserve them. Store in the refrigerator and use within 3 weeks.
Comments
This is a dead-simple pantry project that turns cherry tomatoes into a shelf-stable condiment over three hours of mostly hands-off oven time. All four ingredients are stocked at every Charlotte chain, and the cost per serving lands around $1.50 even with good olive oil, making it genuinely cheap. The stated time is honest—it's nearly all oven drying with minimal active work, so it suits a weekend afternoon when you're home anyway. These keep for weeks and add concentrated umami to salads, cheese boards, grain bowls, and vinaigrettes, so leftovers are never a problem; the real magic is in the keeping.
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