The only thing more wonderful that picking gorgeous red tomatoes from your garden, is putting them up for winter! But when you’ve canned and frozen all the tomatoes you need, why not learn how to dehydrate tomatoes?
This year wasn’t my best tomato crop. Everyone has years like that.
Fortunately for me, I still have a ton of canned tomatoes from last year. The tomatoes that I’m harvesting this year have a couple of issues…
This year’s crop isn’t perfect enough for canning and I don’t have very many.
This is one of those years when using alternative ways of preservation makes sense! Dehydrate those tomatoes!
I’ve had my Excalibur dehydrator for over a decade now, and it’s a workhorse! I use it all the time in the summer, for fruits, vegetables and herbs!
Let’s get started!
First, you’re going to need to wash your tomatoes. Here I’ve set up a work station with a nice sharp knife and cutting board, right over the sink.
Cut your tomatoes in half, and with your thumb, scrape out the seeds. Leaving the seeds can create a bitter taste in the tomatoes, so I always remove.
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Then, I slice my tomatoes in 1/4-1/2″ pieces, so that they will dry faster.
Lay them out on dehydrator sheets!
Follow your dehydrator’s directions as far as how to long to dehydrate tomatoes, they are all different.
How beautiful are these??!!
How to Store Dehydrated Tomatoes
Peel them off the dehydrator tray after they have cooled and place into a clean jar with a lid. Store in a cool, dry place.
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You can take this one step further and place your dehydrated tomatoes in a blender and make tomato powder! You can add tomato powder to soups this winter!
Other Ways to Use Dehydrated Tomatoes
- Use them to top your homemade pizza!
- Soak in olive oil and serve with French bread
- Fast Easy Tomato Sauce
- Tuck them inside your lasagna layers!
- Sun-dried Tomato Chicken
- Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche
Enjoy!
