Pickled Cherry / Grape Tomatoes Recipe

Here’s a super simple and tasty way to preserve mini tomatoes so you can enjoy them all year long

Pickled tomatoes are a tasty and simple way to enjoy tomatoes all year

Let’s face it, if you grow little tomatoes like cherry or grape tomatoes, you’re going to end up with a whole bunch of tomatoes.

Personally, I’m a fan of Valentine, a hardy, disease resistant grape tomato that produces ridiculous amounts of sweet and delicious deep red fruit. But you can really use any type of mini tomato — cherry, grape or otherwise.

Too many tomatoes (these are Valentine grape tomatoes)

If you’ve got more than you can eat while they’re fresh (there’s only so many salads and kebabs you can eat), here’s a super simple and tasty way to preserve them so you can enjoy your garden-fresh tomatoes in fall and winter.

Recipes

Here are two basic recipes for pickled tomatoes. One uses hot peppers (I like cayenne) and cider vinegar for a hot and tangy mix that goes well with pork and BBQ. The other uses sweet peppers, allspice, and coriander for a sweet and spicy flavor that’s delicious as a relish or side dish with chicken and charcuterie.

This recipe is for 1 Quart (32 fluid ounces) of prepared tomatoes.

You also need a quart jar, a seal and lid.

Instructions

1. Add vinegar, water and salt to a small pan, place it on the stove and heat it to a boil. Stir occasionally to make sure the salt dissolves in the liquid
2. While the liquids are heating, cut your peppers, garlic, and onion into small chunks roughly the same size as your tomatoes
3. Add half your spices to the quart jar. Then fill the jar with the tomatoes, peppers, garlic and onion leaving about half an inch of space at the top.
4. Top the jar off with the other half of your spices.
5. Once your vinegar/water/salt mixture is boiling, pour it into the quart jar. Tap the jar a couple of times to release the trapped air bubbles, then top the jar off with the hot liquid leaving ¼ inch or so of head space at the top.
6. Seal the jar with a new, clean seal and lid. If you’re going to store the tomatoes in the refrigerator, let the jar cool to room temperature before placing it in the fridge. If you’re going to store the tomatoes at room temperature, process the jar of tomatoes in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes to ensure it’s sterile before storing.
7. Let the tomatoes rest for at least two weeks to ensure they absorb the flavors from your spices before you open the jar.

If you’re more of a visual learner, here’s a video on how to do the above in 35 seconds.

Enjoy these straight out of the jar as a snack, use them as a side dish (great for charcuterie!), or chop them up to make a delicious relish.

Store in the refrigerator after opening. They should stay fresh for 6 months or more.