A simple recipe to roast cherry tomatoes perfectly every time. Garlic, fresh herbs, and olive oil give the tomatoes a deep flavor, while slow-roasting in the oven provides lots of caramelization. There are SO many things you can do with these versatile cherry tomatoes…you’ll be using them in everything!
a summer staple…
Every summer, I love to savor all of the beautiful tomatoes that the season has to offer. I’ll eat them raw with good olive oil & basil, add them to salads, or cook them down in any one-pot dish I can think of. But, there’s nothing I love to do more than roast cherry tomatoes until soft, sweet, and caramelized.
One of the most popular recipes on the blog is this whipped feta with roasted tomatoes appetizer, and since creating it, I began to roast cherry tomatoes in that same way like clockwork – combining them with lots of olive oil, fresh herbs from the garden, garlic for rich flavor, a generous amount of salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. All tossed together and roasted in a cast-iron skillet until burst and infused with flavor.
The method is so simple, so satisfying, and results in the most intoxicating tomatoes. And the best part? You can do SO much with them after they’re roasted!
I started to use these in a ton of different ways – blending them up into a pasta sauce, topping burgers or sandwiches with them, spooning them over ricotta crostini, adding them to salads, eating them alongside, scrambled eggs, etc.
So many uses for this one recipe. And while I’ve listed out specifics below, I actually rarely follow the amounts exactly the same way every time. I’m always adding a little more or less garlic, changing up the herbs with whatever I have on hand, or increasing the olive oil if I want extra infused olive oil to use for other things. It’s extremely versatile. Adding a little balsamic vinegar or some spices would be great as well. Once you have the method down (which is extremely simple), you can really just whip these up any way you’d like!
Tip: The heads of garlic essentially turn into roasted garlic. To use it, squeeze out the soft garlic cloves and discard the roots/skins.
a few recipes to make after you roast cherry tomatoes…
Roasted Tomato Burgers with Garlic Mayo & Gouda
Creamy Tomato Pasta with Herb Breadcrumbs
Cheese & Charcuterie Picnic Board
Whipped Feta with Roasted Tomatoes
How To Roast Cherry Tomatoes with Garlic & Herbs
a fool-proof recipe to roast cherry tomatoes perfectly every time withs lots of garlic and fresh herbs
yield: 2 lbs roasted cherry tomatoes
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 lbs cherry tomatoes
- 3 heads garlic, ends trimmed+discarded
- 4 sprigs fresh oregano (or other herbs like thyme and rosemary)
- 1 ¼ cups olive oil
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 15 cracks fresh black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Add the cherry tomatoes, heads of garlic (cut-side down), and fresh oregano to a large 12” cast-iron skillet. Cover with the olive oil, salt, and black pepper. Toss well to combine.
- Roast for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are soft and caramelized.
Notes
- Skillet size and cook time will vary if you cut this recipe in half or double it. Use a 10” skillet for about 40-45 minutes if you cut the recipe in half and 2 (12”) skillets for 1 hour if you double it. You always want a fairly even layer of cherry tomatoes to fit the bottom of the skillet.
- All ovens are different, so use your senses to tell if the tomatoes are done – they should be soft, caramelized, and blistered.
- The heads of garlic essentially turn into roasted garlic. To use it, squeeze out the soft garlic cloves and discard the roots/skins.
- The olive oil becomes infused with tomato and garlic flavor. Save it for drizzling over eggs, dipping bread into, making sauces, tossing with pasta, etc.
shop the dish: how to roast cherry tomatoes with garlic & herbs
Made this last night and loved every rich, lusty bite (and slurp). I really appreciated learning that I do not have to halve and squeeze the seeds out of a gazillion cherry tomatoes in order to make a fabulous dish. My single batch required two large cast iron skillets – a 12” and a 10” – to accommodate all the ingredients in a single layer, but that was no problem, and the result was more than worth the extra minute to clean the second pan. Thank you!
Hi Jenny! I am SO glad to hear that you loved these tomatoes. Thanks so much for the feedback!! I never bother squeezing the seeds out of tomatoes. Glad you thought these were just as good!