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No sunshine required to make these homemade sun dried tomatoes. Drying tomatoes is a great way to preserve the harvest and save storage space. 20 pounds of tomatoes will reduce down to about one pound of sun dried tomatoes.
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5 from 1 vote

Homemade Sun Dried Tomatoes

No sunshine required to make these homemade sun dried tomatoes. Drying tomatoes is a great way to preserve the harvest and save storage space.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 30 minutes
Course: Pantry
Cuisine: American
Keyword: sun dried tomatoes
Servings: 30 servings
Calories: 54kcal
Author: Grow a Good Life

Ingredients

  • 20 pounds tomatoes

Instructions

  • Wash your tomatoes well under running water.
  • Trim off stems and cut the tomatoes into even sized pieces. Slice plum, cherry, and grape tomatoes in half, or into quarters if the tomato is larger than 3-inches. Cut large, round tomatoes into 1/2-inch thick slabs.

To Dry Tomatoes Using the Sun

  • Place the tomatoes on the drying screens and cover to protect from insects and pests. 
  • Dry the tomatoes in the sun or in your car until leathery or brittle, depending on your preference. Shuffle the trays indoors at night and during cloudy rainy periods.

To Oven Dry Tomatoes

  • Preheat your oven to 150˚F or its lowest setting.
  • Place cooling racks on baking sheets to help air to circulate around the tomatoes as they dry.
  • Arrange the tomato pieces in a single layer on the racks leaving space between them so they don't touch. Place plum and cherry tomatoes skin sides down.
  • Place the baking sheets in the preheated oven and dry until the tomatoes are shriveled and rubbery. Throughout the drying process, be sure to rotate the baking sheets, flip the tomato pieces over, and remove pieces that have finished drying. 
  • Drying time will depend on the moisture level in the tomatoes, and can take about 4 to 6 hours.

To dry tomatoes using a food dehydrator

  • Set your dehydrator to 135˚F and dehydrate until the tomatoes have shriveled up but remain pliable, around 8-10 hours. 
  • The time needed to dehydrate the tomatoes will vary depending on the moisture in the tomatoes and the humidity level. When done, your sun dried tomatoes will feel dry but flexible and rubbery.
  • Store your sun dried tomatoes in airtight jars. You can also store dehydrated tomatoes in zipper bags in the freezer. Sun dried tomatoes can last up to a year in storage. 

Nutrition

Serving: 4oz | Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 2.7g | Fat: 0.6g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 15mg | Potassium: 325mg | Fiber: 3.6g | Sugar: 8g | Calcium: 300mg | Iron: 0.2mg