Small but packed with flavor, candy-sweet cherry and grape tomatoes are some of our favorite farmers' market finds in the summer. They add a pop of color and flavor to all sorts of dishes, from salads, to pastas, to sauces. We've rounded up our favorite grape and cherry tomato recipes.
Cherry and grape tomatoes often act as supporting characters, but sometimes they get to star. This is certainly true in our herbed tomato tart, in which the tomatoes are cooked until blistered with anchovies on a puff pastry base and topped with fragrant parsley, chives, and oregano.
Tomatoes and cheese are a perfect pairing to top crostini for a summer hors d'ouevre. For a simple summer crostini, try lightly broiled cherry tomatoes and ricotta. To make a sweet, jammy compote that you can preserve for the winter, match cherry tomatoes with vanilla bean. It's perfect with a triple cream goat cheese.
Raw cherry or grape tomatoes add beautiful color to summer salads. Add them to our red leaf salad with an herb-laced yogurt ranch dressing or toss them with garlicky toasted bread cubes, olive oil, vinegar, and basil to make a summery panzanella.
Similarly, tomatoes add a pop to pasta dishes like a classic spaghetti alla primavera or spaghetti with garlic scapes and arugula. Cooking the tomatoes just until the start of burst intensifies their sweetness while preserving some of their texture.
Find all of these dishes and more in our collection of cherry tomato recipes.
Summer Polenta with Chimichurri and Tomatoes
Chimichurri and a tomato-onion salad are perfect for offsetting the richness of creamy polenta. Get the recipe for Summer Polenta with Chimichurri and Tomatoes »
Lao Tomato Dip
Penn Hongthong, the author of Simple Laotian Cooking (Hippocrene, 2003), taught us that charring the vegetables for this dip is the secret to its smoky flavor.
Cherry Tomato and Cherry Cobbler
Cherries and cherry tomatoes bake down together into a savory-sweet layer under a sweet biscuit topping in this recipe from chef Amanda Cohen. Get the recipe for Cherry Tomato and Cherry Cobbler »
Red Leaf Salad with Ranch Dressing
Light, tangy yogurt replaces rich mayonnaise in the herb-laced dressing for this salad.
Summer Panzanella
Sweet, ripe, summer tomatoes dressed in olive oil, vinegar, and basil are tossed with garlicky, toasted bread cubes to soak up the delicious juices in this classic Italian salad. Get the recipe for Summer Panzanella »
Grape Salsa
Juicy red grapes are the star of a sweet and lightly spicy fresh salsa made with cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and honey.
Garlic Scape and Cherry Tomato Pasta
Roasting garlic scapes with tomatoes and red onion sweetens them and enriches their flavor; toss them with pasta, lemon juice, and arugula for a simple summer meal. Get the recipe for Garlic Scape and Cherry Tomato Pasta »
Ricotta Crostini with Cherry Tomatoes
Ripe cherry tomatoes add sweetness to crostini topped with fresh ricotta.
Shish Kebab
This lamb kebab is adapted from a recipe in Anissa Helou’s Mediterranean Street Food. Get the recipe for Shish Kebab »
Fried Dough with Arugula and Grape Tomatoes (Angioletti Fritti con Rucola e Pomodori)
A bright and simple salad adds fresh contrast to fried strips of pizza dough.
Arugula and Pistachio Pesto Quiche
A rich, bright pesto offsets peppery arugula in this creamy quiche.
Grilled Herb-Marinated Entrecôte of Lamb with Roasted Tomato Sauce
Succulent lamb entrecôte, a well-marbled boneless cut from the sirloin, is blanketed in a marinade of garlic, fresh marjoram, thyme, rosemary, and sage, which caramelize to form a flavorful crust as the lamb grills.
Farmer's Salad with Beet Vinaigrette
This salad is topped with a bright thick sweet-tart pickled beet dressing. Get the recipe for Farmer’s Salad with Beet Vinaigrette »
Quick Fish Filets in Tomato Sauce
Fresh summer tomatoes and juicy fish filets come together in an easy, one-skillet meal. It calls for only four ingredients, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner.
Roasted Sunchokes with Thyme, Grape Tomatoes, and Lemon
Sweet, nutty roasted sunchokes pair perfectly with the bright flavor of grape tomatoes.
Lobster Américaine with Asparagus and Tomatoes
The tomato-wine sauce for this light lobster dish gets depth of flavor from the addition of the lobster’s tomalley.
Beef Stew with Mashed Plantains (Sukuma Wiki with Matoke)
Beef Stew with Mashed Plantains (Sukuma Wiki with Matoke)
Cherry Tomato-Vanilla Bean Preserves
This jammy tomato compote is perfect paired with a triple cream goat cheese or with firm white-fleshed fish dishes. Floral vanilla bean brings out the musky qualities of cherry tomatoes. It is best made with ripe tomatoes at the height of summer.
Salami, Oven-Roasted Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Omelette
Roasting cherry tomatoes in an oven brings out their natural sweetness; salty salami is a perfect counterpoint. Get the recipe for Salami, Oven-Roasted Tomato, Mozzarella, and Basil Omelette »
Herbed Tomato Tart
Fragrant herbs and anchovies underscore the bright sweetness and acidity of ripe cherry tomatoes in this eye-catching tart from Tuscany—cut into small squares, it makes an elegant appetizer.
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