Air Fryer Cherry Tomatoes

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This easy recipe is a fast family favorite, welcome on a piece of toasted baguette as bruschetta, or tossed through a salad or even as a dressing on pasta. Simple and fast, using only staple ingredients, prepped in 5 minutes, letting you get on with the rest of the meal while thee cook in the air fryer.

Cooking cheery tomatoes in an air fryer concentrates all the tomato flavors making them more intense and sweeter. A wide variety of tomatoes can be used, from the standard “beef” tomatoes to jam tomatoes, past grape tomatoes right down to the cheeky cherry tomato.

Biting into one of these juicy tomatoes releases a burst of flavor – sweet, savory, tangy, and salty all at once. Add in some rosemary, thyme, and garlic – you are transported to a Mediterranean feast.

Why make Air Fryer Cherry Tomatoes?

• Roasting tomatoes blisters the skin, caramelizes the natural sugars, intensifies the flavors and releases lycopene, a powerful antioxidant..
• Smaller tomatoes roast faster, reducing the cooking time. They also carry less water, concentrating the flavor faster.
• All of the ingredients are in the pantry.

What do you need to make Air Fryer Cherry Tomatoes?

Ingredients

• Cherry or grape tomatoes: The smaller, the better. You want to get the hit of flavour, the burst of the tomato.
• Olive Oil: traditional. Any oil will do, but good quality olive oil adds an extra layer of depth to the tomatoes. Oil is required to roast the tomatoes, otherwise they wil steam in their skin, which will dry up.
• Garlic powder or garlic cloves: Garlic has a delicate flavor which reminds the sense of the mediterranean. This triggers happy thoughts and enhances the subtle flavor of the tomato. Rather used garlic powder as it is less likely to brun and go bitter.
• Rosemary: Adds a festive undertone to the tomatoes. Rosemary is full of terpenes and essential oils, with a distinct fragrance. Just a hint of this herb and the dish is transformed.
• Salt: Enhances sweet and savoury notes. use flaky salt which also creates little bursts of flavor as you bite.
• Pepper: Enhances the flavor.

Flavor variations:

• Use different herbs such as thyme or dried oregano instead of rosemary.
• Add ome grated parmesan at the end.
• Flake in some goats cheese.
• Squeeze a lemon or add some lemon rind.
• Mix in grated parmesan cheese and toasted breadcrumbs to add texture.
• Add in some fresh herbs at the end such as basil or chives (let the tomatoes cool first!)
• Add in some mushrooms or nuts

Tools

• Air Fryer: best to roast the tomatoes in.
• Aluminum foil: Helps keep the air fryer clean and traps the tomato juices to use as a dressing.

How best to cook cherry tomatoes:

• Slicing the tomatoes will make them cook faster and dries them out faster, makign them more similar to sundried tomatoes.
• Keeping the tomatoes whole creates little pockets of fresh juice to tantalise and delight the senses as they burst.
• Cooking tomatoes longer will caramelise them more, making them jammier and tastier.
• Always use aluminum foil or air fryer parchement paper to keep the tomatoes together and trap the juices.
• Using 1 layer of tomatoes will ensure that they cook evenly. Using 2-3 layers of tomatoes and tossing them ocasionally creates more flavor variation.

How to use cherry tomatoes:

• Make bruschetta
• Add them to a meat sauce or chili
• Add them to pasta sauces or simply toss them through fresh pasta as a simple dressing
• Add them to a salad
• Use them as a pizza topping
• Stir them into air fried vegetables such as green beans
• Use them in a decadent BLT sandwhich
• Use them in a baguette with cheese to make a stunning picnic sandwich
• Use them as stuffing for pork or chicken
• Blitz into a paste to make a dip
• Add to a soup

Should I toss the air fried cherry tomatoes half way through?

This depends on how many tomatoes went into the air fryer basket and if you like the burnt blistered skin that is the result of caramelized sugars.

If you added several layers of tomatoes in the basket, then you will need to toss the tomatoes 3-4 times to ensure even cooking and increase the cooking time as a result.

If you have a single layer of tomatoes, then this is not required, however, brown spots will occur where the air fryer hot air touches the tomatoes. To create a more even cooking, simply toss the tomatoes once around the 5 minutes mark.

Should cherry tomatoes be peeled?

Some people are put off by the skin of tomatoes, however, cherry tomatoes have very thin skin and do not need to be peeled. In addition, the skin becomes a great source of caramelization as it cooks, becoming the first section to brown.

The skin on the tomatoes will crack, making it even easier to chew and providing valuable support for the flesh inside, keeping the tomatoes separate.

Can I Use Air Fryer Cherry Tomatoes on a Sourdough Pizza Base?

Yes, you can use air fryer cherry tomatoes on a sourdough pizza crust recipe. The tomatoes will caramelize and add a burst of flavor to the pizza. The air fryer will ensure the tomatoes are perfectly roasted and ready to be added to your delicious homemade pizza.

Can you cook wrinkled cherry tomatoes?

It does not matter if your tomatoes are past their prime or underripe… cooking them in an air fryer will bring them back to life. Or rather, cooked this way, all tomatoes end up wrinkled when roasted this way.

Does the air fryer need to be preheated?

An air fryer does not need to be preheated, as long as you simply adjust the cooking time by 1-2 minutes (less time for a colder cooking temperature). It is however always good practice to preheat an air fryer so that it becomes 2nd nature when cooking meat dishes.

How to store cooked cherry tomatoes?

Can you keep cooked cheery tomatoes in the fridge?

Absolutely. In fact, I find that storing these in the fridge for a couple of hours enhances their flavor even more, especially when contrasted with warm pasta. Simply let them cool down to room temperature, then place them in a covered bowl or closed container in the fridge. They should easily keep for 3 to 4 days.

Can you freeze cooked cheery tomatoes?

Air fried cherry tomatoes, like all cooked cherry tomatoes, can be frozen and stored for up to 6 months. Simply let them cool to room temperature and place them in a freezer bag or container.

When defrosting them, let them return to room temperature for 2 hours before using.

What is the difference between roasted tomatoes and sundried tomatoes?

Contrary to the name, sundried tomatoes tend to be cooked as well these days as it speeds up the process. Sundried tomatoes are cooked at a low temperature for a long time to evaporate extra moisture. This tends to make them chewier. Roasted tomatoes are cooked at a higher temperature to allow the juices to be retained but caramelizing the sugars and concentrating the flavors. They tend to be softer to eat.