These Italian Marinated Refrigerator Garden Tomatoes are an easy way to use your fresh garden tomatoes and herbs. Made with an easy olive oil, vinegar, a medley of herbs, and garlic, this recipe is perfect for snacking, salads, and more.
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It's officially that time of year when our summer tomatoes start filling up the windowsill and overflowing onto the kitchen counter. Every trip out to the garden seems to end with another handful of ripe tomatoes. We grow a mix of cherry and slicing tomatoes and I like to pick them once the first blush of orange hits their skin. Then, I let them ripen until they're bright red and juicy.
As much as I love a classic tomato sandwich with mayonnaise, salt, and pepper, tossing tomatoes into salads, simmering them into sauce and soup, or dehydrating them into "sun-dried" tomatoes, one of my favorite ways to enjoy an abundant harvest is by making marinated tomatoes.
These marinated tomatoes are bursting with fresh Italian flavor. The marinade couldn't be simpler - olive oil, vinegar, garlic, seasonings, and fresh herbs from the garden. After a few hours in the fridge, the tomatoes soak up all of those delicious Italian flavors. They're so good on sandwiches, tucked onto charcuterie boards, spooned over pasta, added to salads, or enjoyed straight from the jar as a tangy summer snack.
If your tomato plants are producing faster than you can eat them, there are plenty of delicious ways to use your harvest. Homemade crushed tomatoes and fresh pasta sauces are always great options. But I highly recommend setting aside some of your tomatoes for this easy marinated recipe. It comes together in minutes, stores well in the fridge, and tastes even better once the flavors have had time to absorb into the tomatoes.
Italian Marinated Refrigerator Garden Tomatoes
One of the things I love about this recipe is you can use any mix of tomatoes from your garden. Throw in cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, quartered garden tomatoes, or a mix of every variety you have growing. Then, add whatever fresh herbs you're growing - basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, chives. If you've harvested garlic, slice it up and add it to the marinade as well.
Depending on what kind of tomatoes you're growing, you might want to prep them differently. If you have cherry or grape tomatoes, you can prick them with a toothpick. This will help them absorb all of the marinade flavors. If you have slicing tomatoes, you can quarter them or cut them into chunks.
Now, we're going to whip up our marinade. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, whole peppercorns, crushed red pepper, and sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
Then, we're going to layer the tomatoes, thinly sliced garlic, and a medley of fresh herbs in a clean quart jar.
Pour the marinade over the tomatoes. Seal the jar and give it a gentle shake, or roll, to coat everything.
Then, the jar can go into the fridge to marinate. Marinate the tomatoes for at least 2 hours, but overnight is always the better option. The tomatoes will keep for about 5 days in the fridge.
Italian Marinated Refrigerator Garden Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 5-6 cups mixed garden tomatoes like cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, slicing or heirloom tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves sliced thin
- 1/4 cup fresh herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, chives
- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary optional
For the marinade:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsps. red wine vinegar
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. whole black peppercorns
- 1 tsp. sugar
- Pinch of crushed red pepper optional
Instructions
- Prick cherry or grape tomatoes with a toothpick. If using slicing tomatoes, quarter or cut into chunks.
- In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, peppercorns, red pepper flakes (if using), and sugar together until sugar dissolves.
- In a clean quart jar, layer tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.
- Pour marinade over the tomatoes. Seal jar and gently shake to coat everything.
- Place jar in the fridge and marinate for at least 2 hours, but overnight is best.
Whether you're heading out to the garden to grab homegrown tomatoes or visiting the local farmers market for a basketful, these marinated tomatoes are an easy way to celebrate some of summer's best flavors and sure to become a staple in your refrigerator.
Did you make this Italian Marinated Refrigerator Garden Tomatoes recipe? Share it on social media using the hashtag #holokahome. Don’t forget to tag me @holokahome!
