Dehydrate Sun Dried Tomatoes

I’ve been having fun trying out a bunch of different foods to dehydrate. Apples and Kiwi came out delicious as well as meals such as vegetarian chili! This time I wanted to “sun dry” my own tomatoes. I know they’re not really sun dried, but air dried doesn’t sound as nice!

Many hikers recommend getting the Excalibur Dehydrator. I didn’t splurge and went with a Nesco Square-Shaped Dehydrator. It’s been working well for me!

You can use any type of tomatoes to do this. I had some great cherry tomatoes from my local farm so I used those. The bigger and thicker the pieces, the longer the drying time will be. Other than that, the process is generally the same.

Begin by washing and drying your tomatoes.
Set your dehydrator between 135 and 140 degrees.
Core your tomatoes and remove the ends.
Cut the tomatoes to your preference. Remember they will shrink up as the dehydrate.

As a general guide:

Cut Roma and Cherry tomatoes in halves, thirds, or quarters. I wanted my cherry tomatoes to be thin so I cut them in thirds.

Cut slicing tomatoes into 1/4″ slices.

You can choose to seed your tomatoes (I did not) with a spoon and place the tomatoes on a paper towel.
You may want add a bit of olive oil to prevent the tomatoes from sticking to your dehydrator. The smaller tomatoes likely won’t have this issue.
Place your tomatoes at least a 1/2″ apart to allow for proper air circulation. You can sprinkle them with salt, garlic, or herbs such as basil if you please.
Depending on size and thickness, it will take 8-12 hours to dehydrate. Check every so often and rotate trays for even drying.

Your tomatoes should feel leathery but still pliable when done. Pack tightly in freezer bags, vacuum sealed bags, plastic containers, or jars for storage.