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Turn tomatoes into gold with our tomato confit recipe, which tastes like a burst of summer sunshine! Slow roasting cherry tomatoes in olive oil turns them rich and concentrated, with a jammy, melt-in-your-mouth texture and sweet caramelized flavor.
Why we love this recipe
If you’ve got tomatoes, we’ve got two words for you: tomato confit. As cookbook authors, Alex and I are constantly on the lookout for new flavors and this one has us absolutely drooling—we created it inspired by dish we had on our recent trip to France.
Slow roasting cherry tomatoes in olive oil with garlic and fresh herbs concentrates their flavor, making them jammy and sweet. It really does taste like pure sunshine! You can serve tomato confit in so many ways: on crostini, pizza, sandwiches, pasta, or over creamy yogurt tahini sauce as a summer appetizer. So. darn. good. It’s like a love letter to summer (consider it ours).
Featured reader comment
“This confit and sauce is SO good! I love bursty tomatoes, and paired with the garlic and that tahini yogurt? Heaven.” -Tanvee
Ingredients in confit tomatoes
Tomato confit is a dish where tomatoes are cooked slowly in olive oil at a low temperature. Confit is a French word that comes from the root word “to preserve,” so you can make confit with many ingredients like garlic confit or duck confit (the well-known version). You can add garlic, herbs and other seasonings to the olive oil in tomato confit to add dimension to the flavor. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Cherry tomatoes: You can use any type of grape or cherry tomatoes: using a multi-colored mix looks especially stunning. Ripe, local in-season tomatoes are best. Cherry tomato confit is the most common, since the small round shape help them hold together.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Olive oil is ideal for confit.
- Garlic: Using garlic adds a depth to the flavor here, and it’s absolutely delicious. Feel free to use more garlic if you like!
- Fresh thyme: Thyme sprigs infuse just the right flavor. You could try other hardy herbs like rosemary or sage. If you like the flavor of tender herbs like basil, use them when serving.
How to make tomato confit (basic steps)
Making a confit is simple: all you need is time. You’ll need about 1 hour and 15 minutes to make tomato confit, but it’s well worth it! Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe):
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 300°F. In a small baking dish, add the tomatoes, garlic, salt, thyme, and olive oil. Mix to combine.
Step 2: Transfer to the oven to bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until tender with a fork (if not tender, cook 5 to 10 minutes more). Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
Step 3: If serving with tahini yogurt sauce, stir together the ingredients for the sauce, then spread it in a layer onto a plate and top with fresh herbs. Or, serve over burrata, on pizza, in a sandwich, and more.
Storing tomato confit
While something like garlic confit lasts for a few weeks refrigerated, we’ve found tomato confit is best served the day you make it. The tomatoes become fairly fragile and it doesn’t have quite the same look after refrigeration.
You can spoon the cooled mixture into a clean jar, seal, and store for up to 3 days. However, keep in mind the olive oil does solidify and the tomatoes tend to break apart. Allow to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes until the olive oil is liquid again before serving.
Ways to serve tomato confit
Tomato confit is extremely versatile and can be used in so many ways! We love it best served over this creamy tahini yogurt sauce as an appetizer, using bread or crostini to dip. It’s inspired by an appetizer we had at this restaurant in France, and it is heart-meltingly good! Here are a few more ideas for how to serve it:
- Bread like artisan bread or crostini
- As an appetizer spread on plate of tahini yogurt sauce, whipped feta or whipped ricotta
- With burrata cheese as an appetizer
- On pizza like margherita pizza or goat cheese pizza
- As a flatbread topping like on caprese flatbread
- On sandwiches like a caprese sandwich, eggplant sandwich, or burrata sandwich
🍅 How do you plan to serve your tomato confit? Are you as obsessed as we are? Let us know in the comments below: we’d love to hear from you.
More cherry tomato recipes
When it’s the season, we go tomato crazy! Here are a few more cherry tomato recipes you might enjoy:
- Try Marinated Tomatoes instead, a nice way to infuse flavor and preserve tomatoes.
- Grab a skillet for Blistered Tomatoes, which cook up in no time.
- Make tasty Cherry Tomato Pasta (or swap in tomato confit into this recipe).
- Mix up a tangy Tomato Basil Salad.
Dietary notes
This tomato confit recipe is vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
Tomato confit requires the tomatoes to be fully submerged in oil, while roasted tomatoes are usually only lightly coated. In addition, tomato confit is cooked at a much lower temperature (around 300°F). This slow and gentle cooking process results in a softer, more jammy texture and a more concentrated flavor compared to roasted tomatoes, which are typically cooked at higher temperatures for a shorter duration.
While you can technically use any type of tomato, smaller varieties like cherry or grape tomatoes are often preferred for confit as they have a higher ratio of flesh to seeds and tend to hold their shape better during the long cooking process.
A good quality extra virgin olive oil is typically recommended for tomato confit as it adds a rich flavor and helps preserve the tomatoes. However, you can also use other oils like avocado oil or grapeseed oil if you prefer.
Yes, you can enhance the flavor of your tomato confit by adding various herbs and spices. Common additions include garlic, thyme, rosemary, oregano, chili flakes, or even a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity.
Tomato Confit
Turn tomatoes into gold with our cherry tomato confit recipe, which tastes like a burst of summer sunshine! Slow roasting cherry tomatoes in olive oil turns them rich and concentrated, with a jammy, melt-in-your-mouth texture and sweet caramelized flavor.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
For the tomato confit
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes (whole)
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 10 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
For serving (optional)
- Bread or crostini, for serving
- ½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon tahini
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Wash and dry the tomatoes.
- In a small baking dish, add the cherry tomatoes, garlic, salt, thyme, and olive oil. Mix to combine. Transfer to the oven to bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until tender with a fork (if not tender, cook 5 to 10 minutes more). Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minutes.
- If serving with tahini yogurt sauce, stir together the ingredients for the sauce, then spread it in a layer onto a plate and top with fresh herbs, serving with bread or crostini for dipping. The confit is also great served over burrata as an appetizer, as a pizza topping, in a sandwich, and more.
Notes
Storage info: Tomato confit is best served the day of making. You can also spoon the cooled mixture into a clean jar, seal, and store for up to 3 days. However, keep in mind the olive oil does solidify and the tomatoes tend to break apart. Allow to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes until the olive oil is liquid again before serving.
This confit and sauce is SO good! It’s a super hot day here and this makes the perfect cool lunch. I love bursty tomatoes, and paired with the garlic and tahini yogurt? Heaven.
I’m going for be smooshing this all over a baguette later as well!