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Show off your peak-season tomatoes with these fresh tomato recipes! We've got salads, soups, pasta, and more - you're bound to find something you love.

When I made our grocery list this week, one thing was clear: Jack and I were going to be eating a lot of tomato recipes. I needed cherry tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and tomatoes on the vine. But at this time of year, I think that's how it should be.

As a rule, I don't buy tomatoes out of season. They're often picked while they're still unripe, so they never become really flavorful. Instead, they're bland, watery, and mushy. So when summer rolls around, I have just a few months to make every tomato salad, sandwich, pasta, and pizza I've imagined throughout the year. In short, I have fresh tomato recipes on repeat.

I hope you're also cooking with tomatoes like crazy right now, while they're tangy, juicy, and sweet. In case you're looking for some new tomato recipes, I'm sharing 50 of my favorites below. They include appetizers, side dishes, hearty mains, and even breakfasts! With all this variety, you're bound to find something you love.

Basic Tomato Recipes

Use these basic tomato recipes as building blocks for pastas, pizzas, and more!

Simple Fresh Tomato Sauce, page 251 of The Love & Lemons Cookbook
I make marinara sauce with canned tomatoes in the winter, but when summer is here, I can't get enough of this sweet, tangy fresh tomato sauce. Before I crush the tomatoes, I char them in a cast-iron skillet to give the sauce smoky depth of flavor.

Fresh Tomato Recipes for Breakfast

When tomatoes are in season, I eat them at every meal I can...breakfast included.

Best Breakfast Burrito
This mega breakfast burrito has it all: spicy roasted potatoes, avocado, scrambled eggs, roasted red peppers, spinach, black beans, and pico de gallo. If that's not enough for you, serve creamy chipotle sauce or cilantro lime dressing on the side for dipping.

Healthy Breakfast Tacos
I fell in love with breakfast tacos in Austin, and now, this super-fresh recipe is one of my favorite breakfasts to make at home! I like to make the fresh salsa with yellow tomatoes, but feel free to swap in whatever color you have on hand.

Farmers Market Breakfast Bowl
When I have a market haul of veggies in the fridge, I can't help but eat them for breakfast! This all-veggie bowl features heirloom tomatoes, greens, radishes, and spiced beet and carrot "rice." Soft-boiled eggs and an herbed yogurt sauce give it enough staying power to keep you full till lunch.

Caprese Eggs Benedict with Healthier Hollandaise, page 41 of Love & Lemons Every Day
Fresh basil leaves and juicy tomato slices are divine in this lightened-up eggs Benedict. But the homemade sauce is what takes it over the top. Made with a cashew base, it's creamy, tangy, and bright. You won't be able to get enough.

Appetizer Tomato Recipes

I almost always reach for tomatoes when I'm making a simple summer appetizer. At this time of year, they're so juicy and flavorful on their own that they do most of the work for you!

Burrata with Heirloom Tomatoes
This bountiful burrata platter is a mouthwatering appetizer, but it could just as easily pass as dessert.

Ultimate Crudité Platter
When summer tomatoes are in top form, it doesn't take much to turn them into a delicious appetizer. Serve them on a crudité platter with green goddess dressing, baba ganoush, or creamy white bean dip, and they'll disappear in a snap.

Caprese Skewers
Peaches add a surprising sweet twist to these simple Caprese skewers.

Tomato Salads

Salads are hands down my favorite fresh tomato recipes, because they're so simple, vibrant, and flavorful. And they don't just showcase tomatoes - other peak-season fruits, herbs, and veggies also shine in the recipes below.

Classic Caprese Salad
If there's one thing that will make you fall for Caprese salad, it's good tomatoes. Make this recipe with the best ones you can find.

Strawberry Salad with Balsamic
This sweeter riff on Caprese salad features fresh strawberries, avocado, and toasted pecans as well as the traditional tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella.

Panzanella Salad
I make different variations of the Italian bread salad panzanella every summer, but this one will always be my favorite. In addition to heirloom tomatoes, it features sweet peaches, crisp corn, fresh basil, and roasted chickpeas for crunch.

Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
Cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and mint make this recipe flavorful and fresh, but Medjool dates are really the star of the show. They add a delightful sweetness to this hearty summer salad.

Greek Salad
When my mom adds a recipe to her regular rotation, I know it's a good one. This Greek salad made the cut! It's easy to make, you can prep it in advance, and it tastes so darn good.

Watermelon Tomato Salad
Tomatoes, avocado, watermelon, and tamari are an unconventional combo, but once you try this heirloom tomato salad, you'll be hooked. The salty tamari plays perfectly off the sweet tomatoes and watermelon, and the avocado offers a rich, creamy contrast to the refreshing fruit.

Italian Chopped Salad
The best thing about chopped salad is that you can get a little of everything in each bite - crisp lettuce, creamy cheese, onion, pepperoncini, chickpeas, and tomatoes. Yum!

Pasta Salads

To me, tomatoes and pasta salad both scream summer. Combine the two, and you have a quintessential summer dish.

Easy Pasta Salad
This easy pasta salad is my go-to summer picnic dish. It's chock-full of fresh ingredients like cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, arugula, and basil, and it still tastes great if you make it a day in advance.

Broccoli Pasta Salad
Make this recipe if you like your pasta salad like I do - heavier on the veggies, lighter on the pasta. In addition to fresh cherry tomatoes, I add sun-dried tomatoes for a burst of umami flavor.

Fresh Tomato Soup Recipes

No list of tomato recipes would be complete without tomato soup! Here, you'll find cool summer soups like gazpacho as well as warming, comforting recipes for when the temperatures start to drop.

Watermelon Gazpacho
Don't be fooled - the watermelon in this gazpacho doesn't make it sweet. Instead, it offsets the sharp vinegar, onion, and jalapeño, creating a refreshing, balanced soup.

Green Gazpacho, page 129 of The Love & Lemons Cookbook
This soup's green color comes from cucumber, cilantro, and yellow tomatoes. If you can't find yellow tomatoes, feel free to swap in red ones. The soup won't be green, but it'll still taste delicious.

Creamy Tomato Soup
I use a combination of roasted fresh tomatoes and diced canned ones to give this soup a rich, concentrated tomato flavor. It's yummy on its own, but it's even better with toasty grilled cheese croutons on top!

Tomato Chickpea Tortilla Soup, page 245 of The Love & Lemons Cookbook
Charred tomatoes and adobo sauce create the smoky, savory broth of this vegan tortilla soup. Serve it with grilled corn kernels and crispy tortilla strips for crunch!

Many-Veggie Vegetable Soup
I like to make this recipe right before a big farmers market trip. It works with nearly any veggies, so it's a great way to clear out whatever odds and ends you have in the fridge. Green beans? Toss them in. Zucchini? Go for it! Fresh tomatoes? Absolutely.

Pasta Tomato Recipes

If marinara sauce teaches us anything, it's that pasta and tomatoes go together like two peas in a pod. But the uses for tomatoes in pasta recipes extend way beyond sauce. Try roasting them, sautéing them, or baking them into your next lasagna.

Creamy Pasta Pomodoro
I could eat this creamy vegan pasta every night of the week! A luscious tomato sauce coats floppy noodles, sautéed veggies, and bursty cherry tomatoes.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta
You can make this recipe no matter what veggies you brought home from the farmers market! Roast them until they're fragrant and tender, toss them with pasta, herbs, and feta cheese, and season to taste. No measuring spoons required!

Zucchini Noodle Puttanesca, page 177 of Love & Lemons Every Day
Made with a 50/50 mix of regular pasta and zucchini noodles, this recipe is light and healthy. But that doesn't mean it skimps on flavor! Sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives, lemon zest, and white wine make it irresistibly briny and bright.

Summer Squash and Cherry Tomato Pasta, page 271 of The Love & Lemons Cookbook
Jack loves to top this simple pasta with shaved Parmesan or fresh mozzarella cheese, and I garnish my bowl with vegan Parmesan or vegan pesto. What topping sounds best to you? You really can't go wrong - fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, any pesto, or pine nuts would all be delicious!

Sandwiches and Wraps

Tomato slices are at home on almost any sandwich, but the recipes here put them front and center.

Crispy Shiitake BLT, page 171 of The Love & Lemons Cookbook
This plant-based riff on everyone's favorite tomato sandwich is as close to the real thing as you can get. The shiitake "bacon" is so good that I have a hard time not eating it all as it comes out of the oven! Trust me, you won't miss the meat one bit.

Heirloom Tomato Sandwich
A creamy, tangy white bean spread and a sprinkle of smoked paprika fill this vegan "Bean-LT" with savory, smoky flavor.

Caprese Sandwich
Roasted cherry tomatoes and pickled red onions give this classic Caprese sandwich a pop of bright flavor. Take it to the next level by serving it on homemade focaccia bread.

Chickpea Shawarma Wraps
These shawarma-inspired wraps features spiced roasted chickpeas instead of meat! Along with fresh veggies and herbs, a trio of sauces packs them with flavor.

Pizza and Flatbread Tomato Recipes

We all love tomato sauce on pizza, but fresh tomatoes are great toppings too! Pile them onto any homemade pizza, or try one of the recipes below.

Margherita Pizza
Essentially Caprese salad on pizza. What's not to love?

Farmstand Peach Pizzas, page 239 of The Love & Lemons Cookbook
I make these little pizzas on pita bread, so they're an adorable summer appetizer. But they're piled with so much summer bounty - peaches, tomatoes, zucchini and its blossoms (!!) - that you might want to make them the main event. If you're anything like me, you'll definitely be back for seconds. Erm...thirds.

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50 Fresh Tomato Recipes - Love and Lemons

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Show off your peak-season tomatoes with these fresh tomato recipes! We've got salads, soups, pasta, and more - you're bound to find something you love. When I made our grocery list this week, one thing was clear: Jack and I were going to be eating a lot of tomato recipes.

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Looking for summer tomato recipes? Find our 52 best fresh tomato recipes, with tomato salads, pastas, cold soups, freezer meals and more.

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Find everything about Tomatoes on Kitchn, the online home for all things food.

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Another Study Shows Nutritional Benefits of Organic Tomatoes | The Organic Center

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Photo Credit: Matt MacGillivray Tomatoes are well known for being a vegetable with high antioxidant capacity. They contain carotenoid pigments such as lycopene, associated with such health benefits as bone health, reduced risk of prostate cancer, and decreasing sun damage by UV radiation. Several studies have shown higher antioxidant levels in organic tomatoes when compared to

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Popular Benefits of Growing Tomatoes at Home

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Growing tomatoes can be a rewarding experience for both seasoned and novice gardeners. Tomatoes are a popular crop that are relatively easy to grow and offer many benefits. In this article, we will explore the benefits of growing tomatoes and how they can improve your health and wellbeing.
Fresh and Nutritious
Freshly grown tomatoes are packed with nutrients and antioxidants that are essential for good health. They are rich in vitamin C, potassium, and fiber. The lycopene in tomatoes is a powerful antioxidant that helps protect against heart disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases. Growing your own tomatoes allows you to enjoy the benefits of fresh, nutrient-dense produce.
Cost-Effective
Growing your own tomatoes can be cost-effective compared to buying them at the grocery store. You can grow a large number of tomatoes in a small space, and they are relatively low-maintenance. With a little effort and care, you can produce a bountiful harvest of juicy and delicious tomatoes.
Taste and Quality
Freshly picked tomatoes have a superior taste and quality compared to store-bought ones. They are sweeter, juicier, and have a more intense flavor. This is because store-bought tomatoes are often picked before they are fully ripe and shipped long distances, which can affect their flavor and texture.
Variety
Tomatoes come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. You can grow cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, and many more. Each variety has a unique flavor and texture, which allows you to experiment with different recipes and dishes.
Gardening is Good for You
Gardening has been shown to have many health benefits. It is a great way to get outside and enjoy fresh air and sunshine. Gardening can help reduce stress, improve mood, and increase physical activity. Growing tomatoes is a great way to connect with nature and get some exercise while enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Sustainability
Growing your own tomatoes is a sustainable practice that can help reduce your carbon footprint. Store-bought produce often has to travel long distances and requires packaging and refrigeration, which can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. By growing your own tomatoes, you can reduce the environmental impact of your food consumption and support local agriculture.
Sense of Accomplishment
Growing tomatoes can be a rewarding experience that gives you a sense of accomplishment. Watching your plants grow and produce fruit can be a satisfying and fulfilling experience. It can also be a great way to teach children about where their food comes from and the importance of sustainability.
Community Building
Growing tomatoes can be a great way to connect with your community. You can share your harvest with neighbors and friends, or participate in community gardens and farmers markets. This can help build a sense of community and support local agriculture.
Increased Access to Fresh Produce
Growing your own tomatoes can increase your access to fresh produce. This is particularly important for people who live in areas with limited access to fresh fruits and vegetables. By growing your own tomatoes, you can ensure that you have access to fresh, nutrient-dense produce.
Food Security
Growing your own tomatoes can also improve food security. Food security refers to the ability of individuals and communities to access sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. By growing your own food, you can reduce your dependence on grocery stores and ensure that you have access to fresh produce, even in times of crisis.
In conclusion, growing tomatoes offers many benefits, from improved health and nutrition to sustainability and community building. By growing your own tomatoes, you can enjoy fresh, delicious produce, reduce your carbon footprint, and connect with nature and your community. It is a rewarding experience that can improve your wellbeing and support a more sustainable and resilient food system.

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Jasmine's uncle enjoyed tomatoes on his special burgers. He knew that Jasmine would love his famous recipe, like everyone in the family.

Jasmine looked at the burger and began to deconstruct it. She removed the sliced tomato saying, "Whatever this is, it looks yucky!"

Jasmine's uncle did not like this response. He told her not to remove the tomato and to eat the burger as it was. Jasmine then pushed the plate as far away from herself as possible. Jasmine's uncle did not know what to do, so he just sat there and waited for her to take a bite.

They sat at the table together for thirty minutes before he realized she just was not going to take a bite.

We know that feeding kids can be tricky, and we want to help you get out of these food battles. Reversing picky eating is a long-term process, and we're here to help you do that! Here's our guide to help you teach your child to eat tomatoes. You'll learn:
Related: Join BetterBites - the best selling course for the families of picky eaters

The Benefits of Tomatoes for Kids

Tomatoes come in a variety of sizes and colors, such as the cherry tomato, green tomato and grape tomato.

Tomatoes are a good food for kids because they encourage good immune function in children. The reason for this is because tomatoes are high in vitamin C, a vitamin that supports immune health and assists with fighting sickness like colds and the flu.

Also, tomatoes are a great source of hydration due to its high water content. Staying hydrated is very important, especially in hot climate areas.

Tomatoes also are packed with antioxidants, which also assist in overall immune and growth support.

Recalling Jasmine's situation, it makes sense why her uncle really wanted her to eat tomatoes.

How to Serve Tomatoes to Pick Eaters

When serving tomatoes to children, we recommend varying the way you serve them to prevent kids from getting stuck in a rut. Offering new foods in different ways can encourage fussy eaters to try them. Tomatoes can be cooked and baked, and they are often served raw. They can be sliced and used as a topping on burgers and sandwiches. They can be diced and added to green salads and grain salads. They are also delicious on their own. Tomato products, like tomato sauce, tomato soup and ketchup are also popular.

Another thing to keep in mind when serving picky eaters is to offer food in micro portions. Micro portions are small, pea-sized amounts of food that may be less overwhelming to children than adult-sized portions. (Bonus? Serving micro portions can help cut down on food waste with picky children!)

Finally, when serving any food to a child, we recommend you not use pressure to get a child to eat. Thinking back to the situation with Jasmine and her uncle, Jasmine's uncle expected her to eat the tomato with no hesitation. Once Jasmine realized her uncle was not going to allow her to eat without eating the tomatoes, she refused to eat altogether.

There are many ways a child may feel pressured to eat. Here are a few examples of what pressure can look like:

"If you take one bite, we will play games later!"

"It's awesome that you ate your chicken. Now just take a bite of your veggies."

"We will sit here until you finish your plate!"

To conclude, when serving tomatoes to picky eaters, serve the tomatoes differently each time you serve them, offer micro portions and don't pressure the child to eat.

How to Talk About Tomatoes to Help Your Child Try It

Picky kids will regularly use negative words to describe food. "That is awful!" "Why is that so greasy?" This negative word usage causes them to remain picky. It increases the likelihood they will remain negative about new foods.

The good news is that you can introduce new words to describe foods. You can help your child expand their vocabulary with words that are descriptive but are not negative. This method is called modeling. These words won't be either positive or negative.

Remaining neutral about a particular food can be hard, but it is helpful to try to describe foods by their characteristics and not by adjectives such as "good" or "bad."

Here are neutral words you can use to speak objectively about tomatoes:

When Jasmine's uncle served the burger, he could have told Jasmine, "Tomatoes are red and juicy!"
Related: Need recipes with tomatoes? Real Easy Weekdays: The Meal Plan for Busy Families
How To Help Your Child Understand What Tomatoes Do in Their Body

Introducing a new food to your child can be difficult. It's important to remember that before assuming your child will taste a food, you may need to talk about the food. You may also need to allow for your child to express their feelings about the food, and allow time for the food to become less unknown.

Trying to convince a picky eater like Jasmine that she needs to eat tomatoes usually will not end well. Instead, try to start talking about what a food does in your child's body when it naturally comes up in conversation.

Now, is talking about foods going to spontaneously make a child eat tomatoes? Probably not on the first couple of tries. This is but one step in the process.

This can be a stressful time for your child, so having patience and responding to hesitation positively is important. When talking to your child about tomatoes, focus on new characteristics of the food. Share information in a way that your child can understand.

Here are some messages about tomatoes to share with selective children. You can come up with your own as well!

Age 0-3: Red foods like tomatoes help fight sickness.

Age 3-5: Tomatoes have something called antioxidants which help us fight sickness.

Age 6-11: The antioxidants in tomatoes help protect against getting sick and getting stomach aches.

Age 12-18: Antioxidants play a really big role in immune health. Tomatoes contain these antioxidants, and when we eat them, they help us stay free from sickness and keep us hydrated.

When serving the burger, Jasmine's uncle could have said, "Tomatoes are fruits that help fight sickness."

Tomato Food Play Activity

Picky eating in children can be a game of patience and repetition. A child may have to go back and forth between wanting to touch, see or smell a food, and sometimes the child ends up not wanting to do any of those things.

Allowing for a no-pressure experience such as food play can allow a child to become less fearful of a new food and potentially open up to the idea of tasting it.

Food activities also allow for desensitizing to occur, which means that your child's body becomes more used to the food. When a sense is new to the brain, the brain may automatically perceive it as a danger and trigger the fight or flight system. Desensitizing allows for a food to become familiar. As a child becomes used to a new food over time, it does not seem as strong smelling or as slimy to them. This makes the food seem less scary and may get your child to taste tomatoes-and maybe even learn to like them.

Tomato activities are not going to magically make Jasmine or any other fussy eater eat something overnight. This is another process that may take longer than just a couple of activities to get a child to eat a food.

Start small and work your way up from just looking at the food to more complex activities that allow for smelling and maybe even touching. Tasting is the ultimate goal, but any progression should be viewed as a win.

Be sure to mention that this food activity is for having fun together. If your child is feeling apprehensive, reassure your child that there is no pressure for them to play until they are ready.
Tomato Tic-Tac-Toe
Age group:

Materials

A clean surface such as a plate or cutting board

6 grape tomatoes

6 grapes

Construction paper

Marker

Steps

1. Slice fruit in half. (They can be choking hazards, so be sure to slice for young children.)

2. Draw a tic-tac-toe board. Your child can help with this drawing.

3. Take turns playing the game of tic-tac-toe using different modifications as you and your child see fit.
Thanks for being part of our community that's teaching kids to eat more foods! References
Garone, Sarah. "Can Babies Eat Tomatoes?" Healthline, August 28, 2020.

Zelman, Kathleen. "The Health Benefits of Tomatoes." WebMD, November 5, 2019. https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-tomato-health-benefits.

Raiola, Assunta, Maria Manuela Rigano, Roberta Calafiore, Luigi Frusciante, and Amalia Barone. "Enhancing the Health-Promoting Effects of Tomato Fruit for Biofortified Food." Mediators of Inflammation. Hindawi Publishing Corporation, March 12, 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3972926/.

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How to Teach Kids to Eat Tomatoes - Picky Eater's Guide

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There are many health benefits of tomatoes for kids. Get expert advice on how to teach kids to eat tomatoes and get picky eaters to like them.

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Cutting and tips to pic out tomatos Vids

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Cutting and tips to pic out tomatos Vids