For a delicious burst of intense tomato flavour, you can’t beat these wonderful air fryer confit cherry tomatoes – and they’re so easy to make.
Air fryer confit cherry tomatoes
Confit tomatoes are so easy to make in the air fryer, and a great way to give extra flavour to all sorts of dishes.
They’re also a wonderful way to make the most of cherry tomatoes that are just a little bit ordinary, going a bit soft and wrinkled, or underripe.
See also
- Tomato and red pepper soup, a vibrant full-flavoured soup
- For a hot weather dish, gazpacho is a delicious chilled tomato soup
- When you need a hands-off comfort meal, try this nourishing soup maker tomato soup
Roasting the tomatoes in the air fryer gives your tomatoes a magical intensity of flavour that can be added into all sorts of dishes, whether it is as a base for a phenomenal tomato sauce, a star ingredient in a lunchtime salad or a garnish for eggs or meat.
I love to add some to the pan when I fry my breakfast eggs. The combination of runny yolk and rich tomatoes is delicious!
Using the air fryer to make this dish is quicker and more economical than using a conventional oven, which is one of the reasons that air fryers have become so popular in recent years.
For more than a year, I have been experimenting daily with how to get the very best out of my recipes using the air fryer.
What is confit?
To confit is to cook low and slow in fat or oil, resulting in a confit of tomatoes or whatever else you cooked.
The process concentrates flavours without drying the tomatoes out and produces a delicious sauce of the juices and oil, which can double as a salad dressing.
Why make air fryer cherry tomatoes
🍅 An easy way to concentrate the flavour of underwhelming tomatoes
🍅 A great use for a tomato glut, or to use up less than perfect tomatoes
🍅 Adaptable recipe which can be frozen and used in many ways – as a side, pasta sauce, base of a casserole or stew
🍅 No processed ingredient – these are UPF free!
Air fryer cherry tomato ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes – or larger tomatoes cut to the size of half a cherry tomato – This recipe is perfect for tomatoes that are not at their best, under ripe, over ripe and going a little wrinkled.
- Olive oil – good extra virgin with some flavour
- Dried herbs – try a Mediterranean blend such as this Italian seasoning or pizza seasoning. You can add a little chilli flake too.
- Garlic – roasting will mellow the flavour so add an extra clove or two if you love garlic.
- Pepper and salt – fresh ground black pepper and sea salt is great
- Balsamic vinegar or sugar (optional) – Perfect to sweeten underripe tomatoes
How to make confit tomatoes – step by step
Before you start, read my step-by-step instructions, with photos, hints and tips so you can make this perfectly every time.
Scroll down for the recipe card with quantities and more tips at the bottom of the page.
Step One – Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut in half. If you want to use bigger tomatoes, cut to the size of half a cherry tomato. Peel and chop the garlic.
Step Two – Put the tomatoes in a roasting tin with enough depth to hold the juices. If the pieces are more than two or three layers, use a larger pan.
Drizzle over the oil, herbs, pepper and salt, as well as the balsamic and sugar if using.
Put the dish into the air fryer basket and cook at 150°C (300°F).
Step Three – Cook for 15 minutes, stirring once, half way through.
Step Four – When cooked, the tomatoes will have decreased in size by about half their volume and the juices will have formed a sauce.
To save juggling with tongs etc., I like to use a heat resistant glove to lift the dish out of the air fryer.
Step Five – Transfer your air fryer cherry tomatoes to a jar, cool and store in the fridge.
Serving suggestions
Allow your confit tomatoes to cool and eat as a salad, or as part of a mixed salad. They are good on a simple leaf salad, with the juice and oil mix incorporated into the dressing.
Enjoy on pasta or in a tomato sauce, where they give real depth of flavour.
Serve on bruschetta with fresh herbs.
Variations
- Add a little chilli for a spicy twist
- Vary the herbs to suit your mood
- If your tomatoes are underripe, or watery and flavourless add a dash of balsamic vinegar and a spoon of sugar.
Storage
Fridge – Once your air fryer tomatoes are cool, put a lid on the jar and keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
Freezer – Freeze in an open jar (make sure it can’t tip) and then put the lid on once frozen. Keep upright and defrost in the fridge when you are ready to use.
Hints and tips
- The recipe assumes cherry tomatoes, so if you want to use larger tomatoes, cut them down.
- You can easily double the quantities, but use a bigger pan as you don’t want the tomatoes to be more than 2” / 5cm deep at the start of cooking,
- I find a serrated knife best for cutting tomatoes without squashing them.
- An insulated glove is very helpful for getting the dish out of the fryer.
Which air fryer?
There are so many to choose from that it can be a little confusing. I currently use the Cosori 5.5L which has a basket about 8″ square and it suits my needs perfectly.
I nearly always cook for two. This air fryer will roast a medium chicken, and is easily big enough for everything I want to cook in it, without taking up too much space on the counter.
It will hold a 7″ square baking/roasting tray, and I can bake 9 cupcakes or scones at a time.
Since I bought it in July 2022, there are newer models but it remains ideal for my needs.
When buying, go as large as you can without going crazy, as you will use your air fryer almost daily once you get used to it.
FAQs
Yes, absolutely, as long as they are not going mouldy. This recipe is great for tomatoes that are past their best, or not quite ripe.
No! They will collapse if you attempt this, and peeling cherry tomatoes are far to fiddly anyway!
Whichever you like or have available. Very ordinary cherry tomatoes from the supermarket will be improved beyond measure by treating them like this, but you can use a delicious garden glut too.
Have fun with different colours if you like. A mix of red, yellow, orange and indigo cherry tomatoes would make pretty bruschetta.
More related recipes
- Tomato and mozzarella salad – an Italian classic
- Baked feta – feta baked with tomatoes and garlic for fabulous flavour
- Italian pasta salad – fresh and vibrant
Air fryer cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
- 250 g cherry tomatoes
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp mixed herbs
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp salt
Optional
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar (1)
- 2 tsp sugar (1)
Instructions
- Wash the tomatoes and cut in half. Peel and chop the garlic.250 g cherry tomatoes, 1-2 cloves garlic
- Put the tomatoes and garlic in a roasting tin, drizzle with the oil and add the herbs and seasoning.1 tbsp olive oil, ½ tsp mixed herbs, ½ tsp ground black pepper, ½ tsp salt
- Roast in the air fryer for 15 minutes at 150C /300F stirring half way through.
- When the tomatoes are about half their original size and broken down, and the juice is mixed with the oil, remove from the oven.
- Transfer to a jar and allow to cool before sealing with a lid and storing in the fridge.
Notes
- The recipe assumes cherry tomatoes, so if you want to use larger tomatoes, cut them down.
- You can easily double the quantities, but use a bigger pan as you don’t want the tomatoes to be more than 2” / 5cm deep at the start of cooking,
- I find a serrated knife best for cutting tomatoes without squashing them.
- An insulated glove is very helpful for getting the dish out of the fryer.
Tommy
Fabulous. Worked perfectly. 15 mins @ 150c in air fryer, lovely and soft and juicy ?
gwen randles
I haven`t tried the recipes yet hence no stars but i`m very interested in making cooked vegetables more appetizing and so am going to try using them warm?
Helen Best-Shaw
that are also delicious warm!