These Rosemary and Garlic Pickled Cherry Tomatoes are insanely easy to make and are a great way to preserve your cherry tomato harvest and create a taste sensation for your salad.
I have three out of control cherry tomato plants this year. Unfortunately with cherry tomatoes you get a whole bunch all ripe at once. And I am not letting a single one of those ripe red beauties go to waste. You can make one jar for yourself, or a bunch of them to share your harvest.
Grape tomatoes can be used in place of the cherry tomatoes, and you could use different herbs, like oregano or basil, instead. I went with rosemary because my tomatoes happen to be planted in between my two huge rosemary bushes.
If you can boil water, you can make these. Seriously! All you do is boil some water, vinegar and salt then pour it over the tomatoes in your jars. Let them sit for 24 hours or more and that's it!
You do not have to seal the jars on these if that intimidates you, but then you will have to keep the jars in the refrigerator. But, water bath canning is so easy you might just want to give it a try so you can keep these for eating later in the year ... or so you can ship a jar off to your baby brother on the other side of the country who was run over by his own car (don't ask...). Get more info from the pros at Ball if you are new to canning.
Throw them in a salad, or on an antipasto plate, or in a sandwich, or sneak them straight from the jar late at night... hey, I was just taste testing them for the blog, repeatedly, uh... to make sure the flavor didn't change, yeah that's it!
Give these a try and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
Pickled Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
- ½ cup white vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1 quart cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and sliced into two long halves)
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (length should be approximately the same as the jar)
Instructions
- Combine salt, vinegars and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove stems and wash the tomatoes. Gently prick tomato skins twice on opposite sides to prevent skin from cracking.
- Pack tomatoes in hot sterilized jars (two pints or four 1-cup jelly). Add one half of garlic half way and the other clove on top.
- Ladle vinegar over tomatoes to ¼ inch line. Add a rosemary sprig to each jar.
- If sealing jars: run a knife along the inside edge of the jars to remove ALL air bubbles. Finger tighten the lid.
- Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes starting your timer as soon as you put the jars in. Leaving them longer will cause the tomatoes to pop.
- If you are not sealing the jars, let cool to room temperature, put on lids and store in refrigerator.
Notes
Winnie
I LOVE cherry tomatoes, and I'd like to try this. Pickled tomatoes with rosemary and garlic sounds GREAT!!
Thanks for the recipe and thanks for hosting another party 🙂
Audrey
thanks for stopping by, Winnie. Those Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies you shared look amazing! Off to read the recipe.
Malia @ Small Town Girl
I can and grow cherry tomatoes but I've never thought to pickle them! This is a great idea! I love this! If I have a big enough harvest, I will have to try it!
Audrey
I planted 3 this year just to make sure at least one survived. Two went completely crazy!
Audrey
However my green beans STILL aren't producing actual beans - loads of flowers, so I am still hopeful. Off to pin your recipe with the hopes I will have plenty to can.
Bobbie Renken
I just canned this recipe. I pricked each side of the tomato. They all popped.
Heather S
Mine too
ARV
Someone else suggested running them through with a skewer.
I think the issue is that cherry tomatoes can be different sizes and have differing thickness of skins which can have an effect on if they burst or not. I wish I had a better answer. But, the good news is they still taste delicious even if they don't look as pretty.
Heather N
I used the metal pointed end of my meat thermometer and poked through the stem end; none of them popped! They turned out great!
Audrey
Thanks for the tip. I am glad you liked them.
Ashley Tukiainen
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing on FTAF
Eline
Hi there, this sounds interesting and I’d love to make it! However, I can’t find a conversion from a quart of uncooked tomatoes to grams. Could you help me with that? Or even to ounces or cups. Then I’ll probably be able to find the weight in grams. Thanks
Audrey
Weight is not critical for this recipe, volume is more important (how much space they take up in the jar). You can just fill the jars with the cherry tomatoes then pour the pickling brine on top. You may end up with extra brine or need to boil a little more to fill a jar.
There is no definitive answer to your question because there are many variables like the size of the tomatoes, do they have stems, etc. A few ideas to help:
- the little green baskets that cherry tomatoes are often sold in are considered 1 pint
- if the container says weight instead, the 12 ounces (340 grams) ones look to be about a pint so you want at least 2 to make a quart.
Hope that helps.
Tracy
I made this recipe this summer. They are delicious!!! Also tried batches with sweet basil and one with dill instead of rosemary. All were good. Great recipe for those millions of cherry tomatoes!!
Audrey
Oh, dill would be tasty and how about fennel? Now I want to plant some more cherry tomatoes and make these again.
Heather S
Just made these and none of my lids pinged. I have been canning for years and this is the first time this has happended to me. Any thoughts woould be most appreciated.
Audrey
There are a number of reasons lids might not seal properly: there was something on the rim of the jar, the lids are old, the lids weren't tightened enough, the contents over flowed.
When it happens to me, I let them cool, clean the lids and rims of the jar and try again.
Meg
If I hot process them for 10 minutes how long can I store them in the fridge.
For the lady who just pricked them - try running a skewer all the way thru. That worked for me.
ARV
You only need to hot process them if you are going to seal the cans for storage outside of the fridge. If you make a small batch and store in the fridge skip that step. I have no idea how long they will last, because in my fridge they are gone in a day or two.
The skewer trick might work. I think the issue is that cherry tomatoes can be different sizes and have thicker skins which can have an effect on if they burst or not.
Amanda
How does the processing time work with higher elevations? Normailly I have to add 5 minutes to canning recipes based of the elevation where I live. Would it be the same with this recipe?
Audrey
You would adjust it like you would for any water bath canning recipe. According to Ball (freshpreserving.com):
For Boiling Water Processing
If you are boiling at an altitude higher than 1,000 feet above sea level, adjust boiling water processing time as indicated.
Altitude Feet Increase Processing Time
1,001- 3,000 5 minutes
3,001- 6,000 10 minutes
6,001- 8,000 15 minutes
8,001-10,000 20 minutes
Stephanie
Can these be done in quarts? I'm out of pint jars! About how long would you water bath them?
Audrey
I understand the dilemma, I am always running out of pint jars. You could do them in quart jars, I assume. Maybe 5 more minutes? But as you might see from the comments, some people had the tomatoes pop even in the shorter cooking time.
Dorothy at ShockinglyDelicious.com
In about a minute I'm going to be inundated with cherry tomatoes, so thank you for this!
Debra
Do you recommend waiting a week or month to allow the herbs to flavor the tomatoes?
Audrey
The flavor will probably deepen if you let them sit for a week or longer. I thought they were delicious the next day, and they didn't last too long after that.
Inger @ Art of Natural Liivng
Beautiful recipe--esp with all the cherry tomatoes out now! I ate something like this at a CSA party and have wanted to make it ever since.
Kathleen Pope
My cherry tomato plants are going nuts, definitely going to be using this recipe!
Rebecca
I'm excited to give this recipe a try. I'm always nervous trying to process jars but you gave such great instructions I think I'll give it a try
Ellen
I like that you mentioned using them on an antipasto plate. They would absolutely be perfect!
Patti
I loved the idea but this is what I’ve got … separation . The tomatoes on top the liquid below … any idea why?
Audrey
The tomatoes may still have a little air in them causing them to float. My guess is they will absorb the liquid and sink down into the liquid more. I'd flip the jar over every day or to just to make sure the top tomatoes are still in the liquid. If they look or smell funny when you open the jar- toss them.
Terri
Well I forgot to prick them! If they burst, can they still be used??
Audrey
Yes! They just might not look as pretty if they burst, but they are still delicious and completely edible.
Radha
Pickled tomatoes! I am in! I would love to try this recipe and I know I will love it.
Lyncie Radford
Can I add more then 1 spices to them? Like more Italian seasoning? Or would it over power them? R they good to eat like Bruschetta?
Audrey
A blend of herbs would be great in this. If you don't have fresh add dried. The usual ratio is 1/3 dried for 1 fresh, but here it doesn't have to be exact since it is going in the brine. They'd add a little vinegary punch to bruschetta which sounds delicious to me.
Loviisa
Thank you for the recepy, I'l try these next summer for sure! My tip for sealing the jars, and this works for any jam, juice or pickle, is to close the lids as soon as you have put the hot liquid in the jar. You need to boil the lids in water first, to desinfect them, so mind your fingers not to burn them. When the liquid in the jar cools, the lid will click when it seals it self. Lovely sound 😄. The lids must be air-tight and jars must be filled to fully for this to work.
Audrey
I have heard this will work. Personally, I still prefer to follow the USDA guidelines and process the jars in boiling water to ensure food safety.
You do you!
Jennifer
We love all things pickled in my house!! This looks great! And an great easy way to use up bountiful produce!
I wonder if the tomatoes are bursting because of the very small 1/4" headspace. I've always used 1/2" for anything other than jelly. That might give a little more room for expansion.
Audrey
Thanks for the suggestion. Next time I make them I will give it a try.
Jennifer
This recipe says salt but is that regular salt or pickling salt?
Audrey
I've always just used table salt.
Diane Schmidt
My daughter loves loves loves tomatoes. I'm going to surprise her with these. Any suggestions on uses for them I can include with the batch? Thank you, Diane
Audrey
A few ideas:
add to salads
put them on sandwiches
add in a dish along with a cheese plate /charcuterie board
basically any place you'd consider using fresh cherry tomatoes or pickles.