Food Cooking Tips & Techniques 11 Fresh Tomato Recipes to Use Up Your Best Heirloom Varieties Don't let a single one of these superstars go to waste. By Chris Malloy Updated on February 20, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Each year, tomato lovers wait impatiently for their brief season to swing back around. And once the summer sun has finally ripened the fruit to perfection, we load our grocery bags with tomatoes of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Then we get cooking—or enjoy them raw. But heat changes a tomato, as does salt, spice, how you slice them, and the addition of contrasting textures. Each slight touch casts tomatoes in a new light. The good news is that fresh tomatoes don't need much fuss. These minimal preparations reflect that—and will showcase the best ways to use fresh tomatoes (without compromising their flavor). And if you still have some left, make sure to store any leftover tomatoes with care (wasting even a single one is tragic). 01 of 11 Easy Homemade Mild Salsa Cara Cormack Plum tomatoes, which are known for their texture, are the best type to use for this recipe. You decide on the heat level: The white seeds inside the jalapeño will really kick it up a notch if desired. Get the recipe: Easy Homemade Mild Salsa 02 of 11 Sliced-Tomato Salad With Dill Pickle Relish Vinaigrette Caitlin Bensel You can savor a tomato in its simplest beauty in a few ways. Freshly picked and plain, for example, or right off the vine sprinkled with salt. Or you can drizzle a tangy dressing over thick slabs of heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers for this fresh and tasty salad. Get the recipe: Sliced-Tomato Salad With Dill Pickle Relish Vinaigrette 03 of 11 Tomato-Burrata Toasts Greg DuPree Introducing a bit of Mediterranean sunshine: Salt and a healthy glug of your best olive oil lets the flavors of fresh tomatoes really speak. When going for a simple tomato snack this summer, mix up this tomato salad—and serve it with garlic-rubbed bread, fresh oregano, and creamy burrata cheese. Get the recipe: Tomato-Burrata Toasts 04 of 11 Hummus, Tomato, and Feta Pita Pizzas Johnny Miller Fresh cherry tomatoes join hummus, Feta, herbs, and shallot dressing as toppings in this tasty pita dish. Add a side of arugula with the same dressing, and you've got a healthy meal that works either as a lunch or a light dinner. Get the recipe: Hummus, Tomato, and Feta Pita Pizzas With Arugula Salad 05 of 11 Heirloom Tomato and Herb BLT Heami Lee Just back from the farmer's market with the juiciest, most beautiful tomatoes of the season? Then it's time to let your tomatoes take center stage, and this hearty-enough-for-dinner sandwich is just the recipe to do it. Get the recipe: Heirloom Tomato & Herb BLTs 06 of 11 Fancy Tomato Sandwiches Greg DuPree For this recipe, combine garden-fresh tomatoes with cheese like Gruyère or Comté between two slices of a crisp and doughy baguette. Then top it off with fried onions and arugula, which add more flavor and texture. Get the recipe: Fancy Tomato Sandwiches 07 of 11 Tomato-Feta Dip Victor Protasio The cherry tomatoes in this recipe are broiled, which brings out their juicy, sweet flavor and blends beautifully with the salty feta cheese. Warm pita, crispy crostini, or fresh veggies can all complement this delicious dip. Get the recipe: Tomato-Feta Dip 08 of 11 Chard and Herb Frittata With Cherry Tomatoes Greg DuPree This frittata already benefits from the antioxidant power of Swiss chard. Then you add the tomatoes tossed with herbs and oil, which serve as a fresh and flavorful topping to this dish. Get the recipe: Chard and Herb Frittata With Cherry Tomatoes 09 of 11 Fresh Tomato Sauce Marcus Nilsson Long-simmered tomato sauce expresses a delicious umami flavor, a spirit satisfying in its concentration. But red sauce made from fresh tomatoes? Different entirely. There is a clean lightness to sauce made from fresh tomatoes, a fragile quality that reminds you of the season's brevity and that the fruit grew from a garden or farm vine. Get the recipe: Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs 10 of 11 Linguini with Tomato Sauce Lisa Cohen Talk about a simple tomato recipe! The only ingredients you need here—besides tomatoes, of course—are olive oil and garlic. The fresh tomato flavor is sure to be the star of the dish. Get the recipe: Linguine With Tomato Sauce 11 of 11 Fried Green Tomatoes Lisa Hubbard Green tomatoes are firm and acidic. These are qualities made for hot oil and breading, making fried green tomatoes a summer staple. (An added bonus is those green tomatoes are usually a few bucks a pound cheaper.) Slice unripe tomatoes into rounds, dredge them in breading, and fry them in a cast iron skillet for a hot snack or the filling of a sandwich. Get the recipe: Fried Green Tomatoes Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit