Fresh Tomato Recipes 🍅 for all those summer tomatoes!

Nothing beats the flavor of New England summer tomatoes! Us that garden bounty to make my favorite, from-scratch Fresh Tomato Recipes. From salsa to brunch to suppers, they're dishes your family will love.

Three heirloom tomatoes with text that says Fresh Tomato Recipes.

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From midsummer to late September, tomatoes rule! They dominate the garden, the roadside stands, and the farmer's markets. Tomatoes gleam in gorgeous shades of red, yellow, orange, and purple; they're large and small, perfectly round or delightfully misshapen.

Whether you're drawn to heirloom tomatoes, pint baskets of glowing cherry tomatoes, or behemoth beefsteak varieties, everyone has the same question at this time of the year—what can I do with these fresh tomatoes before they go bad??

I have my best tomato recipes that you must try! There are tomato dishes like fresh tomato salsa, a savory sauce, loaded sandwiches, a baked strata, and even a fruit and tomato salad.

In a nutshell... 🐿️

What this is: A collection of my favorite tomato recipes, to make the most of the New England summer harvest.
You'll love this part: Transform sun-soaked fresh tomatoes into salsas, my family's sauce recipe, sandwiches, suppers, and more.
How to use this collection: Scroll through the recipes and tap on the links to see complete instructions and ingredient lists. Save and bookmark your favorites!

Jump to:

New Englanders love their fresh tomatoes
Where to get fresh garden tomatoes
Fresh Tomatoes FAQs
Fresh Tomato Recipes 🍅
Fresh Tomato Salsas and Sauce
Fresh Tomato Salad Recipes
Fresh Tomato Brunch and Lunch Recipes
Fresh Tomato Supper Recipes
I was on the news!
Now, a tomato sing-along!
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New Englanders love their fresh tomatoes

The beautiful flavors of basil and sweet tomatoes come together in this cheesy tart!

The growing season in New England is short, so every year home gardeners here are seized with a feverish energy and urgency that begins as early as February.

Seed catalogs are eagerly thumbed, packets of seeds are ordered, then in April trays of dirt are set up in garages, closed-up sun porches, and ramshackle greenhouses. Seedlings are coaxed from the soil, and then with heartbreak, home gardeners pluck out the weakest so that the strongest little stems can thrive.

Finally, once Memorial Day comes around (or a week or two earlier for the impatient gardeners among us) the small plants are hardened off and planted in gardens and containers. The gardening season is off and running! Not a day will go by when home gardeners aren't out at their plants: fussing, watering, staking, battling bugs and viruses, and grinning happily over the first tiny veggies to emerge.

And the one crop that excites perhaps more than any other? The tomatoes. The peppery scent of the leaves, the sight of the shimmering orbs that transform from green to red, orange, yellow, and purple... exciting and indescribably rewarding.

In New England, we slice those fresh tomatoes into sandwiches, sometimes with nothing more than a little mayo and white bread. My grandmother Nancy use to set out a plate of sliced, fresh beefsteak tomatoes at lunchtime. All they had was the lightest sprinkle of salt over the cut surfaces, but they were always so delicious.

Fresh tomatoes are pureed into sauces, stewed until pulpy, diced into salsas, simmered up into my family's favorite chilli sauce, baked into egg and cheese stratas, and of course, canned so that we can keep eating them long into fall and winter.

Poor, sweet cherry and grape tomatoes never make more than a few inches from the plants; they're plucked and eaten all in one go.

The growing season in our neck of the woods is short, but so worth the time, dirt-covered hands, aching muscles, and even tears just to sink our teeth into those juicy, sun-soaked tomatoes.

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Where to get fresh garden tomatoes

Baking sheet with many slices of cherry tomatoes.

It's true that not everyone has the time or space to cultivate a big backyard garden full of tomato plants. Luckily, folks yearning to exercise their green thumbs who have only a small yard, porch, or even just a balcony have options to grow tomatoes in containers.

There are dozens of container tomato varieties available; at seed and plant-giant Burpee, these include BushSteak Hybrid, Bobcat, giant Atlas tomatoes, and countless grape and cherry tomato varieties like Baby Boomers.

And if you have no plans to start a garden? No worries! Even if you don't grow your own vegetables, here are ways and places you can still find fresh, locally grown tomatoes for your fresh tomato recipes:

More and more grocery stores are spotlighting local farmers, so check their produce aisles, and talk to the produce manager.
If you have a natural foods store or co-op in your town, they'll be sure to have a selection of locally grown and/or organic tomatoes.
Farmer's markets are one of the best places to find fresh tomatoes, as well as a bounty of other fresh vegetables, fruit, and herbs. Check the social media groups or message boards for your town to find them, or do a quick internet search.
Like clockwork, roadside and parking lot vegetable stands pop up as summertime kicks into full gear. Pull over and check out what they have!
The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture also has a directory to find locally grown food near you: click here to check it out.
And of course, there's the old-fashioned way to get your hands on fresh tomatoes: barter with a neighbor who has a glut of them in their garden!

Fresh Tomatoes FAQs

Do fresh tomatoes need to be refrigerated?

Whole fresh tomatoes should not be refrigerated, as this will cause them to turn mushy and have a grainy texture. Instead, store them in a bowl or on a tray on the counter at room temperature, away from direct sunlight. If you like, you can cover them with a dry, clean dish cloth. Use your fresh tomatoes within a week for the best flavor and texture.

Do sliced tomatoes need to be refrigerated?

Yes, once you have cut into a tomato, sliced or diced it, it will need to be refrigerated. Transfer the slices or diced tomatoes to a covered container. Store in the fridge for up to one week, but you'll have the best flavor and texture within a day or two of cutting them.

How do you store tomatoes in the freezer?

Tomatoes can be stored in the freezer either whole or cut. To freeze whole tomatoes, one option is to blanch them first: score an X into the bottoms of whole tomatoes. Spoon them into boiling water for about a minute, then immediately plunge them into an ice bath. Once they're cool, peel the skins from the tomatoes; discard the skins. Transfer the peeled tomatoes to sealed freezer bags and freeze them.
You can also just freeze them with the skins on; once they thaw, the skins will be loose enough to peel away after cutting the tomatoes.
Another option is to dice or puree the tomatoes before freezing them. Frozen tomatoes can last up to one year. Once thawed they'll be very soft, so it's best to use them in cooked dishes, sauces, or casseroles.

How do you preserve tomatoes in jars?

This is one of the best-loved ways of making summer tomatoes last long after summer is over! Long-term storage of tomatoes, tomato sauces, and tomato relishes in jars is also known as canning or hot-water-bath canning. The tomatoes are ladled into mason jars, sealed with metal lids and rings, and then processed in a large pot of hot water to create a vacuum seal.

It's very important that foods preserved by hot water bath canning are acidic enough to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving says that even though tomatoes are fairly acidic, they still need additional acids like vinegar, lemon juice, or citric acid to be safely canned.

It's best to follow a trusted canning recipe and canning instructions for your tomatoes, to be sure you're doing it correctly—the Ball Mason Jar website is a great place to find both!

Are tomatoes a fruit or a vegetable?

Even though tomatoes star in so many savory dishes, from spaghetti sauce to pizza to soup, tomatoes are actually a fruit! The Old Farmer's Almanac explains that botanically, tomatoes are considered fruits because they develop from the fertilized ovary of a flower and because they contain seeds. Other vegetables that are actually fruits are pumpkins, zucchini, and cucumbers.