Where are you at with summer cooking? Because I’m at level: marinated tomatoes. Which is conveniently low maintenance AND extremely juicy and delicious and I probably won’t stop anytime soon.
I don’t mean like I’m making marinated tomatoes and having it as a side dish (although you go right ahead – if you’re fancy enough to have side dishes right now, don’t let me stop you).
I mean like, for the day to day, the extent of my entire “cooking” is a bowl of tomatoes that hang out for a little soak time in some garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and some fresh herbs.
What you get is a tomato salad of sorts – one that is swimming in tomato juices and olive oil and infused with garlic and herbs.
And oh, did we already establish that it takes about five seconds to make? Great.
It is my gold medal summer recipe right now.
Here are some ways you can use marinated tomatoes to make yourself feel as though you’ve cooked something really wonderful, when in fact, you’ve been sitting around enjoying the nice weather instead, like the good summer person you are:
- Spooned over grilled chicken or shrimp.
- Scooped onto your avocado toast.
- Sopped up with a slice of golden toasted, crusty bread thick with butter and salt. Because the bread with THE GARLICKY TOMATO JUICES. Wahhh. So good.
- Tossed with some raw corn cut straight off the cob in this Corn and Avocado Quinoa Salad.
- Assembled over a pre-made bag mix salad. Kinda like this.
- Eaten straight, in a bowl, alongside salt and pepper ruffle chips. It’s summer, let me live.
Marinated tomatoes. Tonight. Make it happen.
Check Out Our Video For How To Make Marinated Tomatoes:
5-Ingredient Marinated Tomatoes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2–3 cups 1x
Description
5-Ingredient Marinated Tomatoes! The best summer staple. Fresh tomatoes, punchy lemon juice, grated garlic, a little bit of olive oil, and herbs and salt to make it sing. YES.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 pound cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 1 clove garlic, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced herbs (I like parsley)
- salt to taste (I use about 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt)
Instructions
- Toss tomatoes, grated garlic, olive oil, vinegar, herbs, and salt together in a small bowl. You’re done.
- Now just let the marinated tomatoes get real yummy. Give them 2-3 hours minimum to just rest in the fridge, but you can also let them soak in all that goodness for up to 24 hours, especially if your tomatoes were sturdy to begin with, and/or if you’ll be mixing them into other things like a salad. Bring them back to room temperature for ideal serving conditions!
Equipment
Notes
Tomato Options: You can also use whole beefsteak tomatoes and just cut them into slices.
Acid Options: I have used white vinegar, red wine vinegar, and lemon juice all with very delicious results.
Timing: For longer marinating times, sometimes the oil will congeal a bit in the fridge. This should be resolved by just bringing it back to room temperature.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: marinated tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, summer recipe, summer tomato recipe, tomato season, basil
