Got too many cherry tomatoes? Make this easy Tomato Confit recipe! You'll get delicious little tomato bites that are concentrated in flavor and absolutely divine. Tomato confit is so so good on crostini as an appetizer or turned into a pasta sauce! Read the blog post for lots more serving ideas.
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What is tomato confit?
Tomato confit is a dish of tomatoes slow cooked in olive oil. The tomatoes gently simmer (they're not deep fried!) and their flavor intensifies, making the tomatoes buttery soft, deliciously sweet, and very rich in flavor. Tomato confit can be made in the oven, stovetop, or air fryer. In this recipe, I'll give you directions for making tomato confit in the air fryer and oven.
Traditionally, the "confit" cooking method is used for pork or duck, but I've been playing around with various plant-based confit recipes, like my air fryer garlic confit, and this tomato confit. Definitely worth trying!
How to serve tomato confit
- As an appetizer on toasted baguette, crostini, or crackers. Season generously with sea salt or flavored salt, and add a fresh basil leaf. Or drizzle some hot honey on top. Or some balsamic glaze.
- On cottage cheese toast.
- Spread on top of a baguette over some burrata, or ricotta cheese. Whipped goat cheese would be amazing too. The creamy + tomato combination is out-of-this-world delicious!!
- Try it over pesto on a baguette (similar to my pesto and burst tomato crostini).
- Stir some into plain Greek yogurt or cottage cheese for a savory bowl.
- Spooned over rice or over grilled chicken.
- As a pizza topping.
- Blended with the oil and served as a sauce over pasta. Don't forget to add fresh basil and some salt for seasoning! Add a dollop of ricotta or a touch of heavy cream for some creaminess.
You can strain out some of the oil if you don't want a drippy tomato confit. Use a slotted spoon or a colander to do this. Or if you want a saucier mix, leave it as is! Be prepared with extra napkins because it makes for a deliciously messy appetizer!
If you're straining the oil out, make sure to save the oil in a jar and use it later. It's great as an addition to pasta sauce, for sautéing eggs, for making a vinaigrette, or drizzling over salad.
If you enjoy making fancy-pants appetizers such as this cherry tomato confit, then you should also check out my pesto butter, fried enoki mushrooms, and fried brie. These are definitely some wow-worthy appetizers!
More crostini appetizers: Creamy Seafood Spread Crostini
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or make as much as you like), washed clean
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed with a side of a large knife. You can also slice the garlic if you prefer.
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or thyme (optional)
- ½ - 1 cup olive oil, depending on the size/shape of your dish
- sea salt, for serving. Make sure to read the serving ideas above for more ideas!
Equipment
- You'll need a medium baking dish for this recipe, large enough to lay the tomatoes in a single layer. You don't want a dish too wide though because you'll need the olive oil to come up halfway up the tomatoes. I have this Corningware set and one of the containers was perfect!
- A slotted spoon helps get the tomatoes from the oil once they're cooked
Instructions
Preheat oven to 300F.
Arrange the tomatoes in your baking dish in a single layer. Add the crushed garlic and rosemary sprig. Add the olive oil, enough to cover the tomatoes halfway or about ¾ of the way. Gently push the garlic and rosemary under the oil.
Bake at 300F for 1 hour to 90 minutes, or until the tomatoes burst and are softened.
Carefully remove from oven and allow to cool until it is not hot to the touch. Now you have some options: use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes to a serving dish (reserve the oil for something else), mush or blend everything together into a sauce (it'll be oily but so delish!), or cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Season generously with sea salt to serve, and make sure to look at the serving suggestions above!
More crostini appetizers: Whipped Blue Cheese with Roasted Grapes
Air fryer cherry tomato confit
To make this in the air fryer, place your prepared baking dish in the air fryer basket or try and air fry at 275F for 25-35 minutes, or until the tomatoes are burst, softened, and cooked to your liking.
AIR FRYER WARNING: Check on the tomatoes regularly to make sure that the oil is not splashing and that the tomatoes are not browning or burning. All air fryers cook differently and some splash oil around. If the tomatoes are browning too soon, lower the temperature to 250F.
How to store tomato confit
If you're planning on serving the tomato confit the same day that you make it, you can keep it out at room temperature (assuming your room temperature is closer to 70F than 80F) until ready to serve.
If you're making it advance or have leftovers, transfer to a dish with a lid or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days. The oil will solidify and turn cloudy in the fridge, so just let the container come to room temperature before serving.
If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!
Cherry Tomato Confit
Ingredients
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes - (or make as much as you want), washed clean. You can also use grape tomatoes or cocktail tomatoes
- 2-3 cloves garlic - crushed with a side of a large knife. You can also slice the garlic if you prefer
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or thyme - (optional)
- ½ - 1 cup olive oil - depending on the size/shape of your dish
- sea salt - for serving. Make sure to read the serving ideas above for more ideas!
Special equipment
- Medium baking dish - it needs to be big enough to arrange the tomatoes in a single layer but not too big so you don't waste extra olive oil. I used a dish from this Corningware set.
- Slotted spoon - for removing tomatoes from the olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F.
- Arrange the tomatoes in your baking dish in a single layer. Add the crushed garlic and rosemary sprig. Add the olive oil, enough to cover the tomatoes halfway or about ¾ of the way. Gently push the garlic and rosemary under the oil.
- Bake at 300F for 1 hour to 90 minutes, or until the tomatoes burst and are softened to your liking.
- Carefully remove from oven and allow to cool until it is not hot to the touch. Now you have some options: use a slotted spoon to transfer the tomatoes to a serving dish (reserve the oil for something else!), mush or blend everything together into a sauce (it'll be oily but so delish!), or cover and keep refrigerated until ready to serve.Sprinkle generously with sea salt to serve, and make sure to read the blog post for lots of serving ideas!
- If you liked this recipe, don't forget to give it a star rating and pin it on Pinterest!
- Place your prepared baking dish in the air fryer basket or try and air fry at 275F for 25-35 minutes, or until the tomatoes are burst, softened, and cooked to your liking.AIR FRYER WARNING: Check on the tomatoes regularly to make sure that the oil is not splashing and that the tomatoes are not browning or burning. All air fryers cook differently and some splash oil around. If the tomatoes are browning too soon, lower the temperature to 250F.Follow the instructions above to cool and serve the tomato confit.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.