35+ Flavor-Packed Cherry Tomato Recipes

This simple, tasty salad from Abra Berens' Ruffage is summer in a bowl.

Lunch: Keep hunger pangs away with these healthy and delicious dishes! 150 calories and under. Lose weight the 5:2 way. This healthy recipe is featured in the lunch section of the new 5:2 Starter's Guide to The 2-Day Diet. The book provides a selection of over 100 tasty recipes that meet the daily 500 calorie allotment for the 2 days of intermittent fasting, as required by the 5:2 Diet.

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This twist on chicken piccata has the traditional sauce made from butter, lemon juice, capers, and white wine, but gets a burst of summery flavor from blistered tomatoes. Avoid over-stirring the cherry tomatoes in the hot pan; you want them to brown and caramelize. Use your favorite dry white wine in the recipe, and serve the rest with dinner.

This blistered cherry tomato pasta (with delicous prosciutto and asiago, of course) is everything a quick and easy pasta should be. We love how all the ingredients work together to create a wonderful textural experience. Hungry for more? Check out Our Best One-Pot Pasta Recipes Ever and Our Favorite Cozy Pasta Casseroles next. 

Everything about this stunner of a salad screams summer. Visit your local farmers’ market, favorite roadside produce stand, or get your hands on a CSA to bring this seasonal salad to life with the freshest flavors possible. With a variety of vibrant flavors and textures—all tied together with an addictive Herbed Avocado-Tahini Dressing—this dish puts a standard salad to shame. You’ll be sure to turn heads with this beauty at your next family cook out or weekend block party; of course, it’s totally worth making all for yourself, too… because it’s just that good, and you deserve it. 

Give another grain a try. One of the most common staple grains in other parts of the world, millet (available from Bob's Red Mill) is a naturally gluten-free whole grain. Its nutty corn flavor pairs well with tart cherry tomatoes, thyme, and Parmesan in this easy side. Cooking the millet in a little butter until it's fragrant and golden is worth the extra couple minutes to bring out the toasty grain flavor. Serve with seared scallops or top with a poached egg and round out your plate with a baby kale salad.

You can make this without the shrimp. Sauté garlic in the skillet as directed, and add the pasta water and parsley, omitting shrimp. If you omit the shrimp, also toss in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese. Roasting cherry tomatoes intensifies their flavor without a lot of fuss to make this spaghetti easy and full of flavor. 

You don’t have to wait for cold weather to enjoy a satisfying bowl of soup. Gazpacho is a refreshingly chilled, summer soup, usually made with a pureed mixture of fresh tomatoes and other garden vegetables, olive oil, breadcrumbs garlic. You can even stir in cold shrimp or crab to make this a more complete meal.  The gazpacho is even better when prepared one day ahead and stored in the refrigerator, which allows the flavors more time to blend.

Serve with grilled flank steak or chicken breasts, and you'll have a fantastic weeknight dinner. Use asparagus that are medium-thick for this recipe--not pencil-thin spears.

Because the oil picks up the flavors of the garlic and thyme, a milder, less expensive oil works best.

Smaller tomatoes, like cherry or grape, have brighter, fruitier flavors than larger ones. Look for colorful selections such as the orange Sun Gold and the purple Black Cherry. Cherry tomatoes need only a few minutes in a hot pan before they soften and release their naturally sweet juices. For the best flavor, use fresh shrimp, not frozen, and don’t overcook them, or the shrimp will become tough. Tarragon’s anise notes complement the cherry tomatoes and cream, but you can substitute basil or oregano.

Grilled Pompano with Salsa Verde and Marinated Cherry Tomatoes image

One pan, a handful of ingredients, and 30 minutes are all you need to put this impressive pork chop skillet dinner on the table. This flavor-packed, single-skillet supper is an easy dinner for two that feels like something special. It’s also an ideal recipe for one, as the leftover chop and veggies reheat well for a next-day lunch worth looking forward to. 

This recipe gives you all the favorite flavors of a baked pasta dish without heating up the oven. Round out this easy weeknight meal with a simple and satisfying dessert. When a recipe calls for a small amount of an ingredient, such as the cup of arugula in this recipe, save money and buy what you need from the salad bar at your grocery store instead of purchasing an entire package.

Slender haricots verts need little embellishment. Here they're tossed with a good dose of cherry tomatoes and mushrooms. Once it's cooked, the flavor mellows considerably. If you can't find the tiny French green beans, substitute regular green beans and increase the cook time in boiling water to five minutes to ensure they're done.

Greg DuPree

Spaghetti with Clams and Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes makes an elegant dinner for entertaining. Spaghetti dressed with clams is a Southern italian classic, and tomatoes contribute a contemporary addition.

Layers of eggplant, melted cheese, and grilled tomatoes stack up for a satisfying meal on meatless Monday (or any night of the week). Serve with crusty grilled bread and a crisp green salad.

Wine pairing: An earthy, lively red like Imagery Estate 2013 Sangiovese (Sonoma County; $42).

Congratulations—You just found your new go-to pasta salad! This veggie-packed beauty is nice and filling, thanks to meaty eggplant. If you can’t find burrata, simply tear 6 ounces of fresh mozzarella into bite-size pieces. Heading to a potluck? Feel free to make this recipe ahead of time; just be sure to let it come to room temperature and toss with an extra drizzle of vinegar and oil before serving. Add a few tablespoons of chopped fresh basil leaves for an extra layer of flavor.

A Caprese salad—tomatoes, basil, and fresh mozzarella cheese—is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to show off peak-season Southern-grown tomatoes. Give this salad a fun new look by using a mix of multicolored cherry tomatoes and small fresh mozzarella balls (also called “bocconcini”) tossed in a simple vinaigrette. The dressing calls for white balsamic vinegar—regular balsamic vinegar will taste fine, but will turn the cheese brown—but you can use white wine vinegar instead. While we love the look of this side dish on a pretty platter, you can also skewer the ingredients to make Caprese kebabs. Either way, Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad is best served at room temperature (not straight from the refrigerator) when the tomatoes are juicy and the cheese is soft.

This hearty condiment can stand up to just about anything, from charred flank steak to grilled halibut. If you can’t find Castelvetrano olives, pick out the mildest green olives you can find.

Popping up in more grocery stores these days, shishito peppers are a mild, thin-skinned pepper that have a secret—about one in eight has a surprising kick of heat. For a milder dish, substitute mini bell peppers.

This recipe will remind you of how good a pork chop can be. While the pork chops roast in the oven, the savory pan gravy comes together quickly on the stove-top, making a company-worthy meal in under an hour. You can easily swap out the green beans for thin asparagus spears or sliced zucchini for a personalized dish.

Our Weeknight Hummus Bowl makes a perfect healthy, bright, feel-good dinner that’s still super satisfying. Plus, the leftovers make a great lunch or savory breakfast. Using pre-made hummus shaves off some time. We like Ithaca’s hummus, but you can use your preferred brand or even make your own hummus. For less jammy yolk, cook the eggs for 8 to 10 minutes instead of 6. You can add, substitute, or omit toppings to your liking, depending on what’s in season and whether you’d like to make a more protein-rich meal with meat, beans, or feta. Go ahead and cook some extra eggs for breakfast or a snack, and eat leftover hummus with crudité or chips.

What’s the secret for a pasta salad everyone will want to try? Homemade ranch dressing. Here’s your brand new go-to side for a backyard barbecue, potluck, or picnic. People in the test kitchen liked this Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad so much they were taking it home, and we’re thinking it had something to do with our perfectly herby and garlicky ranch that coated the veggies and pasta perfectly. Speaking of dressing, save some on the side for serving, especially if the pasta salad will rest in the fridge for a while—sauces have a tendency to thicken up when cool. Serve with burgers, grilled chicken, ribs, or whatever else you’d grill in your backyard.

There are so many ways to enjoy fresh summer tomatoes. Tossed into main dish salads, sliced and baked on top of a pizza, stuffed with chicken salad, etc., the list is endless. Cute and tasty cherry tomatoes are also delicious when pickled. Yep, that’s right, pickled cherry tomatoes. Start with this quick and easy Master Pickle Brine. With just four simple ingredients, rice vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, and salt, you can create a pickle that would make your Grandmother proud. Choose a colorful mixture of red and yellow cherry tomatoes and remove any stems and leaves. Divide them between two pickling jars and add an aromatic rosemary sprig to each jar. Now it’s time to make the brine. Combine all the ingredients along with 1 cup of water and, before you heat the mixture, add the black peppercorns and garlic cloves. Bring the mixture to a boil, and keep it rolling until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the brine from the heat and let it cool down, then divide the mixture between the two jars. (One of them can get two garlic cloves!) Cover the jars with a lid, seal tightly, and chill at least two days before serving. You can keep these in the refrigerator for up to two months. Since you are not storing these pickles on the pantry shelf you don’t need to use a water bath.

Sweet, sour, salty, and a bit spicy, with some tomato to prevent it from going too fruity, this condiment is delicious wherever you would put regular ketchup. It's especially good on sweet potato fries, pork dishes, and chicken wings, and could be the base of a really fantastic barbecue sauce.

This simple baked chicken packs a ton of flavor atop a nice, toasty mixture of beans, tomatoes, and herbs. Since the chicken cooks on top of the vegetables, its juice add to the sauciness of the burst, roasted tomatoes, the buttery olives, and the tender creamy beans. A little bit of lemon zest makes a lovely finish. The entire combination is just as satisfying as it is visually pleasing, especially faro or another grain. This dinner is easy but has a grown-up feel, and the combined ingredients are meant to be together. If you like, you can add in or substitute other olives or vegetables such as Brussels sprouts and onions—whatever fits your palate. 

This pasta salad with chicken and fresh vegetables makes a quick and delicious summer dinner and an even better lunch for the next day. Get a jump on meal planning and prep this recipe a day in advance. Make and refrigerate the basil vinaigrette (shake it well before dressing the salad). Mix the tortellini, shredded rotisserie chicken, tomatoes, black-eyed peas, and corn in a large bowl; cover and refrigerate. When you are ready to serve the salad, dress the tortellini mixture with the dressing, stir in arugula, and top with toasted pecans. Get in the habit of toasting nuts every time you use them; toasting adds a depth of flavor and a wonderful aroma, as well as improving the texture of nuts so they stay crisp on top of salads or baked into breads and cookies. Toast several cups of nuts at one time, store in freezer-safe containers in the freezer, then pull out the amount you need when cooking. This salad recipe works well with whatever vegetables you have in your refrigerator or garden. Zucchini and yellow squash, bell peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and blanched snow peas are delicious dressed with the basil vinaigrette; just use your imagination. If arugula isn’t available, use baby spinach leaves, instead. Keep a bottle of the basil vinaigrette in the refrigerator this summer and, along with dressing your favorite greens use it over grilled chicken and fish.