Marinated cherry tomatoes are a colorful, juicy and tasty side dish that is perfect for summer parties, buffets and large gatherings because it can be made hours in advance! This is one of our favorite cherry tomato recipes!
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This recipe has just 4 ingredients and the process couldn’t be easier! I hesitate to call it a ‘recipe’, but we all need quick and easy side dishes when we’d rather not be doing heavy cooking in summer.
P.S. We have included Amazon affiliate links below for our favorite tools used to make this recipe.
One of our readers, Olga, wrote in and shared this idea for these marinated cherry tomatoes. She takes it a step further; blanching and peeling the tomatoes before marinating. We equally loved them peeled or unpeeled so we are sharing the unpeeled easier method; just slice them in half and you are ready to roll! Thank you Olga for sharing this treasure of a recipe!
Ingredients for Cherry Tomato Recipe:
We used the 2 lb pack of multi-colored baby tomatoes at Costco, but any cherry or even grape-sized tomatoes would work well in this recipe.
Which Italian Dressing is Best?
We used “Ken’s Steakhouse” LIGHT Italian dressing and loved that it had a little bit of parmesan in the ingredients. Olga who shared this recipe uses a “Zesty Italian” dressing. You can experiment and use YOUR favorite Italian dressing but I would suggest using one that is clearer in appearance (NOT CREAMY). You still want the color of your Italian marinated tomatoes to pop without disappearing into the marinade. If you have an option, select “Light” which will have less oil and more uniform marinating and is also less likely to solidify if refrigerated.
How to Make Italian Marinated Cherry Tomatoes:
1. Rinse cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. It is easiest to slice with a serrated knife and I slice them through the center because they look prettier.
2. Add the sliced tomatoes to a glass mixing bowl or container (or right into a quart-sized glass jar with lid). Add the chopped parsley and garlic then pour over 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Italian dressing or just enough to barely cover the tomatoes. Stir and cover to marinate.
How Long should I Marinate Tomatoes?
The tomatoes will be more flavorful the longer they sit and need a bare minimum marinating time of 2 hours. I cover and leave these on the counter at room temperature for 4 hours and serve – you will want to chill them after that if there are leftovers. They keep very well refrigerated overnight.
If you have leftover tomatoes or want to serve them with breakfast, try serving them as bruschetta. All you need are some toasted baguettes. So easy and good!
More Cherry Tomato Recipes to Discover:
- Chicken Pesto Roll Ups with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Chicken Mango Avocado Salad with baby tomatoes
- Creamy Avocado Pasta Salad with fresh cherry tomatoes
- BLT Salad with THE BEST dressing (super easy!)
Print-Friendly Marinated Cherry Tomato Recipe:
Marinated Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 lb cherry tomatoes*
- 1/2 bunch parsley, (1/2 cup finely chopped)
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 cups light Italian dressing**
Instructions
- Rinse and cut cherry tomatoes in half.
- Add the sliced tomatoes to a glass mixing bowl or quart-sized glass jar with lid. Add chopped parsley and minced garlic then add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of Italian dressing or just enough to barely cover the tomatoes.
- Stir, cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 2-4 hours to marinate or refrigerate overnight.
Notes
**Do not use a 'creamy' variety of Italian dressing.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Q: Do you have a go-to summer side dish? I am always looking for new ideas and would love to hear from you in a comment below!!
PS. Thank you so much for following along, trying our recipes, and sharing them with the people you love. Whether you are here for the first time or have been hanging out with us for the past 9 years, THANK YOU for stopping by! You are always welcome here.
Loads of Love,
-Natasha 🙂
Delicious side especially with the fall off the bone ribs along with mashed potatoes. Easy, flavorful, and yummy.
Thank you for your excellent feedback and review!
Hi natasha..was just wondering, if tomatoes will still marinade good if i wont cut them, but make a day ahead…
Hi Natalya! I haven’t tested it. Possibly, but I think they would need a longer period to marinade for that.
My favorite summer dish is BBQ potato salad. We use a mayo-based salad and just add BBQ sauce. Delicious!
My fave potato includes cooked, cubed potatoes, tossed with Italian dressing while still warm. Then add chopped onion, chopped or cubed hard boiled eggs, a squirt of brown mustard, mayonnaise, and BBQ sauce. I sometimes also add relish and celery seeds. Delicious with any grilled protein!
They all sound delicious especially in the summer!
Can the marinated tomato recipe be made with olive oil or any other oil if you don’t like Italian dressing?
Hi Natisha, we have always used the dressing for this recipe but one of our readers shared that they used olive oil and liked it.
Outstanding!
Super easy! I added fresh basil
From my garden.
Thank you so much! 🥰
Sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Marsha!
How long will these marinated cherry tomatoes last? Could this recipe be converted to can the tomatoes instead?
Hi Dori, they keep well in the fridge up to a week. I have not tried that yet to advise if it’s going to last long. I do have a canned tomato recipe in case you want to check it out.
Oh my GOODNESS this is one little jar of pure deliciousness! Made up a batch last night. My husband and I are hooked! I used Girard’s Champagne dressing, my go to. One question, IF we were to have any left do u have thoughts on how long they might last in the refrigerator?
Hi Karen, they never last more than a day at our house, but they keep very well refrigerated overnight.