Marinated Cherry Tomatoes Recipe
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 🙂
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
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.
I’m anxious to marinate some little tomatoes with fresh basil and garlic. Plan to use real Italian salad dressing of oil, vinegar, salt, and sometimes pepper. Thanks for a great idea.
You’re welcome! I hope it becomes your new favorite.
Looks so easy and will try.My question is how long does it stay? I want to make several jars for my family an give some to other family members!
Thank you!
Hi Amelia, they keep well in the fridge up to a week.
Amazing! This is so simple and delicious, and I used your Italian salad dressing, which is phenomenal! I really only made a small portion for myself and added fresh basil instead of parsley, because I had it and wanted to use it up. Thank you!!!
Sounds great! Thank you for your review, Kim. Good to hear that you liked the recipe!
You’re welcome! So glad you enjoyed this recipe. The Italian dressing is one of our favorites!
Love your recipes and use a lot of them thank you. This cherry tomatoes l make all the time we love it, just a suggestion put sliced cucumbers in it and lm sure your family will enjoy it like mine.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Thelma!
can you can marinated cherry tomatoes and if so how. Can I just do a can bath and store and if so for how long.
Thank you
Hi Karen, 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.
Hi Natasha, I guessing you are Ukrainian. I am Ukrainian and I have been following your recipes. They are terrific.your hard work shows through.
I have one suggestion and it may be something you already know
For pizza. We love white pizza also Margarita pizza.
Sometimes we load it on and put more on than it needs. When that happens, I prebake the pizza on stone before I put the toppings on for 2 minutes or so. This seals the bottom in the center and it handles the extra load more easily. We especially like to put artichokes on the pizza and lots of garlic.
Great idea! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
One of my favorite salads is tomatoes, Good Seasons Italian dressing, and finely chopped onions.
I use olive oil and marinade it for about half an hour.
That sounds delicious Rose! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Love tomatoes, cannot wait to try this easy recipe!
I hope you love them, RC!
I always make my own Italian Dressing and use that. Also, fresh basil gives way more flavor than the parsley. (Basil is the soul-mate to tomatoes!)
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that with me!
Can you use olive oil instead of dressing
Hi Dot, we have always used the dressing for this recipe. Here’s my Italian Dressing recipe.
can these be canned for a period of time?
Hi Doris, 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.
Hi Natasha, I am glad to find your site. Running out of ideas for feeding my family.
As for the marinated cherry tomatoes… do you have a version with a home made Italian dressing? In my family we try to avoid preservatives in packaged food.
Hi Irina, here’s my Italian Dressing recipe.
Planning to make these for dinner guests. Do you use regular curly parsley or Italian parsley? Thanx!
Hi Lynn, I hope the image in the recipe was helpful we used regular, flat Italian parsley.
Also good with Good Seasons Italian Dressing. No tomatoes?? Use other chopped veggies ( squash, broccoli, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc.) Keeps for days!
That’s awesome to know! thanks so much for sharing!
We love this recipe. We have tons of tomatoes in our garden. Thanks
That’s so awesome Wendy! Thank you for sharing that with me.
make this as long as the summer tomatoes last. my favorite snack.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
How long will these keep in the frigerator
Hi Mary, they keep well in the fridge up to a week.
Do you think this recipe will work great with larger tomatoes such as Roma? and how long do you think they should marinate for..?
I’d imagine that would work.but I have not tried that. The marinating process will likely take much longer. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I love cherry tomatoes a lot as they are so sweet that I often buy a box and eat only them xD
Good to know another way to make it 🙂
Btw, my side dishes for summer is all about smoothie xo
I hope you love this recipe, please let me know what you think Natalie!
I have one question, where did you get the italian dressing from?
I just bought it at local Fred Mayer store.
Those look delicious! I’d bet they be even tastier with the addition of small mozzarella balls.
Great suggestion! These are so tasty, I hope you try them!