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30 Best Fresh Tomato Recipes

June 21, 2023

This round up of our very best fresh tomato recipes is just the excuse you need to make something new with these sweet, ruby-hewed jewels of summer every night of the week.

Categories

  • Summer
  • Breakfast
  • Brunch
  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Appetizers
  • Salads
  • Roundups
pasta dish with tomato cream sauce arugula and parmesan

It’s Summer, Got Tomatoes?

Wondering how to use all those tomatoes popping up in your garden? Or perhaps how to incorporate those cheery store-bought beauties picked in their peak of freshness? Well, good news! We’re here with 30 + gorgeous fresh tomato recipes that will put all of that sweet summer bounty to good use. So grab a pound or twenty of your favorite variety of juicy ripe tomatoes and go to town!

three ingredient tomato sauce with pasta, basil and parmesan cheese
Tortellini pasta salad in a bowl with tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella

Tomatoes Paired with Pasta = Perfection

  • When in doubt, make those beautiful tomatoes into a sauce with this three-ingredient tomato sauce. It’s seriously the best.
  • Summer is for picnics and every picnic needs a pasta salad! We've tossed this summer tortellini pasta salad with pesto, fire roasted peppers, sweet cherry tomatoes, roasted chicken, and fresh mozzarella.
  • This pasta with tomato cream sauce is our ultimate late-night dinner. It marries what’s best about mac and cheese with what’s best about a great bowl of tomato-based pasta into one tasty package.
a jar of fresh tomato homemade restaurant style salsa
Braised Tomatoes with Burrata, basil and grilled bread on a plate

Nothing Beats Fresh Tomato Salsa.

  • If fresh salsa is your thing, you definitely need to make this crunchy pico de gallo with cabbage. Crunchy and craveable!
  • And if you have a hankering for a perfectly smoky salsa, try this fresh restaurant-style salsa with charred tomatoes. Rich tomato flavor and smooth texture make it a recipe you’ll come back to again and again.

Tomatoes + Burrata = A Match Made in Heaven

  • One of our favorite ways to showcase luscious summer tomatoes is to braise them and serve alongside a generous portion of milky burrata!
  • Grill up some flatbread along with a few freshly picked cherry tomatoes on a skewer, add a gorgeous ball of fresh burrata—a cream-filled cheese that’s related to mozzarella—and call it dinner!
Mediterranean Turkey Burger on a plate with feta, lettuce, tomato and tzatziki sauce
Heirloom BLT with Pesto and Fried Egg cut in half and showing the fried egg on a cutting board

Fresh Sweet Tomatoes On Your Favorite Sandwich.

  • If you’re a true tomato lover, then we’re sure you can appreciate the beauty of a thick slice of tomato on your sandwiches. Our heirloom BLT with pesto plays on repeat all summer long, and we’ve never heard a single complaint.
  • This luxurious shrimp melt with capers, Old Bay seasoning, and thickly-sliced fresh tomatoes is another sandwich that packs a big flavor punch.
  • Our healthy, easy Mediterranean turkey burger recipe, loaded with feta, onions and herbs and slathered in cooling homemade tzatziki, is one you’ll reach for time and time again. The slab of sliced tomato that tops it adds to its juiciness in a major way.
peach and tomato salad with fresh mozzarella, basil and olive oil on a large white platter.
Italian Salad with romaine lettuce, croutons, tomatoes, pepperoncini, black olives, parmesan cheese and red onions in a bowl.

The Fresh Tomato Recipe No-Brainer: Use Them In A Salad

  • This over-the-top peach and tomato caprese salad is everything that’s wonderful about summer, right there on a plate.
  • Try our Southwest-style Cobb salad with smoky chipotle dressing for dinner, it’s one stunner of a dish that is perfect for any and every summer occasion. And everyone knows it’s just not a Cobb salad without the sweet juicy pop of cherry tomatoes.
  • This simple Italian salad is the an old-school side salad that always hits the spot. It fits perfectly with any pasta dish and finds good company alongside a whole roasted chicken or delicate fish dinner.
  • The Best Tomato Salad is just the dish to celebrate summer’s favorite savory fruit.
tomato, basil quiche on a marble counter with two slices cut out of it shown next to a knife and linen
grilled steak salad with avocados, onions, tomatoes and a homemade blue cheese dressing on a large plate

Put Those Garden Tomatoes to Good Use.

  • If you have a bountiful garden, why not put all that produce to good use by marking this tomato-y backyard quiche? Featuring caramelized sweet onions, garlic, basil, and of course those heavenly tomatoes, this hearty quiche is perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
  • This stunningly beautiful, twisty-twirly pesto zoodle salad with fresh mozzarella, chicken and perfectly fresh tomatoes is a textural, colorful study in how to make the most of the late-summer harvest.
  • Seared skirt steak, grilled romaine, and onions meet bright cherry tomatoes, avocado, and creamy homemade blue cheese dressing for a grilled steak salad that’s sure to be your new summer staple.
A bowl of fasolakia Greek green beans with feta and crusty bread
vegetarian meatballs with roasted tomatoes over pasta topped with parmesan cheese and fresh basil

Vegetarian Tomato Recipes, Everyone Will Love.

  • Perhaps the most unexpected tomato dish is this roundup is Greek fasolakia. Have you heard of it? It’s a traditional dish made with potatoes, green beans, and of course, tomatoes!
  • If you’re looking for new ways to eat meat free, add this creamy goat cheese polenta with ratatouille to your meal plan this week. You won’t be sorry.
  • Meaty—with no meat at all—savory and oh-so-satisfying, these delicious, lentil-based vegetarian meatballs give regular meatballs a run for their money.
Salmon Niçoise Salad with eggs, green beans, olives and tomatoes
Salmon In Foil on a rimmed baking sheet with an Avocado Tomato and corn Salad with a fork

Salmon Dinner with Fresh Tomatoes.

  • Coral-hued baked salmon stands in for the traditional tuna in this tomato-studded, vinaigrette-drizzled summery riff on the classic Niçoise salad.
  • If quick dinners are your best friend, you'll be happy to hear this smoky grilled salmon with avocado and tomato salad comes together in under 30 minutes, start to finish.
  • If you’re looking for a delicious meal to impress your family or dinner guests with, this honey mustard salmon is your answer. It is tender, flavorful, and finished fast from fridge to table.
Pesto chicken bruschetta with cherry tomatoes, basil and pine nuts on a plate
Italian chop salad in a bowl with onions, olives, salami and tomatoes

Best Way to Use Up Tomatoes

chicken Provençal with green and black olives, tomatoes, shallots, and white wine in a large braising pot
Baked chicken thighs in a cast iron skillet surrounded by asparagus, olives, and tomatoes.

Tomatoes + Chicken = Dinner’s Ready.

  • Green olives, tomatoes, shallots, fresh thyme, white wine and plenty of garlic create a deeply fragrant, flavorful base for this delicately date-sweetened, braised chicken Provençal.
  • Bathed in a garlicky white wine-Dijon sauce and cooked with kalamata olives and cherry tomatoes, these crispy-skinned baked chicken thighs with asparagus are all gussied up for spring.
  • Crispy chicken, crumbled bacon,bright tomatoes, jammy eggs and sharp blue cheese all on a bed of Romaine topped with a pour of homemade buttermilk dressing. Meet the official TMP Cobb salad.
  • How about a salad with chicken and tomatoes? Our curried chicken salad salad or maybe our quinoa salad bowl?
Beef Kofta Kababs with Tzatziki, pita bread and tomatoes on skewers
Mediterranean Pasta Salad in a bowl with feta, olives, tomatoes and arugula

Classic Mediterranean Tomato Recipes

  • With briny olives, juicy cherry tomatoes, spicy arugula, purple pops of red onion, and creamy feta crumbled throughout, this Mediterranean pasta salad is as bright and sunny as a warm summer day.
  • We love a good wedge salad, but a Mediterranean wedge with perfectly ripe tomatoes? That's what dreams are really made of.
  • We are crushing hard on this Mediterranean couscous salad at the moment!
  • Big, bold herbs and fresh tomatoes make these beef kofta kebabs with tzatziki perfect for a super satisfying centerpiece for a Mediterranean-inspired feast.

The Best Way to Eat a Tomato?

Our last and final suggestion on how to eat a fresh tomato? Simply sprinkle some wedges with flaky salt and dig in. Fresh off the vine, ripe and juicy, there’s nothing more satisfying! If you make any of these fresh tomato recipes, we want to hear about it! Snap a photo of your creation and be sure to tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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30 Best Fresh Tomato Recipes

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  • Emma

    These recipes are so so so so so helpful when looking for a healthy, yet delicious snack!

    Thanks Emma, we are so glad you loved it!

  • Kolie

    Good

    Thanks Kolie!

  • Brycen

    Someone just gave me like 20 fresh ripe tomatoes. Now I need to figure out how to use them up before they go bad. Your page has been helpful

    Yay! So glad!

  • mini

    Just here admiring the photos in October, because tomato season is over and I already miss it 😭

    I feel ya! Pin a few of these recipes and make them next tomato season!