All About Heirloom Tomatoes

Ideas for serving and cooking with the many types of heirloom tomatoes.

heirloom tomato varieties / loveandlemons.com

I’m hoping you’re not tomato-ed out yet! Today, I want to share a little info & inspiration about a few heirloom tomato varieties. (These are the ones I used in last week’s salad). They have such fun names, don’t they?

And for more recipe ideas, check out the Whole Foods heirloom tomato pinboard that I’ve been pinning to over the last few weeks:

heirloom tomato pinboard
image sources: midwest living / mission delectable / a couple cooks
foodie crush / whole foods market / the devil wears parsley

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Win a $50 Whole Foods gift card. Just leave a comment below telling me about your favorite way to eat heirloom tomatoes!

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283 comments

  1. Sara from projectsoiree.blogspot.com
    08.19.2013

    I love using these tomatoes on a pizza!

  2. Samantha Hendricks
    08.19.2013

    My favorite is to keep it simple to really keep the flavor of the tomato as the main event. I take a nice crusty slice of toasted bread, slather on half of an avocado, thinly sliced red tomato, and a nice thick slice of tomato on top. I top with some salt, pepper, and olive oil. yum!

  3. Jeana
    08.19.2013

    I love making a tomato galette with ricotta – the multiple colors of heirloom tomatoes make it even more beautiful!

  4. teresa
    08.19.2013

    mmmm i am, of course, always on the evoo-drizzly/mozzarella bandwagon, but they’re fantastic in a Mediterranean bread salad too: toasted baguette, cucumbers, kalamata olives, red onion and heirlooms all mixed up in some lemony-olive oil. YES!

  5. Julia
    08.19.2013

    Olive oil, sea salt, cracked black pepper, and a teeny drop of balsamic vinegar. Yum.

  6. Camille from cakemann.tumblr.com
    08.19.2013

    I just like eating heirloom tomatoes by themselves. They’re so pretty I don’t want to mess with them!

  7. Amy
    08.19.2013

    Roasted Heirloom tomato sauce! Slow roast (3-4 hours) the tomatoes, red peppers, onions, and garlic drizzled with evoo, S&P. While warm, blend them into the best sauce ever. No other tomato can compare in taste with a roasted heirloom! Last time I did this I used the sauce in eggplant parm. Our guests never knew it was gluten & dairy free…it was declared the best they’d ever had.

  8. jacquie
    08.19.2013

    loaded in a salad of fresh greens with just a hint of a light vinaigrette

  9. Kelly G.
    08.19.2013

    Super simple (and not at all boring): sliced, with reduced balsamic, basil, feta, and some toasty nuts. Its like summer on a plate!

  10. Elizabeth
    08.19.2013

    In my hand, just like an apple, except that I get to eat the whole thing (except the stem). If I’m feeling nutty, I will sprinkle a teensy bit of salt on each bite. Heirloom tomatoes are better than candy.

  11. Heather
    08.19.2013

    I love to make a giant heirloom tomato sandwich by hollowing out a ciabatta loaf and filling it with fresh moz, basil/pesto, oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and the tomatoes, of course! Then slice and enjoy 🙂

  12. Jen
    08.19.2013

    With basil, feta, and olive oil!!

  13. Heather L.
    08.19.2013

    I can’t say I have 1 favorite way to eat tomatoes. We love them and eat quite a few. Tonight I tossed tomatoes, avocado, roasted butternut squash, fresh basil & lentils together with EVOO, lemon juice & a pinch of smoked salt and it was delicious! Tomatoes also great with cucumbers and sprinkled with a little lime juice & Tajin on top.

  14. Elise
    08.19.2013

    Pick them and eat immediately while they’re still warm from the sun 🙂 Cut them up with mozzarella, basil, & balsamic. Perfect!

  15. Jen
    08.19.2013

    My favorite way to eat perfect tomatoes is on top of really good toast, either with a dab of mayo plus salt and pepper, or with basil and balsamic.

  16. Hannah
    08.19.2013

    Sliced, with a little sprinkling of salt – That’s all I need!

  17. Jennifer Mahru
    08.19.2013

    keep it simple to bring out the natural flavor of the tomatoes. coarse salt, pepper, good olive oil, some burrata and torn basil. DELICIOUS!

  18. Angela
    08.19.2013

    Fresh off the plant!

  19. Kristina M
    08.19.2013

    i would love to have an heirloom bruschetta with fresh french bread, lovely olive oil, and a bit of fresh basil sprinkled on top. yum!

  20. Rachel M.
    08.19.2013

    We have a “family recipe” called “tomatoes on a plate”–slice them up, throw a little fresh basil on top, maybe some dried oregano, salt, pepper, balsamic, and olive oil. I guess you could say it’s a Caprese without the cheese? Anyway, it’s an oldie but goodie.

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.