Name: Cherry Tomato Confit
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian American, French
Ingredients: 12 oz cherry or grape tomatoes; 2-3 sweet onions, peeled, halved and quartered; 3-4 heads of garlic, tops sliced off just enough to expose the cloves; 1/2 cup olive oil; 1 tsp fresh or dried parsley; 1/2 tsp fresh or dried thyme; 1/2 tsp fresh or dried rosemary; 1/4 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp black pepper

Slow roasted Cherry Tomato Confit is both sweet and savory, and totally decadent. Use it as a condiment for cooked fish, a simple pasta sauce, or a topping for bruschetta. The possibilities are endless!

small tomatoes and roasted garlic heads in olive oil

Cherry tomato confit is something I never knew I needed. But oh boy, did I ever NEED it! I have been addicted to roasting everything from veggies to berries, and when I found the most gorgeous cherry tomatoes on the vine a few weeks ago, I knew what I had to make.

What is confit anyway?

Confit is basically a fancy French term for food that is slow roasted at a low temperature in a substance such as oil, water, or sugar. What you end up with is preserved food with the most incredibly rich, deep flavor.

This tomato confit is slow roasted in olive oil to allow the veggies to caramelize and absorb some of the oil.

roasted cherry tomatoes with garlic and onion in oil

Ingredients in Tomato Confit

Cherry tomatoes (you can use grape or mini heirlooms if you like)
Sweet onions
Whole heads of garlic
Olive oil
Parsley
Thyme
Rosemary
Salt & pepper

I love roasting cherry and grape tomatoes because they come out so sweet. I kept this confit simple by slicing up some yellow onion and cutting off the tops of a few heads of garlic to add into it.

ingredients for making cherry tomato confit

How to Make Cherry Tomato Confit

You won’t believe how easy it is to make this stuff. Here’s what to do:

Rinse your tomatoes and pat them dry with a towel. Slice a couple of onions into halves and quarters and cut off the tops of a few heads of garlic so the cloves are just exposed.
Place the tomatoes, onions, and garlic heads in a shallow baking dish and pour olive oil over them.
Season liberally with parsley, thyme, rosemary, salt & pepper.
Roast in a 275 degree oven for 1.5-2 hours until the veggies are lightly charred.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out and discard empty garlic heads & tomato vines if using before serving.

The onions caramelize with basically no effort, and don’t even get me started on the roasted garlic…holy mackerel. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have to force yourself to stop eating it right out of the pan!

oil being poured into a baking dish filled with small red tomatoes, onions, and garlic

What is tomato confit used for?

There are so many ways to use this cherry tomato and garlic confit recipe. Try some of these ideas:

Spoon it over toasted slices of baguette to make an easy bruschetta.
Toss a few spoonfuls of it with pasta for a quick sauce.
Spoon it on top of fish filets like cod or salmon before or after cooking.
Add it to a bowl of cooked brown rice or lentils, then top with fresh diced cucumber, crumbled feta, and plain Greek yogurt to make simple Mediterranean style rice bowls.
Eat it straight out of the jar!

roasted garlic and tomatoes in olive oil

How long does tomato confit stay fresh?

You can keep this tomato confit in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. To store, simply spoon or pour it into a mason jar or other air tight container and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

I like to use these plastic storage lids for mason jars when storing confit, jams, jellies, and more. They’re easy to clean and I like the comfort of knowing that they create a tight seal when I’m not using pressure canning methods before storing.

cherry tomato confit in a small glass jar

Try these other simple homemade pantry recipes!

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Yield: 8 oz