Air Fryer 'Sun-Dried' Tomatoes Will Bring The Taste Of Italy To Your Kitchen

Sun-dried tomatoes may be small – they're about 90% or so lighter than the fresh form – but boy do they hit above their weight flavor-wise. Their famously concentrated and sweetly tangy profile is the result of having had the bulk of their moisture removed, something that was traditionally done by laying the fruits out on rooftops to bake under the intense heat of the southern Italian sun (hence their name). The drying process gives the fruit a chewy, almost leather-like texture, which, together with their punchy flavor, has made sun-dried tomatoes a beloved ingredient throughout the Mediterranean and beyond. (They're one of Gordon Ramsay's secret weapons for delicious tomato soup.) Because the rooftop method can take days to deliver results, people often make them in an oven or a dehydrator. However, there's an even quicker way to whip up this staple flavor-boosting ingredient: the air fryer.

If you thought the convection-powered device couldn't possibly be any more helpful, you'll no doubt appreciate how its circulating heat can be used to approximate the taste of tomatoes dried in the Mediterranean sun. Best of all, it only takes slightly north of an hour to turn your chosen fruit into little preserved masterpieces ready to enhance a wide range of dishes.

Drying tomatoes in your air fryer requires very little effort. In fact, the hardest thing you'll have to do is decide which ones to use — although larger plum varieties like Roma or San Marzano are traditional, smaller types like cherry or grape are perfect for this method, and even beefsteaks work well. There's also no law against using tomatoes that aren't red.

There's little prep beyond simply rinsing, drying, and cutting the tomatoes in half (or into slices if you've opted for one of the larger types), and you can enhance their taste by tossing them in sea salt and your favorite olive oil (herbs, too) before placing them cut-side up in the cooking chamber. Expect to wait around 75 minutes for drying to complete at around 240 degrees Fahrenheit. However long you dry them, remember to pause halfway through to gently squish the tomatoes with a fork, spatula, or potato masher to squeeze out any remaining liquid. Cool before storing them in the fridge (in olive oil or just an airtight container) for a few weeks.

When it's time to put these ruby red flavor bombs to use, try them baked into bread, stuffed inside a toasted sandwich or chicken breast, added to scrambled eggs or omelets, blended into a pesto or pasta sauce, or folded through mashed potatoes. With tomatoes and an air fryer, adding a burst of tart umami flavor to your dishes couldn't be easier.