What to Make with Overripe Tomatoes: 16 Recipes

Overripe tomatoes are tasty and may be utilized in a number of dishes. They may be mixed with feta cheese in salads or sliced for a wonderful spaghetti sauce. You may also cut them and use them in a sandwich or on a pizza.

Summer is an excellent time to harvest the tastiest tomatoes from your garden. You’ll want to put them in everything since they’re so juicy and tasty.

Overripe tomatoes are a pantry staple in my house. And if you haven’t had a chance to utilize them yet, now is the moment to do so.

I’m sure you’ve thought of using them in soups, but they can also be made into dips, pasta meals, and side dishes.

And I understand what you’re thinking. What about pizza, though?

Well, I have a few tricks up my sleeve!

Overripe tomatoes are ideal for many recipes, but certain meals are better served when the tomatoes are in season and fully ripe.

These recipes are all guaranteed to be delicious!

Let’s look at 16 dishes that use overripe tomatoes well!

What to Do with Overripe Tomatoes – 16 Recipe Ideas

Soups, stews, sauces, salads, and pastas benefit from overripe tomatoes. They’re also great in sandwiches and pizza. Cook them gently with salt, garlic, and oregano if you want to create a sauce out of them.

1. Tomato Ketchup

If you’ve been following our food and cooking series, you’re probably acquainted with the notion of ketchup and tomato sauce, which inspired this dish. The essential point here is that the tomatoes must be somewhat overripe and delicious before being cooked.

It’s a simple yet tasty recipe that goes well with meats and can be used for almost anything. If desired, add chili pepper flakes, as well as sliced garlic and onions.

2. Tomato Puree

Another tomato dish we’ve developed is tomato puree. While this may not seem like an emergency recipe, if you’re looking for a method to save money or have some overripe tomatoes on hand, it may make for a really tasty foundation.

Of course, you can always add extra ingredients or spices to make this recipe more flavorful. This puree is an excellent addition to sauces and soups. Use tomato puree instead of water to make tomato cream soup or pasta, or use it as a pizza foundation.

3. Pesto

Pesto is one of our favorite overripe tomato dishes. If you want to create pesto but don’t want to use dried basil, this recipe might be ideal for you. It’s really a fairly basic dish that requires just a few ingredients. If you’re searching for a flexible recipe, this is one to keep in mind.

4. Gravy

While we prefer tomato sauce and other tomato-based recipes when it comes to overripe tomatoes, you can also use this item to make a gravy or even a tomato soup (See Also: Best Tomatoes for Tomato Soup).

Tomato gravy is really easy to make, although it does take some time to simmer down. You should begin by peeling your tomatoes, then add some oil, flour, and seasonings. For the base, you may use whatever spices you choose, such as salt, oregano, basil, thyme, chili powder, and so on.

This will then be progressively reduced until you have a thick and hearty gravy or sauce. This gravy may be used to create tomato soup, but it can also be added to any sort of soup. It’s also ideal for the cold months.

5. Pasta

Pasta is another great way to use up overripe tomatoes. Of course, the procedure is the same as with any other spaghetti sauce. Simply combine your olive oil, spices, onions, garlic, and any other ingredients you choose. prepare your sauce until it reaches the correct consistency, then prepare your pasta according to the package directions.

6. Cheese Sauce

This is another recipe that would work great if you want to add extra Italian flavor to your cheese sauce or if you have leftover tomatoes after cooking pizza. As with other spaghetti sauces, this one involves some chopping and cooking. To prepare a tomato cheese sauce, first sauté the onions and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes before adding the tomatoes.

If desired, add chili pepper flakes, as well as herbs or other seasonings. Cooking it gently will allow you to get the consistency of a cheese sauce. Of course, a creamy cheese, such as Parmesan, Gruyère, mozzarella, or even cheddar, should be used.

7. Desserts

Of course, there are other methods to utilize overripe tomatoes as a dessert basis. A tomato pie, which is simply a baked pie crust filled with tomato-based sauce and topped with cheese and other components, is one of the most popular and traditional. You may also create a tomato sauce and bake it in a pie shell, topped with a piece of mozzarella cheese.

8. Make Tofu

Tofu is a simple dish that requires just a few basic ingredients and is one of the easier recipes to cook using overripe tomatoes. There are two methods to do this. The first method involves soaking tofu in warm water for 15 minutes before placing it in a saucepan of boiling water for 4 minutes.

After the tofu has finished cooking, drain it and press it with your palms or a tea towel to remove as much moisture as possible. Make your tomato sauce next. Chop any leftover soft veggies and toss them in a saucepan with olive oil and salt.

Cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, until the veggies are soft. All that remains is to slice your tofu and arrange it in a plate. You may top it with your sauce if you like, but the essential point here is that the tomatoes should be the star of the show.

9. Salsa

Salsa is another fantastic way to use up overripe tomatoes. While this isn’t the most typical tomato salsa recipe, it does enable you to add some acidity to your summer fruits without turning them into mush.

Simply add tomatoes, a chopped onion, and pepper in a food processor or blender to produce salsa. Once the veggies are chopped, add some cilantro or parsley and, if desired, a splash of lime juice or vinegar.

It may be eaten warm or cold, and even if you don’t like cilantro, this is a simple meal that you’ll love for years.

10. Tomato Sauce

If you want to be a bit less adventurous with your overripe tomatoes and make something more classic, tomato sauce is a good option. There are two methods for creating tomato sauce.

The first step is to bake the tomatoes. This will produce a rich crimson sauce without scorching them. Another alternative is to prepare a homemade tomato sauce. After you’ve chopped all of your tomatoes, throw them in a saucepan with olive oil, onions, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 45 minutes on medium heat.

Once everything is cooked through, serve it over spaghetti, as a soup foundation, or as a filling for meatballs or hamburgers. It’s a flexible recipe that’s interesting to experiment with.

11. Add Them to a Meat Sauce

If you want to boost the tomato taste of any meat dishes, just add some large, ripe tomatoes to your sauce. You don’t have to combine them all together as in the first example.

Break up the tomatoes into pieces or half and sauté them with the remaining ingredients until mushy and melted into the sauce. If you want to save time, add them to meat stews, but if you’re feeling daring, try them in a sauce with pasta.

12. Add Them To A Salad

If you enjoy your salads tangier and more zesty than normal, a salad cooked with overripe tomatoes could be worth a try. These can give any salad a significant kick, particularly if prepared in a tasty manner beforehand.

Of course, the true key here is that you don’t want the tomato to overpower the salad’s taste.

Keep it understated and let the salad’s components do the majority of the talking. In other words, you want to make sure that your tomato’s primary function is to offer some wonderful acidity and sweetness, rather than to overshadow everything else.

13. Add Them To Breads

If you’re searching for recipes that use overripe tomatoes, you may be tempted to toss them all away. However, it has been discovered that they may also be utilized to enrich other recipes.

Overripe tomatoes may be put to breads in this scenario. Pizza dough, which is simply flour, water, and salt, is one of the simplest breads to create. If you have a few overripe tomatoes in your fridge, you may use them to create pizza. Simply chop up the tomatoes and combine them with the remaining ingredients in a mixing dish.

You may then add them to the dough and knead it together, or leave it alone. The benefit of this method is that you may utilize your overripe tomatoes to make a variety of unusual pizzas. If you’re feeling experimental, consider experimenting with various toppings.

14. Make Chutney

If you have a surplus of overripe tomatoes, they may also be converted into chutney. You’ll have to peel and chop your tomatoes, which may seem like a nuisance at first, but it won’t take long once you get accustomed to it.

After that, cut up your overripe tomatoes and combine them with spices, onion, and garlic in a saucepan.

Allow the mixture to boil for 15 minutes before adding the sugar, vinegar, salt, and peppers. Stir until everything is properly blended, and you’ll have a delightful, sweet, and spicy chutney that can be used for a variety of things.

15. Use Them in Soups

If you don’t have access to fresh tomatoes or just don’t like the flavor of them, you can always use them in soups. This is particularly useful if you have access to a pressure cooker.

Alternatively, you can just use a standard stockpot and cook it on the stovetop. It may seem absurd, but soup may be made from overripe tomatoes.

The greatest recipes may be found online or in cookbooks. You just must use an original recipe rather than one that has been made up. When cooking tomato soup or other soups containing overripe tomatoes, you’ll want to reduce the sugar and salt to prevent the flavor dominating the soup itself.

16. Tomato-Pepper Pasta Salad

If you like tomato-based salads and want to transform some of those luscious tomatoes into something fresh and tasty, seek up how to create tomato-pepper pasta salad or use this recipe.

This is a light and refreshing pasta salad that will outperform any salad or spaghetti. It’s simple to make and the materials are readily available. Furthermore, this recipe enables you to utilize practically any kind of tomato you may find.

There’s no need to be concerned about the ingredients you have on hand since they’ll all work nicely with this recipe. You may also add chopped jalapeo peppers to make the salad hotter, or you can keep it simple with only basil leaves.

Conclusion

Overripe tomatoes are a delectable treat.

If you have an abundance of them, you should certainly consider utilizing them to create some fantastic recipes.

They are, however, a bit difficult to use and occasionally a little too dirty for my liking.

However, if you have a surplus, I believe they are worth trying at least once.

What can you do with overripe tomatoes?

If you have an abundance of overripe tomatoes, consider preparing a tasty salsa. Simply add fresh garlic and onion, as well as salt and pepper to taste. Tomato sauce or soup may also be made by cooking them in a saucepan with a little oil and salt.

You’ll have to try various recipes to figure out the ones you enjoy most.