Easy 4-Ingredient Tomato Confit

Enjoy gourmet tomatoes all summer long with this easy tomato confit recipe! Cherry tomatoes are submerged in extra virgin olive oil with fresh garlic and cooked on low heat to create the most delicious tomatoes infused with unparalleled flavor.

Tomato confit in a round white baking dish with a white background.

If you haven't tried tomato confit before, you have been missing out! The tomatoes transform from firm and juicy to soft and jammy, all while maintaining their original shape and texture. Add the infusion of flavor from the olive oil and garlic and you'll be wondering whether you could ever enjoy tomatoes another way.

And don't let the fancy name fool you - it's insanely easy to make and uses just 4 ingredients: tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt!

What is Tomato Confit?

The word confit is French for "to preserve." As a cooking method, it means to slowly cook in liquid for a long period of time on low heat, generally with oil or fat (or sugar for fruit).

In this recipe, we use extra virgin olive oil which we can then reuse once done. The olive oil creates the amazing effect of not only infusing flavor into the tomatoes, but also receiving an infusion of flavor from the tomatoes (and garlic!) in return.

Tomato confit in a glass jar next to a spoonful of olive oil with a white background.

Why You'll Love this Tomato Confit

Easy recipe - just a couple minutes of prep time then slow roast in one pot!
Simple ingredients
Fresh, gourmet summer flavor - perfect for tomato season
Smells delicious
Flexible - can easily add herbs and seasonings
Versatile - can serve with anything (i.e., pastas, pizzas, wraps, salads)
Kid-friendly

Ingredients

Cherry tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic and salt scattered across a white marble surface.

Cherry tomatoes: Cherry tomatoes are my favorite for this recipe, although grape tomatoes will also work. I find that cherry tomatoes are both sweeter and juicier, in addition to being less chewy. However, the cooking process will still soften grape tomatoes just as easily if using.
Extra-virgin olive oil: Use high quality olive oil! Good olive oil makes a big difference in this recipe. It exchanges flavors with the tomatoes and garlic and definitely should be saved to enjoy with other dishes!
Fresh garlic: Peel the garlic cloves but leave them whole. The garlic flavor mellows out almost completely, so much so that the cloves are delicious on their own. They soften and become spreadable, perfect for smearing onto crusty bread.
Salt: Just a touch to help bring out all the flavors!

See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.

How to Make Tomato Confit

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

2. Add the whole cherry tomatoes and peeled garlic in a single layer to an 8-inch casserole dish.

Red and orange cherry tomatoes on the vine with fresh garlic cloves in a round white baking dish with a white background.

3. Add olive oil to the pan until it reaches halfway up to the height of the tomatoes. The amount of olive oil needed may vary depending which pan you use, but the key is to submerge the tomatoes halfway to allow for proper cooking.

A hand pouring olive oil out of a white measuring cup overtop red and orange cherry tomatoes and fresh garlic in a round white baking dish.

4. Sprinkle with salt.

A hand sprinkling salt overtop cherry tomatoes in a round white baking dish with a white background.

5. Roast for 1 hour. The tomatoes should remain intact (rather than bursting open).

6. Enjoy immediately or store for later.

Tomato confit in a white baking dish with a spoon holding some of the olive oil.

Recipe Tips

Use good quality tomatoes. This may go without saying, but better ingredients yield better results. I like to use organic cherry tomatoes when possible and love when I find them at my local farmers market. For more color, you can add some orange and yellow cherry tomatoes as well!

Go heavy on the garlic! The garlic infuses the tomatoes with a mild buttery garlic flavor and does not taste garlicky. Plus the cloves themselves are amazing as they become garlic confit!

Save the olive oil. Nothing goes to waste with confit cooking! The garlic and tomato flavors make their way into the oil, which can then be reused for additional recipes. It is a fantastic way to enhance regular olive oil!

Variations

All you need for a simple tomato confit are the 4 ingredients above, but the recipe is flexible for adding more depending on what you're craving.

Infuse with fresh herbs and seasonings. Feel free to add bay leaves, fresh thyme sprigs, fresh rosemary, fresh basil, black pepper or a pinch of red pepper flakes.

Sweeten with maple sugar. If your fresh tomatoes aren't sweet, sprinkle in some maple sugar as they cook in the olive oil. This is especially useful if you are serving to kids.

How to Store Tomato Confit

Tomato confit in a glass jar with reserved olive oil.

To store, submerge the tomatoes completely in the olive oil in an airtight container (such as a glass jar) and place in the refrigerator. The olive oil will preserve the tomatoes for up to a month, so I'll often make a large batch by doubling the recipe and filling up two pans.

For reusing the olive oil, note that it will congeal a bit in the refrigerator. However, it will return to a liquid state fairly quickly once left out in room temperature for about 10-15 minutes.

Serving Suggestions

These tomatoes go well with pretty much any kind of meal! I've enjoyed them on:

Pasta: I love adding them to this vegan pasta primavera or this cold tahini pasta salad.
Grain bowls: Enjoy with other veggies in this roasted vegetable quinoa bowl.
Pizzas: Confit tomatoes make for a great pizza topping to this vegan white pizza for fresh gourmet flavor.
Wraps: Add to raw veggies in this rainbow veggie hummus wrap.
Salads: They take any salad to the next level such as this tomato basil avocado salad.
Crusty bread: You have to try this overtop my whipped vegan feta!

Tomato confit on crusty bread over whipped vegan feta.

Tomato confit served with spaghetti on a white circular plate with a white marble background.

More Delicious Tomato Recipes

Reserved olive oil surrounded by tomato confit.

I hope you enjoy this simple recipe for tomato confit! It is hands-down the best way to add tons of flavor to ripe cherry tomatoes. As always, I welcome any feedback and hope you share @eatingbyelaine so I can see your beautiful creations!