Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

So Simple, Tomatoes, Sweet Onions, and Peppers

Alright, what are we making today? A really simple side dish that I first had while vacationing. And we’re going to make this using an air fryer! Air fryer roasted tomatoes is a great way to use up less than gorgeous toms and peppers. These not-so-pretty-veggies are going to get roasted, so who cares if they have a few blemishes. Super simple, tomatoes roasted with sweet onions, and red bell peppers!

What You Need to Make Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

• Tomatoes – I’m using the greenhouse everyday grocery store variety. If you look closely at the photos, these tomatoes aren’t the prettiest. They’ve been on my counter for a minute and it’s also part of why this is a great recipe. To use them up!

• Sweet Onions – The sweet flavor of the onions will come through against the mild, salty tomatoes, and with the sweet red peppers. The hero in this dish is the tomato, so the recipe only calls for a bit of onion. If you love onions, add more!
• Red Bell Peppers – I’m using red because they are sweet and that’s how it was served to me. However, I think orange or yellow bell peppers would work too. Both colors are a bit sweet and would add better contrast with the already red tomatoes.
• Avocado Oil – I usually use olive oil in everything, but this recipe is basically a warm salad. Avocado oil is lighter than olive oil, and a milder flavor. Avocado oil is suited better for this recipe.
• Sea Salt – Just a dash, or sprinkle. It should enhance the flavor and I have tried this without the salt, the flavor just isn’t as tasty. Use salty, but sparingly.

How To Make Air Fryer Roasted Tomatoes

Prep the vegetables. Cut the Cut the onion in half. Then cut off the top and root end, peel off the skin. Cut the half into a quarter if needed or use the entire half. Slice the onion in the direction of the ribs from top to bottom into thin slices. Place in a bowl. Do the same with the pepper and add it to the bowl with the onion. Coat these with oil.

To prepare the tomatoes, cut each tomato in half. To remove the stem, cut a “v” to carve out the stem and part of the hard white flesh just below the stem. Repeat on all halves if needed. Cut each half into quarters. Set aside.

My goal was to replicate a dish I had on vaca, so let me tell you about my pitfalls first. I wanted to use the air fryer because it’s fast, easy clean up, and it seems a lot of you are looking for recipes on air fryer roasted tomatoes… so perfect!

How you layer the vegetables matters. I first tried to just put all the veggies in the basket and without oil. I wanted the dish to be really clean and simple, and I don’t recall there being much oil. In doing this the onions and peppers were too toasty.

Instead, add the avocado oil, which is very light and mild and still achieves my goal of a clean tasting dish. Coat the onions and peppers with oil, and place those under the juicy tomatoes which will withstand the heat better. The oil, and layering will allow the onions and peppers to cook without burning.

Tips, Tricks, & FAQs

• What to do with leftover roasted tomatoes? For me, this is a dish best enjoyed the first time around. If you have leftovers, make a sauce. This is easily scalable to the amount of tomatoes you have left… or make more! I made about 5 cups of roasted tomatoes, with sweet onions, and red bell peppers. Place the veggies in a large food processor with 2 large cloves of garlic (cubed), a handful of fresh basil, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Puree for 1 to 2 minutes. Then, simmer over medium low heat for 25-30 minutes. Yields 3 cups of sauce. Serve with freshly cooked pasta.