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Home ยป Recipe Type ยป Dinner
4.9 from 9 reviews

How to Make Tomato Powder Out of Tomato Skins – In the Oven

6 hours 5 minutes
tomato
By: Pamela Reed
Posted:4/24/20
Updated:5/3/24
Jump to Recipe

Turn your tomato skins into tomato powder by baking them in the oven or food dehydrator and then grinding into a powder. This is great no waste recipe that every gardener needs to make!

tomato powder in glass spice jar.

Homemade Tomato Powder

It’s raining tomatoes!  Don’t I always say that during July and August? Well it’s true – we have so many tomatoes right now! You guys know I love my Stewed Tomatoes recipe, Roma Tomato Soup, Heirloom Tomato Pasta and homemade tomato paste to freeze, but with that comes a lot of extra tomato skins.

Being one that loves to use up the whole fruit or vegetable, I wanted to come up with a way to use use the tomato skins in a way that can be enjoyed in different recipes throughout the seasons.  By making tomato powder we can enjoy our Summer tomato harvest, even during Winter!

Since I know not everyone has a food dehydrator I will supply both methods below – for making it in a food dehydrator and in the oven! Whatever way you choose, I hope you like it!

Love making homemade spices? Check out my homemade onion powder, garlic powder, adobo seasoning, dried basil, dried parsley, and dried oregano too!

tomato powder on cutting board.

How to Use Tomato Powder

Here are some great ways to use tomato powder in everyday recipes:

  1. Sprinkle on slices of pizza. (try this pizza dough!)
  2. Use as a meat seasoning. (great for oven baked burgers!)
  3. Use on sandwiches or subs.
  4. Throw in soups (like slow cooker barley sausage soup – pictured below!), stews and chili.
  5. Throw in pasta dishes.
  6. Use in fritters batter, like these zucchini corn fritters or mashed potato patties.
  7. Throw in tomato sauces for more tomato flavor!
  8. Popcorn!
sausage barley soup in slow cooker.

How to Make Tomato Powder in the Oven

Preheat your oven to a low temperature, around 150-170 degrees F. (Up to 190 degrees F is ok if that’s as low as your oven goes).

Gather your tomato skins. These can be leftover from canning, making tomato sauce, or peeling fresh tomatoes. Make sure they are clean and free from any debris.

tomato skins in red bowl.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the tomato skins evenly on the baking sheet, ensuring they are not overlapping. This helps with even drying.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven. The drying time can vary but generally takes around 4-8 hours, depending on oven temperature and how wet the tomato skins are.

After a few hours, check the tomato skins for dryness. They should be brittle and easily snap. If they are not completely dry, continue to bake and check at 30 minute intervals until they are ready.

Once the tomato skins are fully dried, remove them from the oven and let them cool to room temperature. This prevents condensation from forming when you store them.

Transfer the cooled, dried tomato skins to a coffee/spice grinder or food processor. Pulse until you achieve a fine powder consistency.

ground up tomato powder in coffee grinder.

How to Make Tomato Powder with Food Dehydrator

  1. Collect your tomato skins, ensuring they are clean and free from debris.
  2. Lay the tomato skins on dehydrator sheets and dehydrate them at 135 degrees F for 8-12 hours until they become brittle and lose all moisture.
  3. Transfer the dried skins to a coffee grinder and process them until you have a fine powder. Store the powder in an airtight jar.
dried tomatoes on food dehydrator sheet.

Want to make tomato flakes instead?

If you prefer flakes, place the dried skins in a food processor and pulse a few times until you achieve the desired flake consistency. Store the flakes in an airtight jar.

tomato flakes in food processor.

How to Store Tomato Powder

Transfer the tomato powder to an airtight container. Store it in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and heat. Using a vacuum-sealed container can also help extend its shelf life.

Homemade tomato powder should last up to a year (or longer) when stored properly.

glass jar filled with tomato powder.

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Turn your tomato skins into tomato powder by baking them in the oven or food dehydrator and then grinding into a powder.  This is great no waste recipe that every gardener needs to make!
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4.89 from 9 reviews

How to Make Tomato Powder From Tomato Skins

Print
Turn your tomato skins into tomato powder by baking them in the oven or food dehydrator and then grinding into a powder. This is great no waste recipe that every gardener needs to make!
By: Pamela Reed
Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours hours
Total Time 6 hours hours 5 minutes minutes
serves 24

Ingredients

  • Tomato skins (as many as you have)

Instructions

To Make Tomato Powder in the Oven

  • Preheat your oven to a low temperature, around 150-170 degrees F. (Up to 190 degrees F is ok if that's as low as your oven goes).
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the tomato skins evenly on the baking sheet, ensuring they are not overlapping.
  • Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven. The drying time can vary but generally takes around 4-8 hours, depending on oven temperature and how wet the tomato skins are. After a few hours, check the tomato skins for dryness. They should be brittle and easily snap in half. If they are not completely dry, continue to bake and check at 30 minute intervals until they are ready.
  • Once the tomato skins are fully dried, remove them from the oven and let them cool to room temperature. This prevents condensation from forming when you store them.
  • Transfer the cooled, dried tomato skins to a spice or coffee grinder. Pulse until you achieve a fine powder consistency.
  • Transfer the tomato powder to an airtight container or spice jar. Store it in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and heat. Tomato powder should last up to a year (or longer) when stored properly.

To Make Tomato Powder in Food Dehydrator

  • Gather your tomato skins. Place on dehydrator sheets. Dehydrate at 135 degrees for 8-12 hours until brittle and no longer wet. For powder: Put dried tomato skins in coffee grinder and grind until powder. For flakes: Put dried tomato skins in food processor and pulse a few times until flakes. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place away from direct sunlight and heat. Tomato powder should last up to a year (or longer) when stored properly.
Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
Keyword: tomato powder
Vegan, Vegetarian Summer
Did you make this?I love seeing what you’ve made! Tag me on Instagram at @BrooklynFarmGirl and don’t forget to leave a comment & rating below.

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  1. J. Jackson says

    October 20, 2024 at 4:14 pm

    Tomato skins and seeds are anti-nutrients, i.e. they are bad for you. Tomato is part of the nightshade family. And the skin is not good for you.I agree with trying to use every part of food possible, but this one is better in your compost.

    Reply
  2. Linda Bridges says

    August 25, 2024 at 11:47 am

    I have a question. I dried my tomato skins 2 days. They wouldn’t dry and now they’re leathery. Do you have any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Pamela Reed says

      August 29, 2024 at 11:32 am

      If they weren’t brittle when they came out of the oven they needed more time to cook! Depending on tomato variety and water content, sometimes they take longer! In the future, continue to bake and check at 30 minute intervals until they are brittle and an easily snap.

      Reply
  3. Jodi Comer says

    December 20, 2023 at 12:20 am

    I’ve tried this with the first batch of our tomato harvest. However, should the powder (with just water to make a paste) have a bitter taste to it? Still experimenting with this, but didn’t want to add it to a pot of stew until I could find some feedback. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Pamela Reed says

      December 20, 2023 at 10:01 am

      Hey Jodi, when I add to soups and stews, I don’t turn it into a paste, instead I just sprinkle the powder directly into the pot. If you’re making tomato paste from tomato powder, it’s going to be highly concentrated flavor hence the taste. Once you add tomato paste to a stew or soup though, it blends nicely with the other flavors and should not taste bitter at all. Hope this helps.

      Reply
  4. Angel says

    September 12, 2023 at 11:28 am

    I’m not sure if this is mentioned Anywhere or not as I did not see it. I find the easiest way to peel your tomatoes is to put them in the freezer. I found this out completely by accident at the end of the season when I had all of those small batches of tomatoes that I didn’t have enough to can all at once or the time. Upon pulling them out on Canning day I noticed that the skins just slid right off! No more dipping in hot water and peeling by knife or fingers and having meat left on the skins. I haven’t done it any other way since and I’ve been doing this for years now. I have also been making tomato powder for that same amount of years and Other powders as well so as not to waste the harvest. Just as an example: eggplant skin dehydrated and powdered makes a nice thickener In soups very much like a thin cornstarch slurry And does not change the taste of your food.

    Reply
    • Dianna says

      July 18, 2024 at 7:19 pm

      Great feedback!! I would prefer to freeze the tomatoes whole to get the skin off of them rather than the boiling water/ice water method. Also, interesting info regarding eggplant skin powder! Had no idea people would use eggplant skin.

      Reply
  5. Stefanie says

    August 20, 2023 at 12:54 pm

    I’m gonna give this a try- how long does it keep?

    Reply
    • Pamela Reed says

      August 22, 2023 at 1:34 pm

      If stored properly it can last a year. Enjoy! ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  6. Bonny Rambarran says

    August 30, 2022 at 4:40 pm

    WOW – WHAT A GREAT IDEA!! I dry tomatoes and make powder — But never thought about doing it with the sjin!!

    Reply
  7. Maria Bougher says

    August 20, 2022 at 8:32 pm

    Its in the dehydrator at this very moment!! Can’t wait to see the results!

    Reply
  8. Tracie says

    June 27, 2022 at 8:46 pm

    Loved the post! Yep, Iโ€™m going to try this! Have you tried making any fruit powders? If so how do you use them?

    Reply
  9. Charlotte says

    June 9, 2022 at 5:02 pm

    Yes I made this. Was so happy with results

    Reply
  10. Dianne says

    October 17, 2021 at 12:26 pm

    I was reading about your tomato powder and I would love to try it out. Now my problem is I don’t have a dehydrator, could I use the oven to dry the skins out and get the same outcome.

    Reply
  11. Rose says

    August 13, 2021 at 6:32 pm

    Great recipes. Looking forward to more interesting ones like this one.

    Reply
  12. Terry says

    October 12, 2020 at 10:44 am

    Tried this and I could not ever get skins brittle . Dried for 6 days still not brittle enough to chop up. Does it matter on type of tomato used?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      October 12, 2020 at 11:14 am

      Hi Terry, how are you drying your tomato skins (for 6 days?!)? I would suggest using an oven to dry them or food dehydrator if you have one.

      Reply
  13. Carol says

    March 20, 2020 at 11:34 am

    I use the whole tomato for my tomato powder. I live in a small cabin, not much storage. Powdering saves a lot of space. I prefer cherry tomatos. I just half them place them skin side on trays and dry. Process them in a coffee grinder, wala powder. I use for sauces, chili, etc.

    Reply
  14. Ugo chidinma says

    August 28, 2019 at 11:06 am

    Can I use an oven for drying the tomato skin and still get the same results?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      August 29, 2019 at 11:44 am

      Yes you can. Please read up in the comments, Jen give perfect instructions there. Hope this helps!

      Reply
  15. Ugo chidinma says

    August 28, 2019 at 11:04 am

    Can your tomato powder be used to make stew or jollof rice?

    Reply
    • Pamela says

      August 29, 2019 at 11:43 am

      Hey Ugo, you can absolutely use tomato powder in stew and rice! I do it often. Enjoy!

      Reply
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Hi! I'm Pamela, an artist Mom who shares family recipes. My farm is a 1,000 sq ft apartment in NYC. Let's make dinner together.

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