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Knowing how to cut a fresh tomato ensures your salads will have pretty half-moon tomato wedges, your burgers gorgeous tomato slices, and your salsas perfectly square tomato dice. Tomatoes show up in cuisines all over the world – including the healthy Mediterranean diet – and I’m going to share my favorite way to cut them.
It is so worth learning to cut tomatoes the right way. Besides being delicious, they are packed with fiber, vitamins (A, C, and a tiny bit of E! potassium, and lycopene, an antioxidant that protects cells, and which researchers believe may have cancer-fighting properties.
Different cuts and uses for tomatoes:
- Tomato slices: part of sandwich and burger stacks and the center of caprese salads. Mmm.
- Tomato cubes: the foundation of salsas, part of good guacamole, chopped salads, or egg dishes like quiche and frittatas
- Tomato wedges: Salads, salads, salads!
How to cut a tomato (3 different ways)
Regardless how you want to cut your tomatoes, having a sharp high quality knife will make it much easier! Serrated knives (like a bread or steak knife) work best especially on riper, softer tomatoes. If you don’t have a serrated knife, use the sharpest blade in your kitchen.
How to cut tomato slices
- Place the tomato on its side so that the top of the tomato faces to the right. Slice off the top of the tomato to remove the stem.
- Then cut the tomato into thin parallel slices working from the top of the tomato to the bottom.
These perfectly cut tomato slices are ready not for your BBQ platter or lunchbox sandwiches!
How to dice tomatoes
- Start with the sliced tomatoes from the previous step. Then cut the slices into thin strips.
- Next, holding the sides together on the side, cut again crosswise in the opposite direction.
By cutting tomatoes into cubes this way, there is some solid tomato meat on each piece.
These cubed tomatoes are ready for guac, salsas, or frittatas.
How to cut tomato wedges
- First place the tomato with the stem facing up. Remove any green stems. Now, using your large serrated knife, cut the tomato in half from the stem to the bottom.
- Then, cut it again in half from the stem to the bottom to create quarters
There’s no need to remove the stem green part, but if it bothers you, you can slice it off.
Now, you can cut smaller wedges by cutting the quarters down the center, making sure to cut through the part where the stem was.
Viola! Cut larger tomato wedges for classic salads.
Smaller tomato wedges work well as a garnish on the side of a bowl of soup or other hot dishes.
Recipes with tomatoes
- Crostini with Roasted Sliced Tomatoes
- Tabouli Salad
- Fattoush Salad
- Tomato Lasagna
- Mozzarella Sandwich with Tomatoes
- Tomato Rice Pilaf
- Bulgur Pilaf
- Grain Bowls with Tomatoes
- Pesto Tomato Flatbread
- Burrito Bowl
- Ground Beef Tacos with Diced Tomatoes
- Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad
- Tomato Basil Bruschetta
Frequently asked questions
Yes. For texture and flavor, whole intact tomatoes are best kept out of the refrigerator, but once cut into, tomatoes need to be refrigerated. Tightly wrapped or packaged they are good for three days. If storing tomato slices, you can try putting a paper towel at the bottom of the container to absorb extra moisture.
Yes. And unlike fresh greens, tomato slices do not need to be blanched before freezing. Just freeze individual tomato pieces on a sheet pan and then transfer to a freezer bag. The frozen slices should be good for up to eight months.
Tomatoes can be a challenge on the cutting board. Their squishable combination of thin skins and gelatinous interiors with lots of seeds makes cutting into them akin to trying to slice a balloon full of goo. I hope this tutorial on cutting tomatoes helps make it less challenging.
For more cooking resources, check out:
- How to Shred Brussel Sprouts
- How to Freeze Garlic
- How to Properly Cut an Onion
- How to Cut an Avocado
- How to Cook Dry Chickpeas
- How to Cut a Head of Lettuce
- How to Cut Cauliflower into Florets
- How to Make Oatmeal
- How To Cut Cabbage
- How To Make Oat Flour
If you’ve found this cooking resource for How to Cut a Tomato helpful or if you’ve tried any recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience with this technique. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
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How to Cut a Tomato
Ingredients
- 1 ripe tomato
Instructions
- For sliced tomatoes: Place the tomato on its side so that the top of the tomato faces to the right. Using a large serrated knife, slice off the top of the tomato to remove the stem. Then cut the tomato into parallel thin slices working from the top of the tomato towards to bottom.
- For diced tomatoes: Start with the sliced tomatoes. Then cut into thin strips, then cut them crosswise in the opposite direction.
- For tomato wedges: Place the tomato with the stem facing up. Remove any green stems. Using a large serrated knife, cut the tomato in half from the stem to the bottom. Then cut it again in half from the stem to the bottom to create quarters. You can cut smaller wedges by cutting the quarters down the center, making sure to cut through the part where the stem was.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
This is a helpful article! I am planning to make Caprese this weekend. 😊
Happy to hear it was helpful!