There’s a reason people (myself included) spend all year waiting for tomato season. As farmers’ markets fill with colorful heirlooms, juicy beefsteaks, and sweet cherry tomatoes, this beloved fruit reaches its peak, bursting with flavor and endless possibilities.

Sure, tomatoes are available year-round, but there’s nothing quite like summer tomatoes. They’re in a league of their own: sweeter, more vibrant, and so delicious that sometimes the best preparation is simply a sprinkle of salt and a drizzle of olive oil.

Whether you’re layering tomatoes onto sandwiches, tossing them into salads, simmering them into sauces, muddling them into a cocktail, or enjoying them straight from the garden, now is the time to make the most of tomatoes. To inspire your tomato-rich cooking, we tapped chefs and food pros for their favorite recipes starring this summer staple. Plus, the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen shares expert tips for choosing, storing, and prepping tomatoes for maximum flavor.

Variety of fresh tomatoes in different colors and sizes arranged on a white surface, including yellow cherry tomatoes.

First, a quick guide to the varieties you’ll find at this time of year:

Types of tomatoes

Variety of ripe tomatoes including a large yellowish-green one with water droplets and smaller red tomatoes.

What to look for when buying

Whether you’re at the farmers’ market, a roadside stand, or the grocery store, buying a good tomato comes down to paying attention. A few easy checks can help you find the juicy, flavorful ones and avoid the disappointing ones.

Feel it, don’t squeeze it

No need to give a tomato a squeeze, even if it is a small one (you'll bruise it). Just pick it up and feel its weight in your hand. A good tomato should feel heavy for its size and should be firm with a little give—not hard as a baseball, and not soft enough for your touch to leave an indentation.

Take a sniff

Smell the tomato near its stem. A ripe tomato should have a fresh, sweet, garden-like aroma. If you have to work to smell anything at all, its flavor probably isn't going to knock your socks off; it could benefit from some additional ripening time, or it just might not be tasty.

Scan the skin

Look for smooth skin, a vibrant color, and an overall healthy appearance. Avoid tomatoes with large bruises, deep cracks, wrinkled spots, or pale patches near their stems. Heirlooms get a pass for being a little quirky-looking, but they should still look vibrant and healthy.

Try them all

Red tomatoes are just the beginning. Each color comes with different flavor characteristics. The only way to know which ones you like or love is to try a few; after all, tomato season doesn't last forever.

Store smartly

Tomatoes stay freshest and tastiest at room temperature, away from direct sunlight.
Keep whole tomatoes on the counter until you’re ready to eat them—only refrigerate them after they’re cut. To ripen tomatoes faster, place them in a paper bag with a banana. Once sliced, store tomatoes in the fridge and enjoy within a day or two for the best flavor. Read more about how to properly store tomatoes.

How our pros cook with fresh tomatoes

We asked some of our favorite chefs and food personalities to share how they make the most of peak-season tomatoes and a few unexpected ways to showcase their flavor.

Hannah Chamberlain

Take tomatoes to the bar: Cocktail influencer and author Hannah Chamberlain loves tomatoes for their versatility and says their sweet side deserves more attention, especially when it comes to drinks.

Stylized illustration of a woman with short hair against a red circular background, smiling slightly.


“As a kid, I’d eat sweet cherry tomatoes by the handful. This cocktail captures that just-picked flavor—bright, delicate, and slightly savory—blended with citrus and bubbles for a crisp, refreshing drink.”

Try this too: Skip the olives and garnish a dirty martini with cherry tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese, balsamic vinegar, cracked black pepper, and flaky salt.

Chuck Cruz

Go green: Recipe developer Chuck Cruz reaches for green tomatoes early in the season, using their tartness and freshness to enliven bold dishes. Their crisp texture and lively acidity make them especially useful in sauces and condiments, where they can cut through rich flavors and add welcome contrast.

Illustration of a man with glasses and short hair on a red background.

“Grated green tomato adds a fresh, vibrant layer to this crying tiger sauce, balancing its punchy, acidic, spicy flavor. It’s a simple twist that makes the dish feel right for early grilling season.”

Try this too: Use fresh tomato juice from peak-season tomatoes to make a tomato shandy, or grate green tomatoes into vinaigrettes and sauces for a bright, tangy kick.

Eitan Bernath

In season, stock up: Celebrity chef, cookbook author, and influencer Eitan Bernath believes that great tomatoes deserve to take center stage. Rather than treating them as just one ingredient in a dish, he layers their flavor in multiple forms, showcasing their versatility.

Smiling person with short hair in a light sweater against a red background.

“I was inspired by a dish I had at Shmoné in New York City that piled tomatoes over gazpacho. I double down on tomatoes here too, using them in the salad and the dressing, then serving it all over creamy labneh.”

Try this too: Turn ripe tomatoes into tomato jam or even tomato sorbet with olive oil. And if you're serving tomatoes raw, never refrigerate them—cold temperatures can leave them mealy and dull their flavor.

How to prep tomatoes

How to Slice a Tomato

A hand slicing a tomato with the cut half showing its seeds and inner structure on a simple background.

1.

Place the tomato on its side on a cutting board. Holding the stem end, use a serrated knife or another very sharp knife to slice the tomato crosswise to your desired thickness.

Close-up of a knife slicing into a round object with a star-shaped center pattern and a hand guiding the knife.

2.

When you reach the stem end, use the tip of the knife to cut around the core at an angle, then discard the core.

How to Cut a Tomato Into Wedges

Hand holding a tomato with a knife slicing through the center.

1.

Stand the tomato upright with the stem facing up. Using a serrated knife or another very sharp knife, cut straight through the stem to halve the tomato.

A hand holding a tomato being cut with a Swiss Army knife.

2.

Use the knife to make two diagonal cuts on each side of the core of each half to remove it.

Slicing a whole fruit into two pieces with a knife, revealing the interior texture and seeds.

3.

Cut each tomato half lengthwise into wedges of your desired thickness.

How to Cut a Tomato Into Pieces

Hand holding a tomato with a knife slicing through the center.

1.

Stand the tomato upright with the stem facing up. Using a serrated knife or another very sharp knife, cut straight through the stem to halve the tomato.

A hand holding a tomato being cut with a Swiss Army knife.

2.

Use the knife to make two diagonal cuts on each side of the core of each half to remove it.

A hand holding a segmented tomato while slicing it with a knife.

3.

Cut each tomato half lengthwise into wedges, then cut across the wedges to create bite-size pieces.

Photographs: Mike Garten. Food styling: Tina Martinez. Prop styling: Lis Engelhart. Illustrations: Laura Formisano/AI. Chef headshots: SpiritedLA (Chamberlain); Scott Rossi (Cruz); Eric Vitale (Bernath).