Grilled Tomato “Lollipop” Toasts & Favorite Cherry Tomato Varieties
This grilled cherry tomato skewers recipe is updated with a new video. Enjoy! This is the first in a series we’re sharing for Summer on our favorite heirloom tomatoes that we’re growing. And we’ll have a delicious recipe included too! You can visit all our tomato recipes on our tomato page.
Oh we know they’re not really lollipops. They’re simple and delicious grilled cherry tomato skewers. But when we were grilling these little red jewels the term “tomato skewers” sounded so mundane. After plucking these super sweet cherry tomatoes from their vines, they were so cute and plump, it sounded more appropriate (and fun) to call them lollipops. Because they’re so sweet like candy during this time of year, it only made sense to call them lollipops if we jabbed them on a stick.
Summer screams of bbq and we’re constantly heating up our grill to cook up what ever flavors epitomize the season. Our five varieties of cherry tomatoes are peaking out as they normally do this time of year. They’re always the first to explode when the first hear wave arrives and this year, a week long of heat and humidity accelerated their growth and ripeness quicker than ever before. Yay!
Watch Video of these Delish Grilled Cherry Tomato Skewers on Toast:
Our cherry tomato plants are going bonkers, meaning they just don’t know when to stop producing fruit. We’re not asking them to stop either. Luckily, we’ve had family and friends visit so much for the last 4 weeks that all the cherry tomatoes are going to good homes and bellies. Nothing is better than sending home a basket full of vine ripened cherry tomatoes.
We’ve always grown Sweet One Hundred cherry tomatoes and enjoyed their wonderful bounty. But last year we found a variety called Sweet Million and have been hooked ever since. The difference between the two is that we find the Sweet Million to produce much more cherry tomatoes on longer branches and they’re sweeter. We always wait till they turn a deep red on the vine to where they want to just fall off the vine at the slightest touch. This is when the cherry tomato is at it’s sweetest and like candy. Last Summer we were making tomato bacon pizza’s like mad and never got tired of eating them.
Sugar cherry tomatoes are new to our garden this year and they’re mind blowing amazing. Even when they’re in their orange/red color stage, they’re still super sweet. And if you wait till they fall off the vine, they’re just like their name– Sugar sweet!
Yellow pear and as always, sun gold cherry tomatoes are in the garden again and we couldn’t be happier. Their color and beauty is always a treat to have in the garden. Our friends and family love plucking these varieties and adding it to their to-go basket of red cherries. It’s like a rainbow in a basket.So what do we do with all these cherry tomatoes? This weekend we grilled them on the bbq and call them our tomato “lollipops”! Have you ever grilled your cherry tomatoes? They’re super amazing and the texture is like roasted tomatoes, but you don’t have to turn on your hot oven in the Summer. And best of all, they have the wonderful bbq flavor to them.
A simple way to enjoy these grilled cherry tomato skewers “lollipops” is on grilled bread and swiped with a nice layer of ricotta cheese. Summer can’t get any better than this. Make sure to make a big platter of these little skewer lollipops for your gathering because they’re sure to be a hit. They’re so good, your guests will probably just eat them off the skewers like candy too!
Happy Summer,
diane and todd
Check out a Few of our Favorite BBQs & Tools:
Some tools, grills, and smokers make BBQ and grilling all the more enjoyable. Here’s some of the favorites:
The Ultimate BBQ Tongs –Avoid BBQ Tool Sets. We’ve yet to find a set where we love everything in it. Either the spatula or the tongs or the brush is wonky. Or there is stuff in there that is never needed. Do yourself a favor and just buy what you need a la carte. For grilling tongs, these bad boys are awesome.
Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling –Have a grilling or BBQ question, you’ll most likely find an answer here. The most comprehensive grilling & BBQ book we’ve ever found, by far. He breaks down the science and myths, the tools, solid recipes, perfecting techniques, what’s BBQ competition tricks aren’t worth the extra time at home, and much more. You will be grill & BBQ enlightened.
Oasity BBQ Light –Grilling should never be confined to the daylight. Love this BBQ light. Good brightness, solid magnets plus clamp option. We’ve gone through 1/2 dozen different grilling lights before falling in love with this one. Be ready to grill all night long.
Oklahoma Joe’s Reverse Flow Offset Smoker –Love this offset smoker. Solid construction. Isn’t perfect, but with a couple easy modifications it will smoke as well as the $1k + smokers. Can use the main chamber also as a regular charcoal grill. Love using it as a regular grill using lump charcoal or briquettes. Huge cooking surface.
Charbroil 4-burner Gas Grill –One of the best for the money. Solid gas grill! Nothing like the quick convenience of a good gas grill.
Grill Baskets –Some days we just need to keep the little things contained on the grill. Throw them all into a basket and grill from there. Easy-peasy.
Grilled Tomato Skewers on Toast Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) cherry tomatoes
- 3 Tablespoons (45 ml) olive oil or grape seed oil
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 2 cloves (2 cloves) garlic , finely minced
- salt ,to taste
- pepper , to taste
- about 10-12 , 8" bamboo skewers
- Sliced crusty bread
- 1 cup (246 g) ricotta cheese , softened goat cheese or your favorite cheese. Or even pesto is great!
Instructions
- Soak and fully immerse bamboo skewers in water for about 30 minutes
- Wash and dry cherry tomatoes. Remove the stems if you want. Keeping them on just makes them prettier, then you can pull them off before serving.
- In large bowl, combine oil, Worcestershire and garlic. Add cherry tomatoes to marinade bowl and toss to combine and coat tomatoes.
- Skewer about 4-5 tomatoes on each bamboo skewer. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste on each tomato skewer.
- Heat Grill to medium/high heat.
- Reserve the leftover marinade and brush them on the sliced crusty bread. If you need more marinade, just add a little more oil to the bowl.
- Grill tomato skewers on each side for about 3-4 minutes, or until they are cooked. Cooking time will vary depending on the heat of your grill and size of your cherry tomatoes.
- After tomatoes are cooked, grill both sides of the bread until crispy.
- Spread cheese on slices of bread and top with tomatoes. Remove stems if you want before serving.
I don’t ever get tired of this recipe. I’ve been spending all summer long with these amazing skewers.
These tomatoes look incredible! Such a vibrant colour. You can’t beat them homegrown, off the vines from the garden. Delicious!
Marie x
Delicious. This has satisfied my bruschetta cravings, super easy to whip up and a great way to use up all of the garden tomatoes. I found this recipe on pinterest. I’ve also taken your suggestion and planted sweet millions tomatoes this year. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’d actually be perfectly happy eating them straight from the skewer! 🙂 All of the tomatoes in our garden are still green, but I’ll have to try this as soon as they ripen up. This will come in handy when we’ll have more tomatoes than we know what to make of.
Any recommendations on what would be used instead of Worcestershire sauce to make it vegetarian?
Hi Sara,
We’ll often use soy sauce as a vegetarian substitution for Worcestershire sauce. We’ve had others mention to us that there is also vegan Worcestershire sauce available, but we haven’t noticed it while shopping.
Wow… these are absolutely adorable, and it’s such a great idea for fresh summer tomatoes!
I’ve never had your luck growing my own tomatoes, but this recipes is TOTALLY worth a separate trip to the store to pick some up! Plus the lollipop look is irresistible. 🙂
Yum! Nothing is better than really good roasted tomatoes on toasted bread. I love the use of ricotta. I hadn’t considered that.
These tomato lollipops looks very cute!
Simple and beautiful recipe! I’m going to make this and I’m also going to share this with all my foodie friends. I love simple rustic dishes like this, that bring out the best in an ingredient.
hi there!
is there an alternative to grilling it, besides using a grill pan? would roasting in the oven work?
thanks!
Sure. Roast it, pan sear it. Any of those would work.
Beautiful ans simple.
This is really my kind of food!
have a beautiful summer!
Roberta
These cherry tomatoes make me mouth-watering. Such a fantastic recipe!
I’ve never thought about growing it until seeing your gorgeous lollipop. Now I’m about to run for finding how to grow it. LOL
Again, thanks for sharing.
What a great idea! These are the perfect snack to serve to friends at summer cookouts.
These are superb, especially when still warm. I used farmer’s cheese instead of ricotta and cut the tomatoes in half and cooked them on a grill pan (I live in an apartment and don’t have a regular grill). I also added some torn-up basil leaves. I ended up making three batches for dinner and didn’t eat anything else 🙂
simplistic yet flavourful..love that! Great photos …anything on a stick is playful.
First off, these tomatoes may be the most perfect things ever! Love these photos, and always enjoy a perfectly grilled veggie skewer! Yum – thanks for reminding me to do this soon! xo Big Hugs @ Waiting on Martha
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!! We have quite the abundance of cherry tomatoes, as well, so I am absolutely making these tomorrow!! 🙂
That Tomato looks fantastic – I think you made the right choice 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
These are my kind of lollipops 🙂
ok this is one the reasons i wish i had a grill…can i do these on my stovetop? I know they won’t have that same blistered taste but i could still do it, right?
I try to grow tomatoes every year, especially cherry ones. They were always in my garden growing up so they have to be in it now that I’m older! I usually just pull them off the vine, give ’em a quick rinse and pop them in my mouth, but I’ve been noticing so many little green ones showing up all at once that grilling a few “lollypops” once they are all bright red seems like the right thing to do with them. Thank you for the great idea!
Magnificent grilled cherry tomatoes!
To put them on toast are wonderful!
‘Spicy’ greetings
Delicious! I love tomatoes. These look perfect.
These represent summer, deliciously!
Came back to tell you that we grilled these last night, along with some sourdough bread that we’d rubbed with garlic, and slathered them with goat cheese and sprinkled them with a few basil leaves. And also sautéed some kale with olive oil and garlic, and added a few greens on our open-faced sandwiches while we were at it. And it was one of the most soul-satisfying summer meals! Gosh , I love summer!
the PERFECT summer dish, what more could you need
I kinda wish we were having this for dinner. Tonight.
Just had teeny tomatoes on chicken shish kebob. It is amazing how much flavor those little buggers add. And this looks so good. It is going on my summer grill and into my mouth!
Your garden looks just ethereal, and the tomatoes are like jewels of the best kind. You have me hungering for cherry tomatoes now, and I am eager to try the recipe, although I will have to roast them in the oven as I don’t have a grill.
Our cherry tomatoes aren’t quite ripe yet, but I can’t wait to try this!
These. Look. Incredible.
We love cherry tomatoes! Here in Indiana, we are even close to enjoying our harvest yet. I’ll definitely be adding your tomato recipes to my list.
~Liz@HoosierHomemade
Lollipops sound way better than skewers! They’re such a hot ticket right now in the stores and this is a perfect way to use them.
Love these tomato skewers! Cherry tomatoes are our kiddos favorites!
So summer! So beautifully presented!
Beyond delish!
These are absolutely adorable, and it’s such a great idea for fresh summer tomatoes!
What a great idea!
looks amazing!
These are adorable! I love these simple summer flavors. This is a perfect app or light meal!
I’m all over this!! LOVE!
Looks delicious! I’ve never had your luck growing my own tomatoes, but this recipes is TOTALLY worth a separate trip to the store to pick some up! Plus the lollipop look is irresistible.
These are so cute! What a great way to use garden tomatoes, love it!
I’ll gladly put down my TootsiePops for these kind of lollipops. They look incredible – I love tomatoes and yours are perfection. Pinned!