Slow-Cooker Tomato Compote Recipe (2024)

By Sarah DiGregorio

Slow-Cooker Tomato Compote Recipe (1)

Total Time
6 hours and 10 minutes
Rating
4(1,095)
Notes
Read community notes

This savory compote — a typically sweet, slow-simmered fruit preserve — is a delicious way to eat cherry tomatoes, especially those that are on the verge of being too soft. But it’s also a great way to intensify the flavor of middling supermarket cherry tomatoes in the winter. Either way, the sweet-tart tomatoes can build super-quick meals: Put them on top of ricotta or avocado toast, or squish them into a grilled cheese. Toss them with hot or cold pasta. Use the oil and juices in salad dressings and the tomatoes in the salad itself. The compote can be used right away, but it’s best the next day and will keep in the fridge for at least a week. Feel free to throw in any hardy, woody herbs you like, but don’t add very delicate herbs like basil, chives or dill before cooking. You can add a handful of those softer herbs before serving, if you like.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 3 ½ cups

  • 2pounds cherry or grape tomatoes (about 4 pints)
  • 4garlic cloves, smashed
  • ½cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1tablespoon honey
  • 2tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2bushy sprigs fresh herbs, such as rosemary, tarragon, thyme, sage, parsley or a mix
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • Juice of ¼ lemon (about 2 teaspoons)

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

222 calories; 19 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 616 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Slow-Cooker Tomato Compote Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, add the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, honey, vinegar, herbs and red-pepper flakes (if using), and stir to combine. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and a few generous grinds of pepper. Cook on low for 6 hours, until the tomatoes are wrinkled, sweet and very soft, and some have burst. Remove the herb sprigs and squeeze in the lemon juice. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if necessary. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Janet

How would you adapt this to cooking without a slow cooker? perhaps roast in oven at low temperature--but how low, and for how long?

Tara

Can you freeze this to keep for use later on?

Joe

I roast them in the oven at 350° for about 45 min. I’ve tossed them with pasta and goat cheese

Kim

It freezes very well in a ziploc. Just freeze flat and break off what you need. I do several batches to tide me through winter.

Cathy

How long will this last in the fridge?

Mary N

If you use ripe sungolds you don't need to add any honey or sugar. I slow roast them in a 200 degree oven, a few hours, w/oo and salt and they caramelize like candy. I leave them somewhat moist, not too dry, so it isn't a loose compote as much as a goopy divine thing. It freezes beautifully, I eat it through the winter and it's like August in your mouth, lol

Mick Watson

I use a sheet pan with parchment paper. It works like a champ! Cook very low, 200 or so, for as many hours as you can spare (no fewer than three, no more than eight). Adjust the measurements in this recipe to fit your sheet pan. You can then lift and slightly fold the parchment to funnel off all that goodness into a bowl and store it right on your counter for quick access!

Colleen

Janet: I make something similar in my oven and it is to die for over grilled fleshy fish such as cod or halibut, mixed in with any pasta or risotto or spooned atop crostini.Try this as your base: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/honey-roasted-cherry-tomatoes-51174600I've never added the balsamic vinegar or fresh herbs but will try in the future. The honey-garlic-olive-oil-salt recipe I use is simply delicious.

Gerry

No slow cooker? I roast in a 325 oven for about 2 hours. Been slow roasting cherry tomatoes this way for years. I didn't know to call it a compote. Do know there is usually a jar of it in my fridge. Occasionally add a few jalapeno to the tomatoes and very often add whole garlic cloves. Pour into sterilised jars right from the oven. Keeps for weeks in fridge. It's a great topping for everything from roasted cod to a slice of olive oil rubbed baguette.

JPP

I’ve roasted tomatoes every which way fir years, and while all good, I think they are best if you have the time at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours. For a pint of cherries I would add about 1/8 a cup of olive oil, about half that of basalmic vinegar, and some fresh - if you have it -thyme. Simple and delicious.

MCH

Like Colleen, I have been making the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall version in the oven for years. I first saw it as an insert in the Sunday London paper. Fantastic. I use thyme, garlic and plenty of red pepper flakes. Great on a slice of toast. Yes, it freezes. Yes, it keeps in the fridge for a week or so, but it never lasts that long at my house. Also delicious as a modified tomato and mozzarella (or burrata) salad. I will likely prefer roasting to the crock pot, but I will try this method

Tobalah

Pizza topping!

Mick Watson

This should last a couple weeks in the fridge. You'll want to bring it to room temperature before using as the olive oil will congeal in the fridge. I leave this in a bowl on my kitchen counter for quick access. It lasts about a week there, if I don't use it all up first!

emil

Question--Can something similar be done with quartered or halved plum or other types of larger tomatoes? Please advise on adating this for other types of tomatoes.Comment--One advantage of a slow cooker--not heating up the kitchen with the oven on for such a long time. In cooler months I slow- bake, -roast many foods but not in the summer.

D. Ward

To reduce liquid in crockpot, bring to a boil with lid on, remove the lid and simmer until you like the consistency.

aehtorod

Wonderfully delicious!!I added tiny new potatoes and chunky slices of onion. Substituted two red peppers for pepper flakes. Cooked in a Dutch oven at 200C for 4.5 hours. For some reason that I don’t understand, the onion remained crunchy and the potatoes were not over cooked, while the tomatoes were “melted” as one would expect. Out of this world.

Fred

This recipe was a disaster. Don't know what made me think a slow cooker would do it. Slow cooker did not evaporate the liquid at all. After several hours I transfered this to the oven and cooked another 2 hours to get it jammy. Then had a pot full of great tasting cooked down tomatoes with too many tough skins. Yuk. I ended up with a great tasting sauce after straining the skins out.

Christina Shankar

Made this almost exactly as described, but accidentally used brown rice syrup instead of honey, and it was still good. I used the slow cooker setting on an Instant Pot and was pleased with the results. I can see using the juice as an ingredient in a vinaigrette. Put a few tomatoes on an English muffin with a scrambled egg and that was a fine little dinner. Used rosemary, sage and parsley from the deck garden before frost kills everything. Excellent!

Eileen

Love this recipe with 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended olive oil.

consistency and other notes

The sauce was loose, but flavorful. Ended up using it in a cheese bake/ pasta dish. Read something that said oven roasting and crockpot are both good options. Not sure if shelf life but some ppl said they can leave it about a week on the counter, longer in fridge.

wingin' it

Started these today in the slow cooker and after at least six hours decided to put them in a sauce pan to finish otherwise would have been all night. Reduced to a nice jammy consistency and bonus - some roasted spots on the tomatoes. Tastes divine. An excellent use of the last of my garden's exuberant cherry tomatoes!

D. Marie

I suggest using less oil. Maybe 1/4 cup. Extra honey for my taste. Basil instead of rosemary. The skins were kind of unappealing--blending is a great idea.

Michael

Simply delicious. Much more flavourful than an oven version!

Susan

I made mine with Sungolds from my garden. It was soupy coming out of the slow cooker but okay once I simmered it for a while. I'm not really down with rosemary in this kind of sauce so will omit and add basil in at the last minute. Otherwise, it was good.

Raquel

Has anyone try to can them and process the jars in a hot water bath?

Dorothy

I was disappointed in my results. It’s too thin and filled with tomato skins. I’m going to put it in the blender and use it as a sauce.I have better luck roasting in the oven. Turn oven to 450 degrees. While it heats up, halve your cherry tomatoes and put in an oven safe baking dish. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt. Add desired herbs. When the oven reaches 450, put in the tomatoes, turn off the oven, and leave them for 8 hours.

Kirby

Any suggested cooking temps and times for sous vide?

vger21

My result using tomatoes from my garden was a little watery. Next time, I'll salt and drain the tomatoes. I was still able to make a pretty good spaghetti sauce from my compote, cooking it down to thicken it.

Joanne

Had so many tomatoes (of all kinds, not just cherry) to deal with and this was the perfect solution. I went light on the honey (tomatoes didn't need it). Found that cooking covered on low it was still quite watery after 6 hours so did an additional 4 with lid off. Picked out the herbs, ran rest through a food mill, packed into plastic zip lock bags and froze. Really easy way to get a fantastic tomato sauce, and so efficient to use a slow cooker instead of running the stove or oven.

Andrea

Love the flavor! Question - i have lots of tom seeds, how did you get rid of some? i used an immersion blender for 1/2 the batch so there werent too many skins.After blending, mixed it with other half and continuing roasting in oven for luquid to evaporate a bit. Serving it over goat cheese tonight with crackers & glasses of white wine.

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Slow-Cooker Tomato Compote Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Can you leave lid off slow cooker to thicken? ›

Take the lid off

Place the cooker on a high setting, and open the lid for 30-45 minutes to let excess moisture cook off. The liquid will reduce, leaving you with a thick and delicious gravy or sauce. (Tip: This trick can also be applied for thickening stews, or when you've accidentally added too much liquid.)

How do I thicken a sauce in a slow cooker? ›

A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of a cold liquid with cornstarch. It is used as a thickening agent, and is particularly common in Asian sauces. As a rule of thumb, dissolve 2 parts cold water and 1 part cornstarch. Add the slurry to your sauce as it simmers in the slow cooker.

Why is my sauce watery in the slow cooker? ›

This moist environment allows you to leave food to cook for hours without risking it drying out. But because there is no evaporation, the liquid isn't able to reduce and thicken naturally in a slow cooker, often resulting in watery sauces and loose gravies. The common solution? Using a thickener.

Can you eat too many cherry tomatoes? ›

Eating too many cherry tomatoes can give you acid reflux and other negative digestive side effects. This may be due to the malic acid in cherry tomatoes.

Is 4 hours on high the same as 8 hours on low in a slow cooker? ›

The difference between the two settings isn't a higher temperature, it's the time it takes for the slow cooker to reach the simmer point. On high, that's around three to four hours, and on low, it's seven to eight, according to Crock-Pot. So imagine if your dinner is cooking away on high all day while you're at work.

How much time do you lose taking the lid off slow cooker? ›

For safe and successful cooking

Keep the lid on. It can take 20 minutes to regain the heat lost from removing the lid. If the recipe calls for stirring or adding ingredients, replace the lids as soon as possible.

How do you thicken tomato sauce in a slow cooker? ›

Make a slurry.

Just whisk together equal parts cornstarch and water to make a slurry — using about 1 tablespoon cornstarch per cup of liquid in your recipe — then whisk this into your pot. Cook until the sauce begins to thicken.

How do you thicken sauce in a slow cooker without flour? ›

Cream is one of the most delicious ways to thicken a soup — all that rich milk fat helps to emulsify the soup and make it even creamier. Cream can curdle with the long cook time of the slow cooker, so I prefer canned milks like evaporated milk or coconut milk for thickening instead.

How do you thicken stew in a slow cooker without flour? ›

Use cornstarch to thicken your stew towards the end of cooking, as cooking it for a long time can break down the starch and your stew will thin out again.

Will spaghetti sauce thicken in crockpot? ›

If you cook your spaghetti sauce in the crock pot and it isn't very thick, the best option is to use the Cornstarch Slurry option. You will whisk together equal parts of cornstarch with equal amount of liquid (water) and add it to the sauce. Then you will continue cooking while your sauce thickens.

How do you get rid of excess liquid in a slow cooker? ›

If it comes to serving and you open your slow cooker to find a watery sauce, never fear we have an easy answer. Take the lid off, turn the machine up to high heat and leave it for 30-45 minutes to let excess moisture cook off. The liquid will reduce, leaving you with a thick and delicious gravy or sauce.

Is it better to thicken stew with flour or cornstarch? ›

Cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. When a gravy, sauce, soup or stew recipe calls for flour, use half as much cornstarch to thicken. To thicken hot liquids, first mix cornstarch with a little cold water until smooth. Gradually stir into hot liquid until blended.

Why does my stomach hurt after eating tomatoes? ›

The levels of tomatine found in ripe tomatoes are usually low, and not a cause for concern. However, ingesting large amounts of tomatine, especially when consuming unripe tomatoes or tomato leaves, can cause digestive problems which result in symptoms like nausea, cramps and diarrhea.

When should you not eat cherry tomatoes? ›

Acidic foods such as cherry tomatoes may worsen acid reflux and its symptoms ( 59 , 60 ). Therefore, people with GERD or severe acid reflux may need to avoid cherry tomatoes or limit their cherry tomato intake.

Are tomatoes anti inflammatory? ›

It has powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, making it important for the prevention of chronic degenerative and inflammatory conditions. Crushing or finely dicing tomatoes helps liberate the lycopene from the cell walls of the tomato where it is bound to fiber.

What happens if you leave the lid off a slow cooker? ›

Due to the nature of a slow cooker, there is no need to stir the food unless it specifically says to in your recipe. In fact, taking the lid off to stir food causes the slow cooker to lose a significant amount of heat, extending the cooking time required. Therefore, it is best not to remove the lid for stirring.

Do you leave lid off to thicken sauce? ›

Cooking a soup, stew, or sauce uncovered allows water to evaporate, so if your goal is to reduce a sauce or thicken a soup, skip the lid. The longer you cook your dish, the more water that will evaporate and the thicker the liquid becomes—that means the flavors become more concentrated, too.

Does cooking with lid off thicken sauce? ›

To thicken a soup, stew, or sauce, leaving the lid uncovered is ideal. "It must be off, or semi-covered, if you are slowing down the reduction process," says Stephen Chavez, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.

What to do if slow cooker is too watery? ›

Use cornstarch at the end of the cooking time. In a little bowl stir together a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch and a couple tablespoons water. Turn the slow cooker to high and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Keep the lid off and let the sauce get thickened up.

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