I love eating raw sun-dried tomatoes as an evening snack and I know many people are out there who also like to eat them row, however, they do extremely tasty when added to salads and other dishes like Pizza.
Recently there is a trend of using sun-dried tomatoes in dishes, it not only makes the dishes appealing to the eyes but also they are very tasty and healthy.
You can use sun dried tomatoes in your everyday food as well to increase the overall flavor and taste of the dish.
But what if sun dried tomatoes are out of stock in your regular grocery shop? well, don’t worry there are many substitutes for sun dried tomatoes that you can use.
Before I tell you substitutes for sun dried tomatoes, let’s first discuss what are sun-dried tomatoes and what they taste like.
Many viewers on my website haven’t heard or know much about sun-dried tomatoes, so for all of them, let’s quickly discuss about sun dried tomatoes and then we will move on to sun dried tomatoes substitutes.
What are Sun Dried Tomatoes? What do they taste like?
So, sun dried tomatoes are nothing but ripe tomatoes that are dehydrated by putting them under the sun, by doing so, they lose their water and thus they become chewer, also giving them a sweet and tangy flavor.
I myself like to eat them raw but many people use them in various dishes such as Pizza, Sandwiches, Pasta, etc.
They are very versatile and can be used in a lot of dishes, you can also add extra ingredients along with sun-dried tomatoes to give them a flavorful taste.
However, it highly depends on the process opted to prepare them, different processes add unique flavor, I have tried multiple sun-dried tomatoes and sometimes they taste different than other times.
Sometimes you get the smoky taste, and sometimes a normally sweet and tangy flavor.
Now let’s discuss substitutes for sun dried tomatoes.
My Personal favorite Substitutes for Sun Dried Tomatoes
Roasted Tomatoes
Roasted tomatoes can be a great substitute for sun-dried tomatoes, the reason being, when you roast tomatoes, all the moisture gets removed which results in a natural taste.
There are plenty of ways to roast tomatoes, what I prefer is, I use the oven to roast them. If you also wanna do the same, take my advice, cut your tomatoes into small pieces and preheat your oven to 375°F.
Now take the baking sheet, put your tomato piece in it, and olive oil, and some seasoning to give it a warm taste.
Roast them for around 30 minutes and then take them out, after that add oregano over them (that’s how I do it) or you can add any herbs that you like.
Now add roasted tomatoes to your desired dish, I highly suggest you add roasted tomatoes to pasta and sandwiches, it just makes them very delicious.
Canned Tomatoes
Canned Tomatoes are very versatile and you can them in many dishes and they just gel so well.
However, you should know that canned tomatoes aren’t as chewer as sun-dried tomatoes, but the flavor you get is very much similar.
If you really like the chewer texture of sun dried tomatoes then you can pick the dried canned tomatoes as they offer a similar texture and taste.
The best way to substitute sun dried tomatoes with canned tomatoes is by draining the water of canned tomatoes and making them thick.
Draining the water from canned tomatoes will leave the solid particle only but it will lose some flavor as well, so if you don’t want to drain the water, then simply just adding tomato puree to canned tomatoes will do the job perfectly.
Dried cranberries
Dried cranberries are a very good option to use while running out of sun dried tomatoes, I myself used them several times,s and not gonna lie they taste really good.
Keep in mind, the taste of dried cranberries is different from Sun Dried tomatoes, what I have felt, dried cranberry is on the sweeter side whereas Sun Dried tomatoes are tangy and chewer.
If any particular dish demands tomato-based ingredients then you might not get the desired taste. However, you can use them on dishes like Pasta, Pizza, and Sandwiches.
To perfectly substitute it in every dish (including dishes that demand tomato-based ingredients), I recommend adding tomato puree along with dried cranberries and then they will taste just fine.
Overall, you can use them as a substitute for Sun-dried tomatoes.
Roasted Red Pepper
Those who want to add a spice kick to their dish and still wanna feel the overwhelmingness of Sun Dried tomatoes can use roasted red pepper.
It is quite easy to get your hands on roasted red pepper, they are easily available. In fact, you can even make them at your home with an oven.
All you need to do is slice the roasted red pepper and put them in the oven, add some oil and seasoning. Make sure to preheat your oven and roast the red pepper until their skin is browned.
Roasting them will remove all the moisture and you will get dried red pepper.
You can use that roasted Red pepper on any dish you want, my personal favorite dish to put roasted red pepper in is Pizza. However, they work quite well with other dishes as well.
The taste will be slightly different from Sun dried tomatoes but to get the proper feel of it, just add tomato puree or even a little amount of ketchup along with roasted red pepper.
Marinated Artichokes
Artichokes have a nutty flavor with little bitterness in them, however, I sometimes use them as a substitute for Sun Dried Tomatoes and I really the outcome of it.
Taste-wise, you will notice that they are very different from sun dried tomatoes but believe me they work so well on the same dishes where you put sun dried tomatoes.
Talking about the texture, Artichokes are tender and slilghtly crispy.
You can get a jar of Artichokes, they are easily available, and to substitute them with sun-dried tomatoes, you can drain the water from the jar and then slice Artichokes into small pieces.
If any dish requires tomato ingredients or flavor then you can add tomato puree so that the taste gets balanced out.
You can use marinated artichokes on various dishes, I once used it as a topping on a tortilla and it tasted so good. I highly recommend trying this once.
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Conclusion
So, now I am just gonna wrap up the whole article. It is quite obvious that all the substitutes for sun dried tomatoes that I have shared above will not taste exactly the same, but there are certain ways to balance the taste by adding extra ingredients according to your taste.
All the above-shared substitutes go very well with varieties of dishes and all of them have some unique flavor.
If you know about any particular substitute that you use in place of sun-dried tomatoes then do let us know. We would love to add it to our list.