You’ll be adding tomatoes to EVERYTHING.
If you cook in Texas, you know tomatoes show up in just about everything. From fresh salsa to tacos to big summer salads, it feels like there’s always a bowl of ripe tomatoes sitting on the counter — especially since they grow so well in our heat.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come home with a bag full from the farmers market (or had a neighbor drop some off) and needed a quick, no-fuss way to prep them. Knowing how to dice tomatoes properly makes all the difference — it keeps your recipes looking beautiful and prevents that extra juice from watering everything down.
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
- Tomatoes: Look for tomatoes that feel heavy for their size with smooth, tight skin and a slight give when gently squeezed — Roma tomatoes are great for dicing because they’re firmer and less watery, while vine-ripened or beefsteak tomatoes have more juice and flavor but may need the seeds removed for cleaner cuts.
Step-by-step Instructions
Please see the recipe card below for the full instructions, ingredient amounts, and a printable recipe.
Rinse and scrub.
Rinse and gently scrub the tomato with your hands under running water to remove any visible dirt or debris. Be careful, as the skins can be quite fragile. Then, dry thoroughly with a dish towel.
Slice off the sides.
Use a large cutting board and a sharp, serrated knife. Set the tomato down with the stem facing up. Position the knife about ¼ to ½-inch to the right of the stem. (Or to the left for you lefties out there!)
Carefully but firmly slice all the way down to the base of the tomato. If you look at the fruit, you will see the natural curves. Try to follow this outline.
Rotate the tomato 90 degrees, but keep the stem facing up. Slice off this side. Keep turning and cutting down until you have 4 tomato slices along with a core.
Remove the seeds.
You do not need the core or the seeds still attached to it, so you can discard it.
Even though a good bit of seeds stayed on the core, there are still some in the chunks you need to cut away. Tomato seeds add extra moisture to dishes, sometimes resulting in soggy and unappealing meals.
The best way to avoid this is to remove the seeds. Using a spoon or the knife, brush away any seeds that still remain within the tomato flesh.
Dice into pieces.
Start with one piece of the tomato and set it skin-side down on the cutting board. Cut it into strips about ¼- to ½-inch wide.
Rotate the strips 90 degrees and make cuts perpendicular that are at about the same width. Repeat this process until all of the tomato is cut into small cubes.
FAQs
Use a sharp knife to dice a tomato without crushing it. You can also use the tip of the paring knife to make a small incision where you want to cut, then slice across it. It is also best to use fresh tomatoes with a firm texture when dicing.
Yes, if you cut sections away from the core first and then use a spoon to remove the remaining seeds, dicing tomatoes is a breeze!
You can use diced tomatoes on so many dishes! Top your favorite ground beef tacos, make pico de gallo, put them in a Greek tomato salad, mix them with avocado and onion as a dip for tortilla chips, throw them in a food processor to make tomato sauce, use them for fresh tomato pizza, or stir them into stews.
Yes, tomatoes are good for you because they are high in vitamins and minerals, like potassium, and are an excellent source of antioxidants.
To store tomatoes, keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 to 3 days. After that, the meat will break down and they will get watery and develop a mealy texture.
To freeze tomatoes, first flash freeze them by placing on a baking sheet in a single layer. Set them in the freezer for an hour until they are frozen and hard. Then, transfer the tomatoes to a freezer-safe container and store for up to 6 to 9 months.
Ways to Use Diced Tomatoes
Diced tomatoes go perfectly with each of these dishes:
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How to Dice a Tomato
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Ingredients
- 1 tomato
Instructions
- Rinse and scrub the tomato then dry thoroughly with a dish towel.1 tomato
- Place the tomato on a cutting board, stem side-up. Place a well sharpened chef’s knife about ¼ to ½-inch to the right of the stem. Make a slice all of the way down to the base of the tomato.
- Rotate the tomato 90 degrees, with the stem side still facing up, and cut off this side of the tomato. Repeat this process until you have 4 slabs of tomato and the core with the seeds still attached. Discard the core.
- Using a spoon or the knife, brush away any seeds that still remain within the tomato slices.
- Lay one piece skin side-down onto the cutting board and make cuts approximately ¼ to ½-inch apart to get strips. Turn the strips and make additional cuts perpendicular to those that are roughly the same width apart. Repeat this process until all pieces of tomato have been diced.
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Video
Notes
- Size: Be sure to use medium-large sized tomatoes when dicing.
- Texture: If the texture is soft, it will be hard to dice.
- Seeds: Be sure to scoop away any remaining seeds from the flesh before using or dishes will be watery.
- Use: These diced tomatoes are excellent to top Mexican dishes along with sour cream, and cilantro, or on pizza with fresh mozzarella cheese and basil leaves.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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