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Honey-Herb Marinated Tomato Salad: Simple Farm-to-Table Recipe

This blog post was updated in February 2025 to include marinade customizations and recipe tips.

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My friend and fellow blogger Marie from Backroad Bluegrass recently contacted me and Must Love Herbs about supporting local farmers. Without hesitation, I agreed. Kentucky farmers are essential and sell a variety of high-quality products. Besides farmers markets, many Kentucky farmers offer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) opportunities for consumers to buy seasonal food directly. I highly suggest reading Marie’s Kentucky CSA blog post HERE to learn more.

For the last few weeks, I have found great comfort in shopping at the farmers market. I truly needed the fresh air and human interaction (from a distance, of course). I also felt satisfied knowing that I was buying fresh, locally grown products from businesses in the area. During my quick trip, I bought radishes, a bag of pea shoots, tomatoes, and ground lamb.

With my tomatoes, I made this quick and delicious marinated tomato salad. It consists of tomatoes, infused olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, and fresh herbs.

If you like pea shoots, you’ll enjoy my recipe for Grilled Zucchini and Corn Salad with Pea Shoots!

Bowl of sliced marinated tomatoes topped with vinaigrette and chopped basil and thyme sprigs.

Choosing the Best Tomatoes for Marinated Tomato Salad

Look for firm but ripe heirloom or beefsteak tomatoes for this marinated tomato salad recipe. While any tomato variety will work, thicker-walled varieties like Brandywine or Cherokee Purple hold up better during marination. Avoid overripe tomatoes, as they’ll become too mushy after marinating.

If using garden tomatoes, harvest them just before they’re fully ripe – they’ll continue to develop flavor during the marination process.

Customizing Your Infused Oil Blend

While blood orange olive oil adds terrific citrus notes, you can create infused oil by warming regular olive oil with fresh herbs, citrus peel, or garlic. For a Mediterranean twist, try infusing olive oil with rosemary and thyme.

Alternatively, you can create a spicier version using crushed red pepper flakes or fresh chili. To preserve the fresh herb flavors, let the oil cool completely before using it in the marinade.

Tips for Preventing Marinade Solidification:

  1. Use a higher ratio of lemon juice to olive oil (try 1:2 instead of 1:3)
  2. Add a tablespoon of neutral oil like grapeseed or avocado oil to prevent the olive oil from solidifying
  3. If storing leftovers, keep the marinade separate from the tomatoes in the refrigerator
  4. When ready to serve refrigerated leftovers, place the sealed container in warm (not hot) water for 5-10 minutes to gently bring the marinade back to liquid state. Then, whisk the marinade vigorously before serving to re-emulsify any separated ingredients

Honey-Herb Marinated Tomato Salad

Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2-3 Large Tomatoes Sliced thick
  • 1/3 Cup Infused Olive Oil I used Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon Honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2-3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Herbs I used Basil, Thyme and Chives

Instructions
 

  • Slice tomatoes and place in a serving dish.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, honey, onion powder, and chopped herbs to make a vinaigrette. Season with salt and pepper to your liking.
  • Pour vinaigrette over tomatoes, cover and allow to marinate at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Occasionally, flip tomatoes to ensure each is coated in the vinaigrette. Serve.

Notes

It is best to let the tomatoes marinate at room temperature.
If placed in the fridge, the vinaigrette will solidify. Here’s what you can do:
  1. Option 1: Allow enough time for tomatoes to reach room temp before serving, giving the vinaigrette time to return to liquid state. 
  2. Option 2: Keep the vinaigrette and tomatoes separate until ready to serve. Place the container of solidified vinaigrette in warm (not hot) water for 5-10 minutes to gently bring the marinade back to a liquid state. Then, whisk the marinade vigorously before serving to re-emulsify any separated ingredients. Pour over your tomatoes and serve.