Christine GallaryFood Editor-at-Large
Christine graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France, and she has worked at Cook's Illustrated and CHOW.com. She lives in San Francisco and loves teaching cooking classes. Follow her latest culinary escapades on Instagram.
updated Aug 22, 2022
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Bite-sized tomatoes are one of my favorite summer treats — especially when I pick them right off my cherry tomato plants. They’re the perfect size for skewers, summer salads, and roasting.
But what about the similar-looking grape tomatoes? Are they the same thing? Cherry and grape tomatoes can be used interchangeably, but you might prefer one over the other based on your dish.
Cherry Tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes get their name because they’re the size and shapes of cherries. These little round tomatoes are juicy, sweet, and have thin skins. Since they have a high water content, cherry tomatoes are notorious for squirting when you bite into them!
These tomatoes are great for hollowing out and stuffing, and come in red, yellow, and orange colors.
Grape Tomatoes
Grape tomatoes are oblong and shaped like grapes. They’re about half the size of cherry tomatoes, with thicker skins. Grape tomatoes aren’t as sweet as cherry tomatoes, and their flesh is meatier and less watery. Since grape tomatoes last longer than cherry tomatoes, they’re becoming more and more popular since they are hardier and less fragile to pack and transport.
Can I Use Them Interchangeably?
Cherry and grape tomatoes can be used interchangeably for most recipes like salads, but you might have to cut cherry tomatoes into smaller pieces since they’re larger. The only times cherry tomatoes are really preferable over grape is when you want to stuff them, but if you want to the tomatoes to last a little longer, you should choose grape.
In general, though, you should buy what looks and tastes the best and not worry too much about labeling! These little tomatoes are summer in a basket.
