Easy Tomato Basil Salt Recipe

I have been loving making homemade finishing salts lately. Most recently I tried out this tomato basil salt and, oh my is it ever good! It was super easy to make and only uses three ingredients.

I can’t get enough of the fresh basil and cherry tomatoes in my garden each summer. This recipe captures that flavor so I can enjoy it all year round. It is also an amazing gift idea. Who doesn’t want to spread the love with homemade gifts from the kitchen!

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If you haven’t tried making your own herb infused salts, then you have to give this a try!

The flavor combinations are endless and they add such a great flavor and texture. Like this garlic parsley salt I made a while back.

Why You’ll Love This Recpe:

Firstly, you will save money. Fancy salts and spice mixes are so expensive these days. If you buy just a few simple ingredients to can make more than enough for your family and friends. (Bonus points if you grow your own basil and tomato because then you can literally make this recipe for pennies!)

This is a fun way to preserve that signature summer flavor. You can easily capture that fresh basil, and tomato flavor when it is at its best. Then enjoy it anytime. Think about brightening up your morning during those dark, cold days of winter. (Spoilers: this tomato and basil infused salt is amazing on scrambled eggs)

Finishing salts, such as this one, add such a unique flavor and texture to your meal.

Your homemade basil salt will be heathier (in my opinion). Because you are making this yourself, you can chose a high quality salt, and know exactly which ingredients you put in it. No extra surprises.

Lastly, this may be the easiest and quickest recipe you will ever make!

Ingredients:

Coarse or flaky Sea Salt – A high quality coarse sea salt is what I used for this recipe. You can use a finer salt, but just make sure you don’t process it too much in the food processor or you will have more of a powder than a salt.

Fresh Basil – Obviously I love using basil from the garden, but you can also buy fresh basil from the grocery store or farmers market.

Cherry Tomatoes – We will only be using the skins of the tomato for this recipe. I love using a mix of cherry tomatoes to get the strongest and most robust flavor, but any tomato will work. If you are in to canning and don’t want to waste your Roma tomato skins, then this is a perfect use for some of them.

How to Make Homemade Basil SAlt:

I’m not kidding when I say this is the quickest and easiest recipe you will ever make. With just a little prep work and some time sitting back while your oven finishing the job, then – voila! A delicious herb infused salt just for you!

Step 1

Preheat your oven to the lowest setting it will go. My oven’s lowest setting is 170F so that is what I did for this recipe.

It is important to use a low setting so that we can preserve as much of the beneficial properties and flavor of the tomato and basil.

Oh yes – also line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 2

Now gather all your ingredients so we can get them prepped.

Start by washing your tomatoes and basil. Pat the basil dry with a paper towel, or use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible.

I also remove the stems from the basil at this stage so I am just left with the leaves.

Step 3

Now we need to remove the skins from our tomatoes.

To do this you will take a knife and make an x on each one. Then simply drop them in to a pot of boiling water for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until the skins start to come loose.

As soon as you see the skins starting to come off the tomato, remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and add them to an ice bath.

Once they are cool to the touch, you can simply slip the skins off and set them aside. If you want you can add the meat of the tomato to some eggs, pasta, or a salad, or just snack on them as you continue the recipe.

Step 4

Add your basil and tomato skins to a food processor with the chopping blade at the ready. Pulse until you have finely chopped the basil and tomato.

Make sure to scrape the the sides of your food processor bowl a few times so everything is evenly chopped up.

Step 5

Add your sea salt to the food processor. Pulse again until everything is mixed together. The salt will turn green from the basil and that is what you want. This means all that flavor is getting soaked up in to the salt.

If you are using a finer salt then, don’t go too crazy with the food processor here as you could end up with more of a powder and we want a nice crunchy salt.

This step becomes a personal preference kind of thing. Just continue to pulse the food processor blades until the salt is your desired consistency.

Step 6

Once you like the consistency of your salt, you can spoon it on to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make sure to spread it out in a thin even layer so everything dries well when it is in the oven.

Bake for about 30 minutes and be sure to give it a little check and a stir every 10 minutes or so.

When your basil salt has finished, all the tomato and basil will be dry and crunchy and fully dehydrated. Once done, remove your baking sheet from the oven and let it cool completely before storing.

Storing your Tomato Basil Salt:

As I said above, the most important thing is to remember to cool your salt completely before storing. This ensures that no steam or any kind or moisture will be introduced to your container.

Use a clean, dry, airtight container to put your salt in. I often use canning jars just because I have them around the house, but you could also find some really cute spice jars from the dollar store or thrift store.

Then, you can keep your container in your pantry where you would normally keep your dried herbs, spices, and seasoning mixes.

If prepared and stored correctly, this salt is completely shelf stable, and can be stored just as long as you would keep any other dried herb or salt.

Tips:

1. Make sure you grind up your salt enough so it is the right texture – this is such a personal preference kind of thing
2. I would suggest using a mix of cherry tomatoes as you will get a more punchy flavor when compared to slicer or roma tomatoes

FAQ

What are some good basil salt uses?

This is where the fun really begins and you can get creative trying it on different things.

I think it is really good on scrambled eggs, pasta, roasted veggies, or you can even use it as a popcorn seasoning. I actually just tried it on some avocado toast for lunch and that was also amazing.

Comment below if you have other ideas.

Does basil salt need to be refrigerated?

No, basil salt does not need to be refrigerated if prepared correctly and stored properly.

You must make sure that all the basil and tomato have been completely dehydrated and are crispy or crunchy to the touch.

Next, be sure that you let everything cool completely before storing. Lastly, put your salt into an air tight container and then store away in your pantry with your other spices and seasonings.

How to dry basil for basil salt?

There are a few ways to dry basil. I find the best way is with a dehydrator or in the oven. From my experience, it preserves the green color, and produces the best flavor. For this recipe, we will use the oven on its lowest setting.

Can I use Kosher salt for basil salt?

You can use either type of salt, however I believe a high quality flaky sea salt is best for this recipe. I think it has the best texture.