Tomato skins are worth keeping. Whether you’ve just peeled a batch for sauce or canned a bushel of summer tomatoes, those thin curls of skin are packed with more nutrients per gram than the flesh itself, and they’re surprisingly versatile in the kitchen. Here’s what to do with them.
Why Tomato Skins Are Worth Saving
Tomato skins concentrate the most valuable compounds in the fruit. The peels and seeds contain between 500 and 800 mg/kg of lycopene, the red pigment linked to heart and prostate health. They also hold over 1,000 mg/kg of polyphenols, a class of plant compounds with strong antioxidant activity. The fiber content is equally impressive: tomato peels can be more than 50% dietary fiber by dry weight, making them a dense source of both soluble and insoluble fiber once dried.
Throwing skins away means discarding the most nutrient-rich part of the tomato. Even if you only have a small pile from one recipe, you can freeze them flat on a sheet pan and accumulate a larger batch over time.
Make Tomato Skin Powder
This is the single most useful thing you can do with tomato skins, because the powder stores easily and works in almost anything. Spread your skins in a single layer on a baking sheet or dehydrator tray and dry them until they’re brittle enough to snap. In a standard oven, set the temperature to its lowest setting (around 170 to 200°F) and check every 30 minutes or so. A dehydrator set to 135°F will take several hours but gives more even results.
Once the skins are completely dry and crisp, pulse them in a spice grinder or blender until you have a fine, deep-red powder. Store it in a sealed jar away from light. From there, you can use tomato skin powder as a seasoning in soups, stews, chili, pasta sauce, or salad dressings. It works as a natural thickener in sauces because of its high fiber content, and a tablespoon or two stirred into bread dough or pizza crust adds color, umami, and a subtle tomato flavor. You can also mix it into dry rubs for meat, fold it into compound butter, or sprinkle it over popcorn.
Bake Them Into Crispy Chips
Tomato skin chips are fast, satisfying, and a good way to use a smaller batch of peels. Pat the skins dry with a clean towel to remove as much moisture as possible. This step matters: residual water will steam instead of crisp. Toss the dried skins with a light coating of olive oil and whatever seasonings you like. Smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, or just salt and pepper all work well.
Spread them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes. Watch them closely during the last few minutes because they go from crisp to burnt quickly. Let them cool, then finish with a pinch of flaky sea salt and chili flakes. If you want to skip the oven entirely, place oiled and seasoned peels between two sheets of parchment paper and microwave on high for about three minutes. The texture won’t be quite as even, but it works in a pinch.
Add Them Directly to Stocks, Soups, and Sauces
Fresh tomato skins can go straight into a pot of vegetable or chicken stock without any preparation. They’ll break down during a long simmer and add both flavor and body. If you’re making a smooth soup, blend them in with an immersion blender. For a chunky stew or chili, chop the skins finely before adding them so they soften more evenly. You can also toss a handful of frozen skins into a blender when making gazpacho or salsa, where their concentrated tomato flavor is an asset.
Freeze Them for Later
If you don’t have an immediate plan, freezing buys you time. Lay the skins flat on a parchment-lined tray, freeze until solid, then transfer to a freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible. They’ll keep for several months and can be pulled out for any of the uses above. Keeping a running “tomato skin bag” in the freezer alongside your vegetable scrap bag is one of the easiest ways to reduce kitchen waste without changing your cooking routine.
A Note on Washing and Pesticides
If you’re planning to eat the skins rather than compost them, washing matters. A plain water rinse removes roughly 17 to 44% of common pesticide residues, depending on the chemical. A soak in a 5% baking soda solution (about one tablespoon per cup of water) or a 5% vinegar solution does significantly better, removing between 32 and 83% of residues. If your tomatoes are conventionally grown and you want to use the skins, a brief baking soda soak followed by a rinse is the most effective home method. Organic tomatoes still benefit from a good wash to remove dirt and surface bacteria.
Are Tomato Skins Hard to Digest?
You may have heard that tomato skins are tough on digestion. There’s a kernel of truth here. The skins are rich in cellulose, a type of insoluble fiber that humans can’t fully break down. For most people, this is a benefit: insoluble fiber supports healthy bowel movements and feeds beneficial gut bacteria. Tomato skins also contain a lectin (a type of protein that binds to cells) that resists digestion and passes through the gut largely intact. Research in both animal and human models has found that this lectin binds briefly to the intestinal lining but causes no harmful effects, with almost none entering the bloodstream.
People with diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or other conditions that make them sensitive to insoluble fiber may want to limit whole skins and stick to the powder form instead. Grinding the skins breaks down the cellulose structure and makes the fiber easier to tolerate. For everyone else, tomato skins are perfectly safe and nutritionally valuable.