There’s nothing like a fresh sweet tomato on a warm summer afternoon. And if you’re a lover of that classic, candy-like, old-fashioned taste, there are some specific sweet-tasting varieties of tomato to search out or grow yourself.
While growing conditions like sunlight, heat, and soil nutrients can all affect a tomato’s taste, the genetics of the cultivar determine much of the sugar quantity in the ripe fruit. Here are over 30 sweet tomatoes to try this harvest season.
1. Mortgage Lifter tomato
The Mortgage Lifter Tomato is a large, red-pink, beefsteak-type American heirloom tomato cultivar with a deliciously sweet flavor. This rich-tasting tomato is known as a “slicer” tomato, as its firm and meaty texture holds up well on tomato sandwiches.
Mortgage Lifter Tomatoes regularly weigh as much as 1-2 pounds each and grow on long indeterminate vines. Mortgage Lifter is an open-pollinated tomato variety bred by M.C. “Radiator Charlie” Byles (West Virginia).
2. Sun Gold tomato
The Sun Gold Tomato is a small, orange, cherry-type Japanese hybrid tomato cultivar with a sugary-sweet taste when fully ripe. These beauties have a tart taste when underripe but become almost syrupy as they ripen on the vine. The sweetness of a ripe Sungold Tomato is intense and candy-like.
Many of the sweetest tomato varieties are cherry tomatoes, as the sugar is nicely concentrated in small berry-like fruit. Sungold cherry tomatoes are rarely larger than an inch wide, with fruits growing in clusters on long, indeterminate vines.
The Sungold Tomato variety received the RHS Award of Garden Merit in 2007. This little beauty is also consistently listed as one of the best-tasting tomato varieties overall. Sungold is an F1 hybrid tomato variety bred by the Tokita Seed Company (Japan).
3. Black Cherry tomato
The Black Cherry Tomato is a small, purple-brown, cherry-type American open-pollinated tomato cultivar with a complex, sweet flavor. These rich, juicy little tomatoes grow in clusters on easy-to-grow plants that have long, vigorous indeterminate vines.
Individual tomatoes are about an inch wide with a firm peel that “pops” in your mouth. Black Cherry is an open-pollinated tomato variety bred by Vince Sapp (Florida) of Tomato Growers Supply Company (source: Nature & Nurture Seeds).
4. Pineapple tomato
The Pineapple Tomato is a large, yellow & red, beefsteak-type American heirloom tomato with a sweet, fresh, and fruity taste. These hefty fruits grow on long-vining indeterminate plants that require vertical stakes and/or tomato cages.
While the fruit is mainly yellow, most have red vertical blush striping down the sides, making them an attractive large bicolor tomato. Pineapple is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety that possibly originated in Kentucky.
5. Juliet tomato
The Juliet Tomato is a small, red, elongated cherry-type Taiwanese hybrid tomato cultivar with a sweet flavor and crack-resistant skin. This one-ounce, grape-shaped cherry tomatoes grow in clusters on long, indeterminate vines.
The Juliet Tomato variety was named an All-America Selections Winner in 1999. Juliet is an F1 hybrid tomato variety bred by the Known-You Seed Company (Taiwan).
6. Brandywine Tomato
The Brandywine Tomato is a large heirloom tomato famous for its excellent fresh sweet taste. These tomatoes have a nicely balanced sweet-tart taste that can turn almost candy-sweet when the fruits ripen on the vine. Some years these tomatoes are a bit tart, but when they’re sweet, they’re almost magical.
7. Sweet 100 tomato
The Sweet 100 Tomato is a small, red, round, cherry-type American hybrid tomato cultivar with a balanced sweet taste. The fruits are generally between a half-inch to one inch wide when ripe. These tiny tomatoes grow in clusters on long, indeterminate vines. Sweet 100 is an F1 hybrid tomato variety bred by the Northrup-King Seed Company (Minnesota).
8. Sweet Million tomato
The Sweet Million Tomato is a small, red, cherry-type hybrid tomato cultivar with a very sweet taste. These improved Sweet 100 plants grow 1-inch wide tomatoes on easy-to-grow plants with long, indeterminate vines. The Sweet Million Tomato variety was named an RHS Award of Garden Merit Winner in 1998. Sweet Million is an F1 hybrid tomato variety.
9. Brad’s Atomic Grape tomato
Brad’s Atomic Grape Tomato is a small, multicolored, elongated, cherry-type tomato cultivar with an impressively sweet taste. These fantastic tomatoes have a peel with purple and brown stripes, with red and green background colors. The small fruits are crack-resistant and grow in clusters along long, indeterminate vines. Brad’s Atomic Grape is an open-pollinated tomato variety bred by Bradley Gates of Wild Boar Farms (California).
10. Sun Sugar tomato
The Sun Sugar Tomato is a small, orange, round, cherry-type hybrid tomato cultivar with a bright, sweet taste. These cheery little tomatoes grow on hardy, productive, and reliable plants. Sun Sugar is a hybrid tomato variety that makes a good substitute for Sungold. There is often great debate over whether sun sugar or sun gold is sweeter! We did a taste test once in my garden, and they are honestly both delicious.
11. Arkansas Traveler tomato
The Arkansas Traveler Tomato is a medium-sized, pink, round, globe-type open-pollinated tomato cultivar with a sweet flavor. These reliable, crack-resistant tomatoes grow on long indeterminate vines. Arkansas Traveler is an open-pollinated tomato variety bred by Joe McFerran of the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department (source: University of Arkansas).
12. Black Prince tomato
The Black Prince Tomato is a medium-sized, brown, round, globe-type Russian heirloom tomato cultivar with a complex sweet flavor. These flavor-packed, juicy, rich fruits grow on long, indeterminate plants. Black Prince is an open-pollinated tomato variety developed in Irkutsk (Russia).
13. Ponderosa tomato
The Ponderosa Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type heirloom tomato cultivar known for its classic old-fashioned sweetness. These tomatoes have a flattened/oblate shape and are late-season ripening (they take a long time to grow!). Ponderosa is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
14. German Johnson tomato
The German Johnson Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type heirloom tomato with a subtle yet sweet taste. This giant slicer tomato grows on long, vigorous indeterminate vines. This tomato was one of the parent varieties of the popular Mortgage Lifter heirloom tomato. German Johnson is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety from Germany.
15. German Queen tomato
The German Queen Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type German heirloom tomato cultivar with an old-fashioned sweet taste. These flattened/oblate tomatoes can grow to be 1-2 pounds per tomato! These potato-leaved plants make a great substitute for Brandywine tomatoes in the garden (and are perhaps a bit sweeter). German Queen is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
16. Blush tomato
The Blush Tomato is a small, yellow & red, elongated cherry-type tomato with a fruity, sweet taste. These bright yellow fruits with a soft pink blush grow in clusters on long, indeterminate vines. Blush is an open-pollinated tomato variety bred by Fred Hempel of Artisan Seeds (California).
17. Sakura tomato
Sakura is a small, red, cherry-type hybrid tomato with an exceptionally sweet taste. These 1″-wide fruits grow in clusters of 16-20 tomatoes. The hardy, indeterminate long-vining plants show excellent tolerance to temperature swings. The Sakura Tomato variety was named an RHS Award of Garden Merit Winner in 2007. Sakura is an F1 hybrid tomato variety.
18. Tommy Toe tomato
The Tommy Toe Tomato is a small, red, cherry-type American heirloom tomato with an old-fashioned sweet-yet-balanced taste. These tiny little tomatoes grow in bountiful clusters on long indeterminate vines. Tommy Toe is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety possibly developed in the Ozark Mountains.
19. German Pink tomato
The German Pink Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type German heirloom tomato with a full, sweet taste. These big, flattened tomatoes grow on long indeterminate vines. German Pink is an open-pollinated tomato variety from Bavaria (Germany).
20. Isis Candy Tomato
The Isis Candy Tomato is a small, red & yellow, cherry-type tomato with a sweet, fruity taste. The peel of these tomatoes is often multicolored, with some green and perhaps some pink blush. The fruits are about an inch wide and grow in clusters on long indeterminate vines. Isis Candy is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety bred by Joe Bratka of New Jersey.
21. Pink Ping Pong tomato
The Pink Ping Pong Tomato is a small, pink, cherry-type American tomato with a juicy, sweet taste. These cheerful tomatoes grow in clusters on somewhat bushy, yet still indeterminate, vining plants. They really are about the size of a ping-pong ball! Pink Ping Pong is an open-pollinated tomato variety from New York.
22. Caspian Pink tomato
The Caspian Pink Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type heirloom tomato with an old-fashioned, balanced sweet taste. These oblate-shaped fruits ripen before some of the really giant beefsteaks but grow on similarly large indeterminate vining plants. Caspian Pink is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety thought to originate from the region between the northern Caspian Sea and the Black Sea.
23. Crokini tomato
The Crokini Tomato is a small, red, cherry-type hybrid tomato with a balanced sweet taste and crunchy texture. These crack-resistant, bite-sized fruits pop in your mouth with a burst of sweetness. The plants are indeterminate (but somewhat compact), and very productive, often producing hundreds of fruits per plant. The Crokini Tomato was named an All-America Selections Winner in 2020. Crokini is an F1 hybrid tomato variety bred in Provence, France.
24. Eva Purple Ball tomato
The Eva Purple Ball Tomato is a medium-sized, pink, round, globe-type heirloom tomato with an old-fashioned sweet taste. These tomatoes grow on long, indeterminate vines. Eva Purple Ball is an open-pollinated tomato variety.
25. Anna Russian tomato
The Anna Russian Tomato is a medium-sized, pink, oxheart-type heirloom tomato with a full-bodied sweet taste. These heart-shaped fruits grow on long indeterminate tomato vines. Anna Russian is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
26. Porter tomato
The Porter Tomato is a small, pink, globe-type heirloom tomato with a sweet flavor. The fruits are slightly egg-shaped and known to grow well in hot climates (plants are indeterminate). Porter is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato from Texas.
27. Jet Star tomato
The Jet Star Tomato is a medium-sized, red, standard globe-type modern hybrid tomato with high sugar content. This variety grows on disease-resistant plants (and the fruits are crack-resistant). Gardeners love this sweet tomato variety for its reliability! The Jet Star tomato was developed by Harris Seeds in the late 1960s.
28. Kosovo tomato
The Kosovo Tomato is a large, pink, oxheart-type heirloom tomato with old-fashioned rich sweetness. The fruits are meaty but are often juicier than beefsteak-type tomatoes. Plants are indeterminate and require support/staking. Kosovo is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety from Kosovo in Southeastern Europe.
29. Golden Sweet tomato
The Golden Sweet Tomato is a small, yellow-orange, elongated, cherry-type hybrid tomato with a mild sweet flavor. These bright oblong fruits grow on long, indeterminate vining plants. Golden Sweet is an F1 hybrid tomato variety.
30. Coyote tomato
The Coyote Tomato is a tiny, yellow-white, cherry-type heirloom tomato known for its sweet taste and early ripening characteristics. These teensy fruits grow in clusters on long, indeterminate vines. Coyote is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
31. Riesentraube tomato
The Riesentraube Tomato is a small, red, cherry-type heirloom tomato known for its rich, sweet flavor. These little tomatoes grow on long, indeterminate vines and ripen mid-season (after some smaller cherries start to ripen). Riesentraube is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
32. Early Girl tomato
The Early Girl Tomato is a classic hybrid tomato variety known for developing an old-fashioned tomato sweetness in climates with a short growing season. Some of the larger sweet tomatoes don’t have time to mature in areas with cool spring and fall temperatures, but these early fruits mean you can still grow great slicer tomatoes even in cold climates.
33. Galina tomato
The Galina Tomato is a small, yellow, cherry-type heirloom tomato with a sweet flavor. This early-fruiting plant bears its tomatoes on long, indeterminate vines. Galina is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
34. Anna Banana Russian tomato
The Anna Banana Russian Tomato is a medium-sized, yellow, oxheart-type tomato with a sweet taste. This tomato was bred as a yellow version of the famous heirloom Anna Russian Tomato (described above). Anna Banana also fruits on long, indeterminate vines (mid-season ripening). Anna Banana Russian is an open-pollinated tomato variety.
35. Floridity tomato
The Floridity Tomato is a small, red, elongated, cherry-type hybrid tomato with an excellent sweet flavor. These plants are indeterminate/vining and produce long clusters of fruits. Floridity is an F1 hybrid tomato variety.
36. Brimmer tomato
The Brimmer Tomato is a large, pink, beefsteak-type tomato with a sweet, old-fashioned flavor. These big, late-ripening tomatoes have a flattened, oblate shape and grow on long, indeterminate vines. Brimmer is an open-pollinated heirloom tomato variety.
37. Rosada tomato
The Rosada Tomato is a small, red, elongated, cherry-type tomato with a sweet taste. These sugary tomatoes have thin skin and grow in groups along trusses/stems of indeterminate/vining plants. Rosada is an F1 hybrid tomato variety.
