20+ of the Best Tomato Varieties

Amana Orange 

The large, one-pound deep orange tomatoes ripen about 85 days after planting. The flavor or this American heirloom is full, intense, and perfectly tomatoey. These look beautiful sliced up in a salad and are delicious on sandwiches.

Big Rainbow

These red and orange striped beefsteak tomatoes are large – one to two pounds on average. Tomatoes ripen 85 days after planting. The plants are indeterminate and definitely need staking. This is another American heirloom, bred in Minnesota. The flavor tends toward sweet rather than tangy.

Brandywine (Sudduth Strain)

The granddaddy of all heirlooms, Brandywine tomatoes are a wonderful choice for newer gardeners. The pink flesh and skin of Brandywine have great flavor, and the sprawling, indeterminate plants produce reliably from late summer until the first frost. The fruits are large, often up to a pound or more.

Bull’s Heart 

These indeterminate tomatoes ripen about 90 days after planting. They are quite large-one to two pounds, with pink flesh and skin. Bull’s Heart is an oxheart-shaped Russian variety. If you’re a fan of more flesh and fewer seeds in your tomatoes, this would be a good one to try!

Cherokee Purple 

These beautiful tomatoes are red, but turn purplish-brown at the shoulders when ripe. The flavor is complex and slightly smoky – perfect eaten as-is or sliced into a salad. It’s hard to predict exactly when this variety will produce, but it traditionally produces very well from late July through to frost.

Hillbilly

 This variety is another gorgeous stripey tomato. The yellow and red streaks are quite striking, and the fruits are huge – often two pounds and sometimes even larger than that. ‘Hillbilly’ is another American heirloom, hailing from West Virginia. Expect to harvest hillbillies about 85 days after planting.

Hugh’s

 If you are a fan of yellow tomatoes, you really should give Hugh’s a try. These beefsteak tomatoes have great, robust tomato flavor. The skin is tender and delicate, which is why you’ll never find this variety in the grocery store. Hugh’s produces a harvest of about 85 days after planting. It is indeterminate.

Japanese Black Trifele ​

If you’re looking for something a bit different, you must try Japanese Black Trifele. These mahogany-shouldered fruits boast a complex, smoky flavor on a fairly well-behaved plant. You can even grow this one in containers if you are short on space, though they do better if you can give them a bit of staking.

Ponderosa Pink 

A pink tomato, Ponderosa is such a reliable producer that it’s a great addition to your late-season tomato selections. The one-pound fruits are nearly seedless, with lots of delicious tomato flavor. Expect to harvest this variety approximately 80 days after planting.

Early Girl

Probably one of the most well-known early-maturing tomato varieties, early girl is easy to find as seed as well as in nurseries come spring.

This variety is an indeterminate tomato, so you’ll be blessed with an abundance of fruit through the season, no matter how short that season is. Generally taking around 59 days to harvest from the time it’s planted in the garden, this tomato is a great slicer.

Black Prince

Not only is it quick to produce fruit, but the black prince is also just a beautiful tomato. This variety comes from Siberia, so naturally, it does well in cooler climates. It produces larger fruit, which is perfect for slicing and enjoying their dark, rich flavor. The black prince is an indeterminate cultivar.

Bloody Butcher

This is a great all-around tomato. Use it for salsa, sauces, or sliced on a fresh green salad. The bloody butcher is a time-tested heirloom variety that’s proven to produce clusters of delicious 2-3” ripe tomatoes in less than 60 days, sometimes as early as 55 days.

Sun Gold

One of the most popular varieties of cherry tomatoes, Sungold ripens early to a golden orange, ready to harvest throughout the summer. These extra-sweet tomatoes stay firmer longer than other cherry varieties and will be ready to harvest twice a week once they begin producing fruit. These indeterminate tomatoes need at least one inch (2.5 cm) of water per week and prefer six hours or more of direct sun each day.

Juliet or Mini San Marzano

If you want great sauce, you have to start with great tomatoes. Achieve culinary greatness with this short season plum tomato. This heirloom is crack-resistant, and the fruits are on the smaller side than most roma tomatoes, but it makes up for it in flavor.

Tigerella

This gorgeous heirloom variety matures in 55 days. It’s easily the prettiest cultivar on the whole list with its lovely red and yellow striped skin. But Tigerella isn’t all looks; it boasts a lovely and sweet flavor too. This indeterminate tomato puts out large yields of gorgeous fruit too.

Pineapple tomato

The popular yellow ‘pineapple tomato’ shines from the end of July with yellow-orange-red marbled large fruits. Its taste is reminiscent of pineapple, it tastes so fruity and sweet. Everything about pineapple tomatoes, the different varieties, and tips for growing them can be found in the tomato profile.

Azoychka

‘Azoychka’ is one of the rare completely yellow beefsteak tomatoes. It comes from Russia and ripens early in mid-July. It is uncomplicated, easy to care for, and robust, like most Russian varieties, and also has a pleasantly sweet and fruity taste, mild and juicy.

White Queen

‘White Queen’ shines in such a bright yellow that it appears almost white. As soon as the 400-gram fruits are creamy white in color, they are ripe for picking. Like all white varieties, it tastes mildly fruity and very sweet. In any case, it is an eye-catcher in the greenhouse, where it feels most comfortable.

Tomato Ukrainian Purple

This reliable and productive Ukrainian heirloom variety produces purplish black plum shaped fruits of 3-4″ long and of around 6 ounces in abundance.  Excellent sweet flavour at their best when eaten fresh. One of the best purplish-black tomatoes available since it does not crack or have bad shoulders. Indeterminate / Cordon type – 80 days from transplant.

Black Krim tomato

Black Krim tomato plants produce large tomatoes with deep reddish-purple skin. In hot, sunny conditions, the skin turns nearly black. The reddish-green flesh is rich and sweet with a slightly smoky, homegrown flavor.

The Black Krim tomato is named for its dark, black-purple coloring and its origin. “Krim” is the Ukrainian word for “Crimea,” the Ukrainian island where the Black Krim was cultivated. It is considered one of the best black tomato varieties, and it consistently wins top place and receives rave reviews at taste trials. It has gained notable popularity on the West Coast of the United States, although it is a favorite of chefs worldwide.

Indigo Rose

Blue tomatoes get their blue color – more of a deep purple-black – from the high levels of anthocyanin found in their skin which is a powerful anti-oxidant. Anthocyanin is most commonly found in blueberries, blackberries, and red cabbage. It has been found effective in helping the body fight against diabetes, cancer, inflammation, and obesity as well as preventing cardiovascular diseases. In these blue tomatoes, the pigment is darkest where the skin is exposed to the most sunlight and the dark color is only skin-deep so don’t peel them; the inside of the tomato is still red.

‘Indigo Rose’ and the other blue tomatoes developed by Gates and Wagner are all open-pollinated plants, not hybrids, so you can save the seeds to grow again next year. They have been bred and crossbred enough times to produce stable seed that will come true to its parent unlike F1 hybrids that will not reliably produce fruit that is the same as the parent plant’s.

Clackamas Blueberry

‘Clackamas Blueberry’ is a small salad tomato that was voted the best tasting blue tomato in taste tests. It bears in 70-75 days.