When it comes to tomatoes, every gardener has an opinion! Some like big red fruits, others believe black tomatoes have a richer flavor. Cherry tomatoes range from spicy sweet to super sweet in flavor, so your favorite will depend on your personal taste. Some gardeners look specifically for plants that perform well in containers. The truth is, you can’t go wrong with any tomato, so try a new variety every year. Here’s a selection of consistently highly rated tomatoes:

Heirlooms

Tomato Taste-offs held at community events and nurseries often feature dozens of varieties. More often than not, heirlooms make a good showing. Here are a few that consistently rate highly:

Black Krim fruits are red-purple, very juicy, and always place high in taste trials. Vines are indeterminate. 

Brandywine tomatoes have been a favorite of gardeners for over a hundred years. Fruits are very large and very juicy and take a long season to ripen.

Costoluto Genovese is a fluted Italian favorite that dates back to the 19th century. Vines are tall and productive, and the flavorful 7 oz fruits ripen mid-season, at about 75-80 days.

Cherokee Purple fruits are large, dark, and meaty. An heirloom tomato that dates back to the early 19th century, it is a garden favorite due to its reliably superb flavor.

Japanese Black Trifele is a heavy mid to late season producer of 5 oz pear shaped fruits with green shoulders that are known for their rich flavor and meaty texture. 

Kellogg’s Breakfast, an indeterminate beefsteak, gets consistently top taste-test ratings. Fruits are bright yellow-orange, smooth, and juicy.

Cherry Tomatoes

Whether they’re black, red, or golden, cherry tomatoes are little bursts of sweetness. If you’re looking to find a new favorite, try one of these:

Black Cherry vines grow to heights of six feet or more and produce multitudes of deep red, rich tasting fruits. 

Cherry Roma produces bountiful yields of 1 to 2 inch plum shaped fruits with a sweet/spicy flavor on indeterminate vines.

Pink Bumble Bee fruits are red-pink striped with gold, very attractive and very sweet. They hang in trusses on tall, productive plants. 

Sungold fruits are super sweet and often get top marks at taste trials. They grow in long trusses on large indeterminate vines.

Plum tomatoes 

Grown for making sauces, plum tomatoes are rich and meaty. Some are determinate, that is, their growth is limited to about 4 feet and the harvest season is all at once, while others, such as the four pictured below, are taller indeterminates that produce over a longer period:

Amish Paste Tomatoes are large for a sauce tomato. Fruits are 8 to 12 oz and nearly seedless, and are produced on indeterminate vines. 

Opalka tomatoes are known for their excellent flavor. Fruits are 4-6 oz with very few seeds, and are produced on indeterminate vines. 

Salvaterra’s Select produces medium sized 6 oz tasty tomatoes on indeterminate, productive vines. 

San Marzano is a classic sauce tomato that produces meaty 4-6 oz, crack resistant fruits, perfect for sauce making. 

Disease Resistant Hybrids

If you’ve had problems with disease, you’ll be looking for a complete package—taste plus disease resistance. Often, you’ll find this in hybrid varieties. Here are three hybrids that have been bred for toughness and taste:

Buffalosun, a 2020 AAS winner, produces huge yellow fruits with red-orange flame coloration. The indeterminate plants were bred for disease resistance and taste.

Carmello, a classic French slicer, is known for being productive and exceptionally tasty. Fruits are less than 8 oz, and ripen mid-season, at about 75 days. 

Mountain Magic plants are super disease resistant, but taste was not sacrificed to that end. The 2 oz fruits are bright red and crack-resistant. 

Tips from Cornell University for tastiest tomatoes:

Harvest tomatoes when they have vine ripened but before they soften. Once harvested, keep them in the dark or away from bright windows. And never, ever place tomatoes in the refrigerator. Temperatures below 55F will destroy their flavor.

Container tomatoes 

For containers, look for tomatoes that are short in stature. Some sprawl while others have  tidy, shrub-like shapes. Determinate varieties that top out at about 4 feet are appropriate for containers, provided that the containers are big—at least 5 gallons—and you use a quality soil mix and fertilize regularly:

Celebrity Hybrid, a 1984 AAS winner, is a dependable 4-foot determinate tomato that produces a heavy yield of 7 oz crack-resistant fruits. 

Husky Red is a dwarf, indeterminate tomato that tops out at a sturdy 3 to 4 feet. Though small by tomato standards, the plants will need staking. 

Plum Regal produces good yields of  4 oz plum tomatoes. Plants are compact and disease resistant. 

Red Robin tomato, only 12 inches tall, is a dwarf cherry tomato bred specifically for containers. It can even be grown in a hanging pot.