15 Essential Slicer Tomato Varieties to Grow This Season
These 15 tomato varieties grow large, round fruits perfect for slicing. There are hybrids and heirlooms, indeterminate and determinate types, and pole and bush forms. No matter your preferences, there’s sure to be a slicer tomato on this list that’s perfect for your garden. Join backyard gardener Jerad Bryant to check them out!
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Though there are dozens, if not hundreds, of slicer tomato varieties to choose from, only a select few make this list! We’ve narrowed it down to the best ones that grow well across the U.S. These high-performing varieties produce delicious and juicy tomato slices without problems.
Which type is right for you depends on your tastes, your climate, and how much space you have to garden. Determinate bush varieties are excellent for containers—they stay short and stocky and stop growing after producing fruit on their stem tips.
Indeterminate, pole varieties are superb for trellising and training up supports. They’ll grow, without end, until the first frost arrives in your region. If you have a long, warm growing season, these types will reign supreme over the other ones in your garden.
So, let’s get started! Here are the 15 best slicer tomato varieties to plant this year.
‘Oregon Spring’
We’ll start with my favorite tomato for the Pacific Northwest, ‘Oregon Spring.’ It’s a determinate, climbing hybrid that produces a plethora of round, red tomatoes perfect for slicing. It’s cold-tolerant, meaning it’ll grow well despite the cool, rainy weather that’s common in spring.
If you’d like to try transplanting early because of a short growing season, ‘Oregon Spring’ is a great variety to sow. It’s quick to mature, giving you ripe fruits roughly two months after planting.
‘Glacier’
A longtime favorite, ‘Glacier’ exceeds where other tomatoes fail. It’s cold-tolerant, like ‘Oregon Spring,’ and matures quickly. You’ll have ripe tomatoes 55 days after planting transplants outdoors!
‘Glacier’ is a bushy semi-determinate variety, meaning it’ll produce a large crop all at once and continue to produce small crops throughout the growing season. It’s perfect for cold regions, gardens with short seasons, and small spaces.
‘Container’s Choice’
‘Container’s Choice’ is an excellent selection from Epic Gardening’s exclusive seed line. It’s an easy-growing cultivar that performs well in pots, raised beds, and fabric bags. It’s a determinate, hybrid type that stays short and stocky.
After a little over two months of growing this variety, you’ll have ripe, round, and red slicing tomatoes that weigh six to eight ounces each. Cut them onto sandwiches, chop them into sauces, or eat them fresh off the stem like an apple!
‘Ace 55’
Heirloom varieties are excellent for home gardens, as you can save their seeds annually for free tomatoes the next year. ‘Ace 55’ is one such heirloom that growers love for its canning capabilities. The fruits tuck easily into jars, and their low-acid content allows them to last for many months in storage.
A determinate, bushy type, ‘Ace 55’ grows quickly and produces tomatoes all at once. After fruiting, the plants will die back. Plant multiple seedlings over many weeks to extend your harvest until the end of summer.
‘Red Pride’
‘Red Pride,’ like ‘Ace 55,’ is a bushy determinate cultivar. Its short stature, quick harvesting turnaround, and disease resistance make it one of the best varieties! It’s resistant to Alternaria stem canker, gray leaf spot, Fusarium wilt, and Verticillium wilt.
Determinate types like ‘Red Pride’ are superb for canning, sauce-making, or processing into a paste. Because they ripen all at the same time, you can collect dozens of tomatoes simultaneously and preserve them together.
‘Brandywine Pink’
‘Brandywine’ is a classic, heirloom tomato that growers have loved for over a century. Though it’s a classic, there are improvements to the original that work even better in home gardens. ‘Brandywine Pink’ is one such cultivar—it features pinkish, round fruits with creases on their skin.
An indeterminate, pole type, this variety will climb endlessly, producing flowers and fruits so long as the weather is warm. In warm climates, the tomatoes can reach between 16 and 24 ounces!
‘Big Brandy’
‘Big Brandy’ is another improvement to the classic slicer ‘Brandywine.’ It’s a hybrid resulting from a cross between ‘Brandywine’ and ‘Big Dwarf,’ hence the name ‘Big Brandy!’ It’s an indeterminate, pole type, meaning it’ll climb and fruit as long as warm weather is present.
These trailing, vine-like varieties are best for raised beds or in the ground, as they need lots of space to grow. You may put them in containers if they’re large enough. Use 10-gallon or larger-sized containers for indeterminate, pole cultivars like ‘Big Brandy.’
‘Beefsteak’
Tried and true tomato classics are hard to beat. ‘Beefsteak’ is one such favorite that wins in trial gardens year after year. It’s a pole type and indeterminate, with rambling vines that reach six feet or longer! Stake them up for optimal fruit production.
‘Beefsteak’ forms shapely, round tomatoes with slight creases on the skin. This heirloom type will produce all summer, giving you meaty, flavorful tomatoes for fresh eating and preserving.
‘Oxheart’
‘Oxheart’ fruits have many ridged dimples on their skin that make them look like oxen’s hearts. Instead of slicing into rounds, ‘Oxheart’ tomatoes make star-shaped slices! Use them to decorate a charcuterie board or tuck them into salads and sandwiches.
A pole-type tomato, ‘Oxheart,’ has long stems that need support to grow their best. Use cages, stakes, or trellises to support your budding crop.
‘Black Krim’
A gorgeous heirloom, ‘Black Krim’ is as delicious as it is beautiful! It forms brown-red, round tomatoes with green tops. Their interiors are dark and flavorful, with purple-red pulp that’s slightly salty and incredibly tasty. Slice them into rounds, and add a dash of salt and black pepper for a fresh snack!
‘Black Krim’ is indeterminate, producing fruit the entire growing season. Keep its stems upright with cages, or tie them to a pole with plant tape to hold them up.
‘Golden Jubilee’
Yellow tomato lovers need a yellow slicer variety for the garden. Though yellow cherry tomatoes are delicious, I’d argue the slicers are even more flavorful! ‘Golden Jubilee’ is a perfect example. It grows perfectly round fruits with rich flavor and low acidity.
Whether you’re making a yellow sauce or you want to eat yellow slices fresh, ‘Golden Jubilee’ fits the bill. It’s a climbing variety that grows well with support. Give it what it needs, and it’ll reward you with tasty, yellow tomatoes throughout the growing season.
‘Pineapple’
‘Pineapple’ tomatoes are a favorite hybrid of sweet-tomato lovers. They have a tangy, sweet flavor that blends well into sauces, stews, and pastes. Enjoy them in your favorite recipes, or cut them fresh into slices to see their beautiful interiors!
Their insides have a kaleidoscope blend of red and yellow hues. ‘Pineapple’ tomatoes will brighten up salads and charcuterie boards. Pair them with mozzarella, basil, and a dash of olive oil and vinaigrette for a supreme combination of flavors.
‘Carbon’
‘Carbon’ is darker than ‘Black Krim.’ It’s one of the darkest slicing tomatoes, with purple-black skin and flame-scarlet flesh. You’ll enjoy 10 to 12-ounce round fruits from spring to fall. An indeterminate type, ‘Carbon,’ produces well so long as the weather is warm.
This pole cultivar stands out from the rest because of its complex taste and stunning beauty. If you want an exquisite and flavorful tomato, ‘Carbon’ may be the right one for you. It’s also an heirloom, meaning you can save its seeds annually, and you won’t need to buy more.
‘Cherokee Purple’
A longtime favorite heirloom, ‘Cherokee Purple’ makes a name for itself with purple tomatoes that have a smoky, rich flavor. They’re round and large, making them perfect for fresh slicing. They’ll grow and ripen all summer long, giving you endless harvests for consistent enjoyment.
Because it’s so vigorous, ‘Cherokee Purple’ performs best with upright supports. Use cages, poles, or pre-made structures to hold up the long stems and heavy fruits.
‘Cherokee Carbon’
This hybrid combines the best of two different tomato worlds! ‘Cherokee Purple’ and ‘Carbon’ together make ‘Cherokee Carbon.’ This new hybrid excels in a variety of gardens, surviving drought, excessive heat, and irregular watering. Grow it for its hardiness and its ability to produce dozens of tomatoes in a single season.
Though you can’t save seeds from hybrids if you want to grow them again, they’re worth the money every year for their tough nature. They resist poor growing conditions, diseases, and pests due to a condition known as “hybrid vigor”. In simple terms, the first offspring of a tomato crossing will be tougher than its parents.
Take advantage of hybrid vigor with a cultivar like ‘Cherokee Carbon‘. If you haven’t tried hybrids, start with this one and see how it does—I swear, it’ll perform better than your other tomatoes!
