Tomatoes are as nutritious as they are delicious. And their vitamin and mineral levels peak when they are fully ripened on the vine. Your homegrown tomato crop supports your health with macronutrients, like vitamins A and C, and calcium, plus essential fiber. You also get powerful micronutrients that help protect you from disease.
All fresh-picked tomatoes give you these benefits. Doctors and dietitians recommend that we eat fruits and vegetables of different colors because those variations in hue come with a distinct mix of nutrients. Plant all the colors in your tomato garden and you’ll reap the maximum nutrition from your crop.
RED
Health highlights: Classic tomatoes get their color from lycopene, an antioxidant that protects cells from damage caused by free radicals (a result of aging and environmental factors) that have been linked to diabetes, certain cancers, and heart disease. Lycopene also plays a role in protecting skin from sun damage. Red tomatoes supply you with 35 percent of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin A and 48 percent of the vitamin C you need each day. Both are essential for the vitality of your immune system.
Top picks: ‘Bodacious’ Hybrid bears beefy, bright red fruit that weigh in at 10 to 12 ounces. ‘Fourth of July’ Hybrid starts producing its rich red, medium-size tomatoes in early summer and they keep coming all season long. Plant ‘Supersauce’ Hybrid if you and your family love thick, red tomato sauce or salsa.
YELLOW
Health highlights: Gold and yellow tomatoes tend to be less acidic than red tomatoes, so they are a good choice if you have a sensitive stomach or are prone to heartburn or acid reflux. Compared to red varieties, they contain more niacin (vitamin B3), which helps your body turn food into energy you can use. Yellow tomatoes are rich in potassium, the mineral needed to balance the levels of sodium in your blood, reducing your risk of high blood pressure. Yellow tomatoes are good sources of iron and Vitamin C, as well as lutein, which helps prevent eye conditions such as macular degeneration as you age.
Top picks: ‘Sunny Boy’ Hybrid tomatoes are as big and meaty as the red beefsteaks but with bright yellow skin and flesh. Our trial garden staff rated the small and supersweet fruit of ‘Honey Delight’ Hybrid as the best-tasting yellow variety. ‘Yellow Pear’ Organic is an heirloom variety that produces curvy, tangy, bite-size tomatoes.
ORANGE
Health highlights: Orange tomatoes give you the biggest boost of beta carotene, which your body converts to Vitamin A. Orange tomatoes contain a form of the antioxidant lycopene that the body absorbs more easily than the lycopene found in red varieties.
Top picks: ‘Orange Wellington’ Hybrid produces plump, heavy slicers with firm, dense, meaty, nearly seedless flesh. You’ll harvest loads of sweet, little, orange fruits from ‘Honeycomb’ Hybrid from early summer to fall. Your tomato season may begin with early-bearing ‘Sweet Tangerine’ Hybrid, which yields medium-size tomatoes that ripen to a bright orange color.
GREEN
Health highlights: Varieties that are green when fully ripe provide up to 47 percent of the vitamin C you need each day to keep your immune system strong. They’re also valuable sources of Vitamin A and potassium, and they support your health with calcium and iron.
Top picks: If you like tomatoes with a perfect balance of sweet and tangy flavors, you’ll love the emerald-hued fruit of ‘Green Envy’. They’re the size and shape of green grapes and delicious in salads and salsa, or to just pop in your mouth while you’re tending your garden.
Want to harvest all the colors of healthy tomatoes from your garden?
Burpee’s Rainbow Blend comes with equal quantities of six heirloom varieties: 'Bonny Best' (red), 'Brandywine Pink' (pink), 'Golden Sunburst' (yellow), 'Black Krim' (purple), 'Evergreen' (green) and ‘Djena Lee’s Golden Girl' (orange).
No doubt about it, tomatoes are as healthy as they are delicious. But, depending on the color of the variety, some tomatoes offer more benefits than others.
Explore the rainbow of hues and the nutrients they provide:
Red
The summer classic, red tomatoes offer high amounts of lycopene — the pigment that produces the fruit’s signature hue. Lycopene is also an antioxidant that protects cells from damage caused by free radicals (a result of aging and environmental factors) that have been linked to diabetes, certain cancers and heart disease.
A red tomato delivers 35% of your daily FDA-recommended value of Vitamin A, which is important for eye health, and 48% of Vitamin C to lower cardiovascular risk factors. Red tomatoes are also a good source of fiber (offering a gram more than yellow) and have a little less sodium than other colors.
Red Tomato Varieties to Grow:
Yellow
Some yellow tomato varieties are lower in acid, making them easier on sensitive stomachs and less likely to cause heartburn. Compared to red varieties, they contain more cholesterol-lowering niacin, as well as potassium (which helps with muscle contraction), phosphorus for bone health, and folate — which is vital for blood-cell formation and cellular function.
Yellow tomatoes are good sources of iron and Vitamin C, as well as lutein, which helps prevent macular degeneration of the eyes caused by aging. However, they contain no Vitamin A.
Yellow Tomato Varieties to Grow:
Green
Green tomatoes — that is, fully ripe varieties that are green, rather than unripe red ones — provide a big dose of heart-healthy Vitamin C: nearly 47% of the daily value recommended by the FDA. They’re also valuable sources of Vitamin A and potassium and contain iron, fiber and calcium.
Green Tomato Variety to Grow:
Orange
For the biggest boost of Vitamin A, orange tomatoes are your best bet. They are packed with beta carotene, which converts to Vitamin A in your body.
They’re a good source of the antioxidant lycopene, too, which boosts heart health and helps prevent sun damage. In fact, orange tomatoes contain a different form of lycopene that the body absorbs more easily than the lycopene found in red varieties.
Orange Tomato Varieties to Grow: