Home > Blog > Can Dogs Eat Tomatoes? The Ripe Fruit, Not the Plant
Quick Facts
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can dogs eat tomatoes? | Yes, ripe red ones, in pieces |
| The plant | Leaves, stems and green unripe fruit are the problem |
| What is in them | The plant record names solanine, the feeding guidance names tomatine |
| Ketchup and sauce | No. Salt, onion, garlic and sugar rather than the tomato |
| Cherry tomatoes | Halve them. The shape is a choking risk |
| How much | A piece or two. It is a low-calorie treat |
| Not published | A quantity of green tomato that would matter |
This is our own research, not veterinary advice. For nearly every food there are many sources, and they do not always agree with each other. We check each claim against the veterinary and poison control sources, and we say plainly where they disagree. Even so, if you are in any doubt, contact a vet and do your own research before you feed anything to an animal in your care.
Ripe red tomatoes are safe for dogs, and the warnings you have read are about the rest of the plant. The leaves, stems and green unripe fruit carry compounds that the ripe fruit does not, which is why a tomato plant is listed as toxic while a tomato on its own is not. Ketchup, pasta sauce and soup are a separate question again, and the problem there is the salt and the onion rather than the tomato.
I have never fed a tomato to a dog. For years I assumed they were off the menu because they belong to the nightshade family, along with potatoes and aubergine, and that was reason enough not to risk it. It turns out the distinction is between the fruit and the plant, and it is worth knowing which side of that line you are on. I am also not a fan of tomatoes unless they are in a Greek salad, so I rarely have them in the house anyway.
The answer is genuinely tidy once you separate the fruit from the plant. It is the same distinction as apple seeds, and it causes the same kind of worry.
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Can Dogs Eat Tomatoes? Yes, the Ripe Fruit
A ripe red tomato is safe for dogs. It is mostly water, it is low in calories, and it does not appear on the poison control list of people foods to avoid.
The flesh is the part that is fine. The green calyx where the stem attaches is part of the plant rather than the fruit, so pull it off along with the stem, which you would do anyway.
Tomato is also a common ingredient in commercial dog food, usually as part of a vegetable mix. Its presence in a complete diet is not something to worry about.
If the wrong thing has been eaten, what to do when a pet eats something dangerous covers the sequence, and it is worth knowing which of the two cases you are in before you ring anyone.
The Plant, and Why It Is Listed as Toxic
The tomato plant appears on the poison control non-toxic plant database as toxic to dogs, cats and horses. That listing covers the plant: the leaves, the stems and the vine.
The plant record names solanine as the toxic principle, and lists the signs as drooling, loss of appetite, severe stomach upset, depression, weakness, dilated pupils and a slow heart rate. That is the plant, and it is a real concern for a dog that chews a tomato vine.
The feeding guidance names a different compound, tomatine, and says the same thing about where it sits: the leaves, the stems and the unripe fruit rather than the ripe tomato. The plant record itself ends by noting that the ripe fruit is non-toxic, which is the sentence that resolves the whole question.
Green Tomatoes
An unripe green tomato sits between the two. It is fruit rather than plant, and it carries more of the compound that the ripe version has less of, because the ripening process is what reduces it.
The guidance is that green tomatoes, along with the stems and leaves, can cause stomach upset, and that in large amounts they can cause more serious poisoning. No quantity is published, so the practical answer is the obvious one: a dog that has eaten one green tomato from the greenhouse is worth watching, and a dog that has stripped a plant is worth a phone call.
Worth knowing that this is also the reason fried green tomatoes are a novelty rather than a staple. They are not a food you would feed in quantity to anybody.
Ketchup, Pasta Sauce and Soup
The processed tomato is where the real risks live, and the tomato is the innocent ingredient every time.
Ketchup brings sugar and salt. Pasta sauce and soup usually bring onion and garlic as well, which matter more than the tomato ever could, because alliums damage red blood cells. A jar that has been open on the counter for a few days brings a bacterial question on top.
Salsa and chutney are the same story with more ingredients and often more heat. Sun-dried tomatoes are usually packed in oil, so they arrive with a fat load as well as a salt one.
The test is the same one that works everywhere on this site. Chop a tomato, and it is fine. Read a label, and it probably is not.
How Much Tomato
Tomato is about 18 kcal per 100 g, which makes it one of the lightest treats there is. Calories are not the thing to watch here.
Treats should stay under about 10% of a dog's daily calorie intake, which is the standard most vets and the literature give. A piece or two of a ripe tomato fits inside that comfortably.
| Portion | Weight | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| A cherry tomato | about 15 g | about 3 kcal |
| A slice of a large tomato | about 30 g | about 5 kcal |
| A whole small tomato | about 60 g | about 11 kcal |
Two practical notes. Halve cherry tomatoes, because a whole one is exactly the shape that can lodge in a small dog's throat. And acid is a real issue for some dogs, so a dog with a sensitive stomach may be better off with something else entirely.
On a Sit: The Tomato Plant in the Garden
This is the one food on the list where the risk is usually already in the garden rather than in the kitchen, and on a summer sit a tomato plant is almost a certainty.
A dog that takes an interest in a tomato vine is worth stopping, not because the tomatoes are dangerous but because the leaves and stems are. It is the same instinct as keeping a dog off any other plant you are not sure about.
The practical version: pick the tomatoes yourself rather than leaving them low and ripe where a dog can help itself, and keep an eye on a dog that has been in the greenhouse. A dog that has eaten a ripe tomato off the vine has done nothing wrong. A dog that has chewed through the plant is a different call.
If a dog has eaten a lot of green fruit or a lot of the plant, what to do when a pet eats something dangerous covers the sequence.
Where This Research Comes From
The sources behind this page:
PetMD: Can Dogs Eat Tomatoes?, the ripe tomato verdict, the tomatine detail, the green tomato warning and the processed tomato guidance.
ASPCA: Tomato Plant record, the plant listing, the solanine principle, the clinical signs and the note that the ripe fruit is non-toxic.
ASPCA: People Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pets, the avoid-list check, which ripe tomato is absent from.
USDA FoodData Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, the calorie and fibre figures.
Conclusion
Ripe red tomatoes are safe, and the warning everybody half-remembers is about the plant. That is the whole distinction, and it is the same shape as apple seeds and stone fruit.
Give the fruit, keep the dog off the vine, and leave the ketchup in the cupboard. That covers it.
Caro and I have completed 20 house sits across 12 countries, driven 19,000km across Europe in our 1998 VW T4, and saved over $26,500 in accommodation costs over three years of house sitting.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can dogs eat tomatoes?
Yes, ripe red ones, in pieces. Tomato is low in calories, mostly water, and it is not on the poison control list of people foods to avoid.
Are tomatoes toxic to dogs?
The plant is, and the ripe fruit is not. The leaves, stems and green unripe fruit carry compounds that the ripe tomato does not, which is why the plant appears on a toxic plant list while the fruit does not.
Which compound in tomatoes is a problem?
The plant record names solanine and the feeding guidance names tomatine. They are different compounds and neither source names the other, so they should not be treated as one thing. Both agree the risk is in the plant rather than the ripe fruit.
Can dogs eat green tomatoes?
No. Unripe fruit carries more of the compound than ripe fruit does, and the guidance is that large amounts can cause more serious poisoning. No quantity is published, so keep dogs away from the greenhouse.
Can dogs eat ketchup or pasta sauce?
No. Ketchup brings sugar and salt, and pasta sauce and soup usually bring onion and garlic as well, which matter more than the tomato does. The tomato is the innocent ingredient.
Can dogs eat cherry tomatoes?
Yes, but halve them. A whole cherry tomato is the right size and shape to lodge in a small dog's throat, and the flesh being soft does not stop the skin being slippery.
Can cats eat tomatoes?
The plant record covers cats and lists the same risks. A small piece of ripe red tomato is not toxic to a cat, but cats do not need fruit or vegetables, so there is no reason to offer one.
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