Yellow and orange tomatoes provide the two-fold benefit of being beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.
You may not know that they also typically have a lower acid content than red tomato varieties, making them more adaptable for different culinary uses and the best choice for those with sensitive stomachs.
We’ve compiled a list of twenty orange and yellow tomato varieties, both slicing and cherries, so that you can experiment with them yourself and experience the benefits they have to offer.
20 of Yellow and Orange Tomato Varieties To Grow
Let’s dive right into our list of the tastiest and most interesting varieties of yellow and orange tomatoes, and don’t be afraid to plant multiple at a time!
Mix and match to see which ones you like best, and we’ve divided them into big slicing fruits and little cherry tomatoes so that you can find a variety best suited for your needs.
Slicing Tomatoes
Slicing tomatoes produce lots of large, juicy fruits that are perfect for cutting into large rings and putting on sandwiches and burgers, or using in homemade sauces. Here are our favourite ones:
1: Yellow Brandywine
This tomato produces deep yellow, borderline orange fruits that grow on indeterminate vines. It has a rich flavour and thick flesh that makes it a fantastic tomato for soups or sandwiches.
This plant is a mid-season producer that will reach maturity approximately 78 days after transplanting.
2: Amana Orange
This giant heirloom tomato resembles a small pumpkin more than a tomato, with whopping orange-yellow fruits that weigh around 2 pounds each! It is a late-season, indeterminate tomato that matures between 85 to 90 days after transplanting.
This is a great tomato to grow if you want a show-stopping prize-worthy tomato that will impress friends and neighbours to no end!
3: Kentucky Beefsteak
A massive yellow beefsteak from Kentucky, this highly productive tomato has a mild flavour and is quite tolerant to imperfect conditions.
It is another late-season indeterminate plant, that may take 100 days to reach maturity- so make sure you get it in the ground as early as possible to get the most bang for your buck.
4: Orange King
Orange King is a semi-determinate tomato that produces a large crop of quarter to half pound fruits which are sunset orange. They are globe-shaped, juicy and a little tart compared to others on this list, and plants will mature early at around the 65-day mark.
5: Basinga
Basinga is an indeterminate heirloom tomato that has a sweet and fragrant flavour. As a mid-season tomato, it will mature approximately 80 days after transplanting out into your garden and is very high yielding.
The fruits are pale yellow with the slightest hint of pink when ripe, and they tend to be hard to find in plant nurseries so make sure to order seeds online early in the season.
6: Tangerine
This tasty slicer is bright construction-cone orange and has a beautiful, sweet flavour. They grow on high-yielding indeterminate vines, and the fruits are tangerine-shaped as well as coloured, like a slightly flattened globe.
They are a mid to late season producer taking 80-85 days to mature, but you’ll find your vines completely bombarded with the half-pound fruits before you know it.
7: Lemon Boy
One of the most famous yellow tomatoes, Lemon Boy fruits look almost fake with how bright and shiny their yellow colour becomes when ripe.
They are hybrid indeterminate mid-season producers that are ready for harvesting 70-75 days after transplanting.
As an added bonus the vines are disease resistant, so it’s less likely your perfect lemon-coloured fruits will develop any blotches or blemishes throughout the season.
8: Hugh’s
A beefsteak that can be over a pound heavy, Hugh’s tomato is sweet and resistant to cracking or splitting during heavy rain.
They are light yellow and have a tender texture when ripe, making them a great slicing tomato for those who like a mild, sweet flavour.
They are indeterminate and grow on ambitious vines that can exceed 6 feet tall, and the first fruits will be available for harvest after 80-85 days.
9: Dr Wyche’s Yellow
This indeterminate heirloom matures 80 days from planting and produces a bountiful yield of giant one-pound fruits that have creamy orange-coloured skin. The flesh is meaty and sweet, and this tomato really stands out in terms of rich flavour.
10: Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee is a mid-sized indeterminate tomato that produces beautiful golden yellow, oval-shaped fruits that are very low in acidity.
They are a great juicing tomato for this reason, especially since they also contain very few seeds inside their meaty flesh.
Each fruit weighs around half a pound, and the vines are very high yielding once they get going and have enough heat to set lots of fruit.
Cherry Tomatoes
Yellow and orange cherry tomatoes can only be described as little bursts of sunshine in your mouth. They are typically faster growing than slicing tomatoes and the fruits will ripen early, giving your garden that first pop of color and heavenly scent of tomatoes in early to mid-summer.
11: Sunrise Bumblebee
Sunrise Bumblebee is a sweet cherry tomato with beautiful yellow and orange marbling across the surface of its skin.
It is indeterminate, growing on vines that and the fruits are soft to the touch when ripe. They mature around 65-70 days after transplanting, making them a prolific mid-season producer.
12: Yellow Currant
Yellow currant tomatoes are only half an inch across and grow in glowing clusters of fruit that look like candy. They become a slightly translucent deep yellow when ripe, and some plants may produce more orange than yellow fruits.
They are very light and can be harvested by the branch when ripe. They are ready for picking 60 days after planting and are also indeterminate in their fruit-bearing pattern.
13: Mirabelle Blanche
These tomatoes are one of the few yellow tomatoes that are quite acidic, but this makes them an excellent addition to salads or appetizers.
Their skin is a very pale yellow with a firm texture that makes them pop, and you can tell they are ripe when the bottom of the fruit is faintly pink and the skin is soft to the touch.
This variety is one of the longer season cherries, taking 75-80 days to grow before they reach maturity.
14: Sungold
Maybe one of the most beloved cherry tomatoes, Sungold fruits burst with flavour and are a warm yellow colour that resembles the setting sun.
They are also highly popular due to their resistance to a whole sleuth of different diseases and pests. They are indeterminate mid-season producers that are ready for harvest about 75 days after transplanting.
15: Yellow Pear
This heirloom variety produces pear-shaped tomatoes that are a little bit tart and grow on highly productive vines which can shoot up to become 6 feet tall.
They take around 75 days to reach maturity, and the fruits are electric yellow when ripe, making them really stand out in colour and shape.
16: Snow White
Snow White tomatoes are larger than your typical cherry tomato, reaching 2 ounces a piece in ideal growing conditions.
They are a creamy white colour with just a hint of pale yellow, which continues throughout the flesh of the fruit as well. This variety is indeterminate and will mature 75 days after planting.
17: Patio Choice Yellow
The first of only two determinate tomato varieties on this list, Patio Choice Yellow is a tiny dwarf tomato plant that only grows to around 20 inches tall.
Despite its short stature, this tomato produces a high yield of mild-flavoured yellow fruits that weigh down the bush. It is also the earliest producer on this list, taking just 45 days to mature to supply you with delicious, ripe fruits.
18: Isis Candy
Isis Candy tomatoes are indeterminate and mature in 65 days on climbing vines, with sweet fruits that have a rich flavour and beautiful dark orange colour that when ripe develop a yellow tinge on their bottom. They have a sweet flavor, hence the name, and are tolerant to high heat and dry conditions.
19: Sweet Orange
This tomato is bright orange and satisfying to look at as it is almost perfectly round and resistant to splitting. Each fruit is around 1 inch in diameter, and they will be ready for harvest 70 days after transplanting.
It is known to be extraordinarily productive, so prepare yourself for a huge crop once the first fruits begin to ripen.
20: Gold Nugget
The second, and last, determinate tomato on this list, Golden Nugget is another exceptionally tiny tomato that typically maxes out at 25 inches tall.
It is well-suited for container growing on patios and balconies, especially in short-season growing zones. It will happily set fruit in slightly cooler temperatures and matures in just 56 days.
The little fruits are deep yellow and seedless for most of the crop until the last batch of the season.
Things to Keep in Mind for Yellow and Orange Tomatoes
When growing yellow and orange tomatoes you should follow the same care and maintenance practices you would for all other types of tomatoes.
Once inch of water every week, fertilizing as needed, mulching the soil surface, pruning suckers, and trellising indeterminate vines. But in addition there are a few key things to keep in mind with these colorful varieties:
Don’t Base Ripeness Entirely On Fruit Color
If you are new to growing yellow and orange tomatoes, you should use other metrics to determine when the fruit are ripe apart from color.
Many of tomatoes will be pale, translucent, or marbled when ripe- all of which can be tricky to use as a signal of ripeness if you aren’t familiar with how they should look.
Use your other senses to determine when the tomatoes are ripe: they should feel tender to the touch, come off the vine easily with a gentle tug, and smell fragrant when you place your nose right on the fruit, and taste full-flavored and delicious!
Fruits Should Be Yellow, Not Leaves
Many of these varieties have interesting and varied fruit colors, but all of them have the same deep green leaves characteristic of tomato plants.
If you notice your tomato leaf tips turning yellow, it is symptomatic of an issue with your plants and should be addressed immediately.
Nitrogen deficiencies in the soil or lack of water can cause this, but it also may be a sign of a more serious issue like an infection from a virus or fungal disease.
Pick You Favorite Color But Also Plant The Best Variety For Your Needs
All of these varieties fall somewhere on the color spectrum from a pale, almost white yellow to a deep reddish orange, and you should definitely plant those that you think are most striking.
However also consider the different tolerances these tomatoes have to cooler conditions, splitting, or diseases, so that whichever plant you end up growing has the best chance of success in your region.
If you live in a short growing season, consider the early maturing determinate varieties ‘Patio Choice Yellow’ or ‘Gold Nugget’ to make the most of your time. Or if you live somewhere where the summers can be particularly rainy and moist, go for ‘Hugh’s’ or ‘Sweet Orange’ to prevent your fruits from splitting.
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.
This article is awesome! Thanks, Amber!
Thanks Amber. This year my driveway container organic veg garden is producing a windfall of determinate tomatoes, especially from Ruby Crush, Little Napoli and Dancing with Smurfs. Happy to have some additional suggestions for next year. And I always try a couple of indeterminate varieties which struggle a little in containers, but still give a reasonable harvest.