Tomatoes are one of the most widely grown plants in home gardens, prized for their versatility in the kitchen and their forgiving nature in the garden bed. Native to western South America, tomatoes were first cultivated by early civilizations before spreading across the globe through trade and exploration. Today they are grown on nearly every continent, in climates ranging from tropical to temperate, and in settings as varied as backyard plots, greenhouses, and container gardens on small balconies. Their popularity comes down to a simple fact: few crops offer such a wide range of flavors, shapes, and colors from a single plant family.
Growing tomatoes successfully depends on a handful of basics: full sun, well-drained soil, consistent watering, and support structures like cages or stakes for taller varieties. Gardeners often choose between determinate types, which grow to a set size and produce fruit in a single flush, and indeterminate types, which keep growing and producing until frost. Beyond the growing habit, tomatoes are also grouped by size and shape, from tiny cherry and grape tomatoes to large beefsteaks that can weigh well over a pound. This diversity means there is a tomato suited to nearly any garden space or culinary use.
While red tomatoes tend to dominate the produce aisle, color is one of the most striking ways tomatoes vary. Yellow tomatoes in particular have earned a loyal following among gardeners and cooks alike. Many yellow varieties are naturally lower in acid than their red counterparts, giving them a milder, sometimes fruitier taste that appeals to people sensitive to more acidic foods. Their bright, sunny color also makes them a favorite for salads, salsas, and simple garnishes, where their appearance alone can make a dish feel more vibrant.
Types of Yellow Tomatoes
1. Yellow Pear
Yellow Pear tomatoes are small, pear-shaped fruits that grow in generous clusters on sprawling vines. Their thin skin and mild, slightly tangy flavor make them a favorite for snacking straight off the plant or tossing into salads. This variety has been passed down for generations and remains one of the most recognizable yellow tomatoes thanks to its unmistakable shape. It also tends to hold up well in cooler weather, giving it a longer harvest window than many other small-fruited types.
2. Lemon Boy
Lemon Boy is a hybrid variety known for its bright, lemon-yellow skin and round, medium-sized fruit. It produces reliably over a long season and is often praised for combining strong disease resistance with excellent flavor. The taste is smooth and mild, without the sharp tang found in some other yellow types, which has helped it become one of the most widely grown yellow tomatoes among home gardeners. Its vigorous vines typically need sturdy staking to support a heavy fruit load.
3. Azoychka
Azoychka is a Russian heirloom variety that produces medium to large, golden-yellow fruit with a slightly flattened shape. Its flavor is often described as mild with a pleasant citrus-like tang, striking a balance between sweetness and acidity. The plant is a reliable producer and has become a favorite among heirloom enthusiasts for both its taste and its old-world origin story. Its name is thought to come from a Russian word associated with the color of its fruit.
4. Kellogg’s Breakfast
Kellogg’s Breakfast is a large beefsteak-type tomato that can weigh up to a pound or more per fruit. Its deep orange-yellow flesh is meaty and juicy, with a rich, sweet flavor that has earned it a devoted following among home growers. The variety takes its name from the Michigan gardener who originally shared the seeds, and it has since become a staple in heirloom seed catalogs. Because of its size, plants benefit from strong support and consistent watering to prevent cracking.
5. Yellow Brandywine
Yellow Brandywine shares its name and growing habits with the well-known pink Brandywine, but produces golden fruit instead. The tomatoes are large, meaty, and low in acid, with a creamy texture that many cooks prefer for slicing. It is considered a heavier producer than some other large heirlooms, making it a practical choice for gardeners who want both size and yield. The plant’s potato-leaf foliage is a distinctive trait shared across the Brandywine family.
6. Dr. Wyche’s Yellow
Dr. Wyche’s Yellow is a heirloom variety known for its large, nearly one-pound fruit and rich, slightly exotic flavor. According to garden lore, the seeds were first shared by a circus owner who grew the tomato himself, giving the variety its memorable backstory. It takes a longer season to mature compared to many other yellow types, but gardeners who grow it often cite its bold flavor as worth the wait. The fruit’s smooth, rounded shape makes it a popular choice for slicing.
7. Amana Orange
Amana Orange produces large, yellowish-orange fruit that can approach a pound in weight. It carries more acidity than most yellow tomatoes, giving it a flavor that leans closer to a traditional red tomato while still offering a golden color. The variety takes its name from the Amana Colonies in Iowa, where it was first grown and shared among local gardeners. Its size and flavor make it a popular option for slicing onto sandwiches or serving fresh.
8. Sun Gold
Sun Gold is a widely grown hybrid cherry tomato known for its small, round fruit that ripens to a golden-orange hue. It is prized for its exceptionally sweet, almost tropical flavor, which has made it one of the most popular cherry tomatoes among home gardeners. The plant is a vigorous, indeterminate grower that produces fruit steadily throughout the season. Its thin skin means the fruit is best enjoyed fresh rather than stored for long periods.
9. Sun Ray
Sun Ray is a heirloom variety that produces round, meaty, globe-shaped fruit with a mild, well-balanced flavor. It tends to be a dependable producer through the growing season, offering consistent yields without requiring much special care. The tomato’s smooth golden skin and firm flesh make it a good all-purpose choice for slicing or cooking. Gardeners looking for a straightforward, reliable yellow heirloom often turn to this variety.
10. Yellow Bell
Yellow Bell is a paste-type tomato, meaning its flesh is dense and contains fewer seeds and less liquid than slicing varieties. This makes it especially well suited for cooking down into sauces, pastes, or even a golden-hued ketchup. Its rich, sweet flavor holds up well when concentrated through cooking, which is part of why it remains popular among gardeners who preserve their harvest. The fruit’s small, oblong shape also makes it easy to process in bulk.
11. Yellow Riesentraube
Yellow Riesentraube is a grape-type heirloom tomato that produces small fruit in large, tight clusters resembling bunches of grapes. Despite its small size, it delivers a surprisingly bold, full tomato flavor that stands out among other bite-sized varieties. The name comes from German, roughly translating to “giant bunch of grapes,” a nod to its heavy, cluster-forming habit. It’s a popular choice for gardeners who want a productive, ornamental-looking plant alongside good flavor.
12. Banana Legs
Banana Legs is an heirloom variety with a distinctive long, narrow shape and a pointed tip that resembles its namesake fruit. The flavor is mild and low in acid, making it a pleasant option for slicing into salads or using as a colorful garnish. Its plants are determinate, meaning they produce their fruit in one concentrated harvest rather than spreading production across the season. This trait makes it convenient for gardeners who prefer to can or preserve a large batch at once.
13. Gold Nugget
Gold Nugget is a compact cherry tomato variety developed by university researchers in Oregon during the 1980s. It produces small, round, golden fruit with a sweet, mild flavor and is known for being an early producer compared to many other varieties. Because the plant is determinate, it tends to ripen its fruit in a single main flush rather than continuously. Its manageable size also makes it a good option for container gardening.
14. Isis Candy
Isis Candy is a small cherry tomato with yellow skin lightly brushed with red, giving each fruit a marbled appearance. Its flavor is notably sweet, which has made it a favorite snack among both children and adults who enjoy eating tomatoes straight from the vine. The plant produces abundantly throughout the season, offering a steady supply of fruit for fresh eating. Its appealing color and taste make it a common choice for gardeners growing tomatoes specifically for kids.
15. Golden Sweet
Golden Sweet is a grape-type tomato known for its resistance to cracking and mold, which helps it thrive even in humid or indoor growing conditions. The small, elongated fruit has a sweet, dependable flavor and grows on vigorous, indeterminate vines that continue producing until the first frost. Because of its disease resistance, it’s often recommended for gardeners dealing with damp climates or limited air circulation. Its steady productivity makes it a reliable addition to any yellow tomato collection.
16. Lillian’s Yellow
Lillian’s Yellow is a late-season heirloom first collected by a home gardener in Tennessee before making its way into wider seed-saving circles. It is one of the few truly bright yellow varieties, standing out from the more common gold or orange-tinted types. The fruit is meaty, full of flavor, and contains relatively few seeds, making it a satisfying tomato for fresh eating. Because it needs a long growing season to mature, it rewards patient gardeners with rich, memorable flavor.
17. Blondkopfchen
Blondkopfchen is a German heirloom whose name translates roughly to “little blonde,” a fitting description of its pale yellow, cherry-sized fruit. The plant is extremely productive, often yielding hundreds of small tomatoes in large clusters over the course of a season. Its flavor is sweet with a light tang, making it a favorite for snacking and salads alike. The prolific nature of this variety makes it a popular pick for gardeners who want a steady, high-volume harvest.
18. Candy’s Old Yellow
Candy’s Old Yellow is a productive heirloom that produces pale yellow fruit around three to four inches across. Its flavor combines a light sweetness with a subtle acidity, giving it a more balanced taste than some of the sweeter yellow varieties. The plant tends to bear fruit generously throughout the season, making it a reliable choice for gardeners who want consistent yields. Its soft coloring also makes it a gentle, eye-catching addition to a mixed tomato harvest.
19. Goldita
Goldita produces round fruit with a color that leans toward orange, along with a distinctive aroma and a notably high natural sugar content. It is well suited to smaller growing spaces, including balconies and patio containers, thanks to its manageable size and resistance to common diseases. The plant’s attractive foliage adds ornamental value alongside its productivity. Gardeners with limited space often choose this variety for its combination of flavor and compact growth habit.
20. Yellow Date
Yellow Date is a small, pear-shaped tomato similar in form to Yellow Pear but slightly more elongated, resembling the fruit for which it’s named. It produces abundant clusters of sweet, bite-sized fruit that are well suited to fresh eating or garnishing dishes. The plant grows well in pots with some protection from heavy rain, making it a good option for gardeners with limited outdoor space. Its steady productivity makes it a dependable choice for a small-scale harvest.
21. Snow White
Snow White is a cherry tomato variety with a pale, almost ivory-yellow color that sets it apart from more vividly colored types. The plant is known for being especially vigorous and healthy, often shrugging off common tomato ailments better than more delicate varieties. Its flavor is mild and sweet, without the tang found in some other pale-colored tomatoes. The soft coloring makes it a popular choice for gardeners looking to add visual variety to a mixed tomato bed.
22. Sunrise Bumble Bee
Sunrise Bumble Bee is a small cocktail-sized tomato with striking stripes of yellow, orange, red, and pink running across its skin. Beyond its appearance, it’s valued for an early and long-lasting yield, along with a fruity, sweet flavor that holds up throughout the season. The unusual coloring makes it a standout in salads or on a serving platter. Its combination of visual appeal and steady production has made it increasingly popular among home gardeners.
23. Great White
Great White began as a chance mutation discovered in a batch of orange oxheart tomato seeds, resulting in a beefsteak-sized fruit with a pale yellow color. Its size and texture resemble a traditional beefsteak, but its flavor leans sweeter and less acidic. The plant grows as an indeterminate vine, producing fruit steadily until the first frost. Gardeners drawn to unusual colors often grow this variety for both its novelty and its rich, sweet taste.
24. Mr. Stripey
Mr. Stripey is a striking heirloom with red and yellow striped skin and correspondingly marbled flesh inside. Its flavor is mild and low in acid, appealing to those who find traditional red tomatoes too sharp or tangy. As a beefsteak-type tomato, it grows large and is well suited for slicing onto sandwiches or serving fresh. The plant produces continuously on indeterminate vines, giving gardeners a long harvest window.
25. Buffalosun
Buffalosun stands out for its swirled yellow and red skin paired with marbled flesh, giving each fruit a unique, one-of-a-kind pattern. It falls into the large beefsteak category, making it a good choice for gardeners who want both size and visual interest. The flavor is well-rounded, balancing sweetness with a mild tang. Its unusual coloring makes it a conversation piece whether displayed in the garden or on the table.
26. Tye-Dye
Tye-Dye lives up to its name with a swirling mix of colors across its skin, blending shades of yellow with hints of green and red depending on ripeness. The plant tends to produce fruit with a rich, complex flavor that pairs well with its striking appearance. Because the coloring can vary from fruit to fruit, no two tomatoes from this variety look exactly alike. Gardeners who enjoy novelty varieties often grow Tye-Dye as a colorful centerpiece among more traditional tomatoes.
27. Basinga
Basinga is a pale yellow heirloom that has gained popularity among gardeners for its high yield throughout the growing season. It begins producing fruit around mid-season and continues offering up four-inch, globe-shaped tomatoes as the weeks go on. Its dependable output makes it a practical choice for those who want a steady supply rather than a single large harvest. The mild flavor and soft color also make it a pleasant addition to fresh dishes.
28. Orange King
Orange King is a medium-sized heirloom tomato known for its sweet, meaty flesh that holds up well to slicing. As a determinate variety, it tends to ripen its fruit within a shorter window rather than spreading production across the whole season. This makes it a good option for gardeners planning to preserve or process a large batch at once. Its balanced, sweet flavor has made it a longtime favorite among heirloom growers.
29. Dad’s Sunset
Dad’s Sunset is a long-season heirloom that requires patience, often taking 90 to 100 days to fully ripen. It has been grown across the Midwestern United States for generations, passed down informally among gardening families. The extended growing time allows the fruit to develop a deep, well-rounded flavor that many growers consider worth the wait. Its history as a family-kept variety adds to its appeal among heirloom tomato collectors.
30. Orange Russian 117
Orange Russian 117 produces fruit with a distinctive marbled appearance, blending orange and yellow tones with occasional streaks of red. Originating from Russia, it has become a favorite among heirloom growers for its rich, complex flavor that goes beyond simple sweetness. The plant tends to be a reliable producer, offering a good yield alongside its unusual coloring. Its combination of taste and visual interest makes it a popular choice for gardeners building a varied heirloom collection.
31. Orange Strawberry
Orange Strawberry is named for its oxheart shape, which tapers to a point reminiscent of a large strawberry. Its flesh is dense and meaty, with relatively few seeds, making it well suited for slicing or cooking down into sauces. The flavor is rich and full-bodied, standing out among lighter, milder yellow varieties. Its unusual shape makes it easy to identify among other tomatoes in a mixed garden bed.
32. Golden Jubilee
Golden Jubilee is a classic heirloom variety that has been a garden favorite for decades, known for its smooth, round, golden-orange fruit. Its flavor is mild and sweet with very low acidity, making it a good option for those sensitive to more acidic tomatoes. The plant is a steady producer across the season, offering a reliable harvest without much fuss. Its long-standing popularity has made it a common entry point for gardeners trying yellow tomatoes for the first time.
33. Hawaiian Pineapple
Hawaiian Pineapple is a large bicolor beefsteak tomato with yellow skin streaked with red, and flesh that carries a similarly marbled pattern inside. Its flavor is notably sweet and tropical, living up to the fruity name it was given. Because of its size, the plant benefits from sturdy staking and consistent watering to support heavy fruit. Gardeners who enjoy bold, sweet flavors often single this variety out as one of their favorites.
34. Wapsipinicon Peach
Wapsipinicon Peach is a small, round heirloom tomato with a fuzzy, peach-like skin that sets it apart from nearly every other variety. Its pale yellow color and soft fuzz give it a fruity resemblance that goes beyond just its name. The flavor is mild and sweet, and the unusual texture makes it a memorable addition to any garden. This variety is often grown as much for its novelty as for its taste.
35. Yellow Stuffer
Yellow Stuffer is a hollow, bell pepper-shaped tomato bred specifically for stuffing with fillings like rice, meat, or vegetables. Its thick walls and open interior cavity make it functionally different from most other tomato varieties, which tend to be solid or juicy inside. The flavor is mild, allowing it to serve as a versatile base for a variety of stuffed recipes. Its unusual shape makes it a popular choice for gardeners interested in more unusual, functional varieties.
36. Yellow Perfection
Yellow Perfection is an English heirloom known for its smooth, round, deep yellow fruit and early ripening habit. It was one of the first yellow varieties bred specifically for consistent shape and color, traits reflected in its name. The flavor is mild and well-balanced, making it a versatile choice for salads or fresh eating. Its early maturity makes it a good option for gardeners in regions with shorter growing seasons.