13 Tomato Recipes for Canning (2024)

Whether you are just getting started canning or you’ve been canning a long time, you’re always going to want to be on the lookout for good tomato recipes for canning, especially if you are growing tomatoes in your garden. I don’t know about you, but I always plant more tomato plants than I’m ever going to possibly need. You will probably recognize some of these recipes, but there might be a couple of new ones for you to try, like pickled cherry tomatoes, and tomato soup that tastes even better than Campbell’s tomato soup.

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Canning Tomato Sauce

When I’m trying to decide what to do with all of the tomatoes from my garden every year, tomato sauce always comes to mind. It’s really easy to make, and if you have a food mill you can easily get rid of the skins and seeds to make a thick and smooth tomato sauce that is perfect when you need a jar of tomato sauce for quick dinner. Check out my recipe for canning tomato sauce, you won’t be disappointed.

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Canning Diced Tomatoes

Diced tomatoes are also pretty high on my list of things to can with fresh garden tomatoes. They take a little prep work too, but if you have a vegetable chopper, it makes the work easy and you will have diced tomatoes all ready for winter in no time. Here’s my recipe for canning diced tomatoes.

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The Best Homemade Salsa

This homemade salsa recipe is my favorite salsa recipe for canning. I have tried a number of different salsa recipes, and this one is the best. It’s not too runny and not too thick. My family loves it! I give a lot of it away to family and friends during the holidays.

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Canning Tomato Soup

This tomato soup canning recipe has a secret ingredient–Clear Jel, a thickener used in canning (for sauces and pie fillings). It ensures you don’t have runny soup and gives your tomato soup the same consistency of store bought tomato soup. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

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Canning Chili

This chili recipe takes a little prep work. Make sure to leave yourself time to soak the beans and to cook the hamburger ahead of time. It’s worth the extra work though, so make sure you give it a try! It’s one of my favorite soup recipes for canning. Here’s my recipe for canning chili.

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Canning Pickled Cherry Tomatoes

If you’ve never tried pickled tomatoes before, you need to give this recipe for canning pickled cherry tomatoes. I wasn’t sure if I would like them or not, but preserving them in this way is a great way to use up an excess of cherry tomatoes from your garden. They are great in salads, or just by themselves as a snack!

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Canning V8 Juice

I have always liked V8 juice, and until I started searching for canning recipes I didn’t realize that you could can it! It’s relatively easy to make and you can use it in soups and stews as well as drink it. Here’s my recipe for canning homemade V8 juice.

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Canning Pizza Sauce

I had never thought about canning homemade pizza sauce before, but it’s really good! You prepare it the same way that you do tomato sauce or barbecue sauce. It just has different spices added to it. It’s definitely worth trying, my family really enjoys homemade pizza once in awhile. Here’s my recipe for canning pizza sauce.

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Canning Green Tomato Salsa

The end of summer always seems to sneak up on me, and I always end up with a bunch of green tomatoes that I don’t know what to do with. You can bring them indoors and try to ripen them, but they are also great when you make them into some green tomato salsa verde. It’s really easy to make, and really good!

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Canning Sweet and Sour Sauce

The first time I tried canning sweet and sour sauce, I was hooked. It’s really easy to make and even better than the sweet and sour sauce you can buy at the store. I started giving it away to family and friends as holiday gifts and they kept asking for more. It makes a great gift!

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Canning Spaghetti Sauce

Homemade spaghetti sauce is so good! Canning spaghetti sauce is easy too, although you will need a pressure canner for canning it. The vegetables in this spaghetti sauce have a low acidity level that require pressure canning. It is worth the effort, though! Pressure canning instructions are included.

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Canning Barbecue Sauce

Homemade barbecue sauce is fun to make, and tastes really good too. It is similar to making homemade pizza sauce, the seasonings are just different. If you like this recipe you might also like my recipe for apricot barbecue sauce. It’s so good! Here’s my recipe for canning barbecue sauce.

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Canning Relish

I’m a big fan of relish, on hot dogs and hamburgers! I didn’t know you can make and can homemade relish, but you can! I was skeptical of how it would turn out, but it’s really good. One jar lasts quite awhile, so you probably only need to make a couple and they will last you a long time. Here’s my recipe for canning relish.

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Follow my canning and preserving board on Pinterest.

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13 Tomato Recipes for Canning (2024)

FAQs

What to do with tomatoes until you have enough to can? ›

Freezing tomatoes is the easiest way to keep ripe tomatoes until you're ready to use them. You don't have to peel them first—in fact, the act of freezing them itself makes the tomatoes insanely easy to peel!

How many tomatoes needed for canning? ›

The rule of thumb is to order three pounds of tomatoes for each quart of canned tomatoes you want to make. We usually pre-order ours from a local farm, and find that one large bushel yields about 16 to 18 quarts. Meaty tomato varieties work best for canning.

How much lemon juice and salt to can tomatoes? ›

Add 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon citric acid to quart jars. Use half this amount for pints. Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart (1/2 teaspoon per pint) to jars, if desired. Fill jars with heated sauce, leaving 1/4-inch headspace.

What to do with 15 tomatoes? ›

  1. Slow-roast them. This is a VERY popular exit strategy for our CSA masters. ...
  2. Dehydrate them. Once again, I would recommend this step for Romas, globes, or cherry tomatoes — not heirlooms! ...
  3. Freeze them. ...
  4. Make Marinara Sauce. ...
  5. Make Salsa. ...
  6. Tomato Purée. ...
  7. Make Tomato Juice.

What to do with an abundance of tomatoes? ›

Here are 6 creative ways to use up extra Tomatoes so you can enjoy this fresh veggie to the fullest!
  1. Salsa. Making a few fresh jars of salsa is a great way to use up any extra Tomatoes in your kitchen. ...
  2. Ketchup. Have you ever made your own ketchup? ...
  3. Virgin Caesars. ...
  4. Tomato Soup. ...
  5. Bruschetta. ...
  6. Gazpacho.
Jul 27, 2020

What happens if you forgot to put lemon juice in canned tomatoes? ›

Tomatoes by their nature are high in acid!! They will be fine. clarification from a canning company.

Why do you turn jars upside down when canning tomatoes? ›

Inversion Canning

Once secured, the jar is inverted (flipped upside down) and left to cool for several minutes before placed right side up. The thought behind the method is the hot food will sterilize the seal while creating a vacuum by allowing air to escape.

Do tomatoes need lemon juice when canning tomatoes? ›

The short answer to the question is “Yes, to ensure safety, acid in the form of lemon juice, citric acid or vinegar must be added to tomatoes that will be processed by a pressure canning option”.

How do you can tomatoes for beginners? ›

  1. Fill the mason jars with hot tomatoes.
  2. Add Salt.
  3. Add Lemon Juice or Citric Acid.
  4. Put the Lids and Rings on Each Filled Jar.
  5. Get the Jars into the Canner.
  6. Process the Tomatoes in the Water Bath Canning Pot.
Jul 31, 2020

What is the best tomato for home canning? ›

If you're looking to can tomato sauce in bulk or make your own tomato paste, Roma tomatoes are your best bet! The best Roma tomatoes for canning include: San Marzano – Known for their sweet flavor, dense flesh and small seed cavities, San Marzano tomatoes are a traditional Italian favorite.

How much salt do you put in tomatoes when canning? ›

Add 1 teaspoon salt per quart to the jars, if desired. Fill jars with raw tomatoes, leaving ½ inch headspace. Press tomatoes in the jars until spaces between them fill with juice.

What happens if you forgot the lemon juice in canning? ›

If your recipe called for lemon juice and you forgot to put it in, your mixture will not be acid enough for safe canning. You have to open the jars and put the mixture into a sauce pan.

Why are my canned tomatoes sour? ›

Some (non-disease-causing) bacteria are thermophilic, which means that they can survive high temperatures. (There are bacteria that thrive in Yellowstone's hot springs, for instance.) These bacteria survive the canning process and will multiply rapidly at high temperatures. This process causes the flat-sour taste.

Why use bottled lemon juice when canning? ›

Here's why. Bottled lemon juice is standardized, or uniformly acidified, per FDA regulations. Therefore, it is consistent which provides a known level of safety for food preservation. The final acidity of a food product is critical to deter the growth of microorganisms that can cause spoilage or foodborne illness.

Can you freeze tomatoes instead of canning them? ›

The freezer is also a much-overlooked tool for preserving, especially when it comes to tomatoes. If you plan on using tomatoes in the depths of winter in sauces and stews, then freezing is a perfectly wonderful option. You can skip the puréeing and canning and just place them straight into freezer bags.

Can I prepare tomatoes the day before canning? ›

If you did make the crushed tomato a day ahead right up to the canning stage, but then called it a day and stored it in the fridge, then bring it back to the boil in a pot before starting the canning procedure. The salt is completely optional.

What is the easiest way to preserve fresh tomatoes? ›

Best Ways to Preserve Tomatoes
  1. Freezing is the easiest to way to preserve cherry tomatoes.
  2. Drying preserves the colors and flavors of juicy heirloom varieties.
  3. Partially dehydrated and frozen half-dried tomatoes can be used like fresh ones.
  4. The tanginess of green tomatoes is best preserved in chutney.
Jul 31, 2020

Is it better to can or freeze fresh tomatoes? ›

During the days of yesteryear, the only way folks could enjoy tomatoes outside of their season was by canning them when they were fresh and ripe, but that's not the case today. Freezing tomatoes is the best way to preserve their flavor to use in tomato recipes for months to come, and it's even easier than you think!

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