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 tomatoes should not be canned? ›

Some growing conditions may cause the tomatoes to be unsafe to can even when the tomatoes look fine. Tomatoes with blight and those from dead or frost-killed vines may be lower in acidity and are more likely to carry bacteria. Do not can using the open kettle method.

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”.

What are the most productive tomatoes for canning? ›

All around, Roma-style tomatoes will produce the highest yield of sauce in the least amount of time. If you're looking to can tomato sauce in bulk or make your own tomato paste, Roma tomatoes are your best bet!

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

If the tomatoes have not been acidified prior to canning you are risking the possibility of bacterial growth, which can be fatal. If you just canned them, and they haven't been stored, you might be able to open the jars and start over, or maybe freeze them.

How do you can tomatoes the old fashioned way? ›

Here's how to do it:
  1. Wash and peel the tomatoes; halve, if desired.
  2. Fill the jars, pressing to fill spaces with juice.
  3. Add bottled lemon juice and salt (1 Tbsp. lemon juice and ¼ to ½ tsp. salt for pints; add 2 Tbsp. lemon juice and ½ to 1 tsp. ...
  4. In a boiling-water canner, process pints and quarts for 85 minutes.
Aug 8, 2023

What can I do with 5 pounds of fresh tomatoes? ›

Here are 8 ways to store away those tomatoes.
  1. Can them whole.
  2. Slow-roast them.
  3. Dehydrate them.
  4. Freeze them.
  5. Make Marinara Sauce.
  6. Make Salsa.
  7. Tomato Purée.
  8. Make Tomato Juice.

Can you freeze fresh tomatoes? ›

Tomatoes may be frozen raw or cooked, whole, sliced, chopped, or puréed. Tomatoes do not need to be blanched before freezing. Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked foods such as soups, sauces and stews as they become mushy when they're thawed.

What happens if you forget 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.

What happens if you don't peel tomatoes before canning? ›

Tomato's bitter flavors are in their skin

According to the USDA's guide to home canning, it's important to peel root vegetables and tomatoes before canning them because much of the bacteria lives on the skin. Proper canning should kill off most of the bacteria present, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

What happens if you don't add acid to canned tomatoes? ›

Add acid to all tomatoes before processing. A high acid level (pH of 4.6 or less) prevents the growth of Clostridium botulinum bacteria which causes botulism. Because many factors impact the acidity level of tomatoes, USDA recommends adding acid to all home-canned tomatoes and tomato products.

Is it better to hot pack or cold pack tomatoes for canning? ›

You can also raw-pack tomatoes, but hot-packing has two major advantages: you can fit more tomatoes in a jar so there are fewer jars to process, and cooked tomatoes are less likely to float on top after processing because they contain less air.

What is the best tasting tomato for canning? ›

Plum tomatoes like Roma, Amish paste, or San Marzano are both good choices. San Marzano has only two seed chambers, and both San Marzano and Amish Paste are less acidic than Romas which makes them a sweeter choice.

Are Better Boy tomatoes good for canning? ›

One Better Boy plant once yielded more than 340 pounds (154 kg) of fruit, earning it a Guinness World Record. You may not pick that much from your own plant, but plan on growing plenty of bright red, 16-oz. (455-g) fruits perfect for slicing, canning and making into sauces.

Can any type of tomato be canned? ›

Any type of tomato can be canned but some are better for canning than others. Many extra large beefsteak and slicing tomatoes are not the best choices for canning. Their tender flesh and high moisture content cause them to disintegrate in the canning process.

Are all tomatoes good for canning? ›

Regular tomatoes work well for juice and canned tomatoes. Italian and plum type varieties are good for making sauce, salsa, catsup, and purees. The two types can be mixed.

When should you not eat canned tomatoes? ›

High acid foods such as tomatoes and other fruit will keep their best quality up to 18 months; low acid foods such as meat and vegetables, 2 to 5 years. While extremely rare, a toxin produced by Clostridium botulinum is the worst danger in canned goods.

What are the USDA recommendations for canning tomatoes? ›

A high acid level (pH of 4.6 or less) prevents the growth of Clostridium botulinum bacteria which causes botulism. Because many factors impact the acidity level of tomatoes, USDA recommends adding acid to all home-canned tomatoes and tomato products. Treat heirloom tomato varieties the same as any other tomato.

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