Oh tomatoes…
You and I really have a love/hate relationship sometimes.
I love you for your flavor and versatility… But I hate how finicky you can be to deal with in the garden sometimes…
Don’t get me wrong– I’ve had some bumper tomato crops resulting in jars and jars of savory homemade sauce. However, there are plenty of years where I end up dancing around my tomatoes inability to ripen on time, or end up staring at boxes upon boxes of green ones after being surprised by an early snow…
There’s nothing better than pulling a jar of home canned sauce out of the larder mid-winter for a belly-satisfying pot of from-scratch spaghetti.
However, as much as I love canning my tomatoes, I’ve actually been freezing tomatoes more frequently lately, and I’m in love with the results. Here’s why:
What You Need to Know About How to Freeze Tomatoes:
- Tomatoes freeze beautifully. While frozen tomatoes aren’t well-suited for slicing or salads, they are fabulous for stews, soups, pasta dishes, sauces, etc.
- If the tomatoes in your garden are sporadic in their ripening and you’re only getting a handful at a time, freeze the small harvests until you have enough saved up for a big batch of sauce.
- Y’all know how I feel about fuss-free preservation, and freezing tomatoes is totally easy– no blanching or hot kitchen required.
- You can use your frozen tomatoes to make my favorite fast, fresh sauce recipe. (Instructions below!)
Watch Me in the Kitchen as I Freeze Tomatoes!
How to Freeze Tomatoes
I generally grow Roma or Amish Paste tomatoes, since we eat more sauce than fresh ‘maters, but any variety of tomato will work for freezing.
Wash the fresh tomatoes thoroughly, then remove the ends and any bad spots.
Halve the small ones, and quarter the big ones. If I’m freezing cherry tomatoes, sometimes I’ll just pop the whole thing in the freezer– no cutting required.
Seed the tomato pieces. I do this by running my thumb and forefinger down each side of the tomato to scrape out most of the juice and seeds.
I do this very quickly and if I end up with some seeds or juice left inside, I don’t sweat it.
From here, I toss the seeded tomato pieces into a gallon-size freezer bag and pop it in the freezer. However, if you’d rather, you can arrange the tomatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet, freeze for 30-60 minutes, and then transfer to a freezer bag. This keeps them from sticking together, but honestly, I’ve never had a lot of problems doing it the down-and-dirty way…
What About Blanching Tomatoes First?
Some tomato freezing tutorials call for blanching or boiling them first to remove the skin. I don’t do that, and I never have… You guys know how I feel about fussy food preservation, and blanching is a bad word at my house. I’ve never had a problem just freezing them raw with peels on, and once you cook them down and puree them, you’ll never know the skins were there anyway.
How to Use Frozen Tomatoes
- Thaw ’em and give them a quick whirl in your food processor for crushed tomatoes in a jiffy.
- If I have plans to can a big batch of homemade tomato sauce, I’ll simply save back my bags of frozen tomatoes until I have enough to fill my big pot. When I’m ready to can, I thaw them, drain them, and then proceed to cook them long and slow with my favorite tomato sauce spices and seasonings, before processing them in jars. (Sorry, I don’t have a recipe for this– it changes every time!)
- Make my 15 minute small-batch tomato sauce— it works like a charm with frozen tomatoes!
Other Tomato Canning, Recipes, & Tips You’ll Love:
- 40+ Ways to Preserve Tomatoes
- How to Can Tomatoes Safely at Home
- 15 Minute Tomato Sauce Recipe
- Homemade Pico de Gallo Salsa
- How to Make Sundried Tomatoes
- Tomato Garlic Soup Recipe
- 4 Ways to Ripen Green Tomatoes
- 10 Tips for Growing Tomatoes
Fast Fresh Tomato Sauce
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 2–4 cups frozen tomatoes (or heck, if you want to use fresh ones, you definitely can!)
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1–2 cloves garlic, minced
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Fresh basil and/or oregano (optional– dried will work too)
Instructions
- In a medium saucepan, gently heat the garlic in the olive oil for several minutes. We’re not looking to brown it, or even saute it really– just to soften it and mellow out the flavor.
- Add in the tomatoes. Sometimes I thaw/drain them first, but other times I’m in a hurry and just toss them into the pot still frozen.
- Allow the tomatoes and garlic to mingle, stirring as you go. The tomatoes will release their juices, and you can season with salt/pepper accordingly.
- Stir and simmer the tomatoes until softened, and now add in the herbs. You can use dried herbs if you wish, but if at all possible, use fresh basil and/or oregano. The flavor difference is amazing.
- Puree the mixture with your hand blender (like this one). I like to leave my fresh sauce a little bit on the chunky side.
- Toss with fresh pasta (combining this with homemade pasta is out of this world) or use it as a topping for your favorite pizza recipe.
Try freezing your tomatoes whole. You get no freezer burn. When you are ready to eat run under the faucet until the skin comes off. Use for sauces and stews.
Much less processing.
Yes, this is how I do it too. It works so wonderfully, and talk about fuss-free! The skins peel off so easily, if you want them too, and it’s great to chop them when they’re still a little frozen: less mess, but you still get that juice in the final product.
Why waste all that precious water down the drain. Just let your bag thaw about half-way and the skins will slip right off. I always core my tomatoes first before I throw them in the bag to facilitate the skins sliding off easily when half thawed though.
I freeze my tomatoes whole too! When they thaw some you just squeeze them into the pot and they pop out of their skins!
I also freeze fresh basil in ice cube trays with a bit of water in them . When frozen I pop the cubes into a ziplock bag to use in my pasta dishes! I also do some cubes of chopped basil with oil to use in cooking also!
Yup, I freeze ’em whole also.
So easy!
Perfect! We were just blessed with tomatoes from some new friends & I was wondering what do do with them for the moment. I’ve got a lot going on the next few weeks and didn’t want to have to take a whole day canning. Thanks so much!
You’re very welcome Dawnita! Glad the post came at a good time. 🙂
I’ve started coring my tomatoes before throwing them whole into a freezer bag. Then like Kelly said, I dump them into warm-hot tap water in the sink and the skins instantly split and peel right off! After that, I pop them all into a pot to start cooking down. Made some tomato soup just the other day by doing that! Cooked them down, added some oregano, salt & pepper! Delicious!! We pressure canned several jars of it… just have to add the cream!
I love homemade tomato soup– especially with cream!
I have an electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot) and it works so well for making fresh sauce (or using frozen tomatoes to make sauce). I use pretty well the same steps you do as there is a sauté setting that I start the oil and garlic with, then I add the tomatoes and seasoning, put the lid on and let it pressure cook for 15-20 minutes. It’s still pretty juicy after it’s pressure cooked, so I turn it back to the sauté setting and let some of the juice cook off. It is such flavorful sauce, excellent for spaghetti!!
I’ve been looking at those Instant Pots… I think it might be time to invest in one!
I LOVE my Instant Pot. I use it almost every morning in the winter. I put 1C rolled oats, 2-2 1/2 C water (for my 3 kids and I…adjust for more people) and set the manual timer for 3 minutes. I could never get tender oatmeal like this on the stovetop, especially in so little time. Or, use it to pressure cook a bag of dry beans and then use those beans to make the most awesome chili ever!! I totally recommend buying one.
You guys are convincing me! I was actually looking at them last night. Think it’s gonna be my next kitchen investment!
Love my Instant Pot!!! I just gave one for a wedding present.
Thanks for the tips Amber! I have an Insta-Pot too and love it for rice. Its a great little machine, and now Im going to try it for tomato sauce too. Yum!
I love freezing tomatoes – I’ve got about 5 big ziploc bags in the deep freeze already and will probably get another 3 or 4 by the time I clear out the greenhouse. Totally the easiest, fuss-free way to go. We’re the same as you – we use tomatoes mainly for cooking with, not so much raw, so this way is perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Isn’t fuss-free awesome?! 🙂
Freezing whole works great. Just toss them in the freezer. The skins fall of after you thaw. Then either make a great meal with them or can them in any form you choose!
I freeze them till I am ready to can them. My freezer gets stuffed with produce & it needs to be emptied. when I have enough, then It’s time to can.
Do you have a use for the tomato seed and juice you get?
I usually just give it to my chickens. 🙂
Hi Jill,
Is there a reason NOT to use the juice & seeds? We’re getting handfuls of romas right now but I usually throw the whole things (chopped up!) into a pan for a quick sauce (skins, seeds and juice). Wondering if they won’t freeze well, or something else? Thanks!
I remove as many seeds as i can, then cook the juice down some and freeze it makes great tomato juice, add some onion powder garlic powder and salt to taste before freezing, also a great soup base
I was wondering too why you scrape out juice with the seeds. Isnt it juice were after? I see you touched on it a bit with one commenter. Is that juice what is mostly the water?
I see this is older, just wondering!
Yep! We freeze em whole too. Only problem I’ve had is there is too much liquid, not all is tomato juice…. So I carefully pour off the water before proceeding to cook!! So much easier!!!!
Yes– I usually let mine drain a bit before adding to most recipes too. 🙂
I usually purée them in the food processor then vacuum seal 2-3 cups and throw them in the freezer. It saves a ton of freezer space.?
That works too!
Wow, you have just saved me a ton of work! I always blanched my tomatoes and what a hot drawn out process if you have a lot of tomatoes, tho I normally just have a few at a time. Thank you so much for posting this!!!!
Yes– it can be a huge process if you are dealing with a lot of fruit! You are very welcome. 🙂
I made similar sauce with my fresh tomatoes today! I didn’t measure anything, though, and I roasted the halved tomatoes with onions and spices before I threw them in the blender. I need to get one of those hand-blenders. They sound fun. 🙂
Oh yes– they are awesome! I use mine a ton. 🙂
@ Andrea Rossignol, I have a hand held blender and just love it! It was a gift to use in our travel trailer but has moved into the house because it is so versatile, invest in a good one and you will never regret it!
I was looking for a way to freeze tomatoes and I have found two ways to do it but I think leaving them whole is the way to go I thank you because we were just given two boxes of tomatoes and I didn’t know what to do with them so I just went on line I hoped I would find a place where I find how to freeze them if there was a way I appreciate all of your help.
How long does it stay good in the freezer? If I freeze it now (July), will it be good next March?
I’m in the “freeze ’em whole” crowd, too. I cut out where the vine was, then freeze them. Cutting them up will help them freeze quicker, but I’d keep the pulp in there. It has flavor, too.
I’ve made tomato sauce with the whole tomato, just using a blender. The seeds and skins never bothered us. I heard that the seeds may add a bitterness to the sauce, but it’s so much better than canned anyway. I supposed if I used a puree-er, which separates the seeds, it might be even better, but ignorance is bliss to the lazy!
Saving time is always great!
What do you do with all your green tomatoes on those not so great season? Last year we had a couple big fires and were boxed in by the smoke so I got basically no ripe tomatoes. I pickled mine, they turned out alright – a tad softer than I personally prefer but the taste is great. So, beings I have okay years and not good years (still working to get a GREAT year with tomatoes) I am always interested in finding ways to make good on a green crop other than fried green tomatoes. Any ideas? 🙂
Hi Sara! Jill has a post about saving and ripening green tomatoes that might be helpful for you! You can find that post here: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/10/ripen-green-tomatoes.html
i freeze cherry tomatoes, when I add them to soups or stews the skins float to the to and you can just skim them off
Just curious…why skin your tomatoes? I have always put them in the blender. Skins have so much nutrients.