Freezing Tomatoes- 3 easy ways

Sometimes your garden just gives you too many tomatoes at one time to process all at once. Learn all about freezing tomatoes 3 easy ways!

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I have a confession to make. Every year, when I start my seeds in March for that years’ garden, I plant extra seeds, in case I don’t get germination on a variety.

Well, even after giving away every tomato plant that I can to friends and family, I end up with too many plants for 3 people to realistically use in 12 months. Like waaayyy more!

So what do I do? I plant them anyway, because I can’t bear to throw away any of the little plants that I have nurtured so lovingly, from seed for months.

The backlash of this single action is that I have bushels of vegetables to use, or process in the 4 short months that my garden is plentiful. Give them away, invite friends and family to come pick their own, etc. etc.

I still can’t keep up. Soooo, long story short. Many, many bushels of tomatoes end up frozen, in one form or another.

Stick with me and I’ll show you 3 easy ways to freeze them, so that you can use them all year long!

These 3 methods can be used in a variety of ways. In soups, stews, chilis, jam. You can even use them to Can Tomato Sauce in the middle of winter. We’ll go through the process for freezing Whole Tomatoes, Crushed Tomatoes and Tomato Purée/ Juice.

What you need

• Fresh tomatoes- use perfectly ripe tomatoes. They will have the best. They can have a few spots in 2 of the methods below. In the first, you will want to use perfect tomatoes, without spots or cracks.
• Freezer bags, tupperware, vacuum packing bags or jars.

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Which tomato varieties should you use?

The easy answer is whatever varieties you grew in your garden, or picked up from the farmer’s market. They all make delicious sauces, with a slightly different, unique color or flavor. One of our favorites to use are cherry tomatoes. They make delicious spaghetti sauce with a lovely, natural sweetness.

General tips for all methods

• Make sure to carefully wash fruit and remove all dirt and debris.
• Choose fruit at the peak of ripeness for best flavor, texture and appearance.
• Vine ripened fruit is always best for freezing.
• Pack as many tomatoes in the bags as you can to reduce waste, or use reusable silicone bags.
• Remove as much air from the bags as you can.
• Lay bags flat in the freezer so that they are easier to stack.
• If freezing in mason jars, leave at least 1-inch headspace. Freeze without the lid until frozen. Then attach lids.

Freezing Whole Tomatoes

This is perhaps the easiest method to get the job done. There are pros and cons to this method. Read on to learn more.

Wash tomatoes thoroughly with lukewarm water. Pat dry.

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Cut out stem end with a sharp knife. Place whole, perfect tomatoes, with no splits or bad spots, on parchment lined cookie sheet.

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Freeze for at least 4 hours.

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Once they are frozen solid, transfer to freezer container of your choice.

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Pros and cons for using whole tomatoes

Pros

• By far the easiest, fastest method.
• No mess in the kitchen.
• Perfect in lots of different dishes.

Cons

• They take up more room in the freezer, so you need adequate space. (you can slice tomatoes or use diced tomatoes so that they sit flatter, if you like.
• You should only use perfect fruit, so you can’t use cracked or bruised fruit.
• Generally, the bags don’t stay flat, so they are difficult to stack in freezer.

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Do you need to blanch the tomatoes first?

Absolutely not. Once frozen, they can be held under lukewarm water, if you are in a hurry, or let them thaw in the refrigerator. The tomato skins will peel right off, if you choose.

There is technically no reason to remove the skins, with many recipes. In other recipes, the skins and seeds may add a slightly bitter, acidic flavor. That just depends on variety.

If you would like to blanch the skins off, get a large pot of water boiling. Cut stem ends off. Blanch for 1-2 minutes, until skins crack. Remove with slotted spoon and immediately place in ice bath. Let cool. Remove skins.

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What can whole tomatoes be used for?

They can be used for any recipe that you would use whole canned tomatoes for. Some of the best recipes are my Chunky venison Chili, 3 Meat, 3 Bean Chili, Oscar relish, Chipotle salsa, or Roasted Garlic Salsa.

They are also great in soups, like tomato soup and stews. You can use them for other dishes, if once they are thawed, you follow the directions for the two methods below to transform them into crushed tomatoes or tomato purée.

Freezing crushed tomatoes

Crushing your tomatoes is another great time saving way to preserve your harvest. You can also use tomatoes that have cracks or small bad spots that can be removed. So you can take advantage of the full harvest.

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This method is also quite easy. you will need a food processor or blender.

The method for crushed tomatoes

Cut any cracked or bruised areas off with a sharp kitchen knife. Also cut off stem end. Cut in half.

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Place in food processor or blender. Note: You can blanch the whole tomatoes to remove skins, prior to cutting them. Follow blanching method above.

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Pulse to desired consistency. You can leave a few chunks, if you prefer.

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Pro tip; Use a large mouth canning funnel to transfer them to your freezer bags, to save on cleanup!

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Pros and cons of crushed tomatoes

Pros

• Incredibly easy to freeze a large quantity of fruit in a short time.
• You can use slightly damaged fruit and utilize your entire harvest, without any waste.
• Take up less freezer space than whole tomatoes.
• Ease of use- Just thaw and add to all of your favorite dishes.

Cons

• More mess to clean up and dishes to wash.
• They still have the skins and seeds, so depending on your variety of tomato, can be more bitter or acidic.

Freezing purée or juice

Juices or purées are an easy way to utilize those garden veggies.

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First set up your juicer. Mine attaches to my Kitchenaid stand mixer. You will require the food grinder attachment, plus the vegetable juicer / strainer attachment. If you have another brand of juicer, that will also work.

You can also use a food mill, if you par cook the fruit in water, until slightly softened. Drain well.

For the Kitchenaid, two bowls are required. A large bowl to collect juice and pulp. Another smaller bowl to collect seeds and skins. No need to cut off stem end.

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Cut off any bad spots in tomatoes. Cut into pieces that will fit into juicer. Load into hopper.

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Push through the juicer with the pusher tool. Seeds and skins come out the end. Juice falls through into the other bowl.

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Once all of your tomatoes are done. Run the material in the seed and stem bowl through the juicer one more time. You will be amazed at how much more juice will be removed from these.

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Pour purée into the freezer containers, using the wide mouth canning funnel as above. Seal the bag. Freeze.

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Pros and cons of puréed tomatoes

Pros

• Incredibly easy to freeze a large quantity of fruit in a short time.
• You can use slightly damaged fruit and utilize your entire harvest, without any waste.
• Take up less freezer space than whole tomatoes.
• Ease of use- Just thaw and add to all of your favorite dishes.
• Perfect for Tomato Sauce, Tomato Purée, Tomato Juice or ketchup.

Cons

• More mess to clean up and dishes to wash.
• Takes longer than the previous 2 methods.

How long will they last in the freezer?

In my experience, frozen tomatoes, no matter how they are processed, will last over a year! I try to use them up before the next harvest is due, but on occasion, haven’t gotten to them all. They are still fine.

Pro tip; Get yourself a freezer thermometer. Using a thermometer ensures food safety and will extend the life of frozen foods. Foods that are stored below 0°F tend to freezer burn more quickly.

Want to learn how to grow your own tomatoes? If you love growing your own produce, these posts are packed full of information about how to get that big harvest by the end of the season! Don’t miss our How to Start a Garden Series!

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I hope this tutorial will help you preserve all of your fresh tomatoes this summer. Let me know which method you will use.

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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!