Freezing Tomatoes the Easy Way

Be taught all about freezing tomatoes to protect the wonderful star of summer season produce. A freezer stash of frozen tomatoes opens the door to wonderful and speedy meals.

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Do you may have a glut of wonderful recent tomatoes in your kitchen?

The excellent news is that best solution to protect tomatoes is thru freezing. Fortunate for you, freezing tomatoes couldn’t be simpler. Let’s sort out tomato season collectively!

There are each professionals and cons of freezing tomatoes. Execs: it’s SO simple! You received’t want any particular tools or have to know any canning expertise. Cons: you’ll want area within the freezer each to freeze them and retailer them. And frozen tomatoes aren’t appropriate to be used in all cooking conditions.

On this tutorial, I’ll stroll you thru 4 alternative ways of freezing recent tomatoes:

• Freezing entire tomatoes – each peeled and unpeeled
• Freezing tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce
• Freezing tomato paste
• Freezing stewed tomatoes

If you find yourself working out of freezer area and nonetheless have extra tomatoes to protect, take a look at our tutorial on Dehydrating Tomatoes for a shelf-stable choice.

Find out how to Freeze Complete Tomatoes

Find out how to Freeze Complete Tomatoes With out Peeling

Begin with clear and dry tomatoes. In case you’d like, you should use a paring knife and core the stem finish of the tomato.

This step just isn’t needed however will make the frozen tomatoes extra versatile to make use of after they’ve been thawed.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and place the tomatoes on the baking sheet with sufficient area so that they’re not touching, and freeze for 4 hours.

Break aside any tomatoes which will have caught collectively and switch them to freezer-proof storage.

When entire frozen tomatoes are thawed, the skins slip proper off, which makes them really easy so as to add to recipes like Butternut Squash Chili or Instant Pot Bruschetta Chicken.

Freezing Peeled Complete Tomatoes

Peeling tomatoes to freeze is an additional step, however will solely add about 10 minutes to the method. And the excellent news is, it’s tremendous simple. For extra in-depth information into the method, take a look at our put up on How to Blanch and Peel Tomatoes.

In a big mixing bowl mix water and ice. Subsequent up, carry a large pot of water to a boil on the range.

Utilizing a paring knife, take away the stem/core from the tomatoes – OR – lower an “x” on the underside of the tomato.

Add the tomatoes to a pot of boiling water and boil them till you see the skins begin to come off (about 1-2 minutes). Use a slotted spoon and take away the tomatoes and place within the ice water.

Working with the tomatoes one after the other, take away any pores and skin that hasn’t already slipped off. As soon as they’re peeled you may slice the tomatoes in half (to take away all of the seeds) or go away them entire. I like to position the peeled tomatoes in a strainer for a couple of minutes to empty any further water.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and place the tomatoes on the baking sheet with sufficient area so that they’re not touching, and freeze for 4 hours.

Break aside any tomatoes which will have caught collectively and switch them to freezer-proof storage.

And one of the best half about peeling tomatoes earlier than freezing them? Set the peels apart to dehydrate later to make into homemade tomato powder. Tomato powder is a tremendous taste booster for rice, soups, and stews.

Find out how to Freeze Tomato Sauce and Spaghetti Sauce

You probably have leftover canned or home made tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce, freeze the extras for later!

Freezing tomato sauce in easy-to-use parts provides you probably the most flexibility for cooking. Most store-bought cans of tomato sauce are 14-15 oz, which interprets to ~1.5-2 cups.

If the tomato sauce is heat, enable it to completely cool earlier than freezing. This may forestall it from turning into icy within the freezer. Switch the sauce to freezer-safe containers.

I really like utilizing 1/2-cup Souper Cubes, 1-cup Souper Cubes, and 2-cup Souper Cubes. As soon as frozen, I switch the cubes of tomato sauce to reusable freezer bags. You can even use plastic freezer baggage, plastic containers, or canning jars.

To freeze tomato sauce in canning jars, use solely wide-mouth jars. Permit for 1 inch of headspace, which is the area between the highest of the meals and the highest of the jar. This provides the sauce room to broaden because it freezes.

To make use of tomato sauce frozen in canning jars, don’t thaw the chilly jars in sizzling water or the microwave. This may result in cracking. As an alternative, enable it to take a seat at room temperature on the counter for just a few hours, or in a single day within the fridge.

In case you want inspiration, take a look at my recipes for Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce and Cherry Tomato Sauce, which use recent tomatoes, and Freezer Spaghetti Sauce which makes use of canned diced tomatoes and canned tomato sauce.

Find out how to Freeze Tomato Paste

Most store-bought cans of tomato paste are 6 oz, which interprets to ~1/2-3/4 of a cup. The 2-Tbsp Souper Cubes, 1/2 cup Souper Cubes, or 1-cup Souper Cubes are good for smaller parts of freezing tomato paste.

You can even freeze in small plastic freezer baggage and even “dollops” of tomato paste frozen on parchment. Line a baking sheet with parchment and spoon tomato paste onto the parchment. Freeze for 2-3 hours after which take away the person parts of frozen paste to freezer baggage.

Use tomato paste in recipes like Creamy Instant Pot Tortellini Soup and Sugar-Free Barbeque Sauce.

Find out how to Freeze Stewed Tomatoes

You probably have leftover canned or home made stewed tomatoes, freeze the extras in easy-to-use parts. You may take a look at my tutorial on Canning Stewed Tomatoes for step-by-step directions on how one can make this tasty ingredient.

Most store-bought cans of stewed are 14-15 oz, which interprets to ~1.5-2 cups. Just like the method of freezing tomato sauce, enable the stewed tomatoes to completely cool earlier than freezing.

Switch cooled stewed tomatoes to your favourite freezer containers, together with any juices which have collected within the stewing course of.

How Lengthy Will Frozen Tomatoes Final?

Complete tomatoes, and parts of tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, stewed tomatoes, and tomato paste will final for 6-9 months within the freezer.

You may extend their life by ensuring the tomatoes and tomato merchandise are absolutely cooled earlier than going into the freezer. This prevents ice from forming on them, resulting in freezer burn which may impression the style in the long term.

Find out how to Use Frozen Tomatoes

Frozen tomatoes will not be supposed for recent consuming after thawing like in grilled tomatoes with cheese, or salads, and also you positively can’t simply slice one up for a scrumptious BLT.

However frozen tomatoes work wonderful for recipes like Gluten-Free Tomato Soup or in Instant Pot Lasagna Soup.

In a 12 months with epic backyard crops of tomatoes, I’ve even frozen them entire after which canned them in the course of the winter when I’ve extra time and the kitchen isn’t exceptionally sizzling.

You may learn extra about canning tomatoes might be present in these posts: Canning Tomato Soup, Canning Whole Tomatoes, and Canning Stewed Tomatoes.

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