How To Can Whole Tomatoes: A Pantry Staple You’ll Make Every Summer
Even if you aren’t into canned veggies, everyone needs canned tomatoes. And whole canned tomatoes are my fave, the beginning of all the best pasta sauces. Here’s how to get perfect tomatoes that, through the magic of canning, will keep a year in your pantry.
Of all the canned goods I always need more of, whole tomatoes are probably number one. And so, every August through October, I’m processing a load of these at least once a week. You’ll love the difference in flavor once you start using truly ripe tomatoes and glass jars. They’re so good in all your recipes.
Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need
It’s just the basics here, but don’t tweak things. If you add garlic, onions, or anything like that, you’ll change the pH of your finished product, and it might not be safe. I’ll note any possible substitutions, but other than that, don’t make changes.
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- 6 pounds Roma tomatoes. They don’t have to be Roma, but they’ll fit nicely in the jars and the peels slip off easily.
- 4 tablespoons bottled lemon juice. Yes you’ll want bottled because the acidity is consistent.
- 4 teaspoons canning salt. Canning salt doesn’t get cloudy and will give you a prettier finished product. Salt is completely optional, but if you don’t salt the tomatoes now you’ll most likely want to heavily salt whatever sauce, etc. you’re making with them.
- Water for filling the jars.
Canning Equipment You’ll Need
If you are a regular canned you have everything you need already.
- Water bath canner (or large stockpot with rack)
- Quart-sized mason jars (or pint jars)
- Canning lids and rings
- Large pot for blanching tomatoes
- Large bowl for ice bath
- Knife for scoring tomatoes
- Jar lifter
- Debubbler or chopstick
- Ladle for filling jars
- Clean kitchen towels
- Timer
- Optional: canning funnel
- Optional: magnetic lid lifter
- Optional: kitchen scale to weigh tomatoes
How to Can Whole Tomatoes
Remember, don’t get overwhelmed. All we’re doing is prepping the tomatoes, putting them in jars with a few ingredients, and processing them in boiling water. One step at a time!
Step One: Prep Your Jars, Lids, and Canner
Make sure all your jars, lids, and rings are super clean. Your lids need to be new, but I still recommend washing them in hot soapy water before you use them. Same with the rings. I prefer to do this right before I start prepping the tomatoes because I don’t want dust or crumbs or anything settling on them.
Fill your canner with water and put the clean jars in there to start heating up. You don’t need to sterlize jars, but they do need to be hot. Cover the canner and let them simmer while you prep the tomatoes.
Step Two: Prep Your Tomatoes
Bring a large pot to a boil. (Yes, another one. This is going to help us get the tomato skins off.)
Get your biggest bowl and fill it halfway with ice and some cold water. Try not to think too hard about doing all the dishes.
Gently cut an X at the bottom of each tomato (the opposite side from where it attached to the plant). We aren’t slicing the tomato flesh so much as just scoring the skins.
Now, working with 5-6 tomatoes at a time, plunge them into the boiling water for 30-90 seconds (set a timer!), then straight into the ice bath. Peel the skins (this should be easy and was the point of this whole process!) and either discard them or save them to make tomato powder.
Remove the top core of the tomatoes, where they attached to the plant.
The hardest part is over! Remove your jars from the canner using a jar lifter and set them down on a clean towel so we can fill them up. Turn up the heat and put the lid on to the canner so it comes up to a vigorous boil.
Step 3: Add the Salt and Lemon Juice to the Jars
Get another (ahem) pot of water and set it to boil. I highly recommend washing out the one you just used and using that one so you don’t feel overwhelmed by pots.
While the water heats up, start putting salt and lemon juice in the jars.
For quart jars, add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 teaspoon of canning salt.
For pint jars, you’ll use 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon canning salt.
Step Four: Add the Tomatoes and Fill with Water
Add the tomatoes, as many as you can. Once you’ve gotten them in, ladle hot water from your pot to fill up the jars. Leave a 1/2 inch headspace.
Using a chopstick or your debubbling tool, make sure you don’t have any air bubbles. Add a little more water so that you’re back up to the 1/2 inch headspace.
Step Five: Put on Lids and Rings
Wipe the jars with a clean (super clean!) damp towel. You don’t want anything to prevent a tight seal along the top of the jar.
Place the lids on top and then the rings, fastening them so they are fingertip tight (this means you can twist them with the strength of just your fingertips).
Step Six: Process in Boiling Water for 45 Minutes
Is that canner still boiling? Great. Set your jars on the rack of your canner, making sure they aren’t touching. Carefully lower them into the boiling water.
Wait for the water to come back up to a boil, then put the lid back on. The water should be one inch above the jars. If you have a hard water, you can add a splash of white vinegar into the boiler water now keep an y minerals from building up on the glass jars.
Start your timer now, so that they are at a full boil for 45 minutes (40 minutes for pints). When the time is up, turn off the heat and let them sit in the hot water for five minutes.
Step Seven: Remove the Jars and Let Them Cool Undisturbed
Using jar lifters, carefully remove the jars (they will be very hot), and let them sit on a clean towel on the counter, making sure they don’t touch. As they cool, the lids will seal and become flat. Sometimes this happens right away, sometimes over a few hours.
Make sure not to touch or move the jars as they cool so you don’t disrupt the sealing process. You’re done!
How to Use + Store Whole Canned Tomatoes
Properly sealed jars will keep for up to 18 months in a cool, dark place. Once opened, refrigerate and use within 3 days.
Quick Tomato Sauce: Crush whole tomatoes by hand, simmer with olive oil, garlic, and herbs for 20 minutes. Perfect with pasta or as pizza sauce.
Soups & Stews: Add whole or roughly chopped to vegetable soup, beef stew, or minestrone.
Tomato Rice: Use the liquid from the jar plus chopped tomatoes when cooking rice.
Homemade Fresh Salsa: Drain, chop, and mix with fresh onions, cilantro, lime juice, and peppers for a quick salsa.
Most recipes that use crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes can also be used with these, they just might need to cook down longer.
Questions and Troubleshooting
This happens when tomatoes contain a lot of air. It’s completely normal and doesn’t affect quality or safety. Packing the tomatoes more firmly can help minimize this.
The lid should be curved downward and shouldn’t flex when pressed. If you remove the ring, the lid should stay firmly in place.
Nope! This is a raw pack method, which is why the processing time is longer.
Printable Recipe
Canning Whole Tomatoes
Equipment
- Mason jars with lids and rings
- Large pot
- Mixing bowl
- Debubbler or chopstick
- Jar lifter
- Ladle
Ingredients
- 6 pounds Roma tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
- 4 teaspoons canning salt optional
- Water for canning, processing, and filling jars
Instructions
- Prepare your canning equipment. Wash jars with hot soapy water, place in water bath canner, cover with water, and simmer. Wash lids and rings and set aside.
- Prepare for blanching. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Score the bottom of tomatoes with an X. Fill a large bowl halfway with ice and add water.
- Blanch the tomatoes. Working in batches, place 5-6 tomatoes in boiling water for 30-90 seconds until skins begin to pull away. Transfer to ice bath.
- Peel and core. Remove skins from tomatoes and cut out the top cores.
- Prepare the jars. Remove jars from canner. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt (optional) to each quart jar.
- Fill the jars. Add whole tomatoes to jars, then fill with hot water leaving ½ inch headspace.
- Remove air bubbles. Use a debubbler or chopstick to release trapped air, then top up with hot water if needed to maintain ½ inch headspace.
- Seal the jars. Wipe rims with a clean damp towel. Place lids and rings on jars and tighten to fingertip-tight.
- Process the jars. Return jars to water bath canner, ensuring they're covered by at least 1 inch of water. Bring to a boil and process for 45 minutes.
- Cool and check seals. After processing, remove canner from heat, remove lid, and let jars sit for 5 minutes before transferring to a heat-safe area. Cool for 12-24 hours, then check seals.
- Store properly. Sealed jars can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months. Unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within 3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
By Katie Shaw
Katie shares simple, reliable recipes from her home in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens.