Diced Tomatoes for Canning

These homemade tomatoes taste fresher than store-bought, save money, and make winter cooking so much better with real summer flavor. Makes 6 pints.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Process Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: Pantry Staple

Keyword: canning diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes, diced tomatoes canning recipe, Summer

Servings: pints

Calories: 99kcal

Author: Katie

Equipment

6 pint jars + rings and lids
1 Waterbath canner
Large pot
large bowl

Ingredients

7 pounds Roma tomatoes about 33 tomatoes
6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
3 teaspoons canning salt
4 cups water + more for cleaning, removing skins, and processing

Instructions

Prep jars. Wash mason jars with hot, soapy water and place in waterbath canner. Fill with water until jars are fully submerged. Cover with lid, place over medium heat, and simmer. Wash rings and lids in hot, soapy water and set aside.
Score. Boil a large pot of water. While the water is boiling, gently score the bottom of the tomatoes with an X.
Prep ice-bath. Fill a large mixing bowl with ice about halfway, then fill with water until it is ¾ way full.
Boil, ice, and remove skins. Once water is boiled, place 5-6 tomatoes in at a time, working in batches. Boil for 30-90 seconds or until the skin starts to pull away from the tomato. Move to the prepared ice water bath. Peel the skins off the tomatoes. Repeat this process. (Don’t skip removing the skins. This is important for texture and heat distribution)
Dice. Remove the core, slice the tomatoes in half, then dice them. You will want about 16 cups of diced tomatoes.
Boil. Place diced tomatoes in a large stainless steel pot. Add 4 cups of water. Boil over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly so they don’t stick to the bottom or boil over. Remove from the heat.
Fill jars. Remove the jars from the waterbath canner. Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and ½ teaspoon of canning salt in each jar. Ladle the hot diced tomatoes into the jars, leaving ½ inch of headspace in each jar.
Debubble, wipe, and fasten. Use a debubbler to remove any air bubbles. Add more tomatoes to maintain a ½ inch headspace. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp towel. Place the clean lids and rings on the jars. Tighten the rings so they are fingertip-tight.
Process. Place filled jars in the waterbath canner. Fully submerge them in water with at least 1 inch of water above the jars. Add a splash of white vinegar (optional to prevent build-up from forming on the outside of the jars). Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, set a timer for 40 minutes for pint jars (45 minutes for quart jars), adjusting for altitude.
Cool. After 40 minutes, remove the canner from the heat and remove the lid. Let the jars sit for 5 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner and place in a heat-safe area. Cool for 12-24 hours.
Check seals and store. Once completely cooled, check the jars for a proper seal. If a proper seal has been confirmed, label the jars and store them in a cool, dark place for up to 18 months or per your lids manufacturer’s recommendations. If a proper seal has not been made, refrigerate immediately and use within 3 days.

Notes

Roma tomatoes are best because they give you the most sauce.
To can using quart jars, increase the amount of lemon juice to 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice and increase the amount of salt to 1 teaspoon, per jar. Increase your processing time to 45 minutes.
Nutrition facts are for 1 pint-sized jar.

Nutrition