How to Freeze Tomatoes: Cooking Up Your Farmer’s Share

Freezing tomatoes is a great way to save the flavor of these warm summer days.

My mom would freeze several containers of tomatoes every August.  It was a secret to her amazing spaghetti sauce. (Another secret was that she always put a piece of pepperoni or salami into the sauce pot.)

Freeze Tomatoes after Skinning and Seeding

I’ve come across different directions for processing your tomato surplus.  Some include blanching to remove the skins, and some do not.

I think removing the skins is a necessary and easy step.  Cooked tomato skins are tough.  They interfere with the enjoyment of the sauce.  Ditto the seeds.

That’s why you don’t find seeds or skin in professionally-prepared tomato sauces.

You can use a tomato press, food mill, spoon, or strainer to separate the seeds from the pulp.  Your method depends on how many seeds are in the tomatoes.


Roma tomatoes are perfect for freezing because they have few seeds and lots of pulp.

Once you have a few bags or containers frozen, you can add your tomatoes to your favorite sauce.  The tomatoes will bring a new level of flavor to your recipe.

How to Freeze Tomatoes

An easy way to preserve the summery taste of fresh tomatoes for your favorite tomato sauce recipes.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 minute
Total Time21 minutes
Servings: 1 cup
Calories: 43kcal
Author: A. JoAnn

Ingredients

  • fresh ripe tomatoes

Instructions

  • Wash tomatoes and remove stem-end with a paring knife or strawberry huller.
  • Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add a few tomatoes at a time, cook for 30 seconds, and remove to a large bowl with a slotted spoon.
  • Allow tomatoes to cool until they can be easily handled.  Halve tomatoes and clean out seeds with a spoon.  If you do this over a bowl and strainer, you can save the juice.
  • Remove skins by squeezing pulp out and peeling off any remnants.
  • Spoon pulp and juice into freezer bags or containers.  Freeze.

?  This post contains links to Amazon products.  Just click on the promotional text to learn more. If you choose to purchase this, or any other Amazon product, via this link, A.Joann may receive a small commission at no added cost to you.  Thanks in advance – your support via this link helps defray website costs and keeps A.Joann a free web magazine.

© 2018 auntjoannblog.com. All rights reserved. See Legalese tab for permissions.

Author: A. JoAnn

Here is where I share the beauty I find in everyday life; and the humor, too!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating