How to Freeze Tomatoes
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Have loads of tomatoes coming in from your garden, but no time to make anything with them? Or too few tomatoes to make a batch of tomato sauce? Here’s how to freeze tomatoes until you have more time or tomatoes to work with. Tomatoes are one of the easiest types of produce to freeze because they don’t have to be blanched or peeled first.
Just wash your tomatoes; dry them off well; pop them on a cookie sheet; and freeze them whole.
The skins might split as they freeze, but the tomatoes won’t burst.
Once they’re fully frozen, transfer your tomatoes to a freezer bag; and you’re done! Super easy.
How to Use Frozen Tomatoes
Frozen tomatoes work best in soups, stews, sauces and other cooked dishes. Since they turn mushy when they’re thawed, they aren’t a good substitute for fresh tomatoes.
Thaw your tomatoes before you use them, or just add them directly to the pot, if you’re making something that will be simmering for a long time. They’ll thaw as they cook.
I often start a batch of crockpot tomato sauce by filling my crockpot with frozen tomatoes. As they cook down, I just fish out the skins and cores.
Crushed Tomatoes
If you have a recipe that calls for crushed tomatoes. Just thaw some of your frozen tomatoes. Remove the peels; then, mash them or blend them to create the crushed tomatoes that you need.
Try some of your homemade crushed tomatoes in my pumpkin tomato sauce recipe.
How to Peel Frozen Tomatoes
Frozen tomatoes are actually easier to peel than fresh tomatoes. Run your frozen tomatoes under warm water, and the skins will slip right off.
How to Freeze Peeled Tomatoes
If you’d prefer to freeze tomatoes already peeled, dunk them in a pot of boiling water, until the skins split. Then, slip them off. Here are step-by-step tomato peeling instructions to show you how it’s done.
Once you’ve peeled all of your tomatoes, pop them in the freezer, or if you have time, go ahead and core and seed them, too. This will save you from having to do it later. Here’s how to make quick work of coring and seeding tomatoes. Consider dicing some of your peeled and cored tomatoes, so they’ll be easy to throw into casseroles. If you flash fresh your diced tomatoes on a cookie sheet before transferring them to a freezer bag, it’ll be easy to grab a handful whenever you need them.
FIRST of all, thank you for this tip…it has made a HUGE difference (my mom used to cold pack them, but this is HUGE…2nd, I found your tomato sauce in the crockpot recipe (which reminds me your APPLESAUCE in the crockpot recipe ALSO is wonderful…I work from home 2 days a week and I just fill up the crockpot before I begin work and it is a tasty treat), BUT with the tomatoes frozen(I want to put in frozen)…the 4 pounds of tomatoes (how much would this be when frozen…can’t gauge by crockpot as mine may be larger or smaller than yours). Thank you
Hi Rhonda,
I think the frozen weight should still be the same. So, if you weigh out four pounds you should be good. But … a handy trick is that a pound of tomatoes is approximately two large tomatoes or three medium tomatoes.
Honestly, if you just fill your crockpot with tomatoes, and add the rest of the ingredients, you’ll get great sauce, even if your crockpot is bigger or smaller than mine. That recipe is really forgiving. It takes a while to cook down, but it makes the best sauce 🙂
Thank you
I wash and save my paper milk cartons for freezing tomatoes in. When ready to pop them into a pot I just rip off the milk carton and in it goes. Takes up less room in the freezer when squished into the milk carton.