How to Freeze Tomatoes

Learn how to freeze tomatoes the easy way! Preserve fresh garden tomatoes for soups, sauces, and more with this simple trick that will save you hours.

Lady Lee’s Note…

There was a time when I thought I had to do everything during the growing season. The kids were little, the garden was huge, everyone had to be bathed, fed, and kept happy, someone had to take care of the house, and all the harvest had to be preserved. I was exhausted.

Tomatoes were always a huge part of my garden, so I tried to preserve every single one as it ripened. It was overwhelming. Then one day, it dawned on me that I could simply freeze my tomatoes and do the canning during the off-season.

Well… duh!

From that moment on, everything changed.

Ingredients…

• Tomatoes – that’s it! You want to let your tomatoes ripen on the counter before you freeze them. In my experience, you can freeze any variety of large tomato (I’ve never tried; however, I don’t think that cherry tomatoes are a great candidate for freezing).

Watch Me Freeze Tomatoes…

Step-By-Step Tutorial…

Step One – prep the tomatoes. Wash or wipe your tomatoes (if you grow your own and you don’t spray). Then, you have a couple of options:

1. Leave the tomatoes whole – I don’t always remove the cores before freezing, but I recommend doing so. I find that the cores are harder to remove once the tomatoes are frozen. To make peeling even easier later, score a small X on the blossom end of each tomato before freezing.
2. Cut the tomatoes – If any tomatoes have bruised or damaged spots, trim those away first. You can also halve or quarter the tomatoes if you prefer to freeze smaller pieces. Just don’t forget to remove the core before freezing.

Step two – freeze. Here you also have a couple of options:

1. Bag the tomatoes – Place the tomatoes in a freezer bag, label it, and store it in the freezer. (I used a produce bag in the photo above, which works fine, but a freezer-grade zip-top bag is a better choice.) I use this method when I know I’ll be using the entire bag at once since the tomatoes tend to freeze together. For example, if I’m making tomato sauce, I simply dump the whole bag into a large stockpot.
2. Freeze on a baking sheet – If you’d like to keep the tomatoes separate, arrange them in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for about 24 hours. Once they’re frozen solid, transfer them to a labeled freezer bag and return them to the freezer. Since the tomatoes were frozen individually first, they won’t stick together, making it easy to grab just a few whenever you need them for soups, stews, or other recipes.

How to Use Frozen Tomatoes…

Frozen tomatoes become soft once they thaw, so they’re not a good choice for fresh salads or sandwiches. However, they’re perfect for any recipe where the tomatoes will be cooked. Here are some of my favorite ways to use them:

• Make tomato sauce – This is my favorite use for frozen tomatoes. Simply thaw them, slip off the skins if desired, and cook them down into a rich homemade tomato sauce. Try this delicious Shakshuka recipe (a Mediterranean dish of eggs in tomato sauce).
• Can tomato products – If you froze your tomatoes during the growing season, you can thaw them later and use them to make and can tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, salsa, tomato soup, or other tomato products when you have more time.
• Add them to soups and stews – Toss whole or chopped frozen tomatoes directly into soups, stews, and chili for extra flavor and nutrition. Try adding them to this bean soup or this delicious Southwest Chili.
• Use them in cooked dishes – Frozen tomatoes work well in casseroles, pasta sauces, curries, and other recipes where the tomatoes are cooked until tender.
• Blend them into sauces. Once thawed, frozen tomatoes blend easily into pizza sauce, marinara, enchilada sauce, or any other recipe that starts with cooked tomatoes.

Kitchen Notes…

• There is no need to blanch tomatoes before freezing them. In fact, I prefer to freeze them raw and peel them after thawing.
• You can freeze tomatoes whole, halved, quartered, or even lightly cooked if you prefer.
• Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked recipes since they become soft after thawing.
• For most recipes, you can add frozen tomatoes directly to the pot without thawing. If you’d like to peel them first, let them thaw for a couple of hours until the skins slip off easily.
• For the best flavor and quality, use frozen tomatoes within 10 to 12 months. Be sure to label your freezer bags with the date so you can use the oldest tomatoes first.

Benefits of Freezing Tomatoes…

• Save time – During the growing season, there’s rarely enough time to preserve everything. Freezing tomatoes takes just a few minutes and lets you save the canning for the slower months.
• Wait until you have enough tomatoes – Sometimes only a few tomatoes ripen at a time, making it difficult to justify canning. Freeze ripe tomatoes as you harvest them until you have enough for a full batch, reducing waste and saving time.
• Peel tomatoes with ease – Frozen tomatoes are incredibly easy to peel. Once thawed, the skins slip right off without the need to blanch them first.
• Keep tomatoes ready for cooking – Frozen tomatoes are perfect for soups, sauces, stews, chili, casseroles, and countless other recipes. Having them ready in the freezer makes weeknight cooking much easier.
• Reduce food waste – Tomatoes with small cracks, blemishes, or odd shapes are perfect candidates for freezing. Simply trim away any damaged spots and freeze them instead of letting them go to waste.
• Preserve tomatoes at their peak – Freezing lets you preserve tomatoes when they’re perfectly ripe and lock in their flavor during their growing season.

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Freezing tomatoes is one of the simplest ways to preserve your harvest without adding stress to an already busy season. With just a little prep, you can enjoy garden-fresh tomatoes all year long—ready whenever you need them for soups, sauces, and more.

More Tomato Recipes…

• Pickled Green Tomatoes
• Canning Cherry Tomatoes
• Tomato Garlic Confit Recipe
• Fermenting Tomatoes
• Fermented Green Tomatoes

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