How to Freeze Tomatoes: Fresh, Raw, Whole or Cut
If you have an abundance of fresh tomatoes from your garden but can’t finish them before they over-ripen or go bad, don’t worry! There’s a simple and easy solution to get in-season tomatoes all year–just freeze them. We’ll teach you how to freeze fresh tomatoes in this step-by-step guide and offer tips on using frozen tomatoes for future recipes.
Can you freeze fresh tomatoes?
While you can freeze all kinds of tomatoes, it’s essential to understand what happens to tomatoes during the freezing process because it can affect how you use the tomatoes in the future.
Tomatoes are typically made up of 95% of water, located within the tomato’s cell walls–this makes up the tomato’s texture and structure. During freezing, the water in the cells expands and breaks the cell walls. After thawing, the ice crystals turn back into the water, and the texture of the tomato becomes softer and mushy. Keeping this in mind, it’s best to use frozen tomatoes for recipes like soups, salsa, or sauces.
Can you freeze whole tomatoes?
You can freeze whole tomatoes with a few steps to prepare the tomatoes for the freezer and your future recipes. You can choose to freeze whole tomatoes raw or blanched. Blanching tomatoes quickly for about 30 seconds helps release the tomato from the peel very quickly.
Is it better to freeze tomatoes whole or chopped?
Depending on how you want to use the tomatoes, we recommend freezing tomatoes whole or chopped to make your future recipes easier. You can freeze whole, raw tomatoes in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag; however, we recommend processing some variants otherwise, depending on how you want to use them in the future.
For example, tomatoes with thinner skin, like heirloom tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, will have less structure after thawing, making it difficult to chop or cut after freezing. So chopping or slicing these tomatoes before freezing is best. On the other hand, Roma tomatoes freeze very well and often keep the firmest structures even after freezing, so you can keep these whole and cut them after thawing.
Should you blanch tomatoes before freezing?
Blanching tomatoes before freezing is optional, but this process helps make peeling tomatoes easier. But if you don’t mind the tomato peels in your food, you can just throw whole, raw tomatoes into the freezer.
How to freeze cherry tomatoes
We recommend freezing cherry tomatoes whole and raw. The smaller the tomatoes, the easier they are to freeze and process because you can just throw them into a bag and freezer. Cherry tomatoes also have thinner skin, so peeling them before freezing and processing is unnecessary.
How to freeze tomatoes for sauce or soup
We recommend freezing chopped tomatoes for recipes for salsa, soups, or sauces where you want smaller pieces and faster defrosting. However, if you know you want to use your ripe tomatoes for sauces or soups, chop or slice them up before freezing.
Pre-freeze them on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan before storing them in an airtight container to prevent tomatoes from sticking together. Freezing chopped or sliced tomatoes takes a little more effort, but it’s less of a headache later on when you make your food.
How to thaw frozen tomatoes
There are a few options when thawing frozen tomatoes, such as putting them in a fridge overnight, laying them out on the counter, or running them under warm water. Using a fridge will take the longest, but this can be done overnight and is hassle-free. Depending on the room temperature, putting them on a counter can take two to three hours. But if you need to thaw them fast, you can run them under warm water.
For chopped or sliced frozen tomatoes, we recommend just putting them directly into soups, stews, or sauces because they will thaw while cooking. If you’re using chopped frozen tomatoes for salsa, we recommend letting them thaw on a paper towel for at least 30 minutes before adding them.
How to use frozen tomatoes
There are so many different things you can do with frozen tomatoes. Here are some of our favorite ways to use ripe, frozen tomatoes throughout the year:
- Tomato pasta sauce
- Tomato puree (for healthy bbq sauce)
- Salsa (for taco toppings for meal prepping)
- Tomato basil soup
- Sweet potato crust quiche
How to Freeze Tomatoes (whole unpeeled) Recipe
Equipment
- freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag
Ingredients
- tomatoes
Instructions
- Clean your tomatoes under running water and wipe them dry.
- Remove the stems.
- Place them into a freezer-safe container (or Ziploc bag) and try to remove as much air as possible.
- Place them into the freezer.
- To thaw: transfer the tomatoes onto a paper towel and sit them on the counter at room temperature for one hour or until it softens. You can also thaw them in the fridge over a paper towel until they’re soft, at least 12 hours. To quickly thaw tomatoes, place them under warm running water until they soften.
How to Freeze Tomatoes (whole peeled) Recipe
Equipment
- pot
- Mixing bowl for water bag
- tongs
- paper towels
- freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag
Ingredients
- Tomatoes thicker skinned tomatoes like beefsteak or Roma tomatoes
- filtered water
- ice cubes
Instructions
- Add filtered water to a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Clean the tomatoes under running water.
- Remove the stems from the tomatoes and score them with an X at the bottom.
- Gently place the tomatoes in the boiling water for one minute.
- Transfer immediately to an iced bath for one minute.
- Place the cooled tomatoes onto a paper towel and peel. Try to remove any excess water from the tomatoes.
- Transfer the tomatoes into a freezer-safe container (or Ziploc bag) and place them into the fridge.
- To thaw: Place the tomatoes on a paper towel and let thaw on the counter at room temperature for two hours or until it softens. Use as necessary for your recipe. You can also thaw them in the fridge, which may take over 12 hours. To thaw faster, run the tomatoes under warm water until it softens.
How to Freeze Tomatoes (chopped or sliced) Recipe
Equipment
- knife and cutting board
- Parchment paper
- sheet pan
- freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag
Ingredients
- tomatoes
Instructions
- Clean the tomatoes under running water and pat them dry.
- Slice or cut the tomatoes to your preferred shape.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Add the sliced and chopped tomatoes in a single layer.
- Pre-freeze the tomatoes in the freezer for two hours or until solid.
- Transfer the tomatoes into a freezer-safe container (or Ziploc) and remove excess air.
- Freeze the tomatoes.
- To thaw: place the tomatoes directly into stews or soups. Leave chopped tomatoes on the counter to thaw for at least 30 minutes to one hour. It should thaw quickly.
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