Canning Whole Tomatoes: How to Can Tomatoes in 8 Steps

To make canned tomatoes, manufacturers and home cooks blanch fresh tomatoes, remove the skins, and then place the tomatoes in canning jars with liquid. Then, they process the jars in hot water to seal them, which ensures a longer shelf life for the tomatoes.

Any ripe tomatoes will work well for canned tomatoes, such as San Marzano tomatoes, heirloom tomatoes, plum tomatoes, or Roma tomatoes. You can use whole tomatoes, halved tomatoes, or diced tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are a common ingredient in Italian pasta recipes, tomato purée, pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce and other tomato sauces, as well as in minestrone soup and a variety of stews.

Home chefs who can ingredients regularly might use a pressure canner or pressure cooker to facilitate the canning process; however, it’s possible to can whole tomatoes without using such an appliance. Here are general steps for the process of canning whole tomatoes:

1. 1. Prepare the tomatoes. Wash the tomatoes thoroughly. With a paring knife, cut an X in each tomato skin at one end. This will help the skin come off easier after you blanch the tomatoes.
2. 2. Blanch the tomatoes. Fill a large bowl with ice water and set it aside. Next, fill a large saucepan with enough water to cover the tomatoes. Bring the water to a boil. With a slotted spoon, carefully lower the tomatoes into the boiling water. Leave the tomatoes in the water for 30–60 seconds or until the tomato skins start to peel back. Then remove the tomatoes and immediately plunge them into the cold water.
3. 3. Peel the tomatoes. Once the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the tomatoes starting from the X. The skin should come off easily, but you can use the paring knife for assistance. Return the peeled tomatoes to the cold water bath.
4. 4. Prepare the jars. In a separate stockpot or large pot, bring more water to a boil. Once it’s boiling, use tongs to lower the jars into the boiling water. Allow them to sanitize there for five minutes. Remove the hot jars from the boiling water using the tongs or a jar lifter. Do not dry the jars with a kitchen towel to keep them sanitary.
5. 5. Cook the tomatoes. For the hot pack method of canning, cook the whole peeled tomatoes in just enough water to cover the tomatoes for about five minutes. This step is not necessary for the raw pack method of canning tomatoes.
6. 6. Fill the jars. Add lemon juice or citric acid to the jars—this ensures safe acidity levels so that the canned tomatoes will ultimately be safe to eat. It’s optional to also add a teaspoon of salt. For both the raw pack and hot pack methods, fill your jars with the whole, hot tomatoes. Leave about a one-half-inch headspace—no more than two inches—from the top of the jars. For raw pack tomatoes, fill the jars with hot water, leaving headspace. For hot pack tomatoes, ladle the tomato cooking liquid into the jars. Give the jars a little shake to release any air bubbles. Tighten the lids on the jars using clean hands.
7. 7. Process the jars. Return the same water you used to sanitize the jars to a boil. Carefully lower the jars into the boiling water bath to process them. The processing time will vary depending on your altitude, so consult an online chart. For water bath canning at zero to 1,000 feet of altitude, you should boil the jars for forty minutes.
8. 8. Store the canned tomatoes. After processing is complete, store the jars in a cool, dry, and dark place for up to two years unopened. Use your canned tomatoes for pasta sauce, soups, stewed tomatoes, homemade pizza sauce, and any other recipes as you wish.

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