Canning Cherry Tomatoes
Canning cherry tomatoes is the perfect way to preserve your garden bounty!
If you’ve ever grown cherry tomatoes, you know how prolific those little buggers are. It doesn’t take many to have your kitchen covered in tomatoes. One cherry tomato plant can keep you in business, and it’s a good problem to have!
But what should you do with them?
Anything, really. While they’re not ideal for everything, I’m always a fan of using what you have, and if cherry tomatoes are what you have, use them up!
I’ve made my share of salsa using cherry and grape tomatoes, and even made tomato sauce with them.
But my favorite way to preserve cherry tomatoes is to simply can them.
I love adding them to casseroles, and soups for a pop of extra sweet tomato flavor.
There are two main ways to can cherry tomatoes.
First, with the skin on, and second, skin off.
Why would you can them with the skin on?
While cherry tomatoes can be blanched and peeled like any other tomato, it is a fairly time consuming process. If they’re perfectly ripe, and perfectly blanched, the skins should slide right off.
But if they’re less than perfect? They may take some coaxing, and that starts to take time after a while.
So why would you can them with skin on?
Because it’s fast and easy.
Cherry tomato skin tends to be a little more tender than it is with larger varieties of tomato, and just as importantly, the skin does slide off easily after the tomatoes are canned. I’m usually a big fan of doing the work up front to make life easier later on, but with cherry tomatoes, sometimes I go ahead and leave the skin on. When I add them to casseroles, I just don’t worry about taking the skin off at all.
With that out of the way, here’s what you need to be able to can cherry tomatoes.
Ingredients Needed for Canning Cherry Tomatoes
- Cherry tomatoes. This is kind of obvious, but we can’t leave it out. These can be any variety of cherry or grape tomato, but I have found that the larger, meatier varieties can better.
- Salt. For preservation purposes, as well as flavor, each jar of tomatoes needs to have salt added to it.
- Lemon juice. This is, again, for preservation. Lemon juice brings the pH down a bit, in order to preserve them safely. I use bottled lemon juice for its consistent ph level.
- Canning Jars. I usually can mine in pint jars. This is perfect for adding to a stew or casserole. If you have a larger family, you may want to use quart jars. You can also use 1/4 teaspoon of citric acid in place of 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Canning lids. I usually order lids in bulk from Denali canning. I love how well they seal, and they have a money-back guarantee.
- Water bath canner. I have both an enamel, and a stainless steel canner. One isn’t really better than the other, but the stainless steel one looks nicer, and has a glass lid so I can easily see when it comes to a boil, so that’s my go-to when I’m doing one batch at a time.
A few other things that are nice to have are a canning funnel, which helps keep the mess down while filling jars quickly, and a jar lifter. This one is nice when you’re removing jars from the canner while they’re still hot. I don’t recommend removing the jars while they’re still boiling, but if you’re doing multiple batches, you may wish to remove them before they’re cool enough to stick your hands in the water, and the lifter allows that.
How to can cherry tomatoes
I typically use the raw pack method to can cherry tomatoes, instead of the hot pack method. This makes things easier and quicker, avoiding the need to mess with hot jars. That’s not to say that there isn’t a valid reason to hot pack cherry tomatoes, but I don’t find it really necessary when working with whole tomatoes. Since hot packing stops the breakdown of pectin, which can cause your tomatoes to float in the jars, it’s primarily a cosmetic reason.
- Wash cherry tomatoes
- To peel: Heat 2 quarts of water in a 4 quart pan to boiling. Blanch tomatoes in batches, by placing them in the boiling water for 60-90 seconds until skins begin to split.
Remove from the water and wash with cool water to stop the cooking process. Remove skins, using a knife to split them and get it started if necessary.
- Pack tomatoes loosely into canning jars. Use a butterknife to release any air bubbles that may have formed.
- To each pint, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. If using quarts, double the amounts.
- Fill with water, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
- Wipe rims with a damp cloth (can use either water or vinegar)
- Screw down lids and bands.
- Prepare water bath canner with rack and water.
- Lower jars of tomatoes into canner, adding more if necessary to cover jars an inch deep.
- Place lid on canner, and heat over medium-high heat to a rolling boil.
- Process pint jars for 40 minutes, or quarts for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
How to use canned cherry tomatoes
As mentioned, these are a great addition to soups and casseroles.
I love adding them to spaghetti sauce for some whole tomato flavor. Add them to tamale pie, or hamburger soup. They’ll be great in Italian Peasant Soup this winter too.
Any sort of tomato sauce, you can add them, chop or blend them, and cook them down with the sauce if you like.
More tomato recipes for you
- Canning tomato soup
- How to can diced tomatoes
- Easy homemade tomato sauce
- Peach salsa recipe
- Avocado corn salad
Canning Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
- Cherry tomatoes (10-12 oz. per pint jar)
- Lemon juice, or citric acid
- Salt
- Water
Canning supplies:
Instructions
Note: Cherry tomatoes can be canned peeled, or unpeeled. See notes above recipe card for details.
- Wash tomatoes. If you plan to can tomatoes with skin on, skip step two.
- Heat a large pot (about 4 quart) half full of water to a boil, and blanch tomatoes for 60-90 seconds, until skins begin to loosen. Remove from hot water, and cool. Pull skins off.
- Pack prepared tomatoes into pint or quart jars, leaving about an inch of headspace.
- Top pint jars with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, or 1/4 teaspoon citric acid, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Double amounts for quart jars.
- Fill with water, leaving about 1/2 inch of headspace. Use a butterknife to release any trapped air bubbles.
- Wipe rims with a damp cloth to remove any debris, then screw down lids and bands.
- Prepare water bath canner with cool water
- Add jars of tomatoes to canner, adding enough water to cover jars to a depth of at least one inch.
- Place lid on canner, and heat over medium-high heat to a rolling boil.
- Process pint jars for 40 minutes, and quart jars for 45 minutes.
- Remove from heat, and let cool.
- Jars can be removed from canner after they have stopped boiling inside. Be careful to protect the jars from drafts, and yourself possible breaking if a draft hits them. This is pretty rare, as long as you keep them covered with a towel.
- After 24 hours, check for seals, wash jars if needed, and store in a cool place, out of direct light.
Great tips! Canning cherry tomatoes is such a smart way to use a big harvest. I’ll definitely try adding them to casseroles this winter.
I’ve always struggled with what to do when my cherry tomato plants go wild, and this guide makes canning feel totally doable, even for someone like me who’s new to preserving.