Name: How to Freeze Tomatoes for Salsa
Ingredients: fresh tomatoes

How to Freeze Tomatoes for Salsa

There is nothing better than learning how to freeze tomatoes for salsa because you get to enjoy the fresh flavor of garden tomatoes. One of the best things about freezing tomatoes is nowhere near the hassle of canning tomatoes and going through that whole process.

Freezing your tomatoes for salsa is a great way to savor that fresh flavor of tomatoes for later use.

Why Freezing Tomatoes is a Good Idea

Fresh tomatoes often can be found in abundance, especially if you have your own vegetable garden, and grow your own tomatoes. It’s always amazing how much tomato plants can produce. Making fresh salsa is a great use of your garden tomatoes.

However homemade salsa doesn’t usually keep very long. So, in order to enjoy your delicious salsa, you either need to you can it using a pressure canner, which can take a long time and be quite time-consuming to get the pH balance just right.

Another simple solution to storing your tomatoes to make salsa last much longer is to simply freeze them.

In this tutorial, we are going to look at the step-by-step process of how to freeze tomatoes for salsa. This way you don’t have to worry about buying store-bought salsa, instead you get to freeze your tomatoes to make homemade salsa anytime you have a craving.

Tomato Season

During the end of summer tomato season usually explodes. There are usually more than enough tomatoes to go around. There’s nothing that tastes quite as delicious as homegrown tomatoes, whether you’re growing your own, tomato plants, or you are buying some at a local farmers market.

You can usually find a good deal on tomatoes, which make excellent salsa during tomato season. If you don’t have time right then, or simply don’t want to make salsa in large quantities at one time, then learning how to freeze tomatoes for salsa is the perfect solution.

Variety of Tomato

There are many different varieties of tomatoes to choose from. You can make salsa out of many different types; some tomatoes work better than others but there is no hard and fast rule saying that you can’t use any type of tomatoes for salsa.

Cherry tomatoes are nice because they are small, as well as grape tomatoes. Both are smaller tomatoes and often come in many varieties.

You could also find larger tomatoes, which are typically more juicy tomatoes. These varieties include beefsteak tomatoes plum tomatoes, or any regular kitchen type of tomato.

The most common variety of tomato which is often used to make homemade salsa is the Roma tomato. This works well because that specific type of tomato is not super juicy and makes fabulous salsa.

Freezing Tomatoes

Rather than spending hours canning your fresh tomatoes, if you have enough freezer space, then freezing tomatoes is a great way to store your abundance of fresh tomatoes for later.

Another great thing about freezing tomatoes is that you can simply freeze whole tomatoes rather than worrying about how you want to use your ripe tomatoes right now.

By freezing them as whole tomatoes, you can make them into a salsa at a later date or you can use the frozen tomatoes for something else later on if you wish.

Simple Tips to Consider

Tomato Skins. When you’re freezing cold tomatoes, you may choose to remove the tomato skins before placing them into the freezer, or you can leave the tomato skins on.

It’s entirely a matter of your personal preference as to whether to leave the tomato skins intact or not.

Green Tomatoes. Often when it’s nearing the very end of the season you may have some green tomatoes left that are not yet ripe, but they need to be brought in.

I would recommend before you freeze them allow them to sit for a few days at room temperature so that they can begin to ripen before you freeze green tomatoes. Your tomatoes are going to be much better when they are frozen after they have ripened.

How to Freeze Tomatoes

To begin, take your ripe tomatoes thoroughly wash them, and remove any stems. Once they are washed and stems removed set them aside.

Take a large pot of water and place it over your burner. Turn the burner to high heat and bring the water to boiling.

When you have boiling water, take a slotted spoon and drop the tomatoes whole into the boiling water. Allow the whole tomatoes to boil for one to two minutes, or just until the skin on the tomatoes splits. Then use a slotted spoon to remove them from the boiling water.

Place the boiled tomatoes into an ice bath with ice water. Let them rest for 30 seconds to one minute before removing once more using a slotted spoon. Place them on a drying rack, for a few minutes to dry off a bit. By placing the boiled tomatoes in an ice bath, you are causing the cooking of the tomatoes to stop immediately.

Next, take a baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Place the boiled and dried whole tomatoes onto the baking sheet in a single player. Set the baking sheet in the freezer for 1 to 2 hours just until you have frozen tomatoes.

For the best results, you will not want to leave the frozen tomatoes on the baking sheet.

After the tomatoes have been frozen individually, you will want to transfer them to a freezer bag, such as a Ziploc bag, or you can use a vacuum sealer to seal them securely.

Any type of freezer-safe bag or freezer-safe container will work. If you’re using a freezer-safe container, make sure that it is an airtight container. This way you can prevent freezer burn from ruining your frozen tomatoes.

How Long do Frozen Tomatoes Last in the Freezer?

Your tomatoes that are sealed securely in a freezer-safe container or bag will likely last up to one year at 0°F or below.

How to Thaw Frozen Tomatoes

When you are ready to use your frozen tomatoes, if you want to thaw them before using them, there are a few different easy ways you can thaw the tomatoes.

Thaw in the Fridge

The first easy way to thaw frozen tomatoes is to place them in a bowl of cold water in the fridge overnight. Or you can simply just refrigerate them overnight or until they are thawed.

Water Bath

Another easy way to thaw your frozen tomatoes is to place the frozen tomatoes in a water bath. Place the frozen tomatoes inside of the plastic freezer bag in a bowl of cold water at room temperature. Change the water every 30 minutes until your tomatoes are thawed.

When your tomatoes have thawed you are ready to begin making your own salsa or use the frozen tomatoes for another purpose.

Type of Salsa

When making salsa, there are several different kinds you can make. Make sure to choose your favorite recipe. In addition to freezing just your tomatoes you can make freezer salsa, uncooked salsa, or cooked salsa whatever you prefer.

Freezer Salsa

Freezer salsa is when you prepare all of the salsa ingredients ahead of time rather than simply freeze them together. In addition to tomatoes, you can add your choice of hot peppers, green peppers, or red bell peppers along with onions and your desired seasonings to the freezer salsa.

Then simply freeze until you are ready to prepare it. Freezer salsa also can be both cooked, and uncooked depending on your preference.

Uncooked Salsa

Making uncooked salsa with frozen tomatoes is one of my favorite ways to use up tomatoes. To do this, you simply will need to thaw out the frozen tomatoes and then add your other desired ingredients along with the tomatoes to a food processor. Then pulse until your salsa is blended to perfection.

Another type of uncooked salsa is chunky salsa. Rather than adding all of your ingredients into the food processor, you can mix them up as chunks.

Other Uses for Frozen Tomatoes

In addition to using your frozen tomatoes for salsa, there are several other uses for these as well that might be of interest to you. Let’s look at what other things you can do with your frozen tomatoes.

Make Pasta Sauce

Using frozen tomatoes to make pasta sauce, homemade tomato sauce, spaghetti sauce, or other great ideas. This way you get to enjoy the delicious flavor of your fresh tomatoes that have been frozen, in other dishes as well.

Tomato Jam

Another use for your tomatoes is to turn them into tomato jam. This is a less common use, but also a delicious one.

Tomato Paste

Making tomato paste out of your frozen tomatoes is another fabulous option. Paste tomatoes are usually types of tomatoes that are much less juicy. Tomato paste is used to thicken different types of tomato-based dishes.

Freezing Tomatoes for Salsa

Freezing your extra tomatoes to use later for salsa is a fabulous option. By freezing your tomatoes, you don’t have to go through all the hassle of canning them, and then worrying about making sure that the tomatoes are stabilized.

Freezing tomatoes for salsa or any other purpose is very easy to do and allows you to make sure there is no waste, and you get to enjoy delicious tomatoes all year round.

Thank you so much for stopping by to learn how to freeze tomatoes for salsa. We hope that this tutorial has been very helpful to you! We hope that you’ll give this a try and let us know how it goes for you! Have a wonderful day.

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How To Freeze Fresh Tomatoes For Salsa