Freezer Tomato Sauce: How to Blanch and Freeze Tomatoes
I look forward to fresh tomatoes every summer, so that I can make summer tomato sauce for the freezer. Fresh tomato sauce tastes so much better than the canned stuff, and it’s easier than you’d think. Here’s my tried and true method for preparing the tomatoes, making the sauce, and freezing so that you can enjoy the amazing flavor of fresh tomatoes all year long!
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Start with the right tomatoes. San Marzano tomatoes are my first pick, Roma my second, and simmering the crushed tomatoes down before they hit the freezer means I’m not thawing out watery tomatoes later and cooking them down all over again.
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Chef Jenn’s Take on Freezer Tomato Sauce
Most tomato-freezing tutorials stop at peel and freeze. You blanch the tomatoes, pull the skins, and toss them raw into a freezer bag, seeds, water, and all. That’s fine if you just need tomatoes for later, but it means every recipe you pull them out for starts with an hour of simmering to cook off the water before the sauce even starts to taste like anything.
I skip that step in the middle of winter by doing it in summer. After I peel the tomatoes, I crush them (with my hands!) and simmer the pot for about 90 minutes, uncovered, until it’s reduced and thickened into something closer to a real sauce than tomato water. It takes longer up front. It means every jar or bag that comes out of my freezer all winter is already most of the way to dinner. I use it as the base for my Authentic Bolognese Sauce as often as anything else.
What You’ll Love About Freezer Tomato Sauce
- You end up with a thick, cooked-down sauce base instead of a bag of frozen tomato chunks you still have to deal with later, that’s the whole point of doing this instead of just freezing them raw.
- The X cut and a short simmer means the skins slip off in strips with a small knife, no digging around trying to pry stuck skin off a slippery tomato.
- No canner, no jars to seal, no pressure gauge to worry about. Just a stockpot and freezer space, which is the only reason I still do this every summer.
Ingredients
Tomatoes – San Marzano are my first pick, Roma my second. I buy a half bushel, sometimes a full bushel, from the farmers market and turn it all into sauce at once. Other paste-style tomatoes work in a pinch, just skip high-water slicing tomatoes, they take longer to reduce.
How To Make Freezer Tomato Sauce
Scroll down for the full recipe card with exact measurements and printable instructions.
Wash the tomatoes and cut a small X into the bottom of each one, just through the skin. Don’t cut into the flesh, you’re scoring the skin so it splits and peels away easily after blanching.
Drop them into a pot of simmering water, not a hard rolling boil, for 2 to 3 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when the skin at the X starts to curl back and peel on its own.
Pull the tomatoes out and let them drain and cool enough to handle. I lay them out on a sheet pan to cool. Once they’re cool, use a small sharp knife to peel the skin away starting at the X. It should come off in strips, that’s the whole point of the cut and the blanch.
Crush the peeled tomatoes by hand or with a potato masher and add them to a large pot. I don’t bother pulling out the seeds; they cook down and you won’t notice them in the finished sauce.
Simmer the crushed tomatoes for about 90 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally so the bottom doesn’t scorch as it thickens. You’re looking for a noticeable reduction; the sauce should coat a spoon instead of running off it.
Let the sauce cool completely, then package it in freezer-safe bags or containers for up to 6 months. Lay bags flat in the freezer so they stack and thaw faster later.
Make It A Meal
Once it’s thawed, I use this as the base anywhere a recipe calls for crushed or diced tomatoes. I build it into my Authentic Bolognese Sauce most often, and it works just as well simmered down further for my Oven Roasted Tomato Soup. For something heartier, stir it into Over the Top Chili, or spoon it over Ricotta Meatballs with Tomato Sauce instead of starting from a jar.
Storage
Frozen tomato sauce keeps well for up to 6 months in freezer-safe bags or containers. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, or run the bag under warm water to loosen it before dropping it straight into a pot. Past 6 months it’s still safe, it just starts losing flavor and color.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, but it makes peeling faster and gives you a smoother finished sauce. You can freeze tomatoes whole and unpeeled, the skins just slip off easier after they thaw if you blanch first.
Yes, but you’ll end up thawing a watery sauce that still needs 60 to 90 minutes of simmering before it’s usable. Reducing it before freezing means that work is already done.
Up to 6 months in freezer-safe bags or containers. After that it’s still safe to eat, it just loses flavor and color.
No. The seeds cook down and soften during the 90-minute simmer, and you won’t notice them in the finished sauce.
Freezer Tomato Sauce (Blanched and Simmered) Recipe
Ingredients
- San Marzano or Roma tomatoes
- salt to taste (optional; add when using)
Instructions
- Wash the tomatoes and cut a small X through the skin on the bottom of each one.
- Bring a large pot of water to a simmer. Working in batches, blanch the tomatoes 2 to 3 minutes, until the skin at the X starts to peel back.
- Remove tomatoes and let them drain and cool until easy to handle.
- Peel the skins away with a small sharp knife, starting at the X.
- Crush the peeled tomatoes and add them to a large pot.
- Simmer uncovered until reduced and thickened, about 90 minutes for a quarter bushel, longer for more tomatoes.
- Let the sauce cool completely, then package it in freezer-safe bags or containers.
- Freeze flat for up to 6 months.
Notes
Recipe Card Tips
- Don’t rush the simmer. If it’s still thin at 90 minutes, keep going; the reduction is what keeps it from being watery once it thaws.
- Blanch in batches of 4 to 6 tomatoes at a time. Crowding the pot cools the water down, and the skins won’t peel as easily.
- If a few skins don’t want to budge, drop those tomatoes back into the simmering water for another 30 seconds. Don’t fight it with the knife.
- Leave headspace in whatever container you freeze it in. The sauce expands as it freezes, and a full container can crack or split a bag.
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed.