HOW TO MAKE diced tomatoes recipe from fresh tomatoes. Step by step instructions walk you through the beginning all the way up to freezing or canning them. This is a great way to preserve your garden tomatoes!
How to Make Diced Tomatoes
It’s raining tomatoes still. A ton of them! It’s time to make my favorite Diced Tomatoes Recipe!
Right now we have a explosion of cherry (hello cherry tomato sauce, slow cooker tomato sauce and spicy tomato sauce!), roma (hello roma tomato sauce, homemade tomato paste and fresh tomato salsa!) and beef tomatoes (hello tomato pie) of all sizes currently occupying our counter. I love seeing a kitchen full of fresh vegetables but it also gives me a slight overwhelming fear of anxiety because I know I have to go to work on them and start preparing our tomatoes to last the next few months.
We pretty much only buy tomato sauce or tomato products during the months of May and June. July, August and September gives us fresh tomatoes by the basket full while October-April supplies us tomatoes that were canned or frozen months prior.
It’s always a special feeling when its a cold Wintry day and you can still enjoy some fresh tomatoes you grew months prior when the garden wasn’t covered in snow.
Recipe Video
Here’s a video I made to show you how to make them. The video is only a minute long and will quickly show you the steps!
Homemade Diced Tomatoes
I tend to use a ton of diced tomatoes in recipes. Before having the garden I would buy a few cans of diced tomatoes a week to throw in casseroles, pasta dishes and soups. Since having the garden there is no more diced tomato can buying as now it’s all homemade. And we love growing our tomatoes from seed!
Not only is it incredibly easy to make homemade diced tomatoes but it’s just as easy to make them last. I tend to freeze my diced tomatoes (like I do our stewed tomatoes) instead of canning. That means if you are still a bit fearful of that pressure cooker you can still preserve and save your tomatoes to last months!
I have been meaning to make a Diced Tomatoes walk through for ages but somehow I always forget. This year I wasn’t going to let it happen. With a big supply of tomatoes I put a afternoon aside to make a few batches of diced tomatoes and document it for you step by step (no matter how dirty my camera got!).
I hope this helps you both make diced tomatoes and preserve them! I think after you see how easy and delicious this recipe is you won’t be buying the cans anymore!
Diced Tomatoes Ingredients
You will need 4 simple ingredients for diced tomatoes: tomatoes, salt, pepper and basil.
Diced tomatoes recipe
Step 1. You will need one pound of tomatoes for 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes. The best tomatoes to use are roma, plum and beef tomatoes. I always weigh my tomatoes to get a accurate amount.
I was making multiple batches below so that’s why it says 3 pounds. And yes, that’ a USPS scale. It’s very fancy in my kitchen! 😉
I almost always prefer using roma tomatoes for diced tomatoes for my diced tomatoes recipe. I think they are best for cutting and aren’t overly juicy. Every now and then I will also throw a beef with them if there are some other tomatoes I need to get rid of.
Step 2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in your tomatoes very carefully to not splash. Let boil for 2 minutes.
The water and tomatoes will be extremely hot. Please be careful not to burn yourself. Even though I say this I usually always splash myself at least once.
You will notice the tomato skins are starting to peel open. That’s a good thing and exactly what we want.
Step 3: Prepare a large container of cold water with ice cubes in. This container can be a pot or a bowl, it doesn’t matter. Very carefully drop your hot tomatoes into this ice cold water.
You are giving them a ice bath to shock them and stop them from cooking. Let them sit in this water for a few minutes until you can touch them.
How to Dice Tomatoes
Step 4: Place tomato on cutting board.
Step 5: Carefully pinch the top of the tomato skin. You will notice it feels lose on the tomato.
Step 6: Peel the skin down on all sides of the tomatoes.
Continue to do this to all your tomatoes.
Step 7: Twist or cut off the peels where it meets at the other top. Now you will have a pile of tomatoes and a pile of skins. You can set aside the skins to compost them.
Step 8: Dice the tomatoes up into small sizes. I cut them to about the same size as they would be in cans. Do you see all the juices that came out of the tomatoes? Make sure you keep all these juices and put them in the saucepan below. These juices are like gold!
Step 9: Add your tomatoes and spices to a large saucepan. Now you’re going to cook them over medium high heat to a boil. Then you will simmer then for 10 more minutes.
Step 10: The diced tomatoes are done! Remove from heat.
Now you have a few options. You can eat them right away, throw them in a mason jar and refrigerate to serve tomorrow, or freeze them to use in a few months.
If you’re going to eat them right away, then serve them on up however you plan on using them!
Canning and Freezing Diced Tomatoes
If you’re going to freeze them, then put them in a freezer bag, label and put in freezer. I like to equal each freezer bag to a 15 oz can so I can easily grab a bag every time a recipe calls for a can.
To defrost the tomatoes run under warm water, then heat accordingly.
Here’s 4 bags ready to be frozen!
Enjoy this diced tomatoes recipe!
Diced Tomatoes Recipe
PrintIngredients
- 1 pound tomatoes roma, plum or beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- Add tomatoes to boiling water and let boil for 2 minutes.
- Prepare large pot of cold water with ice cubes in to sit on your counter or in sink.
- With slotted spoon remove tomatoes carefully from the boiling water and put in the pot of ice water.
- Once you can touch tomatoes, pull their skins off.
- Dice the tomatoes up into preferred size.
- Put in sauce pan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add salt, pepper and basil. Stir.
- Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Enjoy immediately or freeze for later.
- If freezing place in freezer safe bag and put in freezer. This will last for months.
Betty says
If you put into mason jars how long will they last and how much basil do you use
Steve K says
The recipe says 1/2 teaspoon of basil per 1 lb of tomatoes.
Jodi says
I did enjoy this recipe but I have a question regarding the canning process, I typically use the water bathing process instead of a pressure cooker, I just need to know how long I need to boil my jars and whether or not to add lemon juice prior to bathing for the acidity
Steve K says
Jodi,
The water bath method that I use boils the jars for 45 minutes. That way, prior sterilization of the jars is not needed. I have skipped the lemon juice and it turns out just great.
Steve
Susan says
I am in Guatemala and unable to find a can of tomatoes, but Roma tomatoes are abundant! Thank you very much 🍅
Lyn says
Super handy recipe! I live in Peru and it’s so hard to find canned tomatoes but there’s always tons of fresh!! This is super helpful for me to make a great substitute for recipes with canned tomatoes. Making them today!
Fred says
I have gobs of tomatoes (though not Roma) so I wanted to triple this recipe to get a start on using them up. You seem to get your 15 ounces of diced tomatoes from 1 lb. of tomatoes. I used 3 lbs. and only got one 15 ounce package. Since I used “regular” tomatoes I had a lot more juice than I would have with Romas. If I had used all that juice it would have be way too much. Anyway, what am I doing wrong?
Patti C says
Fred, She states way at the beginning of this post that she was making multiple batches at once and used 3 lbs of tomatoes.
Fred says
Thanks, Patti, but that doesn’t address my issue. Yes, she says she’s making MULTIPLE batches and therefore using 3 lbs. of tomatoes. As I said I used 3 lbs. of tomatoes BUT ONLY GOT ONE 15.5 oz. package. So, I’m still at a loss, but I do appreciate your reply.
Fred says
Well, I just tried it again but got the same result. Used about half Romas this time and a little over 3 lbs. of tomatoes. Still got just over one 15 oz. package. Also, my diced seem more like stewed. I totally accept that this must be my fault. I’m just eager to find out what I’m doing wrong.
Linda says
Hi Fred, I know this is a bit late, but maybe it will help for next season. You are trying to dice the wrong type of tomato. The reason Romas work so well is that there is very little gelatinous material in the membrains. Also if your tomatos are too ripe they will crush rather than dice. Try reducing the amount of time in boiling water and make sure your ice bath is mostly ice, it needs to be very cold as the tomatoes are quite hot. Dice only when tomatoes are cold it reduces the amount of running juices and crushing. This should provide you more mass and less juice or crushed tomato meat.
Coco Wogoman says
Thank you so much for sharing ! The tomatoes are still coming on at our farm and I was trying to figure out what to do with them. Thanks for the great ideas!
Coco
Irene Campbell says
I have never tried this before and was wondering what kind of herbs and seasonings would go best with the tomatoes. tried reading the can but it just says herbs and seasonings. not what kinds. my first attempt at this i dont want to waste them. thank you Irene Campbell
Pamela says
Hey Irene, I usually add salt, pepper and dried basil to my diced tomatoes. Hope this helps!
Tania says
I am looking to replace the cans that contains BPA with a homemade recipe and will definitely be trying this recipe soon. I may have missed it somewhere, I just wanted to know how much do you put in each ziplock that would be equal to a 15 oz can.
Pamela says
Enjoy, this is one of my favorite tomato recipes! I usually pack 1 cup bags and 2 cup bags – that way I’m prepared for most recipes calling for them.
Bri | Bites of Bri says
Great tutorial Pam! I am using it right now and things are going smoother than they ever have before! 🙂
Arpita@ The Gastronomic Bong says
This is a great tutorial, Pamela!! thanks for sharing! 😀
Sarah@WholeandHeavenlyOven says
Raining tomatoes, indeed. 🙂 I LOVE this tutorial, Pamela! Like you, I have a ton of tomatoes that need to be used up ASAP and now I know what I’m doin’ with the majority of them!
Claudia says
So yummy! That seems to be irresistible.
Choc Chip Uru says
I haven’t seen such fresh and delicious tomatoes in a while, what a fantastic post 😀
Need to try it!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
Mary Frances says
What a fantastic post Pamela! I am swimming in all our tomatoes and have been looking for good recipes. You always come through! Seriously, I hope you never give up this garden deal – it is so helpful! Plus, your photos are always so clean and bright. Double thumbs up!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
This is going to sound really dumb, but I didn’t know that the diced tomatoes that I buy in bulk at the store are pre-cooked…duh. I so wish I had a garden with an abundance of tomatoes so that I could have my own, homemade diced tomatoes in the winter!! {Sigh of happiness}
Ashley @ ashleymarieskitchen says
Those diced tomatoes look amazing!
Kelly says
This is such an awesome post! I love that you prep and freeze your gorgeous garden tomatoes so they’re ready to go whenever you need them! I definitely want to try this too 🙂
Debra says
We use a lot of diced tomatoes, too. I’ve canned a lot of purée and salsas. Definitely need to throw some of these in the freezer.
GiGi Eats says
Wow those tomatoes look absolutely FRESH AND DELICIOUS! I don’t think I would have the will power to not eat them all before chopping them! ha!
Kristi @ Inspiration Kitchen says
Oh Pamela – what a GREAT post! I ssssoooo wish I had your garden. It makes me swoon every time I see a post with your gorgeous garden veggies. Seriously – I adore it. And, I had no idea you could freeze tomatoes. Girl, you are always a wonderful inspiration to me. I love your blog!!! Pinned!
cheri says
Hi Pam, what a great post, good idea to freeze in the plastic bags like that, I tried glass once and filled them too full and a couple of the jars burst.
Lilli @ Sugar and Cinnamon says
Yum this looks so delicious! I can’t wait for Summer here so that tomatoes are back in season! They’re so good homegrown 🙂
Monica says
Your homegrown tomatoes look amazing and being able to store these gems away to have and enjoy during the winter sure is something awesome to look forward to!
Zainab says
These are beautiful tomatoes!!!! Thanks for the peeling tip with cold water. So cool!!
Carol at Wild Goose Tea says
Well that is easy enough. Great pics. Sometimes I really appreciate having ‘my hand held’. Always something new to figure out. I just got home from work. So this is my weary attitude. My day job is solving problems all day long. Glad to be home and reading about gorgeous red tomatoes.
Shashi @ runninsrilankan says
Pamela -I am so glad to see this post – I have been throwing away tomatoes as I haven’t been able to use them fast enough but now I know what to do with them – Thank you! Your pictures are ab fab!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes) says
These tomatoes are absolutely stunning!
Sues says
Mmm I’m about to make my own diced tomato sauce, so this tutorial is perfect!
Sophie says
A great tutorial! Yummy pics too!
Angie@Angie's Recipes says
I LOVE that cherry tomato sauce! I just made some dried tomato with my dehydrator..going to soak them in olive oil with some dried rosemary. Wish I still had some tomatoes left for the sauce.