The BEST Stewed Tomatoes Ever recipe! This easy to make recipe simmers tomatoes for 30 minutes to make homemade stewed tomatoes that can be served as a dinner side dish or can be canned. This how to make recipe shows you how easy they are to make! Find out why everyone considers them THE BEST! We always use this as a canning recipe for our Summer garden tomatoes!
Homemade Stewed Tomatoes Recipe
Stewed tomatoes, sigh.
Our tomatoes are turning red faster than I can pick them! So, naturally, my kitchen has turned into a full-blown tomato factory. Between roasted cherry tomato sauce and homemade diced tomatoes I’ve been cooking up every tomato dish imaginable. Oh, and let’s not forget fresh tomato salsa—because August always means fresh salsa!
These stewed tomatoes are the best, and I’m not fibbing either. If you’ve got a tomato harvest coming up—or if you just want to ditch the canned stuff—please, please, please make these! You won’t regret it.
If you love tomatoes as much as I do, get excited—I have so many favorite garden tomato recipes to share with you. But for now… let’s talk about these stewed tomatoes.
One of my favorite ways to enjoy them? Macaroni noodles and stewed tomatoes—it’s simple, cozy, and one of those dishes that instantly takes you back home. Or, if you’re craving something ultra-comforting, stir them into crockpot mac and cheese for an extra boost of flavor.
And because no tomato-filled meal is complete without a side of something warm and buttery, I highly recommend serving it with a slice of sweet cornbread. That perfect balance of sweet and savory? YUM!
These stewed tomatoes are the best, I’m not fibbing either. If you are having a tomato harvest soon or would like to make your own instead of the canned version, please please please please please make these!
How to Make Stewed Tomatoes Video
These are really the best stewed tomatoes ever!
This is a recipe that might cause you to faint, I’m warning you now. I was expecting average stewed tomatoes, but I ended up sitting at the counter with a spoon eating them out of the pot when they were done. Matthew was in another room, so I knocked on the door.
”Matthew? Are you there?”
”What? What’s wrong”
”Can you come here?”
”Why are you crying?”
”I just made the best stewed tomatoes.”
”Are you crying?”
”Yes”
”Why?”
”Because they are so good.”
This was a actual conversation over stewed tomatoes. Seriously, they are that good!
How to Make Stewed Tomatoes From Scratch
So what kind of tomatoes work best for stewed tomatoes? I find that beef and roma/plum both work well. Don’t worry about mixing them if you have to either. I do it all the time.
Don’t be scared of this quick boil tomatoes, it will be over quickly!
And look at that.. now you’re in a ice bath! Think of it as a pool and relax.
Because of the quick boil, the skins will peel right off.
Discard the skins (compost!), or come up with something to do with them. I like to use the skins to make tomato powder which can be sprinkled in soups, casseroles, sandwiches, etc.
So now we have all our tomatoes, naked and bashful! Throw them in a large pot.
Add all our ingredients, stir and put on the stove. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until the consistency is how you prefer your stewed tomatoes. Be sure not to boil off all the juices, that’s one of the joys of stewed tomatoes.
When the stewed tomatoes are done, serve them up right away if you’d like…
They are quite pretty and delicious so they compliment so many dishes nicely!
Or throw them in a mason jar in the refrigerator for tomorrow…
Or throw them in a freezer bag and freeze them for dinner in December. How fun is it to grab homemade garden stewed tomatoes to add to a meal while it’s snowing out?
ENJOY!
Pin for later:
The Best Stewed Tomatoes Ever
PrintIngredients
- 10 tomatoes beef or roma variety
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped green pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, plunge tomatoes in for 30 seconds. Remove, put immediately in a ice bath.
- Peel the tomatoes. Discard the skins.
- Dice the tomatoes up to desired size.
- In a large pot on medium heat, combine all ingredients.
- Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Then serve fresh or you can freeze them.
Erin Short says
I’d only ever had stewed tomatoes from a can. My husband had never had them before. These truly are the best stewed tomatoes I’ve ever eaten. And so easy to make. I’ll definitely be putting these up when tomatoes are on full scale.
Pamela says
Hey Erin, thank you so much for the comment! I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed this recipe!
Patsy Wagstaff says
I have a freeze dryer and this works great in it.
Pamela says
Glad to hear Patsy!
Nathan Albertson says
Hi Pam. I’m Nathan. I like your site. Can you check out mine? #TomatoBetChallenge
Melvin Campbell says
Tried this recipe & loved it. Today I’m adding a bit of celery, onion & butter.
Patricia says
How well do you think this will dehydrate? The comfort of home on a trip…
Justin says
I didn’t have green pepper but I did have an orange pepper but not enough, so I added a little onion and celery. Also I was out of parsley so I used whole oregano seasoning. Super tasty.
Pamela says
Hey Justin, thanks for sharing! Love the tweaks you did, glad you enjoyed these stewed tomatoes!
Shawnae says
This is absolutely the best recipe! Makes even mealy, store-bought tomatoes taste yummy.
Pamela says
Thank you so much for commenting Shawnae, I’m so happy you like these stewed tomatoes!
Sue says
I use this recipe every year…they are the best stewed tomatoes!
Pamela says
Thanks Sue! I’m so happy you like these stewed tomatoes so much!
Marcie says
Can i use cherry tomatoes?
Pamela says
Hey Marcie, you could use cherry tomatoes although they are generally more sweeter. Enjoy!
Dianna says
Hi Pamela,
If one were to use cherry tomatoes in this recipe, would you then cut back on the sugar? I do plant some cherry tomato varieties and then have to race to roast and freeze them when I get overwhelmed. This sounds like a good solution when you have a deluge of cherry tomatoes. I used to give most of them away until I found you could roast them with garlic, onion, red bell pepper, and olive oil. However, because of the oil, I am unable to can them and my freezer is usually packed so I still end up giving away some of the finished product. Needless to say, I am well-loved by family and friends when this happens..lol! I’d love to be able to actually try this recipe with cherry tomatoes and can them. Should the sugar be eliminated or cut way back if you use cherry tomatoes?
Norma Brodrick says
I have a lot of tomatoes this year and your stewed tomatoes is one of the more interesting recipes. Can you tell me approximately how many cups of diced tomatoes 10 of your tomatoes equal? I would like to make a quantity of these and adjust the recipe for that, then can them. Thank you,
Kerry says
Can you can these instead of freezing?
Pamela says
Hey Kerry, yes you can. Please see the comments above discussing canning. Enjoy!
Julie Haneline says
Hi! How much does this make? My recipe calls on 2 15.5z cans of stewed tomatoes I believe so should I double?
Pamela says
Hey Julie, you’re correct in doubling the recipe. Enjoy!
Kyle says
Great recipe!
Super simple and tastes delicious.
Thank you for sharing
Pamela says
Thanks for commenting Kyle! Glad you liked!
Tammy says
Can you puree this into a spaghetti sauce? Or should I add more/different spices then?
Pamela says
Hey Tammy, you absolutely can! If you want to thicken it up add tomate paste. Enjoy
Melita says
Do you thicken the sauce at all? I thought you typically do, but this is my first attempt so any advice is welcome!
Pamela says
Hey Melita, I follow the recipe exactly as written, no thickening agent is needed. Hope you enjoy – these tomatoes are delicious!
Karen says
I grew up with canned and frozen veggies from our garden. My friend was given a variety of Toms from her neighbors garden and didn’t know what to do with them. 🙂 They are now stewed and part of them in a pot of Chilli. Yummmmm!
Pamela says
That sounds absolutely delicious Karen! Enjoy!
shannon says
What is the recipe? The website does not seem to have the recipe posted any longer…only the video but no listing of ingredients.
summer says
I love making these, but can’t see the recipe! Any chance you could post the ingredients?
Marilyn says
I couldn’t see it in Chrome, but when I opened it in Internet Explorer it worked.
Pamela says
My recipe cards were down for blog maintenance for a few hours, even a blog needs a little cleanup once in a while! Now it’s back up!
Hannah says
I’ve used this Stewed Tomato Recipe before and been very happy with the results. But now, I have to say, this whole blog post is pretty frustrating to revisit. Where is the actual recipe? It seems to just be photos without any actual quantities.
Marie M Ronco says
I can’t find the ingredient list in the recipe! Made this before but can’t remember quantities! Help!
Denise says
Hello, tried this for the first time and turned out really good. Curious how you do your tomato skins? Thank you
Pamela says
Hi Denise, I’m sorry but I don’t understand your question. If you need help with how to peel the tomatoes, please check out the recipe for full instructions. Hope this helps.
Sandy says
I also add a few dried onion flakes-just because but I love your recipe with parsley! I have always used whatever tomatoes that I have around on that day and they are always good.
Pamela says
Hey Sandy, glad you liked this recipe! Sounds great with onion flakes too!
Jean Ney says
Awesome recipe.
Love it.
I also added a few red peppers which puts a little bit a a kick to it.
Not only is it good by itself but I also plan on useing it in my chili. It’s the best.
Thanks
Pamela says
Hey Jean – thanks for commenting! Enjoy these stewed tomatoes in your chili!
Borris Bardzilauskas says
Hi Pamela, I’m going to give this recipe a try. It looks really delish. I have two chest freezers in my basement, one for meats and the other for veggies and bread. Needless to say I have limited room for storage. I would like to can this, but saw no canning method mentioned. Do you have any recommendations as to hot water bath or pressure canning. This is my first attempt at stewed tomatoes.
Pamela says
Hey Borris, I pressure can these in quart jars for 20 minutes. If you scroll up in the comments, you’ll see lots of other have had good success with canning these as well. Enjoy!
David says
Hey Pamela – yep, I used 15-16 Roma ‘maters… I think I must have zoned out and added salt twice or something. Will definitely try again. With cornbread. Maybe some pinto beans. Mmmmm
Pamela says
Stewed tomatoes + corn bread = the best! Enjoy!
David says
Hi – I made this last night and something went terribly wrong. Super-salty! Is it possible that the amount of salt called for is too much? Or maybe even reversed with the sugar ( 2 tsp vs. 1/2 tsp ) ?
I love stewed tomatoes and will try again with much less salt. And hopefully cry happy tears!
Thank you for the recipes,
David
Pamela says
Hey David, sorry to hear that. The ingredient amounts are correct. Are you sure you used enough tomatoes? This recipe is loved by many, so I hope you’ll try again and cry tears of joy!
Dianna says
In your recipe, you do not specify the kind or brand of salt to use. I suspect that is why several people are mentioning the tomatoes end up too salty. For instance, I know that Morton’s salt products are far more salty than Diamond’s salt products. However, I have only ever seen Diamond kosher salt and it pretty much is hard to find in California at all. Normally, if you are canning the recipe, you only want to use canning salt to avoid misc. anti-caking agents used in most salts. I don’t know if sea salts are pure or if they might be preferred over other types. It sure would help a lot of us to know the type of salt to use if you are going to freeze, can (waterbath or pressure), or eat fresh. I sure would hate to have an inedible product because I didn’t use the right salt!
Sur says
I made these last year for the first time ever making stewed tomatoes. These are awesome! This year I will be canning them as we travel in the winter and it’s too hard trying to take frozen stuff. Thanks for a great recipe!
Pamela says
Thank you so much – that makes me so happy to hear you’re going to be canning them! Enjoy them on the road!
Francesca says
Seriously delicious! I received more tomatoes than I know what to do with right now. I came across your recipe and thought maybe you might have exaggerated a bit on how good this would be. Well, you did NOT exaggerate. My daughter and I each ate a bowl of it. So good and tasty. I never thought I’d eat a bowl of stewed tomatoes in my life. LOVE IT!! Making may more batches tomorrow.
Pamela says
Hahaha, thanks for the smile Francesca! I’m glad you and your daughter loved them so much! Keep on enjoying!
scott rumpel says
I like to add garlic and a bit of jalapeño as well a little spice
Pamela says
I love the addition of garlic and jalapeno!
Kathryn Griffin says
Looks delish! Thank you for sharing! You are one of the fan favorites at The Sunday Showcase from the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link to this week’s showcase: http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/sunday-showcase-make-pretty-monday-5/ Hope you have a great week! Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
Nancy Wolff says
Looks like a great recipe for Stewed Tomatoes. Thank you for sharing your post on Our Homestead Blog Hop. As one of the co-hosts I will be featuring your post this Thursday. Hope you stop by again!
– Nancy ( Nancy On The Home Front )
Leslie says
Stewed tomatoes are one of my favorites, and I’ve been wanting to make my own from scratch for so long. Can’t wait to give this a try. Thanks so much for sharing at the #happynowlinkup!