Written by Kate Tietje and updated by Sarena-Rae Santos in November of 2023.
I love to cook with diced tomatoes, but you can’t buy them in glass jars anywhere. It is possible to buy organic canned, but cans are all lined with BPA, an endocrine disruptor. Ideally, acidic foods shouldn’t be in metal cans lined with BPA because it leaches into the food. Since no diced tomatoes were commercially available in glass (at least not in 2011), what should we do?
Can our own, of course!
When I started my canning journey, I canned about 30 pints of diced tomatoes so I’d have plenty to cook with. We really like tomato products, though — In 2011, we did over 5 bushels and would have done more if we could’ve! Looking for a tomato sauce recipe? Check out our blog, How to Make & Can Tomato Sauce.
Anyway, you certainly don’t have to do that many. Canning diced tomatoes in pints is roughly the same as the 15-oz. store-bought cans and is a good meal-sized portion (at least for me). Of course, if you prefer, you can do smaller or larger containers, too.
How to Can Diced Tomatoes
Ingredients & Materials:
- Tomatoes
- Lemons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Water
- Jars, lids, rings
- Canning pot or large stock pot
Directions:
Step 1: Rinse tomatoes and dice them up.
Step 2: Juice 1 or more lemons; add lemon juice to your jars, about 1/2 tsp. each (for pints).
Step 3: Add filtered water. You can also optionally use tomato juice for more flavor and/or add 1/2 tsp. of salt to each jar. (I salted mine when cooking later.)
Step 4: Cap the jars and process them in a water bath for 20 minutes (25 minutes for quart-size jars). Now they are done!
How to Can Diced Tomatoes
Ingredients
- Tomatoes
- Lemons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Water
- Jars lids, rings
- Canning pot or large stock pot
Instructions
- Rinse tomatoes and dice them up.
- Juice 1 or more lemons; add lemon juice to your jars, about 1/2 tsp. each (for pints).
- Add filtered water. You can also optionally use tomato juice for more flavor and/or add 1/2 tsp. of salt to each jar. (I salted mine when cooking later.)
- Cap the jars and process them in a water bath for 20 minutes (25 minutes for quart-size jars). Now they are done!
I like this post. You made it look so easy 🙂
Thank you so much for this, I had no idea it was so easy. I love that they don't need to be peeled. I am so sick of peeling tomatoes!!
Can you freeze these instead of traditional canning? This looks super easy, Thanks!
Is it really that easy? I really need to get into this…I’ve been freezing my summertime tomatoes, but then I forget about them! Do I need special equipment for the water bath or just a large stock pot? This is my summer objective; learn how to preserve more!
Yes, it is that easy. 🙂 I use my large stock pot for this and have no problems!
Can you add green peppers and celery to this as well with the same instructions?
Unfortunately not. I’m assuming you’re going for stewed tomatoes? The low-acid vegetables would need to be pressure-canned. So if you have a pressure canner, then sure, you can do everything else the same!
Can you use vinegar instead of lemon juice? If yes would you still use 1/2 tsp per pint?
Thank you,
Kim
It should be fine, and yes.
I am putting together a binder of canning and ‘prepping’ lists for my daughter and her very young family and wanted to include your recipe for diced tomatoes, but there doesn’t seem to be a printer friendly recipe nor a button for formatting such. Please consider adding one so that we who are interested in being off the computer at times- especially on the sabbath, not to mention those of us who are concerned about an uncertain future may still access your wisdom. Thanks SO much!
Katie, do you have any issues with the peelings separating from the tomato after canning? We usually peel first, but with 3 littles under 3, I’m looking for time savers, lol! Thanks!!
Great post, and great idea!
Just in case you ever need to purchase diced tomatoes in jars, there are actually some available. The brand is Jovial, and they are available at the Tropical Traditions website. Perhaps they are available elsewhere, too. They are a great organic option!
This seems very simple! I do have a question . I’m new to canning, and everything I read says to use tested recipes. Can you provide the source for your recipe? Yours doesn’t pack into hot jars correct? My Ball book says to use hot jars. Also, everywhere else I’ve seen to use bottled lemon juice because the acidity varies in lemons and you need the consistency of bottled juice for safety. Not trying to sound snarky here, just trying to learn 🙂
Okay so I figured out the answer to my own questions. 🙂 Now, I can’t see the pictures on your post, so maybe that explains some of my questions. These would be like the recipe in my Ball book for raw tomatoes packed in water. You’re supposed to use warm jars and 1 Tbsp of bottled lemon juice per pint. Many get away with not doing this, but it’s for safety reasons. Also, it should be processed for 40 minutes in a water bath. I’m on to my second batch tomorrow 🙂
Here is the recipe like the one in my book. If you’re using raw tomatoes then you need to use hot water to fill the jars.
http://www.freshpreserving.com/recipe.aspx?r=63
I would love to try this recipe, however none of the pictures are appearing. Are they still working?
I need to replace them, you reminded me!
great recipe, we are coming up for tomato season here in new zealand, and i always bottle my own tomatoes, and would love to try diced ones!! any chance of seeing the photos ?! 🙂
I was wondering how many pounds of pressure for the canner.
For tomatoes, a water bath canner is sufficient. I am not sure on the pressure requirements if you do choose to use a pressure canner.